Retrohunt - Dunkelschwamm

 

    This map is not just Duck Hunt, it also has a Frogger section as well. Snipe aliens out of the air on one side of the map and dodge fast cars in another.

SCMapDB page

Author: LentoMan

Date of release: 2004

Maps in package: 1

Map review of Retrohunt

(originally posted on SCMapDB)

by dunkelschwamm | February 4, 2023 | 2940 characters

    Retrohunt is a map for Sven Co-op which aims to provide two minigames based on classic retro games Duck Hunt and Frogger.

    Players begin in a stylish lobby which is Duck Hunt on one side and Frogger on the other, each with a teleporter leading to their respective game. It's an intuitive lobby and shows right away what kind of attraction you're in for. That said, unaware that Frogger would be the featured game, I took the Frogger environment to possibly be Hogan's Alley, which I consider a more comparable pairing for Duck Hunt.

    The Frogger minigame is a bit chaotic, but not impossible to master. Players must cross four lanes on a VERY high speed street, then jump across floating platforms in death water, to reach one of four switches and toggle it, killing your player character. The cars do not kill the player on contact, but rather move quickly and smash the player against the wall they go through to simulate driving offscreen. I was able to take advantage of this by hugging close to the walls the cars came from and jumping, thereby allowing me to bunnyhop my way to victory. The next part, though, simply required crossing the water while platforms float across, which was easy. Do this four times and the game will congratulate you. It's a cute little setup, and it's neatly brushed out, but gets old fast and requires gibbing your player four times and starting over which makes it inherently repetitive. It didn't work great for me.

    The Duck Hunt game is a bit looser. Go to a shooting range in the style of Duck Hunt (quite well mapped), get supplied with a sniper rifle, and shoot headcrabs and houndeyes like it's skeet shooting as they fly up into the air briefly. This repeats slowly, which gives the impression at times that there won't be another headcrab or houndeye flying up. It feels like an extremely directionless experience, and I didn't really care for it very much. That said, the Duck Hunt environment looks great.

    Overall, I think this map has a tiny bit of charm and a whole bunch of repetitious and half-baked attempts at replicating retro games. I think it majorly accomplishes what it set out to do, but didn't create a map that's worth more than 5 minutes of gameplay for it. Take that as a recommendation as you will.

Pros:

  • The map looks decently brushed
  • Jumping around in the Frogger world was pretty fun
  • Sniping a headcrab out of the air does have some appeal to it
  • I like the exit from the Duck Hunt room

Cons:

  • Aimless, meaningless map which barely poses gameplay to keep a server entertained
  • Duck Hunt is barely stocked with ammo for a larger server, which wouldn't be a problem if it weren't one of the only draws
  • The Frogger minigame demands repetition
Score: 5.2 / 10

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Deluge - Dunkelschwamm

Image
       Deluge is a very atmospheric map made by one of the community's most acclaimed mappers, RNG. This map is very indicative of his style, well detailed moody and oppressive environment, strange monsters, and high levels of interactivity including lots of secrets. SCMapDB page Author: RNG Date of final release: 2014 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Deluge (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 9, 2022 | 4625 characters      Deluge is a map by RNG, which you can assume means it is a quality map. RNG brings style, high-production, and a confusing sense of eldritch nonsense that glues the experience together in a way that makes it feel like something that was summoned from another plane of existence rather than mapped out.      The map is a classic arcade-style keyhunt level. After choosing a difficulty (I suggest going as hard as possible, as with two players it felt easy) you hop into a gritty world that feels like brutalist, industrial architecture made its way
Read more

Zombie Squad - Dunkelschwamm

Image
       Suit up squad, it's time to go fight human grunts that this map calls zombies. This map is a horde map taking place in a burned out urban block, supposedly there are points to capture but I didn't see any. SCMapDB page Author: cyberdaemon Date of release: 2005 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Zombie Squad (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | July 17, 2023 | 2601 characters      Zombie Squad is a well detailed horde map wherein grunts and hwgrunts (and, like, an assassin) swarm the players from every angle. Thankfully, within the details of the ruins are plenty of weapons, and a reasonable smattering of HEV and health pickups.      The description makes it sound like maybe my experience with the map is broken. There were, like, 3 soldiers which looked like zombies in the map. I think far more were meant to be zombies? Also, the MOTD makes it sound like there's some funny control point business, like there's an objective to the map. Far as I can tell a
Read more

Dark Seekers - Dunkelschwamm

Image
       Inspired by 'I am Legend' players fight the eponymous Dark Seekers in an abandoned city. Solve puzzles, find a way to escape, and beware the large amounts of high health enemies! SCMapDB page Authors: Goanna Date of release: 2008 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Dark Seekers (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | January 7, 2024 | 4838 characters      Dark Seekers is a duo of horror maps based loosely on the I Am Legend scenario. In the first map you search buildings to find necessary items to solve puzzles while being harassed by the titular dark seekers- zombies which run and take quite a bit of damage to kill. The second map takes the players through a dark seeker infested subway tunnel, until they surface into a warzone where hostile soldiers battle dark seekers in the streets. Both maps are very different in gameplay tone, but manage to feel appropriate together in atmosphere and theme.      The first map is slow in pace, with players being forced to slow
Read more