Elsinore

Content - Quake - Quake Levels - Quake Single Player

Author: Roger Staines | Rating: 7.60 | Download: elsinoregl.zip

As the name suggests, this level is supposed to be a recreation of the castle of Elsinore, the home of the king of Denmark made famous in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. According to the TXT file, the story is even somewhat similar as well, such as it is. The author also points out that in order to maintain historical accuracy, there is plenty of heavy weaponry and ammo spread throughout the castle (because William would have wanted it that way).

As far as castle levels go, this one is definitely good. The architecture is both sound and functional, and there are several large bodies of water which look just great after the map is recompiled for transparency. The scheme of this map looks similar to E1M2 from original Quake, with the exception of some low-resolution paintings hanging on the walls. These look almost like abstract watercolor artwork however, due to the Quake engine’s texture size limit, and aren’t all that necessary. The level would have gotten its point across without them.

The flow is logical, although it is a bit too linear. There is really only one way to get through this map, so don’t expect to be taking too many scenic shortcuts. The author tries to compensate by putting the exit right near where the player starts, but since you teleport there anyway it doesn’t really feel like you are doing much work.

The enemies are challenging and there are a lot of traps in this level, so you always have to watch your back, even at the very beginning. That’s enough to make it fun. There are also a few secrets for those that are attentive.

Overall, this is a pretty cool level that features good game play and lots of carnage. It also benefits greatly from transparent water support. It doesn’t break any new ground, but it’s a fun romp that will engage you any time you fire it up. Recommended.

- Zoopster

Screenshots