 |
| Those
Imperials work fast! They've converted Tak Base to their own
uses. | There have been lots of reworks on
the idea of stealing the Death Star plans, so it's somewhat refreshing to
see that somebody has tried to retool Tak Base. It's always been one of my
favorite levels, largely due to its dark mood, and that it's one level
where you don't have to blast your way through it. So when I saw the name
"stealth", I was excited.
The level failed to live up to my expectations. I was hoping to find
another level with lots of small buildings and corridors to duck in and
out of and pick off the Imps one at a time. But this level doesn't work by
the name. It's not a bad level; on the contrary, I really enjoyed it. The
puzzles are difficult, almost too tough, and there are lots of bad guys to
deal with, thanks to several generators. There's also a lot of new things
and ideas incorporated here. But it doesn't have the same feel to it.
I was also a little disappointed with the author's interpretation of
the level. By which I mean the way he constructed it. In the original
version, there were buildings blown apart, dead corpses lying everywhere,
and the base had the feel that it had just been subjected to an Imperial
attack. This level has a few corpses, but everything works and there are
no gaping holes, or craters. There aren't any blast marks around. It makes
the level feel a little sterile. A few new or revitalized old textures in
the right places would have added a lot. It's possible that because the
Imperials have been around a week that they've managed to repair it all,
but in the abscence of the Constructor Droids of Coruscant and considering
the amount of damage that taking a Rebel base would require(note Hoth), it
seems a little far-fetched. |
Don't
misunderstand me: I really enjoyed this level. It made me think a lot, and
stumped me in several places. Even if you were to resort to cheating I
don't think the level would prove easy. But it lacks any distinguishing
qualities, and I think it fails to take advantage of several opportunites
the story has provided it. But it's still fun, and that's what really
matters.
