Underworldfan's Single Player Map Reviews

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## Reviews: 29th December 2003.

SUMMARY
Game - QUAKE
Map - mescalito: Mescalito
by - speedy
Download - mescalito.zip
Overall Verdict - challenging, medium-sized base map

FULL REVIEW:
Speedy's base map is clad in custom textures which are good but slightly uniform. Everything is greenish/brown and more variety in the color of textures used might have been useful to break up the large green floors, walls and ceilings. The only real variation is provided by the theme of the yellow strip lighting used throughout the level, which makes the map vaguely reminiscent of could, although that map is significantly better looking than this one. Architecturally, the player is presented with a medium sized base map consisting of a number of large outdoor areas, linked by some tighter and narrower corridor sections.
Brushwork is in general good, neat and solid-looking, with lots of metallic walkways and platforms, and a good blend of rockfaces and metalwork, with some interesting beams, girders and detailing. The map layout is nicely interconnected as well, but in someplaces it feels like a series of random areas stuck together rather than a coherent place; there isn't much consistency to the layout. Lighting is good however, and adds to the appeal of the map.

The map is populated by a good count of monsters, 115 on hard skill, which is how i played the map. The vast majority of monsters are base enemies: grunts, enforcers with ogres and fiends strategically placed to add challenge. Gameplay is somewhat doom-like, buttons trigger groups of similar enemies which appear from areas in walls hidden by sliding doors. The map is quite challenging on hard and medium may be more suitable for some players. Ammo and health is reasonably well balanced. The skill progression through the map is slightly uneven however, at the start only the single shotgun is available for quite a while until the nailgun and finally double shotgun is found. Monster placement is also sometimes weak and makes it too simple for the player. There are a healthy 5 secrets including the GL which will help significantly if they can be found/reached.
The horde style gameplay provides a number of intense, enjoyable firefights, particularly the large open area with the quad. The ending arena is slightly anticlimactic in gameplay terms, a teleporter means its relatively easy to escape enemies and then pick them off from above, and there really is no need at all for this teleporter.
Overall this is a good base map, with some good gameplay, and is a significant improvement over speedy's first Q1SP map spd. However the few quirks mentioned above prevent the map getting a higher score.

Overall Score: 15/20