Leeza's Destiny 3
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Level Review
Basics
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Overall Score:
Date Reviewed:
Matthew Pate
91 / 100
April 26, 2000
Design:
Dynamics:
Experience:
92 / 100
91 / 100
90 / 100
First Impressions
This would be the fourth incarnation of the Leeza series, and definitely the heftiest weighing in at a mighty 8 meg. Anyway, for your knowing pleasure, this is a run-down of what each one contained: First edition: Level 1. Second edition: Level 1 and 2. Third edition: Level 1 and 2, with enhanced weapons. Fourth (and current) edition: Levels 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as enhanced weapons plus lots of nifty stuff. As you can see, if you've been following the series since the first one (like I have) you'll be very familiar with level one, which is perhaps the major complaint about this; you spend more time re-hashing old levels rather than forging into new territory. Granted, the first two levels have been upgraded (the first one majorly so, since it's first inception), but it's still a little annoying. However, one benefit of this is that the first level doesn't look any more 'dated' than the later ones, so I guess it all evens out in the end.
Review Screenshot 1
Review Screenshot 2
Design / Visuals
The architecture was brilliant, easily as good as the majority of LEC architecture (there's still no level that can beat level 9) and the texturing didn't let me down either. The first level was very similar to Katrassii Spaceport from MotS, but this has been discussed before in earlier reviews, so I'll save you from going through that again. Anyway, like I was saying, the architecture and texturing are brilliant, suiting whatever location you are in, which are wide and varied, thankfully. You'll spend time in a spaceport, a forest, an Imperial facility, and even the gunnery station of a YT-1300 (think the Millennium Falcon) transport. Great stuff all round, there were never any 'repetitive' sections that made it easy for the player to be lost, it was all distinct and interesting.
Dynamics / Interactivity
Again, enemy and item placement was nigh on perfect, at least for me. There were new renditions of Dark Forces' "Dark Troopers" but they fit into the levels well and weren't nearly as difficult as their DF counterparts (they pack a lot of punch, but only take a few shots to go down). Some were placed so that when you opened up a big door, they'd be right in front of you, meaning you'd have to fight them; no cowardly sniping. Another interesting feature was the way that after clearing an area and achieving some objective (getting a key, etc), you'd meet more baddies on the way out. In theory this is good, but in some of the places it didn't make sense. For example, at one point I was in a hangar and opened a door from a control room above. But even before it opened, several troopers started firing at me. The door was the only way in, and it had stayed closed the whole time. Odd. Aah...at last we get to the enhancements, in my opinion one of the things that decides whether a level is great or just good. Thankfully, this level would have to have the largest number of enhancements I've ever seen in a MotS (or JK for that matter) level. Several new guns (Mandalorian Rifle, Assault Cannon, even the ability to hold two blas-techs at once!) as well as a top-notch grappling hook, which I think deserves it's own mention. Long ago, in JK's infancy, there were many 'grappling hook' patches, where basically you hit a button, and an object would fly out of your stomach (or so it seemed) and once it hit a wall, you'd magically fly towards it. No more. Firstly, once you hit the button, your weapon is holstered and an arm appears, with a nifty little compartment on it. When you fire from now on, the grappling hook flies out (along with a rope behind it, thankfully!) and you can go soaring all over the place. It's great to find secrets with. Of course, it makes Force Jump kinda obsolete... Another thing worth mentioning are the 'consoles' found in level three. You move up to one and use certain keys to navigate menus that are displayed on screen. Fantastic. The boss of level 3 was also impressive, if a little easy, and the puzzles were also very interesting and varied, not just a key hunt. Another thing I liked was that sometimes there were different ways to do things. I played this once when it came out, and then once again to 'review' it. There were a few differences; I found a different way into a building each time, and the boss. The first time I hadn't completed all the objectives before finding him, and so (SPOILER AHEAD!) I shut off his shields before facing him. Then, after completing the objectives, it was a rather simple effort to dispose of him. The second time however, I didn't do that, and so I had to dodge bullets while I shut off his shields so I could do damage to him.
Playing Experience / Atmosphere
The lighting was very impressive throughout, giving a good sense of wherever the player was supposed to be. Coloured lighting was used a lot, too, but unlike in many levels, the colours added to the experience instead of detracting from it and making it look like a bad 70's experience... Sounds were used liberally, so much so that you tended to forget they were there, and simply accept them, instead of noticing it everytime. Good. Technical errors were basically nill - I don't even recall a single texture misalignment, although the stormtroopers (and everyone else) referred to the player as 'he' instead of the obvious 'she'. The reason being is that there are separate templates for each stormtrooper; one for Kyle (male) and one for Mara (female). One other thing that 'bugged' (pun intended!) me was that the speech was a little dodgy; misspellings, bad grammar, and the fact that there was no way to know who was speaking, besides the nice little effect of moving lips. Having a simple 'BOB: you smell' would have made things easier on us poor lazy people. Another odd thing is that sometimes conversation was conveyed in actual sound, and other times through text. Leeza used Mara's sounds whenever possible, but when she had 'different' speech, it had to be text.
Review Screenshot 3
Review Screenshot 4
Final Thoughts
The download might be a bit hefty, and you might have played half of this before, but it's still worth downloading for an hour or more of frantic SP fun. Don't hesitate, download now! One thing that worries me, however, is that there are two more levels in the episode.jk that haven't been completed yet...
Design:
Dynamics:
Experience:
92 / 100
91 / 100
90 / 100
Overall:
91