An add-on for KINGPIN the famous FPS. With a real scenario and many cutscenes. With a lot of new materials, textures, dialogs and original musics. With puzzles, platforms and intense fights. So, everything we can expect for Kingpin You're hired for a short mission. Apparently not too difficult. But things won't unfold as expected...
Very good level design but it's just a bunch of mazes with way too many useless cutscenes with terrible voice acting. The gameplay is very frustating, you rarely find health when you've just fought a bunch of armed thugs with a shotgun with low health. This is nothing like the orignal Kingpin. I couldn't bother to finish even with a walkthrough. Do not recommend at all unless you just want to look at beautiful levels.
Rather disappointing. Impressive detailing and architecture are the best things about this campaign. On the other hand gameplay is frustrating and extremely unintuitive (just see how long it will take you until you end up searching for YT walktrough), ladings are extremely common (I guess this is an unfortunate consequence of the level of detail they went for here), cutscenes are way too many and way to cheesy. Shame.
Biggest pros:
-The layout and design of the levels are amazing. The most detailed mod ever to be released on Kingpin.
-The pace of the gameplay is fine tuned. You start with next to nothing, and it actually feels like you're working towards better inventory. Unlike the original single player, your advancement is not rushed.
Biggest cons:
-The story is lackluster, and the voice acting is barely audible. Even though there are plenty of cutscenes, a better story and audio would have benefit it.
-A few puzzles are too challenging without a walkthrough. Due to the dated engine, it's extremely difficult to figure out a few on your own.
After playing every SP Kingpin map pack and mod I could get my hands on, I have to Say Nightwork at the Factory is without a doubt the most ambitious and highly detailed of anything I have ever seen on this aging engine.
The story itself is rather lackluster with odd cutscenes sprinkled here and there, with laughably bad an nearly inaudible dialogue, but where NATF shines is the sheer attention to detail.
It's no wonder this took 10 years to bring to completion, as every level, right down to the cobblestone on the sidewalk, the cracks in the ceiling, the peeling plaster on the walls, everything is so articulate, I was floored by how this was accomplished on a such an old engine. I have barely seen HL and even HL2 mods with this level of detail!
That being said, the levels themselves can chug, even on modern settings, and it's a miracle these levels even run on the game at all.
But detail aside, how is the gameplay?
It's actually quite methodical and much slower then the Kingpin we know and love. Most of the tiem you are merely armed with a crowbar and a pistol, with a shotgun appearing midway and most heavy ordnance coming in at the end. Most initial encounters with enemies are best avoided with stealth and quick running and thinking instead of ham-handed bravado.
This may turn off fans of Kingpin, but what may turn off other palyers is the maze-like levels that require many keys to progress, or a keen and perceptive eye to navigate some dead-ends. Many times I would backtrack and retrace my steps, only to spot a vent or some obstacles I needed to jump over to reach a ledge. Due to the large vertical nature of some of the levels, looking up, around and observing nooks and crannies are your best bet to proceed forward, although I myself needed to follow a walkthrough for some of the harder sections.
These puzzles obviously hurt my enjoyment, but not enough to refrain from recommending this to others itching for more Kingpin. Due to the level of detail, this may as well be Kingpin 2, it certainly felt longer then the actual game it is built on.
Give this a gander sometime, even if you give it a pass halfway through, the level design will sure as hell floor you and it's one hell of a project to cap a legacy as the last SP Kingpin mod to ever be made :)