BattleCastle

  • Rating: 3.5

Reviews and comments

    Stijn 27 Jan 2007, 12:10 (edited 27 Jan 07, 12:10 by Fl@$h aka BlewMeUp)

    4Not recommended:

    Batalla Castillo (which I find a way cooler name than “Castle Battle”, but perhaps that’s because I just like the Spanish language) is a battle level using the Castle 1 tileset which is, contrary to what the author claims, fairly small.

    It is evident that Rodrigo does not have much experience in level creating. This is not bad – my first levels weren’t much better – but well, it shows. The level is cluttered with red springs in every direction, which makes navigating the level quite a challenge. There are a few other things that appear in virtually every novice level: the giant supply of powerups, grouped together in one place; the large cloud of fairly useless (freezer) ammo; an underwater area that goes nowhere; warps to other parts of the level; and obviously the airboard. All those are quite nice when used adequately, however when they are all in the same level it doesn’t really work.

    The level has no “flow”, paths often end in destruct scenery or dead ends, so a battle game in this level won’t be much fun. Good battle levels allow you to keep moving continuously, without bumping into walls or obstacles every so often. The ammo should be placed sparingly, in groups of maybe 5 pickups. Power-ups have to be even harder to get, and certainly not all in the same place. Air boards shouldn’t be used when a level is as small as this one; you need large, open areas for them, without springs at the sides that bump you around. Trigger scenery in multiplayer does not really work well in this game mode, and is even annoying when you are virtually stuck somewhere as long as you haven’t broken the relevant trigger crate. Underwater areas slow you down considerably, and should be avoided unless well-designed – a simple square filled with freezer ammo does not invite the player to place himself in a vulnerable position by submerging himself. Especially not when there’s a chance he will miss the water level event and end up floating in the void at the bottom of the level ;)

    The eyecandy isn’t outstanding, but does the job. There are no obvious tile bugs, but apart from that it’s pretty basic. You should try to make the level look interesting, by making platforms and ceilings less flat, by using the brown stones as background scenery, et cetera. Try to make it look alive, like a real castle. Or don’t make it look like a castla at all. Be original; original eyecandy is something that is usually greatly rewarded when done rightly.

    All in all this is not very bad for a first level, but it is a first level, and suffers from many common novice mistakes. I can not recommend downloading or playing this level, but keep on trying, Rodrigo, and eventually you’ll get better :)

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