Central Bunker - Dunkelschwamm

  


    We descend into the eponymous bunker and fight aliens and soldiers in our quest to turn off the power. The map is nice enough but there is a supposedly better remake that exists which sort of makes this version obsolete.

SCMapDB page

Author: Max Helbig

Date of release: 2005

Maps in package: 1

Map review of Central Bunker

(originally posted on SCMapDB)

by dunkelschwamm | July 23, 2023 | 2426 characters

    Central Bunker is an action map starring so great brushwork, some really neat action setpieces, some decent HEV, and no ammo or weapons. That's a gross overstatement, of course: the player starts with a crowbar and pistol, and soon in gets a revolver. I found two uzis in a secret, and beyond that our arsenal didn't expand until near the end. There's also one big crate of ammo, but beyond that there is almost no ammo to speak of that the player can actually use. There's shotgun ammo, but I never found a shotgun.

    After being spawn attacked, players storm a bunker. Looking back, the things that stand out to me are: some fun firefights with grunts, some less stellar fights with over-healthed boss aliens, and it's overall pretty straight forward. We opened lots of shortcuts moving forward, but it felt like a lot of just moving from room to room clearing it with our limited ammo. There were also a ton of turrets early on, which I was happy to move away from. I enjoyed fighting snipers and shock troopers, because that sometimes came with weapons which in turn meant free ammo.

    There's a fun puzzle where you switch off the electricity to a powered rail, un-electrifying some water and opening a shortcut to spawn. Eventually you find a portal to another world with four crystals you have to destroy, which was a neat gimmick. Unfortunately you must do this in a somewhat cramped corridor with a garg. Taking out the crystals unveils an RPG to take out the garg and win. This takes some doing, but thankfully if you double back you can get ammo to whittle the garg down.

    Overall, Central Bunker is a very pretty map that, if you don't mind having to trek around a lot for ammo, you might enjoy! I found it a bit frustrating due to the weapon selection and limited ammo. Perhaps having more players will make the most of having no ammo on reserve.

Pros:

  • Really lovely looking
  • Normal enemies aren't too tanky usually
  • Simple, effective overall action idea
  • Cool visual at the end
  • Good HEV distribution

Cons:

  • Bad ammo distribution
  • Enemies in spawn
  • Map overall feels a bit unfocused and meandering
  • Bad overall arsenal. The biggest saving grace weapon was a secret
  • Groan-worthy use of turrets

Score: 6.1 / 10

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