Opening thoughts:
Today I've done something different and reviewed a trilogy of maps. Now maps that choose to go the route of making sequels and threequels they do one of three thigs:
1. Make new and interesting Puzzles under the same name and theme
(These types of maps had a really strong core idea in its first incarnation and as such the creator wants to keep toying with it in new ways, and thus spawns new maps)
2. The Sweeping storyline goes on
(Most people who make maps with stories have some idea where they would go with a trilogy, and if they recieve enough acclaim they will go ahead and make it)
3. Story need
(The last one is story need, where by the creator decides that they want to make a large scale story now, whilst making a map tht is similar, bt because there was no story before but there is now the audience gets confused)
Todays map is the third.
Visuals: This map's visuals are quite good with differing colour and space. This is particularily notable in the start of the second map when you enter the forest at the start. However despite that forest I just mentioned and a few monumnets spelling out the creators name here or there, the map really struggles to get past the basic room of a different colour scenario and whilst this doesn't make the map too pedestrian, it does start to get a bit samey by the third map.
[6.5/10]
Challenge: Being a puzzle map it feels s though the creator has puzzle tested to a fault, making sure that no puzzle is too simple but at the same time passable
[4/5]
Length: With the challenge of puzzles come the issue of length, and whilst I don't want to say too much about the puzzles already, I feel as though these maps probably should have just squashed its original ideas together in one map.
[2.5/5]
Story:
The story confused me a tad, it seems like the story is that yo aare in some sort of P.E. class run by Satan and that you just have to get to the end, but then you seem to have been kidnapped by a man called V. Llain and Mr Llain want to kill you, which he does and then in the third game you are mysteriously reserected in a prison with Mr Llain running around again. It really does smack just a bit like the creator just made his deccent puzzle game and then decided to make a sequel that began an epic story. I'm going to score this because the story elements work as the opening and framing device for the second and third game.
[6/10]
Puzzle Variety: Here is the thing about this category, whilst I do tend to focus on how the puzzles in the game work, the name of the category is Puzzle VARIETY, and this game really stumbles at the second part of that name. As I stated back in the length section of this ciritique these maps really feel like they should have been combined into one map and dropped most of the jumping puzzles because there is very little variety between them. Sure sometimes yur jumping over air and sometimes it is lava and sometimes it is a group of ferocious looking teddy bears, almost all of them will result in you jumping from one stone block to the other. Mind you as I said with the challenge section each of these puzzles do work, proving just difficult enough to keep you going without getting impossible, but the third time I'm jumping from one block to another it starts to get a bit boring.
[6/10]
Things That Need Improvement:- Puzzle Variety, try and make new and interesting puzzles for the third map (which is a WIP I'm assuming)
- Story aspects, are they important or can you just be about puzzely fun?
Things That Neeed No-Improvement:- Level design, just keep doing what you're doing.
Final Thoughts:
These maps felt too long and too repetative for me to get continious enjoyment out of them. What I would reccomend is playing the first or the second map (or the third when it is done). They are both self sufficiant enough that you can play them without need for the other. Also within themselves the puzzles don't repeate too much, making for a fun experience.
Percentage Score: 63%
Link: http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/682834-parkouradv-run-boy-run-series/
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