Buenos Aires Explosive Remake | Single | Author: DavoX (Leonardo Pellegrini) | Download 56kt

Description: DavoX's first public level is a combination of great city architecture and some painful puzzles.

Note: Requires EDuke32 or Jonof (playing with the latter causes some bugs to appear but that is how I played the level).

Design: This indeed is an interesting piece of work. The overall architecture is very good, reminds me a bit of Billy Boy's maps. The streets are well detailed with burning buildings, amazing spritework and good looking building architecture with a nice touch of originality. There's also more than enough variety - from apartments to sewers and there's a harbor/lighthouse area near the end. There are tons of effects (more below) and explosions which give the map a pulse.

Gameplay: Gameplay is a bit so so. There's plenty of good action. The amount of monsters is high and you've to search for secrets (which are all easy-to-find) if you wish to fight all of them. As said, there are plenty of good effects like a bus drive, a scene with a tank (very cool) and a few not-so-pleasant surprises. During the intro you have to escape a ship that's about to blow up. It's a bit annoying although not even nearly as impossible as it was in the level's first version (and there's a high chance that you'll miss the Chaingun while escaping from the explosions - this is what happened during my first playthrough). Another not-so-clever-puzzle is a door maze below the lighthouse. You have a certain amount of time to open a bunch of doors before the whole place turns into an inferno. This door maze was one of the worst gaming moments of my life. Well - it was way easier to pass through during the second playthrough. I also spotted an elevator that had trouble working properly and a few scenes required a health loss so if you have saved with a low amount of health you can't pass those scenes without cheating.

Innovations: Plenty. It's more actually a combination of old tricks and architecture but it really feels unique.

Conclusion: DavoX's first public release is excellent in design but suffers from a few fatal annoyances in gameplay.

Rating: 92