Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Wanted! for Half-Life

***this review was previously available at Alejandro Mapping Center***




Level name: Wanted!


Author: Maverick developpement


Release date: 6 June 2001

Size: 113 157 ko

Number of maps: 36


website: none

download: At Atomicgamer
download walkthrough : At 3Ddownloads


Story:

It was hard to imagine two summers ago that you would ever be driven to lift the lid of the trunk where you had thrown your holster and ivory-handled Smith and Wesson. Back then only the sickening feeling that gouged in your gut, was the thing that you wanted rid of. A sickening felt from the killing of boy's with ego's as big as their guns, but with minds as slow as their draw.
Seeking escape from the never ending trail of youth hell bent on killing you, for their own placement in history, you finally thought you had found solitude in the quiet sleepy town of Redrock Creek.
The people of Redrock accepted you into their fold, fully aware of your past but welcoming you as their Sheriff....in case there was ever a need. In time you had developed a strong bond with the people of Redrock and now considered it your home. It was a far cry from the years spent bounty hunting with "The Colonel".
Soured by the taste of war you and the Colonel had used your skills as killers for your own gains. He had saved your own life on many occasions during your partnership when you killed together for money. As Bounty Hunters you had freed some of the lands from the filth that besieged the endless towns throughout the west....and become rich in the process. Like you, the Colonel hung up his guns, putting the deaths behind him. The futile attempt at capturing the rebel, known as Ramone, had finally taken its toll on both of you.
Ramone was mad. There was no doubting that. He was driven by a mind that knew no remorse and favored destruction of life before life itself. The Colonel and you had trailed Ramone for many years through the border regions, before finally other bounty killings had supplied the money, and removed the reasons, for continuing the pursuit.
Suddenly a voice shakes you from your meandering's......
"Hey, Sheriff!" Your Deputy called Hoss say's.
Startled, you jump up from your chair, spilling Annie's coffee all over yourself..... "Dammit, Hoss, what do you want?"
"You wanna see how fast I can draw now?" say's Hoss.
Hoss, ever keen to gain your appreciation, attempts his fast draw once again.....His gun is sent spinning from his hand and clatters across the Jail stone floor towards the door.
Picking up the brand new and unused weapon you pat Hoss on the back before slipping the gun back into his holster, briefly glimpsing the anguish on his face. Beckoning Hoss you step out into the street, partly to hide your smiling face but mainly to see if the Stage is in yet........
Looks like being another fine day.......

Review :

Wanted HL is an add-on that was made already a long time ago. The starting idea is quite unique create a Western mod with all the needed stuffs (new weapons, new enemies, new texture) and this sound really great and promising. Most of the site that has done their review work were a little disappointed and so am I but I will explain this at the end. First let just put the scenery. You’re a pour lonesome Sheriff of the town and you need to find the evil Ramones (end Boss) For this Maverick development put a lot of new stuff in it more than 10 new weapons (from the classic Winchester to the more surprising scorpion thrower) new items and new enemies (from the Mexican cowboy to the Indian with arrow passing by Bears and snakes). Design is quite well done in several environment like mines, far west village, canyon, haciendas, …but always restricted by the general environment (no open view) Like if the site back then where only build in canyons. Gameplay is quite straightforward with some small puzzle to solve and no real problems to continue your progression. Balance between enemies, ammo and health is well done and creates a challenging but not impossible mission. Cutscenes are mostly absent but new sounds and voices acting, like some models, are really great (perhaps the best added stuff) and create the best atmosphere of the whole pack. Some tricks not enough present also create a better far west feeling (wagon ride, Indian boat ride, …). But all this is put together during 42 bsp’s and create really a feeling of ‘quantity doesn’t mean quality’ because external environment is always the same (canyon) mines hallways are overused, End will make you get back to the starting place, some small bug like bears that doesn’t disappears when they are killed, repetitive environment, …and even more.

In conclusion: After looking at the presentation screen and also looking to the overuse publicity made around this mod, I really thought that this one gonna be the best mod ever. The fact that the team wanted to do too much sometimes totally fail to create the ‘good’ far west feeling with some not realistic things that you wouldn’t notice if hadn’t been repetitive over 42 bsp. So this one is certainly a Good mod but not really great at all even if you will remember for a long time the voices from desperados shouting at you ‘hey amigo…’


Playtime : 8 hours




Rating: A B C D E (84%)

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