[ Reviewed by eXodus ]
Wow.. finally a Q2 review surfaces (it's
been a while, hasn't it?) and wouldn't you
know it's of a map that's just brimming
over with quality.
Good levels seem par for the course nowadays
for Q2... since many authors have moved
on, only dedicated ones or ones that really
are working on something special are still
producing releases. Shaun, the author of
this map, is no newbie mapper (he has a
whole classic Quake episode to his credit),
but this is his first release for Q2.
Mel Soaring is the name of your character
in this map... you play a murderer who kills
the Q2 marine! Don't understand? Have no
fear, the story that comes with the map
will explain it all. I won't spoil it for
you.
OK, about the map. Where to start describing
the good points is all I can say.. it's
hard to tell from the overall quality of
this map that it's a first Q2 release. Architecture
is neatly done and r_speeds are kept fairly
low (I noticed no speed problems on a K6-2
300/Voodoo2), texturing is appropriate throughout
with no major misalignments, and gameplay
is wonderfully balanced with a great mix
of combat and mission objectives. In short,
there's something here for everyone to like.
I don't suppose there's much else to say
here. Really, this is all that's good about
SPQ2 condensed into a one-level nutshell.
There's plenty of good firefights, some
keys to find and exploring to do, all set
in a good-looking environment with lots
of nice touches. This is a very solid map
that I had lots of fun with, and I think
you will too, so I feel confident in giving
it a personal recommendation.
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