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Showing posts with the label 8.1/10

Chill Ride - Dunkelschwamm

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       Ride off into the perpetual sunset with some chill tunes. There is no time limit, no objectives, no secrets, or any goals other than chilling out.  SCMapDB page Author: Gruntzz Date of release: 2022 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Chill Ride (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | July 1, 2023 | 2198 characters      Chill Ride is what it says on the tin: a chill track, some rides, and a track to ride them upon with great chill.      There's not much to say about this map so I'll make it brief: there's a track with very little detail on it, and cars that are very simple in shape. But those aren't what matters. No, the beauty of the map is in the chill beat, the funky skybox (which is very funky, btw), the fun way the cars just bumpercars around if they crash, and the chill shape of the track which lends to relaxed cruising.      Upon deciding we had seen most of what the map has to offer, we experimented. Jousting in the cars is a ton of fun. I'm no

Bridge the Gap - Dunkelschwamm

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      In this mod conversion we hunt down a button that will raise a bridge so we can cross some sort of divide, a crevasse if you will. The download includes the original mod and a 2.0 rework with massive visual changes but very little difference in gameplay. SCMapDB page Original map author: UrbaNebula Conversion author: Mikk Date of original mod release: 2020 Date of final Sven Map release: 2021 Maps in package: 2 Map review of Bridge the Gap (originally posted on SCMapDB)  by dunkelschwamm | May 21, 2023 | 3085 characters      Bridge the Gap and Bridge the Gap 2.0 are a couple of walkthrough maps which do the same thing in very different flavors. Bridge the Gap 2.0 is a fairly standard Black Mesa themed map, with many environments easily paralleled with chapters from Half-Life, giving it a homogenous and forgettable appearance though very nicely executed. The original, by comparison, looks like some really bizarre interesting N64 port with a style I feel like I haven'

Gauss Lab - Dunkelschwamm

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      Use the gauss gun to jump around the level, avoiding obstacles and toxic goo. This map is apparently an unfinished part of another map, but it feels fairly complete and self-contained as it is. SCMapDB page Author: Keen Date of release: 2007 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Shopping Centre (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | April 3, 2023 | 3656 characters      Gausslab is a beta of a puzzle map seemingly abandoned by Keen. It features some very functional, and at times very lovely brushwork with some sickly green lighting (to be fair, much of the map is lit by green goo).      The conceit is simple: use a gauss gun to launch around solving platforming puzzles. To that end, it works! There's a lot of platforming bits I enjoy with many platforms above green goo which reward just about any way the player approaches as long as they can pull off any light-precision gauss jump. There were some timing bits that were really clever, like one which has playe

Kani Gyosen - Dunkelschwamm

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       Kani Gyosen is Japanese for "Crab fishing boat" and true to the title, in this map players will fish for crabs. Since this is based on Half-Life the crabs in question are all headcrabs. SCMapDB page Author: takedeppo.50cal Date of final release: 2020 Maps in package: 1 Map review of Kani Gyosen (originally posted on SCMapDB) by dunkelschwamm | March 20, 2022 | 3006 characters      Kani Gyosen is another great chill map from takedeppo.50cal. This time the focus of the map is on capturing headcrabs at the bottom of the sea using spears and reeling lines. Over the course of five "days" the ocean becomes increasingly inhospitable, escalating the stakes with bullsquids, sharks, alien controllers, and eventually armed pirates and helicopters. To defend yourself, you are armed with a machinegun of some sort which can fire underwater. Throughout it all, however, never lose sight of catching crabs!      To catch crabs, players can jump from their boat into the water (