The Reliquary Bonus Pack Beta 2.0

Description
TechniqueBalanceFun FactorCreativityGameplay9888
10Overall Rating:Reviewer:Requirements:8.9 / 10KouenUT2004 Mega Bonus Pack

Well, here's a big one. Quarter of a gigabyte of content here, ladies and gents. I'm just going to jump right in and start with the maps.

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DM-TRBP-Bender (by Relic)
We start out with a fairly run-of-the-mill industrial complex. I'm really going to keep it short here, since there's a lot of stuff to review.

The architecture and layout work very well, and are condusive to UT2003's faster style of gameplay - which this bonus pack promotes. The multi-level structure can be rather confusing at first, but that's a good thing. You need to learn the lay of the land, otherwise, there'll be hazing afoot.

Design-wise, there's an impressive use of pixel effects and shaders throughout. The construction itself lends to suspension of disbelief, as the atmosphere just feels... right. All the usual suspects are involved, a few pitfalls, couple of tunnels, bridges over a long drop, etc. Bender is, in all respects, a traditional UT map, and for that, we can be grateful.

DM-TRBP-Cyanide (by LrdMidKnight)
Maybe it's just me, but this map seemed gratuitously oversized compared to my little Skaarj dude... But anyway, size doesn't matter. (Can't believe I just said that.)

Cyanide is a very nice facility-styled map. It's small, but good for tight-range deathmatches, or - as I like to call them - 12-man clusterf***s. Get 12 or more people up here with flak cannons... Bob's your uncle. ;) The general setting is a rooftop, and from the helicopter sounds, I'd believe that a sort of backstory is an attacker/defender thing. Would've been a good start to an Assault map, to be honest.

It's tight, but has decent spread of powerups and plenty of cover. Decent sniper's nest, and a HEV Suit pickup that may not serve much of a purpose in this particular map, but it looks pretty damn cool. Design is less traditional, but it works and looks damn good doing so. Kinda reminiscent of BioDome Eclipse, actually...

DM-VDM-TyrianStation13 (by LrdMidKnight)
I'm gonna mix it up and hit the VDM maps now, to avoid monotony. Too much DM in the space of an hour drives Kouen insane. o.O

The first word to slip into my mind upon entering this map, was "Midgar". Those who played Final Fantasy VII would probably understand the symmetry. This map is basically a train station in a very large industrial city. There are two outhouses to each side and a walkway going around overhead. You can also go down to the boarding platform - just try not to get hit by the train. n interesting thing I'd note in this map's construction, is that almost as much effort went into outside the playable area as inside. Nice touch especially on how the train can be seen travelling in the background.

The map looks good, plays even better, even though the VDM aspect extends no further than two Locust hoverboards.

DM-VDM-Demolition (by Relic)
Destruction Derby, anyone?

This map is where most if not all of the new vehicles come into play. Aside from the vehicles, this map is basically a sandbox. Rough terrain, some stunt setups, and a liberal smattering of vehicles and items.

Not too much to comment on here, just ride around and have fun.

DM-TRBP-DiscoFever (by Lord Vipes)
This is a small one. Designed for 1v1 matches, should accomodate six people. Will be a close squeeze though.

There's five rooms, each filled with goodies. The main dance floor, two side halls, the rear hall, and the control room up above. Not a lot of cover, but with a little teamwork skilled players should be able to set up and fortify a perimeter. Not much cover in any of the rooms, so in a team game, all the cover would definitely come from your buddies. It's small enough to not support large games, but at the same time it's so small it makes large games much more interesting.

Not much more to say. A little map, but a nice one. Be careful of flak monkeys - in close ranges like this, flak cannons are a major threat.

DM-TRBP-Foundry (by UnReally)
In a nutshell, this map is more of an Unreal Tournament map than all of Epic's maps combined. The reason UT was superior to it's rivals is that rather than trying to be revolutionary and awe-inspiring, it was built merely to be played. Anything else was a bonus. This map definitely reflects this philosophy. It's not heavy on the aesthetics, but it looks as good as it needs to. Gameplay is where it shines.

Two levels. Ground floor, and the upper floor. Plenty of space to shoot between the two. Rather than using stairs, there's just basic ramps, which makes it much easier to use spider mines and grenades for those who like to use the ONS weapons in Deathmatch. No high-poly meshes, no seriously high-res textures, none of that gawd awful particle crap so many people insist on using when pixel shaders would be more than sufficient. Whether your computer is an XPS custom-built gaming rig, or a three-year-old Athlon office system, this map will give you no headaches on performance.

Nice to see the scales balanced, instead of giving the advantage to those who feel the need to overcompensate by buying a $600 graphics card which grants only marginal performance increase over a $250 card. Plus, this map just has the feel of UT99, which none of the official UT2k3/2k4 maps have. Trip down memory lane, no?

