"Dusk Storm"

dstorm.wad

Author(s):

Michael "Bloodskull" Cole

Year of release:

2005

Map(s):

01

Engine:

ZDoom (Limit removing)

Date of review:

08/08/2005

Overall rating:

This map is a sad example, how a mapper with great mapping talent ruins his own work by making it unplayable.
First you think "Wow! Great looking map!" The amount of detail is really stunning, all things in this map are carefully worked out. It's an optical masterpiece.
But then, you find yourself locked up with a Supershotgun only and like 100 monsters on a very small room. Hordes of Imps, Zombies, Demons and Hellknights keep spawning in and even with the Megasphere you've got no chance at all to beat this crap. It's also very funny to fight against Zombies and a Hellknight first, with the shotgun, and then an Archvile appears in the room. Ha, ha. (I played this map on skill 3, then 2, btw., but the author didn't even care to implement different skill settings...)
What's a map good for, if it's looking great but is unplayable? Is Doom sight-seeing or fragging fun?
There's also a severe bug in it: there's a SSG lying on a teleporter which brings you into said small area. However, if you enter the teleporter from the wrong side, you're teleported, but the lowering walls aren't triggered -> no monsters will spawn and no switch will be revealed, so you're trapped.
This map is 100% detail and 0% gameplay -> crap!