Songs of the Damned

Gameplay
Another action packed level, which remains enjoyable from start to finish. Lots of enemies to fight against in this one at a controlled pace keeping a smooth flow. The surrounds are rather small at first with some smalls fights here and there, but once entering into the large outdoors many demons await. Many Imps are used throughout as long range snipers, throwing their fireballs everywhere you run causing you to keep on those toes without getting hit in the back, especially when in combat. They can be a pain, but easily avoided or shot down with the decent supply of ammo and health about. Large variety of enemies lurk, which keeps battles a little more consistant and different each time, plenty of small horde traps and some nice secrets to look out for. Main gameplay is the typical key and switch hunts, however the main twist is getting out of the large exterior locations and getting back to the area needed for the red key. Flow is down well and getting lost shouldn’t been too much of a problem, however possible. Good pace of giving weapons to the player, while others have to be obtained by different means, lots of armour and health bonus pickups around so the level of difficulty should also be consistant and fair.

Design
Detailed and varied colour usage in a decent manner. The structure throughout the map is great, keeping things tidy and looking good. Lots of columns, and other such details added to the walls of buildings while the varied colour usage in texturing keeps consistant. This helps add some variety and mood to the level, and prevents the visuals from looking too dul, so there’s no problem in that area, and the new textures fit perfectly fine. Being large exteriors, they’re never empty with a well constructed and realistic looking rocks surrounding these areas where certain enemies lurk. The player will enter different types of areas, but all consistantly linked together via elevators and teleporters. No complaints in the design of the map, since a majority of it was beautifully made, and looked very top notch. Only very few texture errors are visable, and the sprite decorations don’t get in the player’s way, almost at all.

Conclusion
Enjoyable, action packed map with great, varied design and balanced gameplay.

Overall Rating: 90%
Port Required: ZDoom

Author: Trevor Primmett
Download: Here