The New Oldstuff Chronicles #5

Although it hasn’t even been 24 hours yet, I just suffered through 16 more levels in the A category. Perhaps I was delusional when I decided to do this again in less than 24 hours, because I’m about ready to bang my head against a table like a retard. Ok peoples, this time I have a lot of crap, so stay tuned.

Adolf: by Steve Rescoe – By the sound of the name, you know this level implies the random killing of nazis, in an evil atmosphere. A lot of killing will commence here, as you walk around and blow away lots of things. Also included, is a really cool skull face texture that appears and then disappears off and on, which is really cool. The downside of this includes some really bad lighting, but I think all the wads today did. You’ll also have the chance to see a replaced caco sprite – I give it a 5 out of 10, meaning it’s average.

Adrenaline: by Michael Fulbright – Not to pretty, but lots of killing, is a good way to describe this map. It takes you on an adventure through box and triangle sectors as you blow away monsters left and right, with more than enough ammo. If killing things gets you in a good mood, then Adrenaline is right up your alley – an average score of 5 out 10.

Afro2: by (ID)ries "Afroman" Hamadi – Ha, ha… well this one is definitely not very bright, especially if you like your levels looking some what decent. Now don’t say to yourself, “Hey man! Game play over graphics!” Because I’ll tell you right now, the game play sucks. Now if you want good ammo and are actually trying this level, maybe because you don’t like my judging, than start off trying to find the very first secret – the one with shells, backpacks, invulnerability spheres, mega-spheres – yeah, it’s an interesting secret for a crappy level. 2.5 out of 10.

Afterind: by Marc J.S. – When I first started this baby up, I was expecting something so great – perhaps the opening detail threw me off, because five minutes later I was swearing at the damn thing. Lots of bugs here and boring game play make a big no-no. Also, if you decide to try it out, you may want to note the obnoxious use of doortracks, or perhaps the many large and empty rooms that could have been made fun – my conclusion is a miserable 3.5 out of 10, sorry Marc, next time you – oh wait… this is almost 7 years old, Marc’s probably all ready in the political party by now.

Again: by Big Tiger – Ugh… if I have to review this, I suppose I will. As it goes, this level takes you through some very annoyingly dark areas when you are expected to blast 3 pain elementals and 2 hell knights. You can also take note that the textures follow no pattern and are often not aligned correctly. The map itself in a whole is very buggy too. There are some tough battles, but who wants to see them? An unfortunate side effect, of the elusive 2.5 out of 10.

Ahaunt: by Thomas Drugg – Remember when I reviewed Abdelaze, the level that I said was really fun? Well it seems that Thomas went into mapper’s block and decided to make one of the most boring levels around. Other than the sleep-inducing game play, the looks of this level are only decent. Some areas look really good while others look really bad. I’m sorry, but I’m forced to give it just under average, as it comes in with a 4.5 out of 10.

Airraid1: by Jimmy 'AirRaid' MacLean – Taking place on levels 15 and 31, are some very nicely detailed maps. I especially dig the windy staircase in the start of level 15 and the spider mastermind battle on map 31, but these levels are far from flawless. At one point in level 15, Jim forces you to walk across incredibly skinny ledges to hit switches, then try to walk across at one point when a cyberdemon is looking at you face to face. There are other game play flaws, but it does a nice job of looking sharp, more so map 31 then map 15, but nevertheless still detailed. I’ll give it above average with a 6.5 out of 10.

Alab: by Cyber Tech – 3 levels and they’re all action packed – well, the third one is at least. There are very unnecessary power-ups in this 3-pack, like the mega sphere in the first level and the soul spheres at the starts of levels 2 and 3. Some weird looking areas are also included, but I think that this deserves a good award, with a 7.5 out of 10, for keeping me purely entertained.

Alas: by Harq – Another 3 level wad, Alas wins the award for today’s new oldstuff chronicles. At first, I thought it was another crapper, because the start of level 1 looks and plays as dull as a butter knife. However, as I progressed, things just got better! There are some seriously cool looking areas in here, just get past the boring start. A classic in my book, winning an 8 out of 10.

Alcatraz: by Palle Mathiasen – Oh boy, we got ourselves a loser. Well, maybe Palle ain’t a loser, but Alcatraz certainly qualifies as certified, grade A bull crap. In fact, it was so bad that I never finished playing it. It’s a long running level, with caged enemies – how it ended, I don’t really want to know – 2 out of 10.

Alien: by Ismaele – I know the author Ismaele and I know that this was one of his older levels he decided to release. It’s decent, filled with traps of all kinds (well, namely crushing ceilings) and I remember when Liam the Bard decided to rank it down into a pit of humiliation. Everything from the detail to the game play is at average level and there’s nothing wrong with the ol’ 5 out of 10 rating, which is why you may want to consider giving it a run if you haven’t already. Remember, it’s map 16 or 17 – I forgot which one…

Alien 2: by Ismaele – Just like the first Alien, this is an average 5 out of 10 rating map. Some things I don’t like are going back and hitting switches again and again to open up doors – this happened in the first Alien too. Well, one thing is a definite – it does NOT deserve a Liam bashing. Remember, it’s map 21.

Allalone: by Doug Merril – Expect a huge blast fest in this fairly detailed map. There are a lot of easy places that you can be slaughtered, so take that into consideration. Not a bad map, but it could’ve been a lot better. A 5 out of 10 rating.

Alldie: by Alex Brown – This is a very annoying level, mostly because I kept getting killed then coming back for more, only to realize how much this map really does a good job of sucking. It’s ugly, it’s no fun, it’s safe to pass up – 3 out of 10.

Alleypak: by Alex P. Swan – Whoa, did I give Alas the award? Maybe I should have made it Alleypack, the wildest 3 levels you’ll ever play! Right from the start, you can see that my three-year-old nephew can draw better sectors! Awesome game play too – walk around the corner as you go one on one with the amazing imp! Kick ass map, 2 out of 10.

Alleys: by Vince Russett – There are many unknown lighting effects in this map – honestly, how come some sectors go from being pitch black to having flickering lights, without the use of any texture or sprite that shows it can project the light? Sounds a lot to me like something I did when I first started editing – oh wait, I take that back – I started off leaving every room at a 192 lighting. Aside from my rambling, this map had some dull fights, but a few cool looking things that stand out in the textures. Not recommended though, 4 out of 10

Ehyup, goes to show one thing - I had no work today and my plans got canceled! HAHAHAHAHAHA - wait, that's not funny...

Heh, not-so-bad reviews, BV! Now you just gotta work out some links so people can download the levels, if they dare...

Nice Reviews

Good work man! Just a suggestion to clarify the layout...it would be nice to put the titles/authors/scores in bold type to be able to quickly scan through the contents.:)

Good idea to give an award to the best wad of The New Oldstuff Cronicles. I'm afraid I have to copy you... ;)

Double post :( The first time btw.