Building - GrandmasterJ


        Building is a short jaunt through what seems to be some sort of skyscraper filled with human grunts. It's not too difficult and will be over very fast.

SCMapDB page

Author: Jouko Lehtonen

Date of release: 2003

Maps in package: 1

Map review of Building

(originally posted on SCMapDB)

by GrandmasterJ | May 29, 2023 | 2374 characters

    This is a fairly standard walkthrough map and it takes place in a sort of bland office environment instead of Black Mesa. It played very straightforward with human grunts filling rooms. At first we have pistols but we eventually pistol two heavy weapons grunts down and take their miniguns which made most of the rest of the map much easier. There were shotguns, revolvers, and uzis around but when I ran out of minigun ammo another heavy weapons grunt appeared and I just got another one. I went from pistol to minigun.

    The gameplay is interspersed with sections where we have to press a button to continue. At one point we had to blow up a piece of metallic geometry in a kitchen to open an elevator door. There was a staircase boarded up that I thought was the way forward but I guess not, it can be hard to find where to go sometimes. The map isn't very big so we didn't have much area to search.

    The map looks rough, with very flat texturing on most of it. The lighting is bright and does give the map some dark moody areas but most of it looks a bit washed out. Geometry is blocky and the perfectly made prefabs stand in stark contrast to what the author made. It gets the idea of an office across well, assuming that is what it is supposed to be, and isn't eye searing so I think it looks fine. Plus it isn't another variant on Black Mesa.

    It was real short, we pressed a button and the map ended abruptly. I feel like the minigun breaks the map but I don't really care about that. The map really made the minigun shine and with limited ammo and mobs of soldiers it didn't feel like a total pushover. The map had lots of supplies like ammo and HEV scattered about, players who did not get miniguns can still fight effectively. It is a simple map but it works pretty well. It's quick and simple and felt perfectly balanced for my teammate and I.

Pros:

  • lots of supplies around the map
  • the minigun is a great feature in this map
  • felt well balanced for two players

Cons:

  • map didn't look great
  • it was not obvious we had to destroy the metal shape in the kitchen
  • unsatisfying abrupt ending
  • the minigun makes all the other weapons obsolete
Score: 6 / 10

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