The Emperor's Purges
Mission Type:
Author:
Post Date:
Download:
Patch Irwin
September 15, 1998
Level Review
Basics
Reviewer:
Overall Score:
Date Reviewed:
Matthew Pate
72 / 100
February 6, 1999
Design:
Dynamics:
Experience:
70 / 100
61 / 100
80 / 100
First Impressions
This is one of the 'oldies' and as such didn't utilize JED.92 to make the level, and also there is the good old force power bug. That's right, don't expect to use force powers after loading a saved game. We all know to put timers in the force cog, now, don't we? Plot sounds good, with nothing wrong with it. Oh, yeah, you get to play as Vader as well, along with new sounds, 3do, and saber.
Review Screenshot 1
Review Screenshot 2
Design / Visuals
Architecture was fair. Good at the time, but not so good these days. It wasn't all boxes, thankfully, as there were pillars, sloped roofs, stairs, ramps, and other architectural goodies. There were tunnels through space between an Interdictor and the Rebel Outpost, which had see-through walls, allowing a great view of outer space and the outside of the platform. Texturing had a lot of variety, especially for a space station, and all the textures were suited, as well. For an older level, I was surprised to see that all of the surfaces were stitched correctly. Overall appearance was maybe a little too varied, as I don't think Space Stations have quite that many different textures.
Dynamics / Interactivity
There were a little too many enemies, which have been changed from Storm Troopers to Rebel Commandos and Rebel Officers, both male and female. I died a lot of times, and was quicksaving every couple of seconds, and reloading if I didn't get through without getting damaged. Of course, this could have been fixed by adding some more Health or Shields. And that nicely leads into the next topic... Items. There weren't many weapons, only the bryar(?), ST Rifle, and the Saber. There were plenty of force powers, like pull, saber throw, jump, speed, see, etc. Enhancements were many and plentiful. As I've already mentioned, the ST's have been changed to Rebels, and the rebels to Stormies, but unfortunately the guns still autoaim towards the Stormies and not the rebels, and there are no repercussions for killing the Stormies (but they are handy for getting ammo). Vader also speaks to the Jedi that you have to hunt, like "you don't know the power of the dark side", and "don't make me destroy you."
Playing Experience / Atmosphere
The Lighting was fair, but there wasn't enough dark, it all seemed pretty bright. And no coloured lighting either. Due to the lighting (or lack of) the mood was pretty relaxed, and you just sauntered through, though being constantly low on health was pretty moody, you never fell asleep playing. There was a fair bit of sound, like ship flybys and such, as well as Vader's comments. You felt like Vader, and I started killing droids and such because I was in the Vader frame of mind. There were not any obvious framerate problems, though I do have a fairly high-end computer. No Cog problems, bar one bit where Vader sounded like Kyle saying "locked", but no "COG_50001" messages, for which I'm glad, as I'm really getting sick of seeing that.
Review Screenshot 3
Review Screenshot 4
Final Thoughts
I enjoyed this level a lot, but dying constantly (he is Vader, after all) kind of kicked you out of the level. The novelty of Vader didn't wear off during the level though. It was a fair sized level, and you'll quite a bit of enjoyment out of the level. The Jedi were had skins, and, being light Jedi, were a bit of a different fight.
Design:
Dynamics:
Experience:
70 / 100
61 / 100
80 / 100
Overall:
72