Tangent for Half-Life 2

***Previously reviewed on my french blog***

Level name: Tangent

Author: Nick 'Daedleback' Williams

Release date: 12 April 2006

Size: 6361 ko

Number of maps: 1


website: none active anymore


download: from Planetphillip

Author's note:
This level was created as coursework for my Games Engines & Physics module at Staffordshire University as part of my Computer Games Design degree. The brief was to create a level in the source engine (we had created a level in the Unreal engine in the first semester) based around Staffordshire University, Beaconside campus. The level is set several months before the events of Half-Life 2 and the player is briefed via Text messages received on their phone from various sources.”

Story

“From: Student Union - 26/03/09 20:15The combine have been oppressing the students at this university for several years now. The vast majority of students couldn’t be bothered to get out of bed to fight the overlords, but now they have reason. The oppressors have denied the sale of alcohol on the university premises. The time to fight has come. Fight your way to the Lounge and Legends bars and turn on all beer taps.”

Review :

This was another school project based on a preview UT2004 release from Nick. The story behind is quite simple, before all what we know about HL, students parts of a university already got a huge conflict against the administration that wanted to prohibit the consumption of alcohol, Rebellion will fight against the authority to free the whole university.

Design even if this map wasn't completed totally is well balance between outdoor and indoor with a good looking layout and design...The univestity theme was perhaps a little under visited and went a little bit more to a industrial theme which is not a problem at all and won't bother you since the experience is more than failry enjoyable.

Gameplay was well balance with a sort of new hud featuring transmision message (sms type) that wil orient your mission the rest is from the classic bottle and is a mix between fight against combine and puzzle solving to progress in a linear way. The mission end a little abruptly after the Antlion guard fight there is a simple switch to push and thats all.

In conclusion: back then there wasn't still a lot of stuff available for HL2 and this experience even if short was certainly a good enjoyable one, another good find from the snark pit. The author appologize for the little bugs than can be found and the abrupt ending but the main school objective was achieve and succeed so that the author lost interest and switched to new projects.

Playtime: 20 minutes

Rating: A B C D E (74%)

Light For Quake 2

***NEW!!!***

Level name: Light for Awakening SP mod

Author: Jed Kirchner

Release date: 13 August 2000

Size: 2 582 ko

Number of maps: 1


website: none active anymore


download:



Important Note:

To play this one you need a official mod called Awakening sp and since you got this one it came also with a separate single palyer release both can be find at the Official website should also be tried for a short, enjoyable moment note there is an awaken2 version only limited to Multiplayer

Story:

This map takes place a few years before the events of Quake when the government conductedthe first slipgate test in an abandoned mining colony on one of the moons of Jupiter. Thisconcentrated release of energy emanating from our star system was what first alerted the Stroggas to our presence. They immediately came to the conclusion that any race advanced enough tobuild such a powerful device posed a serious threat to their civilization and should bedestroyed. They also discovered that by locking on to the gate's signal they might be able touse it to their advantage. That's where your story begins. I guess.
. . .
It's been a few days since the sounds of gunfire stopped and you've decided it's safe toassume that the creatures have taken over the entire complex. You're not sure why they're stillkeeping a few of you alive but the other day you saw them collecting the bodies of your comradesso they apparently have some use for humans, dead ones anyway. They also somehow forgot tosearch you for weapons so you still have your pistol and a full clip of bullets. That clip lookskinda useless now, however, since you'll only need one bullet to use on yourself when the timecomes.
You're suddenly startled by some sort of inhuman yell and look up to see that theforcefield for your cell has shorted out and two creatures, both bent on eliminating you nodoubt, are headed in your direction. You waste no time in emptying your clip into the twomontrosities and cautiously emerge from the cell. Then it suddenly dawns upon you that you havenowhere to go. You know for a fact that the shuttlecraft, the only means of getting off theplanet, were all either taken or destroyed leaving you in more or less the same situation youwere in a few minutes ago.
Then you remember the slipgate. It wasn't thought that it could transmit organic matterbut those things, whatever they are, seem to have proven otherwise. You're not real eager to meetwhat's on the other side of thing but it seems like a slightly better idea than staying where youare. Especially if the government decides to destroy the base, something you gather they've beennotorious for in the past. As you grow accustomed to your surroundings you realize that you'resituated just a few rooms away from where the slipgate is stored. It shouldn't be that hard tofight your way there... should it?

Review :

This is the third release of Jed(idah) Kitchner and regarding the two previous one
Burial at Sea and Cranky Steve's Haunted Warehouse (both reviewed at 10/4 maps) I was really hoping on something special and highly enjoyable. After palying the map, even if it was a quite interesting release, it won't let me a memorable experience.

Design Is a mix of a small texturing choice handled with a wide, upon several floor, Industrial complex that isn't far away from several high detail custom map from Q1. Everything is well polished and creates a impressive complex perhaps a little to empty especially regarding box and items that can add a real complex feeling. Architecture is well crafted but without any tremendous places you will stil have some impressive vue and a not too repetitive environment to walkthrough.

Gameplay is oriented in a non linear multipath choice way (all way will lead to the final quest). Lot's of enemies will try to brake you progression (166 in normal skill) and will hold you busy enough without any boredom. All items are well placed, like great looking weapons (all new from the awakening mod) really powerfull (too much). The objective are simple but the path to release them will look a little more complicate and the more you progress the challenging it will be there are 2 well hidden secret places to increase your quest if you want...I didn't find them.

