SneakyJack on 22/1/2009 at 19:26
Alright, as promised in my last post to Lady Rowena - over the next day or two I will be spending time replaying her excellent fan mission campaign The Seven Sisters.
I guess if you want to be provocative we can title my next couple review/screenshot entries "Three Nights With Seven Sisters". :laff:
The Seven Sisters: Night One:
WARNING: Possible story spoilers ahead in my screenshots - if that kinda thing bothers you, skip the screens and play the mission.
The Seven Sisters is a campaign that thrusts you into the middle of an outbreak that has been causing normal everyday law abiding blackjack bait to rapidly fall into zombified madness. There is a bit of undead involved, but at no point does the mission frustrate you by throwing more than one of them at you at any one time - and this is an excellent mission for those of you who are like me and enjoy only moderate amounts of undead enemies.
You are tasked with many things - one of which is to find the cure and set the citizens free of their foamy mouthed states - the objectives in this mission are very fun gameplay wise and never get taxing on your patience.
The story, texture work, shadow placement and architecture are all top notch - as can be expected from Lady Rowena. Her work is amazing - and one thing I most enjoy is her attention to detail. Upon beginning the first mission and making your way to Basso's place - you come upon a back door to his home... Sounds par for the course right? Well, look down and to your right and you'll see a small plate with a tiny leg of meat set out possibly for a stray animal or some such effect. Little things like that totally breathe life into the atmosphere that fan mission creators are trying for - and little touches like that are abound throughout and completely kept me in the moment throughout this mission. At one point you even walk into a dusty old cellar to hear the sound of a stray cat letting you know that you are not welcome. The truth is in the details, and I really appreciated the little things here and there that told their own story.
The shadow placement in this mission couldn't be more perfect - and if you are someone like me that does not enjoy having your sword (comfort blanket) taken away or "do not kill" objectives - please give this mission a shot anyway. Trust me, you'll have alot of fun. The mission is never frustrating and gives you plenty of opportunities to blackjack your way through the shadows. That being said, this mission is also not a pushover - it will challenge you in all the right ways.
Really, there isnt much more to say about The Seven Sisters that has not already been said.. and it is all positive. This is one of the greatest mission sets ever released - and though I'll be going through all three nights for the sake of this thread.. I've played it many, many times already and encourage you to do so as well.
Night two coming soon.
SneakyJack on 27/1/2009 at 21:15
The Seven Sisters: Night Three by Lady RowenaThis mission really threw me. I figured we'd be spending three evenings in the city following the story of the sisters from beginning to end - but it was not meant to be. Lady Rowena takes us to the woods for the third and final evening, and I'd have to say that this was my least favorite of the three - but saying that it is still an excellent mission in its own right.. just seemed drastically different from the first two and may have benefited from being its own setting and storyline.
That being said, it is still alot of fun - and has a few sections that put the fear into you with some tough enemies. I've grown to fear treebeasts more than hammer haunts after a few recent missions I've played, if that tells you anything. Treebeasts to me are terrifying due to their speed - those things are relentless.
Back to the mission - this one has a ton of very well textured tree house-like settlements that you need to navigate in search of items and profit - and quite a few surprises. Apologies if my screenshots ahead give away a few, but in the spirit of giving an accurate portrayal of the missions I like to take elements from every section. If you do not enjoy forest missions, stop at night 2 - but if this is more your thing, you will have a blast ropearrowing, jumping and the like from tree to tree. The gameplay is fun and challenging, and though the mission is set in the usually bland setting of the forest, Lady Rowena manages to keep it looking great and varied in the locations without being bland or boring. Future forest setting fan mission creators should take note of the great job done here at keeping things interesting and fresh.
Now on to the screens (Spoiler warning as with all my screenshots)
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http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n25/motherfuckingjack/thief/seven3-6.jpgWe're not in Kansas anymore.
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http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n25/motherfuckingjack/thief/seven3-3.jpgNot pictured: Tree hugging pagans.
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http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n25/motherfuckingjack/thief/seven3-1.jpgThere are unimaginable horrors in this picture, trust me - you'll see when you get there.
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http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n25/motherfuckingjack/thief/seven3-5.jpgHere too.
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http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n25/motherfuckingjack/thief/seven3-2.jpgThe view from above.
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http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n25/motherfuckingjack/thief/seven3-4.jpgTons of water arrows and a dark passageway - I'm sure nothing bad is going to happen!
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http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n25/motherfuckingjack/thief/seven3-7.jpgMr. Growlyface says YOU SHALL NOT PASS
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http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n25/motherfuckingjack/thief/seven3-8.jpgI learned two things from this mission - 1. Its completely possible to have that bastard chase you into the water and 2. They do not drown. Which makes sense, being that he is made of wood and leaves.
Photobucket is killing me with its super slow load times right now, so I'll continue in the evening with the next missions. I've got a ton to post.
SneakyJack on 28/1/2009 at 00:28
Next up we have Ominous Bequest Gold Edition by Eshaktaar
Ominous Bequest is and always will be one of the finest Thief 2 fan missions around - it was groundbreaking when it was released and it is still completely solid today.
