Another Unit (Alternate Version) Part 1 - Dunkelschwamm

  

    Another Unit (alternate version) is a remake of the official map Another Unit. Some details have been lost to time, but the authors seem to be different and there is some confusion as to whether it is a remake or a sequel. Personally, it feels like a remake by a player who didn't like the original map.

SCMapDB page

Author: GAMESABA

Date of final release: 2006

Maps in package: 1

Map review of Another Unit (Alternate version) Part 1

(originally posted on SCMapDB)

by dunkelschwamm | April 3, 2022 | 4392 characters

    Another Unit Remake Part 1 is a remake (sequel?) of the map Another Unit. Another Unit was a map by B-Dama which I also reviewed, giving it a very mild score but overall praising its visuals and interesting use of mostly default material. This remake (sequel?) is an almost complete redesign, starting from scratch after the very first setpiece.

    That first setpiece is a pair of dual hallways filled with turrets and barneys, and holographic triggers which spawn robogrunts. The battle is fine, and has an interesting use of pushable crates. One place where this remake succeeds over the original is giving the players much more substantiative areas to duck into for cover from turrets, allowing players to make risky advances, drawing fire and allowing other players to get attacks in. The player who uses themselves as bait usually gets first dibs to pickups. That's a lot of the best turret gameplay in Sven, and Another Unit Remake takes an interesting segment from the first map and uses that gameplay to polish it right up. These additional spots are no slouches either- at the end of the halls one offers grenades right before they'll become very necessary, an anther offers a health and HEV refill.

    The rest of the map takes place inside of what reads to me as a science university where Black Mesa guards are up to some shady shit. By shotgun blasting your way through the back hallways, quad, dormitories, filing cabinet-obstructed doorways, you make your way to a "To be continued…" marker at the end of the map.

    I feel like this map's combat is somehow perfectly balanced. Despite the map's dismal trickling of weaponry (the medkit is basically the last weapon you find, you don't get a melee weapon until pretty deep in, you spend most of the map heavily reliant on your shotgun) every fight feels balanced around what the map expects you to have. My teammate and I were blasting our way through each room, fighting Barneys and robogrunts and eventually aliens.

    It's worth mentioning that at the end of the map there's a window that must be broken to progress. By this point the players have opened up a lot of the map, and it's made up of lots of winding corridors and areas accessible only by broken window- so by the end, when there's only one somewhat secluded window the players have to notice among the sea of what's already there… we got stuck for a bit, is what I'm saying. It was fuckin' annoying for me, but it's also the only part of the map that significantly annoyed me. I remember saying "Man, this map was really fantastic up until this point," and the fact that the map ends right after this part that really threw us for a loop threatened to leave us on a sour note. However, I think I recognize it's a pretty minor issue, and the fact that "Man, this map was really fantastic up until this point," is to say "Man, this map was really fantastic up until the end," is quite a commendation of the map's gameplay.

    While the map looks great and plays great, it also is pretty bland to look at throughout. The environment is rendered beautifully, but all of the new areas feel very Black Mesa and do little to stand out. There's a bit with some cute little acquariums in the walls, but besides that the most visually interesting area is the introductory scene which is most faithfully recreated from the original Another Unit.

    If you are looking for a fun action map to play with a friend, Another Unit Remake Part 1 is just fine, if a bit vanilla in flavor. The action is fast and tense and focused due to the simple weapon layout. If you're looking for an action map for your server rotation, Another Unit Remake Part 1 would make a great addition.

Pros:

• I think I liked every fight fight in this.
• Everything looks good.
• Pacing is great, and most of the time the levels lead you to new areas
• There are a great many different types of areas within this map- it is very efficient but varied

Cons:

• Most of the new mapping is kinda boring Black Mesa faire in style.
• The way to go got progressively less signposted throughout. It started slow, but right at the end we were pretty lost looking for where to proceed.

Score: 8.8 / 10