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Map review of Garg
by dunkelschwamm | May 15, 2022 | 2365 characters
Garg is a map which I think really embodies a lot of the attitude of Goldsrc and Source mappers: it's a simple idea executed in a strange and interesting way with a bunch of side-content for those who are looking for a little more.
The conceit is simple: In a small patch of land surrounded by sheer cliff faces, a small outpost is harassed by a Gargantua! With some minor exploration, the players can easily become equipped to kill it. After the garg dies, it respawns to be killed again using the cleverly acquired arsenal all around the map. After killing the garg 3 times we presumed the gargs to be respawning and didn't continue fighting them, instead opting to avoid them or lure them into corners where they would have a hard time navigating themselves back naturally.
The brushwork is totally amateurish, but it works fine. At times the mapping reminded me of desert environments in build engine games early on, with the angles very accentuated by the map's design. The whole thing is very unnatural and confusing in its construction, to the point that I checked out of trying to make any sense of the outpost and the story being told around it being attacked, which made it hard to want to indulge exploration. I mean, everything in the exploration just feels like discovering more bland, purposeless corridor or cliff face. Early on you get the means to destroy the garg, so your goal is satisfied- what spurs the curiosity to explore? Once players do explore, what is their reward? Just some enemies spawn in and maybe you get a few new weapons which are only effective against those enemies. Whatever.
If you're looking for a map where you kill a garg repeatedly, Garg is for you. Early on you get the means to do so, and there's an interesting little arena built around him. It's not very pretty, and the extra stuff feels very superfluous, and it gets old fast, but that's what it is.
Pros:
- Kill a garg many times with lotsa weapons
- Lots of exploration
Cons:
- Ugly mapping
- Boring exploration
- Most choices in the map design feel uninspired or strange
Review originally from https://scmapreviews.blogspot.com/2022/05/garg-dunkelschwamm.html
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