Arctic Escape - Dunkelschwamm

  

    Arctic Escape is Arctic in that the hallway players are in is snow themed, and the escape bit comes from the end level trigger being in a helicopter. There is little opposition on the way to the end.

SCMapDB page

Author: Rodhy

Date of final release: 2021

Maps in package: 1

Map review of Arctic Escape

(originally posted on SCMapDB)

by dunkelschwamm | May 30, 2022 | 3172 characters

    Arctic Escape is a map by Rodhy (and he won't let you forget it) which has a very old-school vibe to it. It's a linear action map, where the player moves setpiece to setpiece along a road. That may sound a bit dull, but when you combine it with heavy equipment and ammo it can be pretty fun. Unfortunately, the enemies barely escalate to a degree that they match the players' readiness, making the map a flash of action which burns out very quickly.

    As mentioned, the players are given tons of weapons and ammo right away with very generous respawn rates on the items given. I love this, and think more maps should do this. It immediately endeared us to the map. However, as also stated above, the action never really rose to meet the surplus given to the players. Near the end, we were ambushed by dozens of vortigaunts and some alien controllers and it felt like a joke cleaning them up with our high explosives. At the end of the map we faced off against Tor and immediately annihilated him. Aside from a joke troll insta-kill pit half-way through the map, I didn't take damage through this map until the very final battle. There were only two of us playing. In short, this map is very easy to the point of being kind of a joke. That said, the action isn't unfun per se, it's just over very, very quickly as a result of how much power the players wield over the pitiful enemies, and is at worst disappointing at key moments.

    That said, I think the key to Arctic Escape is its setpieces. Players run along the road from outpost to outpost, gaining sniper positions, or fortified position, or pressing a button to blow open a door to the next battle. There's this cute stuff through most of the map, and it never has more than the complexity of an N64 game, but I love it for what it is anyway.

    The map is, unfortunately, a bit like an N64 game in looks as well. Allegedly natural areas are Wolf3d levels of blocky, and the map detail in the outposts reminds me of early Doom mods. There's a clear style to it, amateurish though it may be, and I think with a bit more time, polish, and skill there's a vision in there that's begging to be realized. As it is, I'll say that the map refrains from getting boring despite the tundra environment. Each outpost is very different from the last, and even the path inbetween never felt like a tedious chore to walk. It's kind of impressive how nondistracting such poor renderings ended up being.

    Overall, I think this map is a way-too-easy action map. If you want a power fantasy wherein your enemies are totally powerless to stop you, plug this in with a friend. If you have it on a server, understand that it will be over quickly.

Pros:

• The fast respawn rates on weapons and items and the great surplus of equipment was very appreciated
• Each location has character and is distinct
• There's nonstop action all the way through

Cons:

• The map is way too easy
• The map is pretty poorly rendered

Score: 6 / 10