Invasion

Author(s): Jason Muhs

Plot
Let's see how much we can tear apart the established history of Dark Forces, shall we?

In the new era of the Dark Trooper, an Imperial base on the remote planet of Ancestor 10 has stood out in the development of this super stormtrooper. This base went undetected for several years, until a rebel shipment was mistaken for Imperial cargo and escorted in. The pilot managed to escape with information, but before the Rebellion could mount an offensive, young Captain Kyle Katarn smashed the rebel base from which the attack was to come. But when Katarn returned to Ancestor 10, he found the base in rebel hands and was taken prisoner. He was sentenced to work in a manufacturing facility on Endor, but through hard work won parole. While in a bar with his parole officer, he was shot in the back by Imperials who couldn't recognize him. With new determination, Katarn joined the Rebellion's elite squad, and vowed to return to Ancestor 10 to find a copy of the plans of the base.

Review
Did any of that make sense to you? I had to read it through several times before I understood what the author was trying to get at. It makes no sense whatsoever how the Dark Trooper era could come before Katarn left Imperial service, or why the author should have changed Kyle's past history. And is it just me, or did the Rebels already take Ancestor 10 in the beginning of this story? And why would Kyle bother to retrieve plans of the base after he'd already infiltrated it and killed everyone inside? Why not just blow the place to smithereens?

This image shows you one of the more inventive rooms in this level.
I've emphasized time and again that a good plot is key to a good level, and this level is built on shaky ground. The design isn't much better than the story, which should be expected. I'd estimate about 10 or 15 textures make up the entire level. And the whole thing is set up with roughly the same lighting; interior, exterior it makes no difference. You get tired of looking at the same thing over and over. The author also seems to have decided not to take the time to look over his level before releasing it. Lots of textures don't fit correctly, mostly on the doors. It makes me sad to walk through such a poor quality job.

I did find one aspect of the level amusing. In his text file the author claims that this level is hard. Hard? Is a level hard when you're given almost every weapon, including the Dark Trooper rifle near the beginning? Is it considered hard to face dozens of stormtroopers, but be able to launch a single missle through the door to take them all out in one fell swoop? Is it hard to need to face three Phase 3 Dark Troopers? Not when the author has kindly confined them in small rooms, where you can face them one at a time and pick them off with whatever weapon you want. Or just chuck thermal detonators through the door that's so small they can't get out. I don't find it incredibly hard to take out a dozen trandoshans who are contained in an alcove far above the ground, where they can't fire at me, and can't escape the missile I send at them. The only way this level might be hard was if you went through with your fists.

Overall
50%The author notes that he couldn't use any testers for his level, because school was approaching too quickly. It also seems that he didn't go through the level himself. The errors are numerous, but there is good news. If you still have the common sense you were born with, you won't have to run through this one.

Tech Specs
Level(s) replaced: SECBASE
Difficulty Settings: No
New BMs: No
New FMEs: No
New WAXs: No
New 3DOs: No
New VOCs: No
New GMDs: No
New LFDs: No
Base: New level from scratch
Editor(s) used: DFUSE
Known Bugs: None.
Download Invasion. (invasion.zip, 127k)


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These pages originally created and maintained by Geoffrey Elliott, c. 1997.
Last Updated February 13, 2004