Dean McCullough |
Posted on 09/09/07 @ 08:03 AM
Playability: 3
This scenario is quite chaotic---and it makes the scenario. While it's not really a great challenge or tricky, it requires alot of attention to figuring out where your troops are and focusing them all to attack on the right units. You've got 2 gates to defend with your city, and you've got your cents and compies (and a few mercs) sprawled around the city. While at first the scenario seemed overtly complex and difficult, the second time around I was able to figure out what I should do to win... Mostly a matter of finding the catapults before they came to my walls, and smacking them down quick. After this, it was nice touch that the author didn't have me blow over EVERY unit on the map---all I had to do was blot out a tower to win. A nice change from other FFs, which require me to hunt down every dammed unit. Overall, a fairly fun scenario---mostly due to the chaos.
Balance: 2.8
Not nearly as hard as it should be. And considering that it's a very simple scenario, this can't quite go excused. At first this seems overly difficult, due to the fact that your troops are sprawled around the city and you can't quite get a hold of them all, but after losing once I got back up and found that this was somewhat easily won by charging the catapults with cents when they came. After that, it was just pure troop management, and wholla, I won with ease. The cats are the only REAL threat to a city with a ridiculous amount of defences, so when it comes down to it, they're all you need to get rid of. So in the end, while this scenario isn't a walk in the park, it doesn't quite live up to the author's thoughts on it and just doesn't have enough to it.
Creativity: 2.7
The gameplay is mostly good becuase it follows a unique idea---a late middle ages scenario being depicted by a B.C. game. This has been done, but this is the first of thus far. That earns it props mostly from me the. The gameplay is pure troop management---fairly common stuff, the story is just a decent jumble with some ridiuclous nonsense thrown in, and the map is setup in a fairly run-of-the-mill way, but does work well. In the end, this isn't too different than most defence FFs, but the unique setting and chaotic gameplay give it a flavor of its own.
Map Design: 3
All too typical for 1998, mostly decent nonetheless. There's a few gaia trees and dirt paths splodged here and there, but it's really not too different than most. The map doesn't really eccentuate the gameplay in any way really, but it makes it work nonetheless. Decent stuff.
Story/Instructions: 2.5
Gives all that it needs on quite a low level, but does so very clearly in an orderly fashion. The story is riddled with a goofy fast food reference, the hint is very handy, and there's an aftermath. It gives what it needs, and I mostly gave it props because it was done so very clearly.
Additional Comments: This one is alright, and certainly could have been loads better if the author found a way to make it more difficult... While it has a nice start, in the end it's all too simple and really isn't worth downloading.
[Edited on 01/01/08 @ 07:54 PM]
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