In conlcusion: This is a great map with a correct challenging gameplay. it just miss in my opinion a better use of the high quality texturing that came with awakening and at the end all visited places where to similar with a grey touch that easily could lead you to boredom. A quite good but not a great experience finally.

Note: I encounter a sad issue that I wasn't able to reload my savings and this 3times so that i was obliged to complete it without dying.

Playtime: 50 minutes

Rating: A B C D E (81%)

create your own playlist on your blog with Deezer

Finally I succeed in creating a playlist using Deezer

It took me a while to understand how it works and how I could add my playlist to this site but when you understand it's quite easy to do and ...to share

Here are the step in case you would like to make the same

1 ->First you need to create your account at the above mentioned site it's a simple free registration

2 -> After you create your playlist by simple using the search engine to find track and album you're looking for

3 -> finally you copy the full link in the share 'Partager' section that you see on the picture below and in your block add a widget and just use the Html/javascript widget put a Title a short description and copy the embeded code given and that's it


Hope this will help people to do the same at their blogs ;)

Website of the moment

I thaught it would be an interesting idea to share some links, stuffs or infos that could be usefull to all visitors of this place. This message will serve also as an archive for all relevent informations to keep an eyes on. I'm also looking to add a section where I could share my 'music from the moment' where I could simply put author's name and album's name with some short part of dedicated songs like when you go to itunes store...if anybody knows about a blogger gadget to do this i'm interested.

Will certainly add soon a poll gadget to better interact with readers of this page.

date 19/02/10 : Sixth website of the moment   After more than 10 years Quake 1 has still a quite active community but a lot of information are spread all over the net and it's not always that evident to find the right info at the right moment, there has been a solution for quite a while so if you need anything related to Quake1 just pass at Quake terminus , I'm pretty sure you will find the info, site, map, stuff...that you need.


date 24/09/09 : Fifth website of the moment  This one really seems to be the hugest collection according FPS everything is referenced here since the first FPS till now (there is hundreds of them referenced from offical one to even particular addon only available in certain country), everything can't be nearly find here or at least some information, download are also published but sometime it may need a quite bit of time if you want to download it or it can only be linked to torrent system whish are not always erfectly secured...so it's on your own risk so just take a look at 3d Shooter Legends , I'm ptretty sure you will find the addon you never found before.


date 01/06/09 : fourth website of the moment Nothing really exeptionnal but so handfull if you play an offocial game, look for easter eggs or want some perfectly fitting screenshots it's really an ants works and deserve easily some attention Visual Walktrough for the most classic games You wont need it regulary but perhaps like for me on one day it will be very usefull


date 23/04/09 : third website of the moment regarding the previous link to those old FPS games from first generation if you are looking to the game based on the build engine the biggest ressources is certainly Ressources for Total Conversions and Mods page nearly all good thinks from building to playing is here available a must for every fan


date 01/04/09 : second website of the momentHere is an interesting web page oriented to all loved old FPS and related port to make them more playable with actual OS
FPS Ports

date 19/03/09 : first website of the momentI will start with Nem's tools a site dedicated to...tools used for mappers and especially the one usung the valve enginefrom terrain generator to file viewer and compiler there seems to be a quite interesting link of stuff here
Nem's tools


for previous datas : Archive

Uplink extended for Half-Life

***Revisited from a french review I made in 2006***

Title: HL : Uplink extended

Author: MuzzleFlash

Release date: 21 october 2006

Size: 4 566 ko

Number of maps: 3


website: at author's page

download: from author's page

Author's Note:

What is Half-Life: Uplink Extended?Well, it is my personal remake of the original Uplink, also known as the Half-LifeDemo. I did this remake because i really enjoy the original Uplink. First: it is thefirst "Half-Life" i've ever played. Second: I just love the atmosphere and its simplestoryline. Since im a mapper, i always look at other people mapping. In thiscase: Valve's mapping, which is kinda... bad. So i decided to make my own version ofHL: Uplink with interesting looking architecture. Gameplay and entity work is stillpretty much the same. There are a couple of changes here and there. I hope you'reok with that. And trust me, everything is build from scratch by my! So, if you enjoyedthe orginal Uplink, you gotta love my remake. ;-)

Review :

Like it's told this is a revisited version from the first 'official addon that was available with Half-Life (Kind of first demo that was made as a starter for Half_life and was after put back but remains on a HD so that it was added to the second or third official version of Half-Life)... I didn't replay the original uplink before reviewing this one so this review hasn't any aim of compare both releases, it's just what I thaught about.

Design was really enjoyable regarding this first official release from the author, It's really close to the official valve design but with a personnal touch, full of tiny detail, that want's to make this one nearly perfect and with no slowing framerate. You fast get immersed in this small episode with a more than enjoyable design a well as balanced theme, it's a mix between outdoor and indoor, lot's of interconnected trigger event, all in all in a non too linear experience.

Gameplay is also classic with an increasing challenge with some hot spot, mostly all enemies available in Half-Life are here present and puzzle will add what is needed to make this one not turn down as a simple grunt feast...The end is close to the first opus and let a certain doubt about some future follow up

In conclusion: A perfect challenging project that to try to rebuild an extend an original work from valve. MuzzleFlash totally succeed in this quest of the holy graal with a strong, enjoyable experience that will give you a memorable, perhaps a little short, experience.

Playtime: 40 minutes

Rating: A B C D E (88%)