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Dark 7 Mission Pak I
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Summary |
Overview |
Screenshots |
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Author: Bryant 'Gunrock' Robinson
Version: 1.1 Mode: SP + COOP Requires: ZDOOM port (I used
GZDOOM) Reviewer:
Jive Screenshots
Map02
Map02
Map03
Map04
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From the author: =========================================================================== The Story: There
is no written story, thus you have a mission to accomplish, like for its prequel. But it
should not be easy to write it, because the messages along
the game are quite rare, at the contrary than for its prequel...
My Review: I didn't find any error nor bug. The discovered bug is in the Gzdoom code, not allowing to take an object inside a space with a height of 16 and a width less than yours.Its name is "Dark...", and it's really dark... So, for the purpose to let you see something on the screenshots, I have used my skill (skill 4... lol) to improve the pictures. But, while playing, it's far more dark!!! I was absolutely not impressed by the atmosphere of this pwad. I could even say that I was impressef by its lack of atmosphere, after having played its prequel "Dark7".Thus there are musics (pleasant mod tracks), I highly suggest to disable it once you will have listened it, for the purpose to don't cover any of the surrounding sounds coming from the environnement. There's an almost Half-Lifeish atmosphere to most of the maps, with a Quakeish architecture. I played without and with the music, and I can say that, even if the music is well accorded to the game, it's ruining the little atmosphere obtained with the sounds. The textures are mostly extracted from The Darkening (made by The Darkening Crew) and (made by Nick baker), and the sounds comes from Nightmare1Doom 64 and Unreal. - The Map01 is just an introduction, totally scripted, letting you look at a film giving you instructions about your mission. It's very well done, even if I would have been glad to look at more cinetic (it's a bit static). The camera goes from a point to another one, and that's it... Hmmm... More points would have given more pleasure, but we are not here to look at a film!!! - Map02 is very easy, and let you let progress between numerous boxes and long corridors (with some turn at 90°... Not really pleasant nor funny), more or less well placed, with monsters very predictable, easy to kill, and there is no difficulty at all. You're discovering new weapons, and the way to use them. Briant told us that they are coming from cw-sin1 . What you have to know is that each weapon has its own use, totally different from the usual weapons, and with a very different efficiency. Even now, I'm a bit suspicious about the efficiency of the weapon replacing the double barrel gun, using the same ammos than the chaingun, but... Hey, I let you discover it by yourself !!! - Map03 is far more interesting, with a challenge (I didn't say "a real challenge"...), and I was very pleased with this level. All is interesting: the gameplay is fine, the monsters are well placed and the architecture really fine. But again, it's far too much easy. In fact, you're discovering that your weapons are VERY efficient. With such an efficiency, it would have been great to have the double of monsters, for the less. For example, the pigs can be killed with ONE shot of the normal shotgun. A pig... Boum, one shot, one killed. More to come? Oh... 2 pigs... Boum boum... 2 cadavers... You understand what I mean? With such an efficiency, there is no more gameplay, at least for the average and higher player!!! But for the newbie, it must be very funny: there is no stress. You can miss the pig without any problem (you have all the needed time to shot it again). The rocketters are placed in such way that it is very easy of killing them with a maximum of security. - Map04... Once arrived there, you're asking to yourself if some challenge will come or not, like it was the case with the prequel (Dark7). The answer is: NO! - Map05: Ahhhh... Here is finally a good map, with an interesting architecture and a better gameplay, thus it is VERY easy, with more ammos than you need. Even totally drunked, you should bypass the monsters one hand in the pocket and the other one with a finger in the nose... Ok, ok, I exagerate a little bit... A little bit? Hmmm... Not sure! Wide areas, some mancubus here and there, veeeeeeeeeeeery away from you. Boum boum boum... 3 rockets in the nose, and they return in hell. But... Hey, maybe you could try some snipping shots with the new shotgun firing the ammos of the chaingun? Talking of the chaingun, I never saw such an efficiency weapon!!! The balls are coming so speedy that the ennemis don't have any time to react, apart the archvile, but I won't - oh yes, I swear to close my mouth - to don't talk more about this creature.... - Map06... Ahhhhhhhhh, a cyberdemon!!! Oh yes, some challenge!!!!!!!!!!! .... Some challenge... Hmmm... Don't use the BFG if you're expecting challenge, k ? - map07 - The end. There is no monster!!! No no no, I swear it: play it, and you will see that I'm right... :-D ... For God's sake, why have I used the BFG?!?  Yes, you see finely: 0 monster, 0 secret 200 for the life and the armor, and a quasi full bag of everything Hey, did you expect really that I will tell you everything?!? What?... No, I didn't lie at any moment, but... No, I sweared it : you won't know more from me, yep mame!!! But I should have taken the pistol, oh yep mam'zelle !!! Why? Pffffffffff... For the pleasure, of course!!! Conclusion: I want more gameplay, more details for the architecture, less wide areas without pretty nothing to look at or to bother with. This sequel can be forgotten as soon as played, or... kept for newbies? Yes, in fact, this pwad is perfect for newbies: even on skill 4, it's not too much hard and the challenge will give them enough pleasure and difficulties to progress in term of skill!!! If you have the use to play Doom, the only way to have some pleasure will be to make a speed run (to play as speedy as possible), or to resist to the desire to take the BFG. And the Zdoom features are poorly used: some slopes here and there (like if it was to justify the fact to map for Zdoom), some colored lighted sectors, and... And... What more?... In fact, pretty nothing!!! Maybe Briant used this set of maps for the only purpose to use the awesome cw-sin1 pwad? And he succeded !!! There is also another VERY important point: I played some of the hardest pwads that I have ever played since the beginning of the existence of Doom just before Dark7 and its sequel, and my skill has been tremendously renforced, because I won without any cheat, at skill 4 and without auto-aim. Playing The dark7 Series just after those pwads was really a VERYYYYYY bad idea!!!
Map05 and its radar. |
Map04
Map05
Map05
Map05
Map07
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