Operation Archangel 2: Dungeons of Gamorra

Plot

The level begins where Archangel I: The Maze left off. Trem Goltend decided to talk to the Alliance after eluding capture in Mos Eisley. The data tape recovered told about a new weapon, the Black Whirlwind, being developed in a castle on Gamorra. Also, the daughter of Trem, Riia, is being held prisoner there. Rescue Riia, retrieve the Black Whirlwind, make it to the roof, and don't die along the way.

Initial Comments

At first glance, this level is a notable improvement in the Archangel series. The level showed incredible atmosphere, delightful visuals, and excellent new elements. The briefing looked more thought out in this episode than the last one. There are a few minor glitches and errors I noticed, but hey... I'm a reviewer; it's my job. All in all, the author looks to be improving with the series very well.

Level Design

Time for truth or dare. I dare you to come up with another castle inside a game that looks better than this. I think this one has most of them beat, even ones on newer generation platforms. Even the underwater sequence was decked out in an orderly fashion, concluding with a trip up an elevator leading to a cave, another highlight of the level. All in all, this author did an excellent job on the layout and structure of this castle.

Ok, now comes the truth. The truth is that texturing suffers a bit. Don't get me wrong, the textures fit very nicely with the level. In fact, I especially liked the new BMs for the stairs in and around the main room. What lacks is the stitching skills. Most BMs are double-sided in the fact that you can place one on a wall and it will repeat itself without problem. This author failed to realize that fact. Who knows though, maybe it didn't look right or have the same feel to it if the level was stitched properly. Besides, an average player doesn't recognize it right away. I had to really look myself before I found most of them.

Ah... Now for the dare again. I dare you to make it past the puzzles and traps in the level without dying. Pretty hard, isn't it? What! It's not. Well... I guess I'm just out of touch then. Some of the puzzles though were kind of tough to figure out, like the one in the cave. I finally figured it out, but not before an extra long pause; probably longer than I should be admitting... um... forget I said that.

Level Dynamics

Well... I don't know much for the fact of Gamorreans and Imperials working together. I shudder to think what their children might look like. Fortunately for me, I didn't find out in this level. The relationship they shared was a peaceful one with one goal in mind, stop the player from invading the castle. Although the relationship was doomed to fail when one of the Gamorreans 'accidentally' cut a commando in half while trying to kill the player. Ouch... glad I wasn't that guy. Even though placement was good and enemy quantity was near perfect, the quality of help was less to be desired. Heck, the two Dark Troopers at the end didn't even slow me down.

Ammo throughout the entire level was more than adequate. Some might even say it was downright good. However the phrasing, the bottom line is that I was never at max ammo (though I came close at times). This tells me there was enough ammo to fend off the Imperials and Gamorreans while still leave some for the other traps that might have come my way. The new weapon that I came across replaced the beloved Assault Cannon slot. It sported a sleek, narrow design that looked a lot lighter for our hero. It shot the same ammo that the Canon did, only the ammo got spruced up a bit and the sounds got a complete makeover.

Wow. I don't know of much other words. I could think of two, but I don't think they would be appropriate for younger readers (HINT: the first word is 'Holy'). From the elevators to the front door, this level was chalked full of INF. Maybe not as much as other levels, but what was there was quality. I remember the room below the roof shook after the Crow landed. I remember the front doors swung outwards to allow the player to enter. I remember... well, other INF sequences that you shall all find out about in time. Don't' want to spoil the surprises too much.

Level Experience

Well... I shall say that the atmosphere in the level is extraordinarily... how shall I put this... extraordinary. I felt like I was playing inside a real castle that was invaded by men in funny outfits and pig monsters with axes. Everything, save for the stitching mentioned earlier, was top notch quality to bring the realism home.

After taking a trip through some of the spots in Castle Gamorrean, you'll wonder why all authors don't use lighting like this. New torch and chandelier WAXs made the castle all that more believable. Inside, torches only lit within a certain radius and outside, areas were kept dim. There were a couple trouble spots that could have used work I thought, but for the most part, it is a lighting experience I shall treasure always.

Overall Response

Remember the game we had going? Truth and dare, right? Ok... I dare you to play this level and not like it. The new weapon, great atmosphere, and superb architecture should be enough to keep even the veteran Dark Forces player left in tears to see that this level has to end sometime. Hey, I know I was... um... maybe I shouldn't have mentioned that either.

Score

Design - 9.25
Dynamics - 8.5
Experience - 9.5

Total - 90%