Ruins of Talos 4: Reunion
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John Johnson
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...
Level Review
Basics
Reviewer:
Overall Score:
Date Reviewed:
Emambu
81 / 100
Unknown
Design:
Dynamics:
Experience:
89 / 100
77 / 100
79 / 100
First Impressions
From the impression I got at the end, this is final level in the Ruins of Talos series. Therefore, I want to congratulate the author on a successful series overall, despite the fact that the individual levels varied in excellence. The plot is, once again, very well done. Although, it is not as detailed as the other three, it manages to state the objectives and go one step further.
Review Screenshot 1
Review Screenshot 2
Design / Visuals
Architecturally, this level came off as decent. The jungle areas, while not as realistic looking as "Phantom Point", were much more realistic then "Relics of the Empire". The caves gave off a natural feel. There were lots of nooks and alcoves, and winding passageways that actually curved. No more hallway-type caves. Unfortunately, the jungles were still a little too boxy. In the scene with the tram, the jungle was little more than a rectangle with giant blocks as steps leading down to the floor underneath the tram. Once inside the city, the architecture began to improve. Although many exterior city shots were box-like, interior shots had a lot of detail. The pool area had a lot of arches, a realistic looking shower, and a large pool of course. Also, the author used that white tile texture which helped capture the realism and set a good atmosphere. Texturing was also very good. Like I said previously, there were times when the texturing was used to help capture the realism in the level. The jungle textures that we've seen in the authors previous two levels are back, and used to good effect. The only complaint I could find was the repeated use of one texture (the gray concrete one) during the exterior city scenes.
Dynamics / Interactivity
Dear lord, No! I thought, I honestly thought that after "Goatha's Palace" the author would have learned how to place enemies correctly. I was hoping for a level that would be as challenging and as fun as "Ruins of Talos" and "Phantom Point" was. Unfortunately, this was not the case. There are two- not one but two- Joruus C'Baoth's using phase three DT logic. Another room yielded 15 Palpatine look-alikes who wielded Concussion Rifles. The pool room, although designed well, had a pool of about 20 citizens under Dianoga logic. This is just three examples of the poor enemy placement. One phase three is more then enough for a level, but to have two (especially when one is completely gratuitous and without any reason) is ridiculous. Furthermore, there was not nearly enough items to carry me through. Shields and health packs were particularly lacking. Also, I didn't feel that there was enough weapons. You don't even get an Assault Cannon to fight one the two dark jedi, or a Concussion Rifle for that matter. When all of these factors are added up you get a challenging level, but that doesn't necessarily make it fun. Fortunately, the enhancements did help alleviate some of the said frustration. New BM's added to the overall design of the level (like the catacomb texture). The red guard WAX and Light Jedi WAX, added to the level overall. Also, the pool swimmers were quite comical (until they attacked me). INF features like the tram and overhead text guided the player and gave the level its own unique brand of special effects. VOC's added to the realism of the level, and a new briefing provided the level with additional background information.
Playing Experience / Atmosphere
There was some obvious variety as far as lighting went, but it was no where near diverse enough for a level of its size. Only the caves had any type shading. Fortunately, the lighting differences that were used, helped capture the levels atmosphere. My only wish was that the author followed through with it, and apply this to the rest of the level. Too much of it was one degree of light. Realism also suffered. Why do the pool swimmers use Dianoga logic. Apparently, Marek is liberating the city from the Dark Jedi that took it over, so why do they attack and "bite" him? What's with the lightsaber? All of a sudden Marek has a lightsaber in this level, but he didn't have one during the events in "Goatha's Palace". The plot doesn't mention anything, so where did he get it? Lastly, why is Marek tested again to choose between the light and dark side. Didn't he test out to be a Light Jedi in "Ruins of Talos"? If he was delving dangerously to the Dark side, why didn't the background plot say something? If the author had taken some more time to provide a better plot (like the ones we've seen in the other three levels) then some of these questions wouldn't be up here. Gameplay, wasn't much of an issue. The level ran smoothly on a P133 with 16MB of RAM. Framerate was high (for a DF level). This, of course, adds to the level's replay value. Unfortunately, this level had a few bugs and glitches. Most were minor (clipping, HOMing, and the fact that the tram struts were paper-thin and disappeared when viewed at certain angles. However, there was one serious one that froze my computer. If you haven't taken the scroll from the Light Jedi master, don't try to enter the arena. Doing so will lock-up your computer.
Review Screenshot 3
Review Screenshot 4
Final Thoughts
Not the best, but not the worst. There are a few things that keep it from being a truly great level, but there is enough here to give you a good enough reason to play it once (at least). Also, this is the last level (according to the text file at the end) in the series, so that alone should give you enough reason to play this. Overall, this was a great series, despite the fact that the individual levels varied in score.
Design:
Dynamics:
Experience:
89 / 100
77 / 100
79 / 100
Overall:
81