Review: Operation Na Pali

When Operation Na Pali (or ONP) was originally reviewed on the old review schema, it was given UnrealSP.Org's first and only perfect 10/10. At the time it was well deserved - nobody had to date come near to releasing such a long, professionaly built and down right fun map pack (its nearest competitor was Xidia, which rivalled ONP for build quality but lacked the length and diversity that ONP had to offer).

However, that was over three years ago. ONP wasn't the last gasp of grand mapping projects despite suspicions to the contrary, and there has arguably been no more active a period in SP Unreal history than today (which, for those of you who've just joined us, is late 2005). As such new projects have challenged ONP's reign and the bar has been raised a few times already. Now, then, is the perfect time to take a fresh look at ONP with a more critical eye.

Some people claim to "hate" ONP for the above reasons. In my opinion, such a sentiment is extraordinary - for with Operation Na Pali, Team Vortex provided us with a campaign that rivalled Unreal in length for absolutely no charge! Not only that, but the build quality of most of the pack is superb.

The architecture of much of Operation Na Pali is excellent. All the mappers on the team know what they are doing, but the true highlights of the pack in terms of architectural quality and conceptual design are the contributions by Chicoverde, Hourences and MClane. Hourences creates some inspiring high-tech facilities, whilst Chicoverde takes us right back to Unreal with his excellent temple, The Lost Sanctuary of Kalish'ra. MClane's Nali ruins are designed to a very high standard. The first map by DavidM, Prisoned, is an example of the high quality we have come to expect from Münnich, and Atje's sky island maps are also worth a mention.

In all these cases, the texturing and lighting add greatly to the atmosphere. ONP was the pioneer of "realistic" outdoor lighting in single player level design, in which sunlight streams over the clifftops and casts shadows over the terrain and Nali structures below. By and large it is well done, although from time to time it doesn't work as well as it should (midday with the Nali Mountain Fighters, or the ugly shadows in Harobed Village in the intro). Within the maps, the temples are softly lit by torches and the bases have ample contrast (and, of course, small red lights).

But now for some more of the bad. DavidM has clearly exerted a high standard of quality control over other team members' maps, to ensure that they are up to scratch and render ONP a consistently impressive experience. However, for whatever reason, perhaps because they are "essential" to the plot, several much older maps by DavidM make it in at a late stage of the game, and I'm sorry to say that they stand out like a sore thumb. Not only that, but DavidM has the cheek to bring it deliberately to our attention, displaying promimently on the screen the message "The following maps show what my n00b crap looks like 0_o".

As a player who just wants to be immersed in the game, I could have done without that facetious message smacking me in the face. And, sadly, some of the maps that fall into that bracket are genuinely dissapointing. The arrival at the new sections of Rrajigar Mines, which should have been a highlight of the game, feels like entering a mediocre UT deathmatch level, complete with cinder block textures from the UTTech series. On entering the mines proper, the theme doesn't really improve, as the new areas seem largely to be a compilation of meaningless rooms, and DavidM's retexturing job does very little for those elements of Cliff Blezinski's original Rrajigar maps that are included. It is largely the inclusion of these "noob" maps that prevents ONP from getting the tens in architecture, texturing and lighting that it might perhaps otherwise have deserved (the reduxxed versions of NyLeve's Falls and Vortex Rikers, on the other hand, are fantastic).

Conceptually most of the maps are decent (with some verging on "excellent" or "awesome"), but another popular complaint laid at ONP's door is the linearity of most of the experience - the maps lack the exploration that typified the best maps of Unreal such as Bluff Eversmoking - and there is a general lack of foreshadowing (apart from in and around the excellent volcano sequence, probably the conceptual, architectural and atmospheric highlight of the pack).

To tie up the loose ends of the build scores, sound design is usually to a high standard, with many maps making atmospheric use of pitch-altered ambient sounds, giving even Skaarj bases an eerie, moody quality. Toxeen's new music is immersive, even if some tracks lose their way towards the end; "Fight for Destiny", "Tyra" and "Intro" are particularly excellent tracks that the pack makes regular and effective use of. However, the sound design of the pack also undermines itself from time to time, with some maps decidedly lacking in ambient sounds and one map (by DrPest) making such schizofrenic and generally poor use of music as to lose its atmosphere almost completely.

Given the scope of the pack, one can't be too critical of a few bugs; but there are a few more HOMs than I would have liked, particularly in maps by Atje and Chicoverde, and the sidekick AI is dodgy (but better than in some games I have played). Overall the technical execution is resonable (subject to the application of the post-release patches - if you get stuck in the very first room of the very first map, then that's one thing you've forgotten to do!).

So, finally, the gameplay! Well, Operation Na Pali is a classic Unreal experience in terms of the level and type of opposition, featuring all the main Unreal creatures. The use of Unreal Tournament weapons, however, coupled with the colourful lighting of the maps, gives the pack a somewhat arcade-like feel that the original game lacked and was therefore better for. Suffice it to say that there aren't many moments for quiet reflection in ONP.

And how... because this pack is packed full of scripted sequences of every kind, from bombing runs by scout ships, collapsing architecture and pretty cool cinematics! There are also two maps in which you fly a scout ship yourself, and although the first one isn't that special, the second is really something. All this stuff gives the pack a pretty high score for Story Implementation even if the background story itself isn't much to conjure with (note that the aforementioned voice acting, in all its horror, takes the edge off the story scores).

To accompany the visual excitement of the pack, the maps provide ample Skaarj opposition to crunch and it certainly keeps things entertaining (there's always an exception, and this time it's Tonnberry's confusing and illegible Mercenary Base map). However, with hindsight, I think the team should have provided less ammo (I seldom if ever ran out for any weapon) to make the game a slower and less mindless experience. The provision of slightly more health would have compensated for this adjustment to the challenge.