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 (Size: 450k. Alternative downloads: Discord2 / Discord2) Speedrun demo: 0:43 
 This is a middle of the road and entirely normal level, just a nice design, a key to collect and some monsters to shoot - hey, it's Quake, OK??? Anyway, this is a metal themed map, but with a slightly different style: instead of lava and gothic imagery, it is detailed with futuristic lights and blue water. In addition to this, there is a pretty neat green and slimy sewer area that has some cool designs if you look closely, though the blue water seems out of place in the sewer. The architecture is pretty good for the most part, with some good angles, buttress and a few rather cool rooms and designs. However, it is rather sparsely detailed and often feels curiously bare (this maybe due to the sparse monsters, see later on) - I felt that most rooms just needed some more *stuff* in them. The textures use the standard metal style, with some lesser used metal textures, and of course green in the sewers - again the textures are mostly neatly and well used, but more detailing would have been better. The layout in the map is rather cool, from the main courtyard many routes of exploration are possible, and though only one will send you along the requisite path, it's nice to have the freedom go exploring. The requisite path does involve finding yourself trapped in a prison however, and the means of escape is not at all obvious, it requires a bit of just moping around the cell to stumble on it, which could be annoying. There are secrets too, couldn't find one of them but the rest are reasonable and useful - maybe a bit too useful. Gameplay is somewhat similar to the architecture - nice enough, good in places, but rather spartan. In fact, this is my main criticism of the map - the gameplay just isn't as exciting as it should be, and the map could do with perhaps twice as many monsters. With a few exceptions, there is little up close Quake style brutality, and many areas do feel a bit empty (especially the water). Also, though the gameplay is nicely balanced, the ending is typically unchallenging. This is not to say that it is not fun, nor that it is not worth playing - it is certainly pleasant enough, and it's nice to take a break from the more hardcore custom maps. I just felt a bit more inspiration in both the detailing and the gameplay was needed. However, I would still recommend you play it as a quick, fun blast of Quake. (Did an Easy speedrun in 0:43, also on the Demos page.) - - - - - -  |
