Capture the flag, by 
Crystal Clear
This is the first level of DarkSonic in a very long time, and the first review of my hands in a very long time. I’d like to review one of my old pal’s levels again, so let’s start with this one, Crystal Clear, which I beta-tested. Hold on.
EYECANDY: 1.75 out of 2.5
Let’s begin with the visionary things. DarkSonic used the Mezmerize tileset, which is – as he says in his comment – a bit overused, but that doesn’t really bother to me. I don’t really like the tileset at all (I’m more of the natural type) but that’s not a fault of DarkSonic so I wouldn’t lower my rating for this. The eyecandy in this level is decent, and combined with the diamond-like music file, it breathes out a nice atmosphere which I like. Most of the tile placement is neat, however the background could have been better, I would have used the blue one instead of the green one. Now the contrast between the background and the wall near the base is too low.
AMMO: 2.0 out of 2.5
DarkSonic did, in my opinion, very decent ammo placement in this level. The single ammo is placed in many forms, also is Fast Fire located at some places. The level has one Full NRG carrot in the lower side of the level, which involves the bottom of the map in the gameplay. The three Powerups are chosen as kind of usual (Toaster, Bouncie and Seeker) although they are all placed inside sucker tubes, which adds some originality to the map. The Toaster and Bouncie can only be reached by weapons, the Seeker also by sidekick (it’s in the top of the level)
LEVEL STRUCTURE: 1.25 out of 2.0
The structure contains the biggest problems of the level. Most of the time DarkSonic picks a symmetrical layout for his level. In this one he used a semi-symmetrical layout but his formerly squared-off style is still visible at some places, however he improved a lot. The walkways however are sometimes a bit too narrow and combined with sometimes hard to see objects it can be frustrating to move around quickly. The sucker tubes to leave the bases are the only way out and can be used for camping. A part I really dislike are the blocks below the bases which are one-ways. The structure is not bad, but could be much better.
GAMEPLAY: 2.0 out of 3.0
The gameplay of this level varies from point to point. In some ways it’s funny to play this level, mostly thanks to the good ammo placement and the – as above said – excellent choice of music. The eyecandy can be annoying a bit at frist but when you get used to it it’s not that bad. A thing that kills a perfect experience of gameplay is the somewhat annoying structure, which takes away a big part of the flow.
RATINGS:
This comeback level of DarkSonic is perhaps not as good as it should be, but it’s really not bad at all, and I expect better things to see in the future. For the next time you could use a more open structure and, perhaps, a better tileset? For now, a 7.0.
Score: 1.75+2.0+1.25+2.0 = 7.0
Download: Yeah, it’s kinda funny.
Host: Not really, perhaps a single time.
Greetings,
- ChippieBW
