[ Reviewed by: Vigil ] - [ Date: Thursday,
25th October, 2001 ]
The Looming Madness is Shaun Ross's...
Now let's see... 12th Single Player level,
so you should know him well by now. Always
nice to see prolific authors who release
good levels. This time, Shaun has decided
to make a sequel to Egyptian Myth, one of
his earlier levels.
The theme is a sort of a mix between several,
using textures from Daikatana and Hexen
II. The textures don't always fit together
too well and seem a bit clashing at times.
The theme is not clear and refined enough,
and remains as one of the weaker points
of this level. The level has been built
well, as with Shaun's previous levels. The
visuals are pleasing to the eye, offering
a few impressive moments as well. Smaller
details are somewhat missing, though. Once
again, the layout is well-planned, with
areas revisited from new angles. At times
the different areas could've used more distinctiveness,
not always clear which door just opened
and where was it again. The dark lighting
gives a good, moody atmosphere.
As you've probably guessed, combat is brutal,
with easily over 100 monsters in the level.
And not just the normal ones, the Gremlins
and Snakemen make another appearance, with
the usual bunch enhanced with new attacks.
Watch out for the Ogres, they have a nasty
surprise waiting! There's loads of ammo
waiting, with a real overdose of shells.
Health seemed well balanced, but I was sweating
with the lack of armor. You'll acquire most
of the weapons before getting to the end.
The combat quickly heats up, with Knights
and Gremlins pestering you on ground level
and Ogres and Scrags harassing you from
above. Fiends, Hellknights and eventually
Vores and Shamblers provide tougher opponents.
There are a few good, well-planned ambushes
to keep you busy, mostly the combat could
be classified as 'normal'. The ending takes
place in an arena, with a good amount of
monsters trying to kill you.
This one's clean, no major or even medium
errors found. Perhaps the greatest problem
of the level is its similarity with Shaun's
other levels. The layout and architecture
really aren't that different from his other
levels, so if you've played them all, you
may want to pass this one up. It's still
a good level, just not as memorable as Egyptian
Myth seemed to be. Lacking personality,
I feel. |