The ISV-Kran
Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2011 4:40 am
I've been playing Unreal SP on and off for the past week, switching between it and Heroes of might and magic 2, UT, Quake 1 and watching Skyrim and BF3 videos while waiting for them to come out.
I just got past Temple of Vandora and the crater into the ISV-kran, and it's really starting to suck me in and remember why I love Unreal.
The ISV-kran is such a different style of level from most of the game. Tight corridors without much room to maneuver, and a long time spent inside traveling ducts and exploring for ammo and the right switch to open stuff, etc. It's similar in concept to what games of the time were (corridor shooters, like Quake 2) but it feels so much better to me. The skaarj being the prominent force (and not the weapon users, the cooler ones), and the fact that they seem to be near unlimited in number, with the eerie background track that's so low in volume, yet enhances the horror mood without downplaying it. Couple that with how easily you can run out of ammo here, and it really makes for a tense experience.
I think one of the reasons I love it so much is because on top of the game being beautiful and the environments worthy of the game's name, it has pacing. While ID always had the feel of gunplay down, Unreal is an amazing example of what good pacing can do for a game. The feel in the kran is a completely different one from most of the game (more like what i was expecting from vortex rikers) and it actually manages to scare me...something even scary games fail at nowadays, at least for me. IMO its much better to have a part of the game in a corridor-style space then the entire game. It gives me something that puts me off, but doesn't detract from the experience because at least I'll know I can get out and it's not the whole game.
Sorry if you guys know this already (which im sure you do), but it just pisses me off that games like Half-Life are infinitely more popular. (Though I do look forward to Black Mesa) I just felt like i had to post something about it :-/
Also, are there any good kran-styled custom levels with a big emphasis on tension?
I just got past Temple of Vandora and the crater into the ISV-kran, and it's really starting to suck me in and remember why I love Unreal.
The ISV-kran is such a different style of level from most of the game. Tight corridors without much room to maneuver, and a long time spent inside traveling ducts and exploring for ammo and the right switch to open stuff, etc. It's similar in concept to what games of the time were (corridor shooters, like Quake 2) but it feels so much better to me. The skaarj being the prominent force (and not the weapon users, the cooler ones), and the fact that they seem to be near unlimited in number, with the eerie background track that's so low in volume, yet enhances the horror mood without downplaying it. Couple that with how easily you can run out of ammo here, and it really makes for a tense experience.
I think one of the reasons I love it so much is because on top of the game being beautiful and the environments worthy of the game's name, it has pacing. While ID always had the feel of gunplay down, Unreal is an amazing example of what good pacing can do for a game. The feel in the kran is a completely different one from most of the game (more like what i was expecting from vortex rikers) and it actually manages to scare me...something even scary games fail at nowadays, at least for me. IMO its much better to have a part of the game in a corridor-style space then the entire game. It gives me something that puts me off, but doesn't detract from the experience because at least I'll know I can get out and it's not the whole game.
Sorry if you guys know this already (which im sure you do), but it just pisses me off that games like Half-Life are infinitely more popular. (Though I do look forward to Black Mesa) I just felt like i had to post something about it :-/
Also, are there any good kran-styled custom levels with a big emphasis on tension?
