UnrealSP.orgNote:
This is a review of the very old and outdated 1.0 version of Deja Vu, however it has been kept for posterity. For a review of the finished version, see here.
Whenever we (Drevlin and eVOLVE) seem to get together to collaborate on a review, generally the makers either tremble in fear at our honest and brutal analysis of their project, or complain forcefully (sometimes through fanboys) about the unfairness of us looking at the project in comparison to a commercial entity. Normally, it'd be a case of worrying throughout the review that we'll mention something deeply personal, such as the ability of the designers (or even showstopping release bugs that have to be patched, ahem). Yes, normally that would be the way they would read one of our reviews, and in this case it's no different. So let's pull no punches and get straight in with why this map pack made us want to find the creators, if only to throw heavy objects at them.
To start off, the story is fairly vague and is literally more sub-standard than the imagination of 3 year old kid, still feeding of his mothers breasts. You are put in the shoes of a person who crash lands on the planet commonly known as Na Pali. Now the player must venture trough the lot of levels looking for a way to escape the planet. As you may be able to tell, it's a rip off the original Unreal. Although the story is a basic rip off, the ending sequence is superbly made. This is because of the audacity of the team to RIP the ending sequence from Unreal and throw it into the pack as an apparently satisfying ending. Having to play through a pack full of varying challenges to be rewarded with something we've seen plenty of times before is nothing less than insulting. However, before one gets to the end of this pack there are several things one must endure. Things, such as inconsistent level design where the styles and quality of the maps varies greatly. To an extent, this can be understood as the pack has had many authors but this pack well exceeds the limit of what is within our grace. There is, however, one thing that is consistent throughout the whole pack, namely the lack of detail in the levels. Maybe the creators are frozen in time and have not realized that we've come a long way since Unreal 1 and its level of detail, but strangely, the pack has not. On a side note, there are places that stand out and have detail. Sadly, most of the time the textures on these details are poorly aligned and just ruin the whole thing. Even if there are exceptions and places where some maps even look amazing we feel that the level of detail should be consistent instead of the rollercoaster like style this pack has (especially in terms of badly laid out levels causing horrific frame rates, even in some areas of low detail).
While running through a cave, one image immediately came to mind and reminded us of some pictures we've seen in the past. It shows of an early tech level from the original Unreal… created in the year 1996. On another level while running through a very impressive Skaarj facility it was pretty immediately apparent that it was reminiscent of Unreal 2. Do you see where this is going?
On an even more pessimistic note we felt it was almost essential to hammer up a sign saying "Cover your eyes! Extremely misaligned textures up ahead!" You've got to wonder if the level designer bothered to align the textures at all. There was one level that stands out and could be used as an example how not to do it in a texture-aligning tutorial. It took place in a very big out door area that first strikes me because it's so very big, and then bores me because it takes a decayed to get from one point of the map to the other, although at least it was epic and did have a few bits of variety. Most of the time it's a case of wishing it would all just be over with. This map, along with a few others, seam to have been built with haste and from what I understand this is very much the case.
Lightning wise the levels are, again, very varied in quality and style. There are peaks, such as the later levels with the Skaarj bases, and there are cons as the above-mentioned valley with the terrible texture alignment. Populating these undetailed and misaligned environments are the legions of aliens we all love to hate: The Skaarj, Krall, Brutes, Mercenaries and even a few Titans. Fighting these creatures one thing that came to mind was something that obviously hadn't been considered by the level designers: ENEMY COMPOSITION!
For those of you (all of you?) unaware what that is, it is basically who you fight, where do you fight them, how do you fight them (i.e. are they standing around behind a corner waiting for you?) and how many are there? These things are fundamental for the level designer to consider when composing the action. Good level designers do not throw in, I think we counted 10 Skaarjs that you have to fight all at once. Nor do they place a giant gasbag in a room with doors that doesn't even fit one of the giant Gasbags arms. It is quite laughable imaging how the gasbag tried to squeeze through the door - maybe it took help from a bunch of Skaarjs or Kralls in order to force its way through… (If this doesn't make you laugh after thinking about it for a few minutes, then download a new sense of humour!)
The enemy composition leaves a lot to urn for in this pack, and while the flow of enemies is consistent it varies too much level to level. Up until the point where you face the 10 Skaarj at once your fights are pretty much 1 on 1 fights, rarely throwing multiple enemies at you at a time. Suddenly, there's a rapid jump up to 10 enemies - it just doesn't make sense.
Even though this pack is mostly about progression there are some small quests in the levels that sometimes make you stop and, even if it's just for a second, actually use that big chunk of jelly-like meat-thing in your head. Some of these "sub quests" are however misleading and a bit too illusive. At times I even wondered if those Nali guys did not deserve being enslaved, just because of all the B-S they put up on their fancy temples. Most of the time the sub-quests are logical and well made and shouldn't fry your brain too much though. One that many people get stuck on is the enigmatic 'The face will set you free' clue, which was accompanied by a dead body with a translator message stating that this guy couldn't find a way out. After considering that it must be a pretty complex puzzle for someone to die there from. After shooting and trying to reach the 'faces' that are around the clue, you're left at a loose end, until you realise it's as simple as pushing a button that's basically just slightly hidden. Complex and interesting puzzles are normally more involving than 'find a button to open the door'.
To be honest, with all of these bad features, can anything restore it back to a level where you will be willing to download the thing?
Yes... it can. The game starts excellently in terms of atmosphere, bringing back the Unreal feeling we've all missed for so long, with 'some' pretty interesting and varied levels. The pack itself was made in only a month, which is incredibly impressive considering the length and organisation shown in creating such a pack. The month development cycle should make the team very pleased with the score they ultimately receive for their efforts, because with an extra month, I'm sure it could have been boosted up a point or two.
Most of the levels were enjoyable in some way, shape or form, but of course if you consider them as commercial levels, they wouldn't stand up against most modern games. Naturally, this is mostly due to the engine used, but then we have to consider this as a free mod. For anyone craving more Unreal single player, which is what this pack is to celebrate, you'll certainly enjoy the pack, especially now that you're adequately prepared for the negative aspects, and can focus on the positive.
Summary:
Unfortunately, we're pressed for time for an ending, so this'll do:
I do hope that Liquid entertainment put their act together for the next episode of Spatial Fear because they are a talented bunch of people that, with a bit more effort, can pump out a good gaming experience... Is SF:P worth the 100mb download? If you are on cable, get it right away because it can be fun for a few hours but otherwise I wouldn't waste my time unless Liquid Entertainment releases a patch, and it would still have to be a big patch.