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GMD Verdict  

Review of Crisis at Ice Station 8
"Bright, Annoying, Buggy, and just plain ODD..."
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Map Name   Crisis at Ice Station 8 (icestation8.bsp)
Map Version   12/03/99
Map Author   Darkhawk
Download   icestation8.zip (1.9mb)
 
Reviewer   Saig
Reviewed on   Tue May 29 11:48:44 2001

When I first saw this map a while back, the name of it, I thought "Hey great, someone made a snowy level!" and got all excited and what not. Yea, then I played it, and I still see large white rectangles (permenantly printed in my vision).

Layout? The whole map is a frickin' chokepoint. Just two bases, one around the corner from the other. Humans can sit in their base all day, 2 stories up, and pick hatchlings off by the dozen. It is easy to see dark hatchlings when they are put against a surface such as white snow, in case you didnt know. Apparently the map author didnt think of this. APPARENTLY he didnt know that Humans have a long-range advantage over Spiders. ALSO, he must have not known that Hatchlings were DARK, and blend in with the DARKNESS...that of which this level has NONE! JESUS, its all hitting me of just how bad this map is.

Oh yes, then theres the extra eye candy and the gimmicks. Hmm, ok, when you think of eye candy, you think of something that sits in the level, doesnt hurt or affect you, and just makes the level look a bit nicer...right? Ok, take the waterfall in this level. Serves no purpose, just a regular piece of eye candy, but the author has managed to turn it into a fucking DEATHTRAP. The waterfall flows into a nice little pool. Youd think you could get out, but NO. If you are any class that has less-than-standard jumping ability, consider yourself SCREWED. Enjoy the torment as Grunts spray your Stalker and laugh their ass off while you struggle to get out. Or, sit there silently as a Mech, and wait for the swarm of Hatchlings jumping on top of you to finally break you in half. Not satisified? Then play around with the nice gimmicks. A "laser heating" system is implemented in this map. Turn it on, 4 lasers pop out of the ground outside and heat up the surroundings, making it possible to walk outside without getting 2 hit points of your life knocked off every second. The idea, Ill admit, sounds somewhat promising, but it was done so pathetically in this map I dont want to talk about it anymore.

How about the elevator? You know how Gloom coders/modelers noted to NOT PUT ELEVATORS IN MAPS right? Well, this map has an elevator. An evil elevator. An elevator that crushes your fresh spawned Stalker in seconds flat. Ive seen this bastard crush 2 Guardians, a Stalker, a Mech, and a Stinger ALL AT ONCE. That elevator is something not of this world. But the laser drill in the basement is a whole other story. Use it once, it blows a neat-looking (really) ice tunnel in the wall. Then you can go through the tunnel as an alternate source to the outside playing area....provided some FUCKED UP MORON doesnt turn on the laser WHILE YOURE STILL IN THE TUNNEL, resulting in a fresh spray of gibs and blood from your now-dead Exterminator. Fucking LOVELY I tell you.

R_speeds, an main issue of mapping for about everyone, was not really an issue here I guess. I only hope to god the author didnt split the faces of a large wall by making that ice tunnel. I started this review with hopes of keeping it easy on this map, but it turned into something worse. Sorry about that (although some of you probably get satisfaction from seeing me go through this). Anyway, final note: The map sucks, but the theme is a good idea, but it was executed horribly. There are revisions, but they ended up making the map even worse. Good lord...


User comments:
/me hands Saig some valium - StRyKeR
Thanks - Saig
Make a "Better than Icestation" map Saig. Call it "Snowcone Station". - Norfenstein
Believe it or not, my next map will take place in a snowy setting. - Saig-2
Hell I admit Ice Station was bad. With some more planning I dare say I coul... - Xiane [more]
Heh, recently I was a stalker in this map and got trapped with another s... - Krybosis [more]
snowse has snow !.3!@ - Ranger

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Average rating for Crisis at Ice Station 8: 3.2/10

Rate-O-Map™

Total: 40 ratings
 
Textures
Cube Cube

Comment: As implied by the name of the map, there are ice/snow textures in this map. Unfortunately, they make the map look like a giant cardboard box painted white. The texturing in the each base is pretty decent, provided the snow textures havent melted away your corneas.

Layout
Cube

Comment: The layout is actually pretty different from other Gloom maps, but that doesnt mean its good. If there is a proper way to play this map, Id like to know. Then again, Ill never download it again to play it, so nevermind.

Creativity
Cube Cube Cube Cube

Comment: Hey, its the only Gloom map out there with a snowy theme. Ive have to give the author credit for at least attempting to make a convincing snow level (at which he failed miserably).

Overall
Cube Cube

Comment: Even though Im giving this map 2 cubes, those cubes come soley from the creativity department.
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