[ Transcript of review for Shattered Oasis 2.20 | Posted by Bean on 2004-07-02 | Score: 6.5 ]
I don't get it. I just don't get it. This mod has most of the pieces needed for greatness. But...it...just...doesn't get me. It's so close, I can taste it. It's there, and I'm sure it will come out. But until then, I shall wish...and wait.
What Do We Got
Post-apocalyptic, warring factions with some MadMax/FallOut flavor. Now, some may say that is a bit generic. How wrong are they! The implementation of this theme is so well done, I want to eat waffles. Models, weapons, sounds, maps, vibe, vehicles, the mod oozes post-apocalypse. Well done.
Speaking of which, let's get to what this mod does well. And when this mod does things right, it does things RIGHT.
First off, this mod LOOKS very good. When you load up the mod, you are treated to a very nice menu screen, with one of the deathmatch maps serving as the background. It's even a little relaxing. Well done.
The maps look very nice. The wasteland maps look exactly like a wasteland in the future should look. I'd imagine the inhabitants, in spite of their plight, would be happy they lived in such a cool environment. The maps that deviate from that theme are also well done. But the mod fits best with the wasteland theme. There are some stretches in the maps where it seems a little bland (long corridor of sand), but I can attribute that to design choice, not laziness, as the rest of the maps are excellently rendered.
Models are just beautiful: players, weapons, and vehicles. The player models are varied, and as you get to preview them in the loadout, you can have a hard time choosing. The weapons look so damn original. My favorite is the Shatterer. It is a pistol/blade, and it looks awesome.
But the most amazing models are those vehicles. Wow. They are just money. The buggy, the big truck and the sand cowD) rule. But most amazing is the Gyro Copter. How cool is this vehicle. LOOK at it. Start downloading the mod, and keep reading this while waiting. It should be stressed that the vehicles feel very nice to handle. Excellent controls. Especially the Gyro Copter. What a GREAT vehicle. Now that you are downloading though, we can talk about where this mod misses...
Oh Teh No!
This mod sets the scene properly, but then it fails to bring it together. Now, I realize this mod is still going through lots of work, but nonetheless...hopefully this will be another opinion that can be used to improve the mod with.
When you pop into the game, you want to shoot those guns. And you can...and...they feel...weird. The shotgun doesn't pack enough raw punch that it requires. You can take people out, but too often at close-to-medium range did I land a solid hit on my enemy, but they lived. At that range, I require death...75% of the time. Too many times did they escape my clutches. Rifles have HUGE kick, which while understandable, it very distracting. The pistol fires well, but the stab attack is way to slow to get anything done. In close situations, where it would be used, it is far too easy to dodge. If you keep moving, I wouldn't worry about being hacked. Reloading is iffy. You lose your entire clip instead of whatever bullets you used. Again understood, but in a game where I have a gyro copter and I ride sand beasts, reloads that depend on ammo count wouldn't hurt. But that's not a huge deal. What is though, is the frustrating weapon switch time. It takes agonizingly long to change weapons. If you are creeping along with the sniper rifle, and you are ambushed, you have zero chance of whipping out the shotty to put up any fight. You will drag ass with the weapon, and by then, it's over.
The gametypes, while decent, aren't anything too special. You have team deathmatch, and domination with vehicles (basically). The Detonation (the domination style gametype) maps, even with vehicles, feel a little bit too spread out. If you kill all your enemies at one point and cap it, they better hope you don't have the other point, because it might take them a little to get back to the point. Vehicles are available, but they take a little to respawn. I got a couple easy Detonation caps that way.
Bots...the bots... They are not happy. They play well. They are awful accurate considering the kick in the weapons. They also have a helluva time with vehicles. They will not join you in any vehicle, often will stand around on the sand cow, and just flop around in the glorious Gyro Copter! Woe is the copter! However, when they get them going right, it sets up glorious dogfights. Still, too many fudgeups.
Online play would be nice...but it seems a bit sparse. I couldn't find a populated server (got the official), so no go. I tied for a bit, and I will try again this weekend, and will happily update if I get something.
Don't Take This The Wrong Way
I hope nobody feels that I am down on this mod. Hardly! I really, really like it, and I am absolutely stoked by its potential. I personally feel that what they figured out, they figured it out damn well. The other pieces will eventually come into place. Currently, I feel this a cool mod to show off, but not quite there to play. It has its moments, but there are too many downers. Case in point. I finally grabbed a Gyro Copter during a game of Detonation. I raised it into the scorched sky, and BAM...one of my teammate bots just creamed me, ending my happiness. I had to wait forever for another to respawn, only to watch another bot face plant it. *sigh*
Anyways, go download this mod, enjoy it...play it online so I can too! And keep it, because I can damn near guarantee every update will rock it more. This team has the talent, and it will deliver.
Bean
