Ok, it played it...
Firstly, its worth mentioning that i only got to level three. This is because of the lack of ammo that they was in the level. However, in order the rate this properly i have to review each level.
Level 1:
I started level 1 with great anticipation because i really liked the demo level. The player seemed to start from the end of a corridor but there was no door so i was a bit of a strange place to start.
I went around the level expecting to scared by either the sounds or the enemies and darkness. However, there was nothing of the sort and although i usually like slow starts and i can see why you did it, for an FPSC game was stock media it was a bit of a disappointment. I was surprised when i saw the F18 in that hanger but i couldn't work out why it was there so i was a little pointless. However, my anticipation hadn't really worn off so i continued to level 2...
Level 2:
The level opening was good; the zombie on the zombie is something i've used too and it was nice to see something vaguely scary at at last we had some dark spot where you were afraid to venture for fear of what lurked in them.
Eventully, i reached the first enemy. For a game that boasted about being scary, the first enemy wasn't especially well introduced; it didn't make me jump, it wasn't lying down pretending to be dead and it was lurking in the shadows. Infact, it was at the end of a corridor that allowed you to see it straight away; not very scary.
The rest of the level consiisted of more unscary encounters with the same HL2 zombie and, to my disapointment, no Doom or F.e.a.r sound effects. There were also i few level problems as well, such as in one part, you hadn't built the floor beneath some stairs so the skybox was visible. Also, in the little alcove with a circular window (next to the health pack), you had forgetten the roof!
I eventually hit a dead-end and heard the "report back to marine HQ" sound. This was good, and original since i don't think i've played an FPSC game where you double back on yourself. It was also nice to see some respawned enemies on the way back, however most of them were in the same place as their predecessors so you knew when to expect them.
I reached the end of level three with 3 bullets in my colt and 6 in my python....
Level 3:
It started back in the hanger with the F18 but as soon as the level began, so too did the lag. It went down to about 4-6fps i think and was very difficult. The zombies in the corridor just after the hanger ran towards me as the level began but got stuck in a wall. this opened the automatic so i knew there were enemies there. As a walked foward (at 5fps), i heard the next doom 2 sound effect. A good choice, i must say. However, i was attacked by the two zombies in the corridor and wasted my 5 python bullets and a colt bullet on killing the one who came after me (the other one was too far way to see me).
"Argh!" I thought, "only 2 bullets left?" I saw a branch on the main gantry and followed it...an Armoury! I'm saved! Hail Natflash! However, after spending a bullet breaking the window and crawling in i found known of the weapons could be picked up, so i was screwed. I came out of that room and decided to peg it around as much of the level as i could.
I ran past the zombies, each one drawing around 80 Hp from me as a scrambled past and eventually i got back to the shooting range room. AMMO! I ran over, picked up and turned round to see my HP was at about 70 and two zombies were attacking me. I died.
I was respawn at the start of the level, where a met a zombie i had ran past and a respawned zombie. I had no ammo at all so i jumped off the gantry and landed in a bunch of hurt zones that killed me.
In my third attempt, i respawned but i seemed to be attacked straight away by an invisible zombie/hurt zone. I died before i ever got out of the hanger.
Conclusion:
Though this game had hype and in some places it was chilling, i wasn't ever scary as such and the lack of ammo proved disasterous. Alot of the levels were just corridors and there wasn't really any interesting architecture. the first two levels played well enough bit the third suffered from terrible lag which made gaming almost impossible and took away the scare too. The enemies weren't scary and never "played dead" and the level was somewhat too linear for my liking. For this, i can award this game
6/10. As you said, it was only a BETA but i hope the BETA is better next time.
(beat that Uman, 874 words)
AE
