Abilities of the Empire 1
Mission Type:
Author:
Post Date:
Download:
Level Review
Basics
Reviewer:
Overall Score:
Date Reviewed:
Matthew Pate
44 / 100
November 30, 1999
Design:
Dynamics:
Experience:
30 / 100
70 / 100
20 / 100
First Impressions
Judging by the file size (2.5 MB) I was hoping for a huge level with tons of enhancements... unfortunately the whole reason for the large file size was this extremely annoying techno 'music' that was included for one sector... twice. The author chose to have a separate .gob file for each level, (there were two) and the song was included in both. I did a little experiment, and without the sound, the file would have been only 92 KB...
Design / Visuals
The level wasn't especially great architecturally; rooms were basically boxes, with a few bits of detail here and there. A few pieces of detail, such as stairs, lifts, control panels, or even a simple ramp would have brightened the level up immensely. As it was, absolutely everything in the level could have been done with Dark Forces... Texturing was better, with a fair selection of textures, and most were aligned correctly, although there were a few errors that slipped through the authors fingers.
Dynamics / Interactivity
Contrasting to the architecture and texturing, item and enemy placement was really well done. I was always on about 50 health, meaning I never had time to relax, but I wasn't about to die with the next shot. Enhancements, though, basically consisted of the terrible techno song, which I believe first starred in Narra 2. It really doesn't fit into the Star Wars universe. I beg of authors to never, never use this again!
Playing Experience / Atmosphere
Lighting was all day bright, and there were no ambient sounds (besides said techno). A few simple lighting effects, perhaps making some areas broken down and dark, maybe some other areas with flickering lights, could have also injected some well needed atmosphere into the level. Fortunately there were no technical errors, although admittedly there really wasn't enough level to have many errors.
Final Thoughts
The large download will probably cause you to spend more time on the Internet than you'll get out of playing the level...it really depends on how badly you need a SP kick.
Design:
Dynamics:
Experience:
30 / 100
70 / 100
20 / 100
Overall:
44