DM-TRBP-Gloom (by UnReally)
Since this review is long enough as it is, I'm going to redirect to [file="83397"]Relic's review of this map[/file].

CTF-TRBP-Blender (by Relic)
DOM-TRBP-Blender (by Relic)
CTF and Domination versions of Blender. The map remains unchanged since the DM version.

CTF-TRBP-ParasiticDream (by LrdMidKnight)
DOM-TRBP-ParasiticDream (by LrdMidKnight)
This map uses various elements such as terrain and plenty of possible routes to take in order to create a challenging CTF experience which relies far more heavily on tactics than reactions and reflexes.

I can't really describe it. You have to play it. There are so many foxholes, so many twists and turns, so many places to take cover... Fastest finger first doesn't really cut it. You'll need to anticipate your enemy and their actions, and not only that you'll need to be aware of the surroundings. Don't let the apparent scale of the map and the recommended player limit deceive you - this map is bigger than it looks when you have to prevent an attack on your flag.

Close-range weaponry will likely be more effective in the way of damage potential, but there's always the chance of feeding more ammo into the wall or a hill than your enemies. Long-range weapons aren't so efficient at cutting the hitpoints here, but if your marksmanship is up to date you'll find that they're more reliable for scoring hits.

An interesting CTF map, to be sure, and quite interesting in the Domination gametype too, although not so much for me, being a CTF junkie.

ONS-TRBP-EuropaSE (by Relic)
ONS-TRBP-ThePlazaSE (by Relic & Giles Cresswell)
ONS-TRBP-TheIslesSE (by Relic)
These maps have had seperate releases and have been reviewed in full. Fundamentally, these versions of the maps are the same as the others. Only noticeable differences are that they are considerably larger and have had a serious aesthetic overhaul. They basically play out the same though.

One main difference aside from the overhaul and update, is that Europa now has blast doors on the bases which can be opened or closed from inside. Useful for keeping people out, but similarly not so useful in the respect that it keeps your people in. Use with discretion, naturally.

Check the reviews and screenshots here:
- [file="75574"]Europa[/file]
- [file="76359"]The Plaza[/file]
- [file="75574"]The Isles[/file]

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Vehicles

Ahh, yes, quite a few new vehicles were added here. You can find and play with them all on the Demolition map for the most part. However, the SEAL Landing Craft is only available on The Isles in Onslaught.

Flakrat:
A light scout vehicle built off a modified Scorpion framework, with dual flak cannons installed in lieu of the web cannon and blades. It's also seemingly lighter and faster. Taking fire from this baby is like taking fire from four pissed off flak monkeys at once. Ouch!

FragEd Special:
A crimson motorbike with a minigun and a grenade launcher as it's primary and secondary weapons. Tapping jump while riding will trigger a quick vertical boost, whereas holding the button will trigger a flip maneuver. The bike can be fully rotated during this maneuver.

Locust Hoverboard:
Needs no explanation, as we're likely all familiar with UT3's Hoverboard. Hitting jump will cause the Locust to jump in much the same way as the Manta, and hitting secondary fire will trigger the Locust's attack - a close range cyclone spin which crushes whatever it comes into contact with.

Wyvern:
A red bike which fires two types of rocket-propelled grenade. Primary is fragmentation, secondary is incendiary. Primary is more effective against armored targets, whereas secondary seems to be more useful against lighter targets. Like the FragEd bike, it has aerobatical capabilities.

Scorpion MkII:
Basically, a Scorpion, with a high-caliber chaingun installed.

Manta MkII:
Aside from the really really big chaingun on the front, this is indistinguishable from a standard Manta. Be careful, this thing hurts.

SEAL Landing Craft:
An unarmed vehicle used for ocean transport. It's only real purpose is travelling from island to island while staying under the radar.

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Mutators, Pickups and Extra Weapons

See the Readme section for a list of mutators and pickups.

One criticism I do have, is the addition of shoulder-mounted link cannons and rocket launchers. As cool as such features are, the way they are implemented, they automatically fire when you fire any weapon, consuming ammo. This does equal more damage, but there are a lot of bad side effects. Makes it harder for a sniper to do their job without revealing their location, for instance, not to mention the fact that your rocket launcher and link gun will be almost always empty. This feature does need rethinking a little, I'd say.

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On the whole a high-quality pack, lots of content, and as an extra it adds a folder full of TRBP wallpapers.

The most important part by far is that unlike the UT2003 Style mutator Epic included, the mutator included in TRBP really does revert the game to UT2003's style of play to a degree where I can barely tell the difference.

Nice work from everyone on the team, could still use a little refinement, but that's what Beta versions are for. Everyone remember to give these guys some feedback!