Alk15: Brumal Quest is Kona's
best map so far. While it doesn't contain many
technical improvements - thing's aren't any
larger, more refined, or more detailed, or more
experimental - the short of it is this is still
an Alk map and thus follows the formula - Brumal
Quest improves in just about every other area.
First, Brumal Quest has the
best atmosphere of any Quake map Kona has ever
made. I can't pick out every little thing that
contributes to this atmosphere, but it has a
lot to do with first, the theme, the subtly
reskinned monsters, and the skylight being cast
by the very appropriate dull winter sky. This
is a very atmospheric map. A few things might
have made it even more so, though - since the
map is supposed to be "built into the mountains",
a long series of snowy canyons ascending, winding
upwards prior to the actual 'mountain village'
would really have increased the sense of altitude.
As well I did notice one texture that didn't
work very well, green grass with tiny bits of
snow on top, it was very out of place both in
terms of palette and pattern. But enough of
that, all in all this map has lots of good atmosphere.
Additionally the map feels a lot less like a
formulated level, unlike, say The Looming Madness.
This is because of more distinct areas and less
emphasis on having everything look similar to
everything else, angled and interconnected.
Even in one of the best Alk maps, Alk07: Egyptian
Myth, it was difficult to find one's way around
because everything looked quite similar, half
indoors and half outdoors. Well, in this map
that is solved by having several main outdoor
"hubs" and small indoor and outdoor
passages which generally lead to them from one
way or another. Additionally, indoor rooms obviously
have no snow in them, where outdoor areas are
fairly covered with the stuff.
I should not forget to make
some comments about gameplay. This is basically
your non-stop Alk gameplay, where despite the
interconnective layout things are very linear
with monsters teleporting in or coming out of
secret closets. This type of play is starting
to seem rather restrictive - no pausing, looking
for things or figuring out what to do next.
However by no means does this mean that this
map is not fun, and depending on how you play
you can end up with some interesting situations
- at one point I was basically being hunted
by a horde of high-level enemies while I tried
to find some nails! Also, you can make good
use of infights. As well, the end map has some
excellent combat, watch out for those firepods.
Overall Kona manages to get away with his semi-usual
gameplay again, only this time it's a lot more
enjoyable in this different and atmospheric
setting. This is the best Alk map as of yet.
