Review: The Aquaducts

With the recent trends of recovering unique maps from coop servers, the community was given a chance to experience true rare gems in Unreal mapping history. One such gem is RedElectroPlasmaBall's single map The Aquaducts, unearthed by the notorious Bob. The exact date of the map's creation is unknown but it is believed to be a recent creation.

Given the level's primary purpose is to be played in a cooperative mode rather than solo, there is no storyline existent. A single translator message is present on the level, however due to the fact that in single player game modes one does not receive a universal translator, it can be easily missed and hardly has any purpose anyway. The primary focus of cooperative maps is gameplay and this is where Aquaducts fare quite well. The opposition may appear as strong at times, even overwhelming for the unprepared player but if the areas are explored thoroughly, the map is beatable even in solo mode. Granted, at the beginning health may be a problem if the player does not proceed with caution and gets shot every now and then but there are several armors including a shieldbelt available all across the map.

The level is quite linear - progression is impossible without opening the routes with switches and levers placed in another location - however it is quite detailed in construction and properly textured. The area is very authentic - a repurposed, modernized ancient aqueduct complete with water-heating mechanisms, sewer systems and other similar features. One may be surprised by the occassional odd tree (growing in a place where sun doesn't reach) but this isn't that omnipresent to be considered a major issue. There are occassional dark areas but the player is offered a searchlight so there is nothing that'd make the progress a pain.

There are certain issues that can make progressing through the level a problem and even successfully halt the player. There is a cracked wall present in the catacomb-like area, which almost asks the player: "shoot me!"... And there's the catch: most of the time it will not yield to any weapon whatsoever, no matter how many times it is shot. The player needs to push it to clear the path. Another issue is the level's ending: luck is required to find the teleporter as it is placed in a spot one'd never think it could be in and its radius is nowhere near enough to find it by accident.

The sound layer of The Aquaducts is quite poor though: ambience is little to none and the track used (Deus Ex' Ocean Lab track 2), despite fitting the setting isn't used in full - don't count on hearing any other sections of the song than the first, exploration section. An important part of every level is its audio layer, the environment can't have a "mute" feel to it which is the case here.