Reviews - Cahir

Chernobyl Terrorist Attack is definitely a budget game. Everything from the plot to the graphics to the voice acting screams budget. That said, I did enjoy it, and the AI seems to be smarter than most people credit. Enemies flank, use grenades (although not to much effect), don't always pop up from the same bit of cover, and I've even seen them retreating back to the next encounter at times. I'd probably even rate them above the AI in games like CoD or Battlefield.

The graphics, in general, would have looked spectacular in 2004 and okay in 2005. The models actually aren't too bad, but the textures are really low resolution and repeated. It's not as good looking as IM, Overdose, Overgrowth or any number of indie games, but it's not horrible to look at. Just remember to turn motion blur off.

The game's short, the plot basic, the voice acting amusingly bad and the gameplay pretty generic. Still I enjoyed the game, liked the fact that the protagonist wasn't American and like the fact that nearby explosions blur vision and smoke actually obscures your view and sticks around for a while. Normally I'd have rated it 6/10, but the game was made by just seven people, is self funded and was probably made in a couple of years, or thereabouts, with the developers probably also taking work outside of the game (their old website stated that they were available for such work), so I'm going to bump it up to a seven.

TL:DR - I enjoyed the game and don't regret spending $10 AU on it. Some of the criticisms leveled at it are probably unjust, or perhaps may simply be because of different experiences. Try the demo and, if you like it, be sure to buy the game!

First off, Project Lumoria has brilliant level design. While still a linear shooter, Lumoria does offer you several paths that you can take to flank the Covenant and it has some very epic battles. One of my favourite pieces of design is when you come out of the Forerunner tunnels and are confronted by Covenant in the high ground, with a couple of turrets trained on the door. The "Oh ****!" moment was just fantastic, and it added a certain tactical element to the game, with the Covenant positions actually looking like they've been planned by some sort of commander, rather than just placed randomly. Actually, all the Covenant positions seem to have been strategically placed, which often makes progress slow and difficult (at least for a noob like me :P).

The animation in Lumoria is also good for a mod. It's on about the same level as the original game, although most characters do seem to run a little stiffly, and the Pelican takes its sweet time getting away at the end of the level, but it's important to remember that the mod is just that, a mod. It's not some major blockbuster game, and it's made by hobbyists. So, despite not having the best animations of all time, Lumoria still does pretty well.

Unfortunately, my next point is the voice acting and, as anyone who has read the comments on the mod knows, the voice acting is bad. I have no problem with the accents (although I'm not a big fan of the sergeant's British accent), but there's just no emotion in them.

The story isn't too bad, but it feels hard to connect to the characters because of the voice acting and there is almost no character development. It would also help to actually be told about the situation before you get dropped in. I also have some issues with the characterisation of May (I don't see any SPARTAN acting the way she does), and the plot is fairly typical of the Halo canon (OMG Forerunner artefact that could destroy humanity).

Level Design: 10/10

Animation: 7/10

Voice Acting: 4/10

Story: 6/10