Reviews - The Shadow Over Innsmouth Mod for Half-Life 2: Episode Two

Oct 7th, 2012 3 people agree 1 person doesn't
This review may contain spoilers

Lazy custom animations, nonsensical plotline and weapons, and nothign to tell you where to go.

Horrid mapping, even open spots where your'e able to get stuck, and the ending not only made no sense, but doesn't tell you your'e finished.

Apr 2nd, 2013 0 people agree 0 people don't

I loved this for its potential. The actual gameplay is lacking unfortunately. The mod is Lovecraft as rendered via Half-Life 2. It is deeply familiar experience to Half-Life 2 fans yet set within the setting of Innsmouth. It is about what you would expect from a fan mod including the limitations that sometimes arise with such projects.

The short story this mod is based upon is a favorite of mine. Having the game set in the fishing town of Innsmouth is enough to garner a few points for the score immediately. This mod features new textures, new models, and three new maps. The maps tend to be shorter which is okay given the somewhat bittersweet quality of this release. I did not notice any new sounds which is a problem as immersion is hampered. Lovecraftian fiends should not be uttering combine and HL2 zombie noises. Another problem is the maps themselves. There are clipping/boundary issues as well as design issues. The pacing is unsatisfactory in that it feels as though enemies were just dropped into places after the fact.

If you can accept this project as a Lovecraft fan-produced mod for Half-Life 2 and not a professional commercial game, there is a lot to admire and applaud here. I recommend it.. Just do not expect a modern Dark Corners of the Earth game or a "pure" Lovecraft journey.

Oct 22nd, 2012 0 people agree 1 person doesn't

Great MOD!!

Oct 15th, 2012 0 people agree 0 people don't

AS a fan of Lovecraft and having played many games/mods based on his tales... I have to say. this made me rage quit. the fact that almost nothing about audio was changed is down right lax. I mean, who doesn't think villigers should sound not unlike combine? Hell, I know I loved being pulled out of the atmosphere for that screetch of a fast zombie from HL2. Or HEY! How about the fact that when the townsfolk DO manage to land a smack or two, you hear a ******* STUN BATON?! Great Job. Kudos.
The character models for the most part were nice... for the most part. Your ahh, how should I put this... zippers are showing on your scooby doo monster.
I can't help but feel that all you've managed to do here is simply **** me off. The platforming was either a joke or just down right annoying. Framerate issues abound... and I can play S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Complete 2012 on full like butter... So no, it's not me.
This entire "Game" felt as though it was a mear rip off of Dark Corners chase scenes. And then you just vomited up some platforming and a few boxes for me to stack like a monkey.
Kudos to the skins artists on this one, and that's it.
Lovecraftians, stay away unless you want to play " The Shadow over Innsmouth, Featuring Gordan Freeman and his merry band of extras."

P.s.
What in the **** was the point in mapping the "crouch" button in the single most hand cramping, pain indusing, **** me off my palm hurt place?! I know I can change it. ( And honestly just played with the FPS kicker on my MERC keyboard ) But DUDE, even then, the alt button was uncomfortable next to "A"

Oct 14th, 2012 0 people agree 0 people don't

I´m giving it 7 and not less because it seems you have made all content for it. Otherwise it´d be worth a 5. The theme is cool and there are some blinks of good design. But overall feels very very rushed. Lighting is awful and layout is linear-noobish-like. HL2 stock sounds really break the inmersion and there´s barely any fun to have here.

Still, kudos for designing all models and textures. Some of them are great (like the fish and octopus statues).

Sep 22nd, 2012 1 person agrees 1 person doesn't

To me, this a perfect example of a mod that could be really good, but fell short of it. To start off, None of the sounds are original nor are the icons for the weapons.

I'm also disappointed by how easily mess-ups and glitches are found (like the boat in Harbor, you can easily jump on it and walk to the chimney.).

However it does have nice textures, and the monster models are interesting. I'll be glad to re-rate and re-review when you've had an overhall of the sounds, maps and borders.

Sep 16th, 2012 0 people agree 2 people don't

Looked great but had to give you a low rating because this thing is impossible to install

Sep 4th, 2012 0 people agree 0 people don't

Not bad. This is obviously an art mod. And all the textures and models are new, but nothing else. Weapons, GUI, and sounds are essentially the same. There really is no story or anything like that but it's kind of interesting to look at for a while. Very large mod package and laggy because all of it is crammed into 3 large and detailed maps.

Aug 15th, 2012 0 people agree 2 people don't

I'm going to state that what i'm about to say is not to be taken in offence it is mearly constructive critisism.
Texture: The textures are nice 9/10
Map: The maps are a bit rough around the edges and have way to many invisible walls 6/10
Audio: The sounds were all hl and unmodified which really lessened the experience 3/10
Difficulty and replay ability: the overall difficulty is really easy, except for when the map contruction was hindering you 4/10
Enemy creativity: the enemies where just redone hl2 enemies, but they looked nice 3/10
Camera/Cutscenes: the camera was buggy when it was forced to move for enemy appearences and I couldn't watch the end cause it spawned me back at the lighthouse 3/10
Lighting: there was no atmoshpheric lighting most of the time, 2/10
Story: it really needs some 2/10
Overall: 4.28/10
Could be a lot better with some more work.

Aug 10th, 2012 1 person agrees 1 person doesn't

Ha it was good all the way through.. its hard to come by a mod that has no sign of the original content while here. well you got rid of 'Most of it' there are still things that can be fixed like uhh the NPCs models. they flip out after i kill them. and also the diversity of the Innmouth folk i killed the same man so many times. and the voices should also be fixed too. but besides that this mod gets my support in going on. i hope you can make a more polished one by the time its done.