Block Mind | Single | Author: DannyFromNewOrleans | Download
The Review: Duke drank a few bottles of beer too many, passed out and now dreams of killing aliens in weird places, setting the stage for this bizarre map. The dream is segmented into three bits; Duke must fetch a key from each, then return to a hub-like area and wake up. The concept works but gets a bit predictable. The bits themselves are a mix of the weird and the everyday, making the map occasionally feel like a normal map, then putting you in the middle of something that could have been my very first usermap from 1997 or something. It's hard to come up with fresh ideas to fill weird maps (where you're expected to experiment) with these days, but there are enough good ones in Block Mind to keep you interested; I especially liked the few tricks and puzzles involving massive concentrations of enemies: the map's bodycount of 1000+ aliens sounds astronomical, but it's misleading (you'll see why). The map's design is good in terms of texturing, detailing and variety (expected from a map of this sort), but everything is so very horizontal and blocky; with a crazy setting such as this, some convention-breaking would have been more than welcome.
Conclusion: Block Mind is 30 minutes of semi-weirdness with enough new ideas and solid design to keep you interested, but it can get a bit formulaic and plays it too safe with respect to design.
Rating: 91
