This is the continuation of the Mel Soaring series, and it was first intended for Half-Life, but was then converted to Quake 2. Therefore a few errors show up when you load the map, but gameplay will not be affected. Here's the story: you're on an planet where Strogg have built a palace to store the remains of their dead leaders. You're about to make your way into the very heart of the palace to place an explosive device right next to the Makron God tomb, set it off and quickly escape before the blast.


I had great fun playing this map, mainly because the textures and sounds made it feel like a very different Q2 experience, at least for me. And the fact that the map was first designed with HL in mind, caused lots of areas to become just a bit larger than they normally would have been if the design had been made directly for Q2. There's pretty good vertical design in quite a few places, and the see-through "bars" that you sometimes walk on looked very cool and made the map seem very unlike Q2. Perhaps greater attention to detail would have been even better, but the textures that are used make the map look quite good still.

 

When you are playing on "hard" skill setting you're facing 131 Strogg. A pretty large number for one map, and yet they seem to be very widely scattered around; it never feels like they are trampeling each other in order to kill you. It will however not be very difficult overcoming the opposition, weapons and ammo is generously distributed. At one point I had two gunners dropping a chain gun each right in front of me, that seemed like overkill; and it would have been more appropriate if they had dropped a couple of grenades or a grenade launcher. A mistake I've made myself in my first Q2 map; monsters carry different weapons, therefore make it look real when they drop things. For instance a gladiator should drop slugs, a guard should drop bullets.

 

Gameflow is good, and finding your way around the map will not be any problem. The enemies are evenly placed, and as it should, resistance gets heavier towards the end. The only thing that sticks in your mind when the mission is over is the very abrupt ending. You'll get a text message to get out, and while in the middle of backtracking towards the start of the map, the loading sign suddenly appears, with no hint that you're done with your task. A door with an exit sign, or a timer counting down, anything would have been better than the way the ending is now.

 

A good map with great architecture, and the new sounds and textures suits the story perfectly. A great effort from a good mapper. Get it!

 

Score: 4/5