reviewed by VeNgEaNcE
Funhouse is
the eleventh map from level design veteran Peter
Manson. Peter's levels are a bit of a mixed bunch.
Some of them are large, clearly themed maps which
tend to concentrate more on the gaming
environment, (such as his superb last release,
Plateau) whilst others are small levels, which
focus more on gimmicks. Fun House is unfortuanly
the latter. In his readme file, Peter describes
the level as a "simple map, for messing
around" which is absolutly dead on. As we
shall soon see, Fun House is fun for a while, but
the gimmicks soon wear off.
Fun House is a symetrical, arena styled map which
centers mainly on a building in the middle of the
level, which seems to be the Fun House of the
title. At the base of the fun house are four
tunnels which suck players in and blow them out
again at the top. To the sides of the house are
familiar Peter Manson style launch pads which
help the player to get around much quicker.
Architecture is nothing spectacular, especially
when we look at some of Peter's previous levels.
The fun house itself is well built, the large
arches on the roof are a nice touch which stops
the level seeming plain. Lighting isn't bad, but
again, it is nothing specacular, however the
level is well lit and it is easy to find your way
around. Texturing is well done and holds the
overall look of the map together. I understand
choice of title for the map, but I think the
level would have greatly improved if he expanded
the level slightly and we actually got to see
more of the interior of the house.
Weapon placement is good and there is plenty of
ammo to go around. More destructive weapons are
placed in harder to reach places and ammo is well
spread out, encouraging flow.
Connectivity and flow are good. The tunnels and
launch pads make the map a lot faster to play and
you never find yourself in a situation where you
have to stop.
R_speeds range from about 200 to a slightly
uncomfortable 900. However with most people
running on high spec machines now (apart from
myself and a few unlucky others) this shouldn't
be too much of a problem.
Fun house isn't a bad level and it's a good
teaser whilst we wait for the next big Peter
Manson release. It uses some interesting tricks
that can be put to use in later levels. The main
problem with Fun House is lastability. This map
can be fun to play at first, but the gimmicks
soon wear off and the map loses its appeal.
Funhouse is worth a look if you want to have a
bit of fun with a few players, but I advise you
to stay with Peter's superior levels, such as
Plateau.
SCORE:
C
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