18th of August 2023

Little Dark Age | Single | Author: Makron | Download

Little Dark Age is another "Tales from the AMC" type of usermap for the AMC TC, set somewhere around the third episode (but unofficially). With Makron still being a relative rookie, don't expect a lot of eyecandy or epic sights: Little Dark Age looks and feels a lot like a Doom (64) map, not just because of its texturing but also because of its ambience and design. The map is quite dark overall; there are some good spotlights here and there, and the warehouse section has some nice lighting, but overall lighting could have used a lot more work, especially for such a dark hi-tech base with plenty of good opportunities to implement strong atmospheric lighting relatively easily. Design is adequately detailed but also blocky and unpolished. The map's visual highlight and also its most polished bit is the toxic waste area with walkways (see the screenshot below), making good use of the game's assets and lighting to set a cool Doom-like vibe.
Gameplay is quite fun. You play as James, fighting an army of cultists. Some are wearing armor, so the map calls for switching to the right weapon and firemode when dealing with them. The map sticks to a familiar layout whereby the starting area branches off into several directions, each leading to keys and locks. It's quite easy to navigate and backtracking never gets cumbersome. Combat can get a bit tight at times (which is a plus), but the player is kept well supplied so long as you play it smart with what you've got.
While regrettably unpolished, Little Dark Age is well worth checking out if you've still got the AMC TC installed on your device; it's a guaranteed ten minutes of fun with an absolute banger of a soundtrack.

Rating: 82