Curse: Episode 1 for Half-Life 2

***NEW!!!***

Title: Curse : Episode 1


Author: Curse team

Release date: 28 may 2009

Size: 240 047 ko

Number of maps: 3



website: official website

download: at filefront



Author's Note:


Curse Episodes is a Half-Life 2 single player total conversion : a mix of physics based combat, puzzles and exploration. In the first episode you can explore an egyptian necropolis and kill mummies, monsters with a morning star. Curse Episodes is a Half-Life 2 single player total conversion : a mix of physics based combat, puzzles and exploration. In the first episode you can explore an egyptian necropolis and kill mummies, monsters with a morning star.

Review :

Whoaw, when I saw the screenshots of this total conversion I was really impressed by the high quality view and thaugh I would give it a try as soon as I could.

Design is really from great quality in term of general layout and developpment (new monsters, textures, colors and features) the aim is to create a kind of egyptian experience more base on spirit effect and exploration in order to solve puzzle than real epic battles. You progression wil be catch by the wonderfull layout it's so impressive at the first look that you just stay in front of you screen and enjoy the instant. Attention has been put in everything great texturing impressive egyptian architecture, movable/breakable objects the color theme puzzles associted with 'colored theme' chambers and the mix between enemies and puzzles you will need to solve

Gameplay was perhaps a little be put in downward in my opinion simply because the objective is different from classic HL2, here like in an egyptian temple you will mix puzzle solving to access new locations and this agremented with some enemy fight base on a kind of spirit effect not that easy to use. then you will wonder what next to do do you really need to travel way back or is it just close to you actual progression you will more and more deliver access to new room but the complicated inteconnection (which seems totally justify by the egyptian theme) will make you catched attention decrease slowly. For the ambiance event if it comes with a perfectly suitable music theme, the real immersion missed something ( a toarch light progression, traps affecting you progression and some oppressing feeling). The project was perhaps a little to ambitious to integrate all those interesting stuffs without loosing a little of you attention for as long as the experience will take place.

In conclusion: visualy this modification is really tremendous with great reward through music and visual, sadly for me the easy way to get lost not knowing what to do next in addition with the lack of trill and fear created a downtrend attention while progressing...the main reason in my opinion was the fact that the team didn't focus on some choice but wanted to cover all new idea that came up and shine like THE stuff to add.

Playtime: 1 hours 30 min


Rating: A B C D E (87%)

Death Rebellion for Doom3

***NEW!!!***

Level name: Death Rebellion

Author: Kris 'Skul' Tennant

Release date: 16 Mai 2008

Size: 31 399 ko

Number of maps: 9

website: author's page

download: at map factory


Story:

This is a remake for an episode I made for the original DOOM, which I never released prior to this. The original DOOM version has been included in the .zip (dereb-DOOM1), except it looks a bit better than my first attempt.This episode includes nine maps and difficulty levels. Feedback is appreciated. I'm still learning how to make good-looking maps; I know mine don't look professional. Give me feedback on the gameplay rather than the aesthetics for now, please.

Review :

I don' t know if the author really respected the original doom 1 episode, but I suppose he did

Design was quite simply builded up, architecture was correct but basic at first with squared room interconnected by some hallways, most of the level are small and finish quite fast except the two last ones. the general layout and detail increase with progression attention to texturing is good but lighting could have been better, there was some event produced like with those surprising happening that can show up in doom3 custom maps, they add certainly somevalue to this mini episode sadly to much dedicated to indoor gameplay.

Gameplay is simply oriented, there is no real puzzle just some key hunt and fight, there isn't use of the PDA or on screen objective, You simply need to access the exit button room. and this make you progress from level to level untill the two last boss levels (because there are two squared single room with pillar and boss fights). This is something I personnaly hate to turn arrond and fight in a nearly impossible beating mission...and so if my feeling grew up during the seven firsts levels, it just let after those final levels a dispointing feeling...

In conclusion: I didn't test the converted episode using the original wad, I focused on the classic D3 episode and exit this 9th level experience with a mixed feeling some good design with good gameplay for the 2/3 of this mission but a boring ending fight that didn't add any enjoyable expeirence really destroyed my first feeling ...

Playtime: 45 minutes

Rating: A B C D E (62%)

The search for wulfhere for Quake2

***NEW!!!***

Level name: The search for wulfhere

Author: mats holm

Release date: 29 August 1998

Size: 702 ko

Number of maps: 1

website: None

download: at deacons tomb


Story:

save your best friend wulfhere not to be a zombie,
then kill general egon. (to save the world)

Review :

when you read the txt you have some doubt about this one beeing a single player experience and indeed it's well interconnected and design to propose a real good frags arround. It also come with a surpsising single player experience with quite good looking design layout.

Design even if first dedicated to deathmatch is quite well done an above average in a symetric layout oriented on a impressive egyptian theme (regarding several detail and the only use of regular texture) It's a quite small map but provide some huge architecture not only in term of brush but also regarding atmosferic size of several location and especially the end battle place...but remember it's at first a deathmatch map so it's a quite limited and repetitive design especially in term of hallways and intercoonection.

Gameplay is simply oriented on the pyramid key qwest and the final battle (really challenging regarding your weapons) the amount of enemies is limited like things you may grab...so it's just a short experience that mixes all... a little above average.

Inconclusion: short, surprising, enjoyable.


Playtime: 15 minutes

Rating: A B C D E (78%)

E.T.F. for Half-Life

***New***

Level name: E.T.F.

Author: Jan 'Fresco 'Ripper

Release date: 24 December 2007

Size: 5 018 ko

Number of maps: 3


website: author's website

download: at author's page

Author's note

E.T.F. is a short mappack for Half-Life 1 containing three action-packed maps. The story is yet another What-if-scenario that takes place in good old Black Mesa. Initially it was created for a single player contest at thewall.de.
Since I had to finish this one very quickly I re-used a lot of old stuff. Some of you will probably recognize some parts of the maps from my Lost source maps package.
The contest project however has never been completed, so I decided to release E.T.F. as a standalone episode. For more information, please refer to the included readme.txt!

Review :

This is the second release from Jan and even if a short and not as good as it's first release it's certainly an enjoyable one. It take part in black Mesa 12 hours after the accident and you only aim is to find a way to escape...it's challenging in some part and well put together to motivate your qwest.

Design is like in the previous release from Jan, well put together, your progression is quite obvious with a lot of trigering element but not that much puzzles, the author puts a lot of attention in adding a huge amount of detail like the sandwich on the table customized posters and so on even toilet has it's own quite up to date design. This mission is only taking place, except the last cut scene, indoor . The general layout really take in advance all quality of HL engine and add a lot of visual effect to immerse you into this small mission..it's certainly not perfect and limited too much to the way you progress with lots of closed door but it's enjoyable...

Gameplay is straight forward with no complicated surprise except the ones dedicated to the fightings...but this make this mission certainly enjoyable by adding some difficulty. all stuffs are well balance except perhaps the ending that close this mission just when it's starts to be enjoyable.

In conclusion: Time of trouble was an enjoyable mission and for me even if this one was not that much immersing you, especially because it was too short it certainly lets you a good filling after you finish it and that is for me the most important.

Playtime: 20 minutes

Rating: A B C D E (77%)