Critak Moon: The Imperial Outpost

DESCRIPTION

Immediately before his capture and transportation to Orinackra, Crix Madine inscribed information to a computer card. The data contained technical statistics about the Dark Troopers' weapons and attack strategies. This information is vital to the Alliance, because it shows the weaknesses and strengths of the Dark Troopers and will help our fighters immensely in first-person combat with these machines.

You retrieved the card from Madine at a secret meeting. However, the Imperials, suspicious of the secretive activities of Madine, raided the remote base where you met with Madine. While he was taken to the high-security Detention Center on the planet Orinackra, you and Jan were taken to the Imperial Outpost on Critak Moon, in the Delar System. This remote moon is controlled by the outpost, which, while not high security, is a powerful computing station.

Your objectives are as follows: Once you break out of your cell, using a mine that your dead cell guard has so thought- fully provided, you must take the card from the decoding lab before it is hacked, for its use would be lost if the Imperials find out how much we know about the Dark Trooper. Then you must rescue Jan from her cell, after finding the controls to shut off the power cell door locks. Finally you must get to the hangar, where your ship awaits for your escape. Good luck, and may the Force be with you.

PLOT

This plot fits in to the storyline of the original DF plot, which is something you don't see often. I like this aspect of the plot, you can really imagine it actually being one of the original df missions. Apart from this the mission objectives aren't anything amazingly original, but that's not really a problem as they are credible.

The textcrawl for the level is odd, as it is told in the second person rather than third person (i.e. 'you are' instead of 'he is'). All Star Wars textcrawls are in the third person. It didn't bother me, and unless the player is an absolute fanatic I don't think he/she will mind either. The briefing screen is quite different to the typical df briefing screen, however it is done quite well and so does not detract from the feeling of authenticity already established by the plot.

LEVEL ARCHITECTURE

You start off in a small cell with a landmine beside you. Already you face a dilemma. One corner of the cell is a rocky outcropping which is totally out of place. Opposite this is a door. You are only supplied with one mine. First time I played this level I went for the rocky area (why else would it be there?) I was wrong, and so I was stuck. With no way of killing myself (no weapons) I had to restart, well actually I just LANTFH'ed out. But one should not have to EVER use cheats in custom missions.

As I walk around a bit I notice more of these odd rocky outcroppings. These look totally out of place in an Imperial installation. It is a pity, as the rest of the architecture is pretty well done. Some of the initial corridors are a bit too rectangular for my liking. Nothing wrong with sticking in a few beams, arches etc. Having said that the texturing is very suitable. Your typical imperial base, which is just what we want. There's a nice little map screen on one of the walls in the detention area showing that your cell has been breached, this is a nice little touch.

As I progress throughout the base the architecture gradually gets nicer - more complex. Some of the computer rooms are remarkable. The outdoor areas are nicely crafted with natural looking rock formations, and deadly pitfalls. Lighting throughout the level is fairly well done, quite atmospheric.

LEVEL INTERACTION

The music, which is taken from TIE FIGHTER is very suitable. It definately adds to the level atmosphere. Some of the puzzles are nice. Pretty basic, but quite challenging - shooting switches around corners, running like hell before the the door closes...that type of thing. There are some areas in this level where you are forced to forsake a lot of health/shields. The very start of the level for instance, detonating a mine in a small cell. Later on you are required to plummet down a gorge and forsake about 50 health units. It is unusual to find these hazards, as usually Kyle is supplied with routes that are realtively safe.

There is a nice little twist as the level progresses and you are forced to deviate from your mission objectives a little. I won't give it away, but watch out for it. Some of this level is just about running back and forward across the base hitting switches, not really knowing why or what they do. This does get a small bit tedious, and it's not that realistic - a door being activated by a switch in a completly different area.

Another large problem, that I thought had been fixed in the revised version is that the mission is not complete when it should be. Once you get the card, get Jan and get to your ship you expect to see 'mission objectives complete' in the upper left of the screen, but alas it does not. You hit F1 and check your mission objectives. Apparently you still have you get to your ship. I had this problem in the old verion as well. I eventually got the mission complete message in a secret sector! This time I get it afer a leave the Crow and head back inside. I don't know if it's a delay or a mistake in the inf, but I hung around the ship for a good bit of time waiting for the message.

OBJECTS

One strange thing about this level is the lack of dark troopers. I mean, you'd expect some seeing as the level is set within the df timeline. This is not a complaint as such. It's just that so many addon levels feature dark troopers which really SHOULDN'T be there, whether they are set before or after df. Some authors just throw them in for no reason. I expected some in this level. The author really set himself up with a situation in which a few dark troopers would have added to the level.

Apart from this the level is full of enemies. Just your typical imperial job - commandos, stormtroopers, officers, the occasional TIE pilot, and a couple of grans in the cells. I played this level on MEDIUM and found it quite tough - just the sheer volume of enemies, and lack of any half decent weapons. There is the occasional health pickup, and enough shields to keep you going, just. I suppose that one has to expect an imperial outpost to have a fair few imperials in residence, but I think that the author could have toned it down. I mean higher difficulty setting doesn't necessarily mean more enemies. It can mean tougher enemies, i.e. dark troopers. On the plus side, enemy placement wasn't sloppy for the most part, and I was glad to see no sign of Boba Fett or and Gamorrean guards. The author kept it strictly imperial.

BEST FEATURE

Good architecture throughout (apart from the occasional indoor rock formation)

WORST FEATURE

A lot of guesswork and running back and forth. Occasionally becomes too straining on the ol' trigger finger.

SCORE: 81

Not the greatest level ever, but by not very far off. A very good, standard imperial level - like a cross between Secbase and Detention center. Nicely put together. Very nice architecture, excellent texturing. Definitely worth playing.