Purely from a design standpoint this mission is very well done. The mansion is absolutely huge, the guard patrol routes are very well done and there are tons of hidden passages and attic spaces to keep your ghosting ability high. The difficulty is pretty much average - and there are some supernatural and magical elements thrown in here and there - which is always nice. There are a few clever puzzle like objectives but nothing complicated enough to be frustrating. The gameplay is top notch and you'll have alot of fun making your way through this one.
Also: The frying pan and the so-satisfying clunk noise it makes when it connects with a victim is just great.
The storyline is solid and very interesting to read - I don't want to give away any of it here - but it'll keep you hooked trying to find out exactly what went on in this mansion. Highly recommended.
SneakyJack on 28/1/2009 at 00:42
Next up is Broken Triad also by Eshaktaar
Eshaktaar took everything that was great about Ominous Bequest, cranked it up ten notches and produced Broken Triad.
From a technical standpoint, you will see dromed do more complicated things in this 2 mission set than you thought possible. The special effects created in dromed.. I don't know how Eshaktaar did it - but its amazing stuff. The architecture is incredible, the gameplay and texturing are both top notch as well. This mission set may be very complicated, but that does not take away from that fact that it is also extremely fun.
As far as difficulty goes - the two missions are not cakewalk. They will not frustrate you for the most part - but one or two puzzles in particular may make you want to give up if you do not search for hints. The colored floor puzzle in particular caused me quite a bit of reloads. Keep in mind though, that finishing the puzzles are made more than worth it - so continue on if things get tough.
The story here is where Broken Triad really shines. There are a few moments that will have you thinking 'what the hell?' - But after all is explained and revealed you'll realize that you just took in one of the most twisted, frightening and entertaining stories that dromed has ever been used to tell.
I can't recommend this mission set enough!
SneakyJack on 28/1/2009 at 00:59
In Dubio Pro Garrett by MH Thefreak and Dainem
In Dubio has you reclaiming stolen goods heisted after someone broke into your pad and pinning some dirt on Lord Andre - the culprit responsible.
This mission is a more simple "gameplay is king" mission - which I can completely appreciate. It isnt a bad looking mission, but the architecture is quite boxy and plain - so it may contrast quite a bit after playing missions like Broken Triad and The Seven Sisters like I did. That being said, it is by no means an ugly mission, just more simply designed.
The gameplay here is alot of fun - there are some wide open spaces that give you multiple ways to go through them should you choose - and the difficulty is on the easy side, but not easy enough to make you lose interest.
The story is good and overall this mission was fun to play.
SneakyJack on 28/1/2009 at 01:40
Thief Trinity by Theker:
This is a great looking medium sized city mission with a few bits of paranormal activity thrown into the mix that has to locating a few key items and having a run in with a secret order of Mechanists.
The city itself is great to look at and has some great design elements, and from a gameplay stance the mission is fairly straight forward but fun. There are a couple moments that may cause a fright due to them being unexpected, but thats half the fun!
The story is pretty good here and the difficulty in some parts can be frustrating due to the amount of noisy floor and the proximity to the people that can hear it - so tread lightly in this one.
Overall a very solid mission that is very nice to look at - and holds a lot of fun.
clearing on 28/1/2009 at 04:43
:wot: :eek:
Awesome.
SneakyJack on 28/1/2009 at 05:19
The Ashen Age by Sliptip
I think the first thing anyone notices is how absolutely striking this fan mission is. The textures used, the sounds (apparently lifted mostly from thief 3 according to the authors readable) and the architecture are simply a sight to behold. It looks like a completely different game engine.
This mission is rivaled only by Rocksbourg 3 in the overall look - its that good.
As far as the mission itself - It has great gameplay and fun objectives - the only problem I had is that frequently I got lost due to the similar architecture and design, but that is probably just user error on my part. I got a little frustrated when I couldnt figure out where to go next or what I needed to do to advance due to some strangely placed grate opening switches that were fairly far away from what they open.
The setting is a daytime setting, which is a nice change - and there is a good story underneath the pretty face of this mission along with a few surprises. This mission should be played by everyone at least once, it is quite impressive.
SneakyJack on 28/1/2009 at 05:40
Way Of The Sword By Ottoj55
This mission wins a ton of originality points by trying lots of new things. It has a very interesting setting that you may not be used to, and overall has a very Samurai feel to it. Otto also gave us some different weapons to work with.
The difficulty level here is fairly high due to the spaces being very small and cramped (at least the hallways) and many of the doors being transparent. The guards have a tendency to see you before you see them, in other words. There are a few complicated puzzles (one of which can get pretty frustrating if you do not map it out to give yourself enough time to throw all the switches before it resets itself) but nothing too mind bending really.
The gameplay is alot of fun, and most of the fun comes from the puzzles and the different setting - Otto has really used his imagination to bring a different area of thief to life. His texture work and architecture fit the theme very well and are both top notch as well. If you enjoy samurai settings, feudal japan or anything of the sort - this mission will be icing on the cake for you. Otherwise, you'll still really enjoy it, I know I did.
