Kona is one of Q1SP's most prolific authors,
a quick look at his website is definitely
recommended if you have not already been
there, you will find over 10 very good Q1SP
maps and episodes to play, the best of which
is probably Rapture.
Getting back to Fearcraft, this is 3 maps
of intense fighting packed into levels that
feel bigger than they are due to lots of
tough custom monsters. The architecture
and layout of maps 1 and 3 tends to mainly
follow kona's trademarked style; 2 level
mazes with winding corridors leading to
small open rooms and areas is how i describe
it for now. You often tend to find you playing
through the bottom of one area, climb up
stairs to the second, higher level and then
backtrack through the same areas but just
at the higher level.
I like the textures used in this pack,
it kind of stone, moss and wooden gates
everywhere with a blue/green theme. The
architecture is not spectacular, but it
does the job and is atmospheric. In the
second map the architectural style is different.
Its a smaller map, but basically is set
in a series of rocky outcrops and canyons,
there are no real "rooms" to speak
of, its an interesting style and means dodging
behind rocks and shooting at monsters across
wide open abysses and ravines.
In common with other Kona maps, custom
monsters are used extensively and mixed
in with the regular quake enemies to increase
the challenge and provide some variety to
the gameplay experience. These include:
Axemen (originally from Coven of Ebony),
Gremlins, tougher Knights, rocket-launching
Ogres (these are Cool) and also modified
Nehahra Barons. Further there are some green
skinned Hellknights which are pretty tough
as they have a fireball attack and also
take a lot more damage before you can kill
them.
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Ravenous
Is the first map, right from the start the
fighting is intense, with a Baron and Ogres
ambushing you, outside the entrance to the
main area. There is a tiny flaw here at
the start that allows you to take a shortcut
if you go up on the rocks and miss most
of the map but just ignore it and go through
the main entrance. Once inside, fighting
continues in a similar vein, typically killing
2 enemies causes more to be spawned in and
ambush you straight away. The other type
of ambush is when stone walls open up to
reveal other monsters lurking in the shadows.
Fighting gets pretty difficult around the
blue key area, which is also probably my
favorite part of this level, with lots of
Scrags, Ogres, Vores and HellKinghts spawning
in.
:
Reverie This is the "rocky outcrops"
level, its smaller (34 monsters on Hard
skill), but is a lot of fun, primarily due
to the rocky layout already mentioned above.
Its different style also provides a nice
variation from the two more typical map
on either side of it. There are also some
tricky little fights, mainly due to the
fact you don't have much room to maneuver
on the small rocks and boulders. Kona's
experience in level design enables him to
pull this different style off successfully.
Requiem This is the final level, and is
quite tough, fighting escalates through
the map, with a number of tricky encounters
and ambushes (total of 52 monsters on hard).
The final arena consists of multiple vores
and shamblers and the final end boss (modified
Baron).
This level does not provide as much challenge
as it might though, mainly due to an over-abundance
of rocket ammo, (particularly if you have
saved them from earlier maps, you may have
as many as 60 rockets saved), its makes
the gameplay significantly easier. I don't
wish to be too harsh however, if it really
bothers the player you can always choose
not to use the RL, i did this the first
time i played this map =). Also at the final
battle Kona often "locks you in"
to the final arena so you can not simply
backtrack and escape, but here that doesn't
happen and this makes it a bit easier. I
always like maps that bar your retreat to
increase the difficulty. =).
In summary, this is an excellent map pack,
which packs a hefty wallop and considerable
challenge, especially on hard/nightmare,
the only real way to play Q1SP (evil grin).
If you haven't already downloaded it, you
should straight away.
Overall Verdict - An excellent 3 map episode,
using many tough custom monsters.
Overall Score: 18/20 |