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So smooth, so cool, so Soulfly....
The Soulfly Forest - maybe this place just looks like any other ordinary, peaceful, tranquil forest at the dead of night....but is it? Answer: nope! It ain't!
Anything but tranquil for sure, because there can be a lot of action here! This forest is not so big, and thus was created for a load of 2-6 players. This is definitely perfect space for a duel or a 2-on-2 to take place. I think even 8 can fit here, for those of you who live for all-out free-for-alls as UTDM matches! Bots are decent here, although I'm not seeing them traverse through the upper areas all that often. They do manage to make it up the shorter hills and pick up anything they see there, as well as around most of the rest of the map. And did I mention that their fighting style is pretty awesome here, with some z-axis happening from the top to the bottom of some hills? Oh? Not convinced? Then try this map online with a whole host of people and see how it is! After all, this will suit the duel caliber of match the best. This map, for being so small, will be flowing decently for most machines. Maybe not on those on the slower end of things, but that's only 'cause of the terrain. Really, it should still be playable for many. I didn't hear many sounds here, but there's probably a few typical outdoor sounds, and some for when you tread through the shallow pond under one of the small cliffs. A good custom music track - SoulflyIII - was put in to support the eerieness of this atmosphere (and is included in this big ZIP file). It's a great fit because....well, listen to it while you play and your question will be answered. (hah! Some reviewer I am, huh?) Long story short, it fits the atmosphere. The skybox is rather plain, but the darkness of it, and the placement of the full moon, makes this place feel as quiet as it is, and it's done in good fashion.
In terms of the items, some placements can be predictable (that is if you've studied it in other maps before). You can find the Shield Pack on top of one of those tall cliffs, or find Adrenaline pills lined along the hills (yeow, didn't mean to be poetic!). You can also, however, grab some health vials on top of some rocks, and find an assortment of goodies underneath some of the trees. Now let me focus on the more major topics. First, the lighting. The entire land doesn't seem to be fully lit by the moon, but I like the orangeness of this place. That light of orangeness appears to come from those little torch-like lanterns found on some pieces of land, or hanging off of some branches. There are some nice shadows hidden behind the trees or in the sections where the rock cuts off the light from the sky, though. Nice stuff there IMO! Now, the texturing. Well, basically, there ain't much to say here. Just about the entire place is made of rock and dirt. Simple enough? You might even find bits of grass in one or two spots throughout this whole map. And I also mentioned that there was a small pond somewhere - I like the way it moves around. All in all the textures are nicely aligned. And the placement of the tree meshes in many places here (especially with the hanging branches) makes for a good addition to this dark, tranquil theme. Then there's the architecture, which is probably the strongest point in the whole map. Really, everywhere you look you'll see lots of complex architecture, as it is all terrain usage making up the rocks, cliffs and hills surrounding you. I really like how that played out, because you know that you'll have to maneuver a lot in order to get some good kills or avoid oncoming enemy fire! And that's basically also what the map strategy is here - rely on the layout of the land to help you avoid getting killed, and use the land to your advantage when you frag from either above or below. And be sure to have a powerful weapon and some Shield Pack/extra health protection handy! Or if all else fails, hide behind some trees while you catch your breath....but be careful or else you'll catch a flying rocket - right down your throat!
Overall this is a great effort, and those who like small areas with a respectable amount of fighting space will like this one. You can visit the website of the author, Alkazex, by clicking on here.
Bottom Line: This is definitely a map that'll attract those who are into good terrain work or love to duel it out....or both. In any case, download it!
Score: 6.0
Average User Score: 5.2 (4 scores)
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Xelios
Score: 5.0
Another bland offering.
That's my two cents worth. Now it's time to play some more Morrowind
2003-08-31 19:34:06
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MelvinB
Score: 5.5
Terrible lightning (orange light from a white moon? >_0), basic terrain and also a basic gameplay. Not really a keeper.
2003-08-31 06:05:31
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Homeslice
Oh, you're welcome. :-)
2003-08-30 09:06:25
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Alkazex
thanks for review and comments.
2003-08-30 08:02:40
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SkaarjMaster
Score: 6.0
I liked the custom music track, open terrain map with lots of stuff to hide behind for ambushing. I didn't really find too much to deduct for this map and it was a little better than a standard terrain map. It would have been nice to have the orange not washout and better lighting, but the gameplay was a little better than generic terrain maps.
2003-08-29 08:26:41
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Thunderstrike
Score: 4.5
Another generic terrain map with no real character and lego static mesh work. Those orange lights really seem to wash out the level and the colour works against the greens of the trees and terrain textures. Why doesn't there seem to be any light coming from that huge moon in the sky? This one gains two extra half points from me; one for not having any stretched textures on the terrain and one for not using teleports or jump pads to cover up flow issues. At least it flows ok, it just needs some character...
2003-08-29 05:59:37
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