The license applies to MSDN text/images and to my levels

7th of December 2008

MegaCity 2000 | Single | Author: MapLord | Download 160kt, Mirror

Description: Came across Return to MegaCity a few years back and found the author's site (offline now) with some interesting looking levels one of which, if I remember right, was this, Megacity 2000. Sadly the maps were offline and the author did contact me and sent me some of the levels but not this. Anyways, grave diggers at DNR found the map so here it is.

Design: MegaCity 2000 is a fine mix of city, hi-tech and outdoor locations. Its design is, for the most part, good, detailed and lighting is fine. However, it's somewhat buggy. There's some underwater action but too often you end up surfacing with that blue hue still covering your screen. And then I got squeezed a few times by a whirlpool effect in one of the level's underwater locations. There are also some one-way (that's down) vents.

Gameplay: You'll be spending some time finding keys and travelling back and forth but the entire level is occupied by no more than around twenty monsters. Given the level's medium size this is rather odd. I also can't remember spotting many ambient sounds. Combine these two factors and you have a medium size level that's pretty damn quiet. Maybe the biggest problem is a scene where a hallway gets blown up and you're bound to lose some health not just during the explosion but after it as well (there's a mandatory fall). I had around 40 health points when I came across this section and couldn't survive without cheating.

Conclusion: A well designed city map with numerous interesting locations but little action and several easy-to-fix bugs.

Rating: 86