ROCH is a series spanning multiple individual releases best known for Pascal’s distinctive urban design. This personal style soon found its way to influence others within the mapping communities, imitating and adapting these inspirations into their own works. ROCH became a cornerstone point of reference for well crafted city themed levels going forward. Even so, everyone had to start somewhere in their mapping careers and despite series fame, even its premier has a few rough edges.
First part in a series, establishing itself as this massive urban playground where every progressive milestone is conquered by peeling away at individual layers that help fortify an alien infested city. Players will be working their way around the island’s outskirts, fighting through heavily guarded streets and leaping over rooftops, before towering over Woudrichem itself to contemplate their journey made to reach that point.
You take on the role of a successful writer who is struggling to complete their latest work. In an effort to regain inspiration your publisher rents out a country house to relax and write with renewed invigoration. During the long drive a hurried radio announcement talks about an unknown atmospheric phenomena reported around the area. Just after broadcasting this warning, a fierce lightning bolt strikes and causes you to swerve into the river.
It’s a late night and the Aliens have headed out to do some last minute Christmas shopping by occupying a shopping department named Queen’s Mall to grab the best deals in town all for themselves – everything is free for the taking! Duke has caught onto their plans as he usually does, loads up his pistol, slips into a pair of high heel boots and makes his way over to save the holidays one more time.
On a cold evening during the Christmas season, amidst an assortment of colourful festivities decorating the snow veiled cityscape, Duke stares upon a burning wreckage of his trusty postal van seconds before an assault from green runts dash onto the scene. Time to clean up this mess, hit the sack and be ready for an early shift tomorrow.
Responding to a distress signal Duke arrives to find a space station that has become under siege by an alien threat. Not only must this nuisance be dealt with, his secondary goal falls under mechanic duties to repair and refuel one of the shuttles to escape with once his job is complete. Now if only the five pieces required to solve that problem weren’t conveniently scattered across the station.
MIASMA is a non-linear beast of a level that features several vicious encounters scattered along its many paths diverting from the central hub. Choosing which direction to take first could be best described as picking your poison, not knowing what dangers might be lurking ahead.
“Welcome to our domain, Nukem”. The NAKED DASH is a surreal and dangerous office complex built by aliens for entertainment purposes, filled with deadly traps and daring obstacle courses. If Duke wishes to survive and escape this nightmare he must first conquer this gauntlet of wits and puzzle solving.
Having survived the initial blast, Duke continues towards the epicentre of the disaster located right under a local venue named, “The Kompleks” too seek out and destroy an alien doomsday device causing these disastrous earthquakes. There isn’t much time left until the weapon finishes recharging for a second more devastating blast, all while a constant assault is sent after Duke by their mysterious leader Froyd Eenakee.
In recent years I’ve always had the intention to give TAW another fresh coat of paint and fix several concerns I’ve had regarding how I currently perceive the site itself nowadays and its functionality, but never got around to doing that. With renewed interest in writing reviews having sincerely missed doing them, I finally sat down and got to work and here is the result. Read on for more details on the intentions behind this update and other thoughts.