The Hall Of Fame

Map Name: Anarchy (GMDM1)
Author: Micheal Hopley (Gollum)
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Reviewed by: Vengeance

Michael Hopley (Gollum) states "The guiding principle of my map design is fun". With Anarchy, he paid less attention aesthetics and has concentrated on the more important elements of a level. Fun.

What it lacks in style, it easily makes up for in gameplay and ingenuity. Too many maps these days can be termed "style over substance" and when Anarchy was released, it was a refreshing change. Anarchy is a brilliant example of what risk incentive can add to a level. The collapsible wooden floors keep the player moving and eliminate those evil spawns of Satan. Campers.
The bigger guns are guarded by clever traps and hazards which trigger another of those great gaming dilemmas. Decision making. Should I risk crossing that weak, wooden bridge, grab the gluon and start kicking ass. Or should I leave it alone and keep going. Brilliant :) It's infuriating when the player isn't given a choice of what to do in a game and the best guns just in the middle of the corridor you're running though, eliminating the risk.

Connectivity and gameflow are spot on. You'll need to do some clever gauss jumping to dominate this map. The visual aspects of the map are nothing to get excited about, but they still do the level justice. There's some nice subtle coloured lighting, texturing is very professionally done. The architecture is the weak point of the level, but Gollum has obviously realized what many mappers haven't. Why the hell spend hours on little details and fancy architecture when your players are running round too fast to notice any of it. And Anarchy is certainly a very fast paced map.

Anarchy is a brilliant example of a map which isn't obsessed with it's looks, but when you get to know her, you'll realize what a fun gal she is </crap analogy>

Download it and have fun :)

S.W.

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