If I am not mistaken, the author has got himself a
name on his TNT series. There is a lot of people in the community that
loves these levels, and the recently released TNT3 shows us that there
is a reason why. Mr. Gimmer is a good level designer, and his TNT
series are good levels. However, are they that good?
A lot of the discussions around these levels, and
this one in particular, have revolved around the massive use of brown
and brownish textures. One could say that they are in fact the single
most characteristic thing about the TNT series. As said, this one has
probably been the one most subject to scolding. I feel, that they are
in some way just, because it really is all the level consists off: New
brown textures and flats, and quite honestly, it looks more boring and
dull than scary and dismal. This is also
significantly underlined by the darkness and very dimmed lighted areas
around the map. Sometimes you almost can't see a thing, and it doesn't
help with the ceiling lights or torches; they seem to have no function
and create no light at all.
I am sorry to say that the monotony continues with
the architecture. It uses some of the stronger
features of the zDoom port such as slopes,
skyboxes and scripts of various kinds. The outside lightning which
breaks the silence with a deep thunder once in awhile is pretty cool
and brings the mood down a bit towards the more eerie end of the
scale. There is also a good use of silent transporting, and all in
all, Mr. Gimmer is very good at implementing these things into his
levels. The, for me clear, downside to this level is the relatively
boring layout. It seems very inane and often plagued by the fact that
the author got one good idea and then used it
one too many times. It is not very innovative and there is nothing
unusual or spectacular to see here.
One of the better things is the gameplay. Although
suffering from a TNT decease, which seems immortal, namely a very
scarce amount of ammunition, there is generally a good deal of fun to
be found here. The author has created a couple of new monsters and
they aren't to be messed with. Very cool indeed.
The monster selection doesn't vary much and consists mostly of Imps,
Sergeants, Hell Knights and Revenants. Some are placed inside the
level and some silently teleports in to stop you. Some are
semi-invisible, another zDoom feature used, and one that has never
appealed particularly much to my person. All in all, it is fun, but
could have even more fun if it wasn't so difficult.
You should not miss this one. It is one of those
levels that have a lot of potential, and appeals only to a selected
group of people.
