Endor: Death Watch Bunker

Description
\"Endor: Death Watch Bunker\" is an update to AQT\'s earlier [url=http://starwarsbattlefront.filefront.com/file/Endor_Death_Watch_Bunker;116088]map of the same name.[/url] It\'s a significant update, in not only polish but in content.

Where before the map was a decent tunnels map with an Endor-ish theme, now it is a much tighter-constructed tunnels map with a neato campaign, and as I\'ve mentioned many times before, I\'m a sucker for a neat scripted mission. But before diving into a review of the campaign, I\'ll make a couple notes on the map - it looks much better, as mentioned above, although in its effort to look better it has overloaded the game with objects. Not to a point of failure, mind you, but it does induce the occasional flickering on/off for objects in the view pane. Since this is an interior map with lots of joints in the tunnels, portals and sectors could have been used to more effectively manage the rendering of objects. One other thing - since this is set below a large forest, it would have been nice seeing some roots encroaching on the tunnels, especially in the areas where it was completely dirt.

The campaign, of course, is what really interested me. The story itself is pretty straightforward: get in, shoot someone, get out. There\'s not a lot in the way of puzzles or exploration (in this regard, AQT\'s earlier \"Talay: Tak Base\" map was much more interesting), but the parts that are present are enjoyable and polished. There are a couple of neat mechanics, like an \"action\" move and extra life pickups, that flesh out the progression a little, although the \"action\" move seemed a little unwieldy - I had to tap it three times to make it properly interact. Also, because it is a repair tool and because it is used on completely \"destroyed\" objects, the objects don\'t show up with names on your HUD, which is a bit of an impediment to their immediate identification. I think this might have been better had it been a \"destroy\" weapon instead of repair.

There are a handful of pretty neat enemies and allies you\'ll see as you play through the map, and I would encourage you to give the campaign a go before you try the other modes so as to let them be introduced in sequence. A couple further notes/criticisms:
-Some enemies, notably autoturrets and the enemies at the very end (post extra-unit), seemed to have a tad too much health. It\'s not that they were overly difficult, but they required too much rinse-and-repeat.
-There\'s no real introduction to the \"activate/action\" mechanic. When you introduce something that\'s not part of the stock game, a little hand-holding is best. Since the first panel isn\'t right in front of you and/or immediately visible, having a floating marker over it would be nice.
-I liked the \"extra\" uses of the activate mechanic. Could be a little less subtle, but it\'s still a neat little bonus.
-Your activate mechanic operated as a repair tool. The panels should use a different healthtype (I like to use \"animal\" since it\'s not often used) than building, since right now your activate mechanic can slowly repair ammo/health droids.
-The regeneration on the turrets felt a little unnecessary. It increases the difficulty a touch in an artificial direction.

All in all, it\'s a great campaign on top of a pretty solid map. If you like scripted missions at all, this is one definitely worth downloading and hanging on to.

-Mav