26/01/2009 - "Illhaven Farewell" by Kew

[Hellscrag]

Map Title: Illhaven Farewell
Author: Tim "Kew" Jarvis
From: Illhaven Saga
Filename: illhaven_6.unr
Video Playthrough: http://www.dailymotion.com/MMAN2/video/13824211




Synopsis: Snow has come to Illhaven. Kew has not succeeded in liberating the town. Unable to remain, he must make a bid for freedom without exposing himself to the harsh climate outside. En route, he passes through a monastery, where various artifacts have been bewitched by a betrayer to do harm to anyone that touches them.

[Hellscrag]

The bit of the synopsis about the monastery was done from memory, so may not be entirely accurate!

Sorry about the delay getting this one posted.

[Buff Skeleton]

This is the best map in Illhaven. The music and atmosphere is just great.

[UB_]

The map which required some UT files. I had to wait a while before finding the version with it.

Anyway, this is the map where you see the snow and a lot of logs talking about Kew being too weak to the cold atmosphere - I don't know how many of them were present. One was enough.

I really don't remember the map, except the fact that you do it inside the buildings. Cramped enviroments aren't nice when you fight groups of Krall and one of those rare Skaarj.

Architecture-wise, it's pretty much the same as the previous map - nice village, but the use of snow makes things better (although, nowadays, the falling snow looks like crap - a snow generator is now needed).
And yes, this map has that annoying Nali who poisoned the items in the monastery. Once you touch them, you die. Just like in the Contra games, where you touch something that's dying, and you still die. Lame.

Also, I remember at the end of the map the sea being actually blue acid

[kea]

Nali who poisoned ammo is quite a nice and original idea IMHO.

[Mister_Prophet]

If I remember, this was the best looking...but oddly played map in the game. What a weird way to end a pack.

[Semfry]

I thought you were supposed to have no weapons here, but apparently not.

I remember it having little to do with the previous maps beyond the setting, while stuff like the priory backstory provides enough of a narrative to keep you drawn into the setting it feels like a couple of story-arcs could have been established earlier and wrapped up here to make it feel more cohesive to the rest of the pack. As it is it's kind of a strange themetic epilogue that wouldn't really take anything away if it were removed and your characters escape came in the previous map, though, on the flipside, taking it away would add nothing either, and the theme is unique enough to justify its presence (Kew in general seems to enjoy theme experiments with more focus on theme and atmosphere than gameplay considering levels like Nali'pente, and this is one of those levels).

Then again, recalling how I couldn't play this level for a while because I didn't have UT (and how retarded I found that) has probably tainted my memory of it a little.

[Darkon]

I remember this level.. and how disappointed I was at the start. It looked so cool outside with the snow and all, but I couldn't go outside at all!!
So then you go thru cramped corridors.. ugh.. pretty frustrating.

However.. Illhaven just has new gameplay in almost every map. Just the way to play it is nice IMO.... It makes it unique.. i should dust off my Unreal copy and play this stuff again....