Roch 8 | Single/DM | Author: Pascal Rouaud | Download 243kt
Description: Pascal's Roch serie is the most popular level serie for Duke3D. Pascal's every level has more than one thousand downloads here and each one of those downloads have been counted after Dukeworld died. That should tell something. City levels have always been popular and Pascal is good at what he does. This guy has to be an architect of somekind. The level just has too damn complex design.
Design: I'm running out of words here - Let's just borrow Don's words from "Turtles" and say "This place has everything." Spritework is so damn impressive that my eyes almost popped out while watching all those tiny details. The alien spaceship is so impressive that I almost started licking the screen - It looks so real. The streets are filled with cars, signs, wires, different architectural styles and a lot more. The inside of the spaceship is very pretty with some very good ambient sounds - the kind of you have never heard before.
Textures: Texture set is almost exactly the same as it has been in every Roch level. Even the sky is the same - and that's exactly what we want & love. The use of textures is very rich and there are zillions of different combinations & new styles. Pascal uses textures the way rest of us could never use them.
Gameplay: Enjoyable. Pascal's levels have always felt more than just typical key/button hunt (although that's pretty much what they're). Gameplay is unlinear - You have to find a bunch of blue keys in whatever order you want and press some buttons to access the alien craft. There are no sudden stops or any gameplay killers. Monster/ammo balance is good - not too easy but not too tough either. One Battlelord combat was pretty tough due to tight space.
Innovations: If you're familiar with Pascal's work then I'd say there aren't much new innovations. On the other hand you could say that the whole level is full of new tiny innovations. Just play it and make up your mind.
Conclusion: Can it get much better than this? Why not? The French are not just excellent porn film makers but they also have some excellent Duke3D builders ('Last Reaction & Water Bases').
Rating: 99
