Fabricate Diem Punc

RSS Reviews
9

The Lost Mission

Mod review

Overall Lost Mission is good solid expansion, shorter and with bit less content than RoE. Levels are themed wit design of Doom3 maps like: Enpro Reactor, Mars City Underground but with less operating machinery, Delta labs with extra layer of red paint, Hell with little mix of ancient Mars ruins. It's based on action, understood how D3 guns and demons works and put them in good combination. Combat encounters are well balanced, You will shoot a lot, feel powerful, but game will not overwhelm You with too many demons at once. Story is simple, but that is good. There is less PDA mails and audio logs so player is not constantly diverted from first person view.

Pros:
- action, gun fights, well balanced different demons encounter rate and weapon pickup progress

- minimal use of UAC PDA mails and audio logs

- lightning, it feels as dark as in original D3, but for most time You know and see well where to go and what to pick up

- level design and layout in big scale, how rooms and corridors are connected, fast flow of action,

- hell levels looks awesome, they fit D3 design, they look original

Cons:
- level design in small scale, rooms feel as they were copy and paste from original D3 with bit different textures and without small props and details, some rooms feel very empty and lack details, lack small geometry like pipes on walls, machinery, boxes, broken stuff, small props, items, (except last two levels that took place in hell)

- only one simple grabber puzzle, I wish there were more places and more ways to use it in combat

- last boss "Guardian" is reused, his attack patterns are ok, but I would personally suggest to use different model - maybe Kenneth Scott birdman demon

- once there was nice designed place with additional green light and sign on wall that there is heath station, but for other health stations they are placed on random walls without those details,

- add two security drones to room with NPC in Exis labs

- add two security drones to space marine squad at ending animation (rescue team at end of D3 use them)

- I would love to see this mod improved with new final boss model and more details put into few places in maps

- I would also love to see more mods like this, well balanced, focused on combat, with similar amount of maps, and theme that You are someone else in UAC base

10

Doom 3: Phobos

Mod review

I have played it and I have finished it :)
Definitely Phobos is greatest mod for Doom 3.
It deserve much more praise for what it achieve and for hard work of team who create it. I am still waiting for Episode 3. Phobos is not another single map that gives You every gun in arsenal or reuse every scripted event You have seen in original D3. It extends D3 reality with different factions and characters, You are no longer doom guy, You have different goals and problems.

Pros, great things that made Phobos stand out:
- Sam voice lines, his character - I definitely would love to hear more of his toughs on different stuff, situation, puzzles
- new enemies - great models, design that fits D3 and they have cool abilities
- weapon pickup progress - You do not get all guns from level one, You get stronger guns later and met stronger demons later
- different puzzles - some use D3 GUI system, some are based on switches and key items
- better pistol/shotgun/smg/chaingun - better sound, fire rate, ammo count balance, shotgun model
- more aggressive imps, interesting and challenging combat scenarios (with right weapon pickup progress) that allow for basic imps and zombie soldiers to be dangerous
- level design, big and small details, new textures, new item decorations, layout, item placement
- audio, music, ambience
- no PDA and many spam mails, pointless audio logs - story related mails are on different computers screens in different rooms
- backstory sections, different locations, idea that we play as not doom guy
- improved health stations - 1hp injections are better than 10hp, You have better control
- short radio transmissions when You are near dead marines bodies (there should be more places when You could inspect them, think what they were doing there, hear Sam voice)
- no demon introduction animations that took action from player, I do not like them in D3 and I'm happy that Phobos do not have them too
- lighting - it feels as dark as in Doom3 (eventually bit less dark) but most time You have enough light to see where to go and see important stuff
- big rooms to fight many demons - rather being locked in single room You sometimes enter sections of rooms/corridors and demons slowly hunt You, first some zscec, than zombies comes from near rooms, than another zsecs and imps are attracted to player

cons or just small stuff I would love to see improved:
- when You end episode one I wish that episode two start automatically
- I find chainsaw too much over powered, maybe add limited ammo / fuel / battery for it that regenerate very slowly (it is just my taste, so it is nothing important)
- add UAC PDA as decoration item that You do not pick up, when You need to check who was that dead guy, or need to unlock door, add PDAs with broken screens just as decoration, same for sprint boost injections
- make puzzles based on Grabber gun - I do not find any places where I would find it more beneficial to grab and toss props stuff on zombies rather than shooting them. Now there is only one gameplay mechanic for it - grabbing imps fireballs. You can make corridors blocked by boxes that grabber could remove, put items in places only grabber could grab or make machinery that produce energy balls that player could pickup to use in combat or to activate other machinery - like in RoE first boss fight or in one puzzle from Lost Mission
- no working mirror in toilets - I would love to see mirror surface to see how player model look, even more I think it would be cool if mirror was broken (or very dirty) and only small shards of it would be reflective
- radar computer screen in hospital brain scanner room - I think it would be better to add there some more biological brain scan stuff, like one that play just at start of Mars City when payer marine is scanned, looped animation
- no Sam voice line after pick up radio - I think that getting that radio is very important and there should be some voice line that UAC PDA's are tracked by UAC, while this device should provide safe communication - something like "nobody at marine security will be mad if I borrow this little gadget"
- it was hard to exit tram cart after begin of hell invasion - add voice line like "I should jump out" or add some emergency door open button.

10

False Dawn

Mod review

I was waiting for this mod for a very long time and now when it's released it's great. I want to give it 9/10 for some of my reasons, but it wouldn't be right so I give it 10/10.

Yes, in some parts map could have better lighting, some areas feel too dark. Some actually look good in dark (start area, dark-blue cpu area and air filtration darkness part), while other ones could benefit for better lighting for floor so I could know better where to go.

There could be more secrets, I find just a few similar to those from Q4 like stuff hidden under the stairs or behind boxes. I wish to see buttons that open walls or walls that can be pushed like in classic Q2.

I also miss material effect for different surface when they were shoot in Q4 like interferences on the screens, smoke from pipes and electric discharge on machines - I believe it would require additional layer of work on every part of map.

I love level design, it's giant, remind be a bit Q2 style. It have lot of replay value, usually I do not back to levels I finish - this one I will revisit a lot. Three objectives can be done in any order and each one make rest harder (last one will be hard as hell at the end), small parts of map changes. Levels got good amount of exploring, fighting Stroggs and solving puzzles, in few parts there's some platform jumping (but not too much so do not worry). Gameplay got good diverse, sometimes You will fight bigger bad-*** Stroggs but do not worry there is always some place to manoeuvring and strafing.
One thing in design I miss are Strogg red flags they use them in Q2 and Q4 to decorate their installations - it was part of their culture. Also start area could have small haze effect on pipe part that was cut off, dripping drops from pipe and small used torch.

As for plot I won't write anything to not spoil it, all I can say - it's awesome and it made my jaw drop on floor when I finish False Dawn. Now I'm left with feeling of expectation for more - what is very good feeling :)

9

Endarchy

Mod review

Awesome action packed mod with 3 new maps in different dark setting from vanilla D3 Mars base, game got many backtracking elements and exploring is worth. Also new achievement system is something very interesting increasing chance for another replay.

10

Doom III

Game review
1

Daikatana

Game review
6

Unreal II

Game review