Opening Thoughts:It's a strange thing to say, but I don't think games have really ever done compassion in its audience well, they've never really given us a character that we an look at and feel sorry for. I mean I can think of plenty of games that give their characters tragic backstories that are meant to make us understand or emathise with our charcaters position, but no matter how sympathetic they try to make you feel it is somewhat undercut when the next section will usually see this same tragic figure open his oponnent from goolies to gourd with somewhat of a smile. It's less a problem with games and more a inherent issue with the genre in general. Probably the closest I've ever empathised with a characters sad position was in Red Dead Redpemtion but thats probably because I play the nice ay rather than the evil, killing, sleeping around kind of way. But here we have a map that tries to tug at our heart strings, now without the usual problems of having a main character who specialises in killing... however there are other issues.
Visual:The visuals in this map are nice and varied, with the three key structure providing a opertunity for 3 different stlyed temples that the map runs with, running with the usual water, lava and dirt. However the length of these areas does beome an issue, with the colours starting to feel a tad monotemeous just before the game sweeps us off to the next area just before we become bored with it..
[7.5/10]
Challenge:The puzzles in this map provide enough of a varied challenge to keep the player intrigued, with the usual jumping and lever puzzles, but there isn't anything to hard here. Nearly everything can be done on the first or second run through without excerting much more than a wave of the keys. Agian you won't feel bored but you may feel its a tad easy.
[2.5/5]
Length:Ths section is very good, as discussed last time a map with a stry should stick to it and not try to tack random story elements after what has clearly been an ending. This map deftly avoids that, it builds up to it's titular goldmine, extending us out for 3 keys, before wrapping up nicely when our over all objectives have been achieved. HOWEVER, and this is a big however, there are far far far too many instances in this map where I'm supposed to take a minecart places purley to avoid good old spacial padding. I didn't mind the times when I was comming back from a temple, becaus it made sense, but when I start the map to a 'secret goldmine of doom' I expect it to be a tad harder to find than just jumping in a convieniantly placeed minecart.
[3.5/5]
Puzzle Variety:I won't mark on this because this is supposed to be an adventure map. But the puzzles that do turn up are nothing special. You shouldn't have much trouble with them and I wouldn't reccomend them as a selling point of the map.
Story:So far in this review I seem to have had a tentative relation with this map, not out right damning it but not really lavishing it with praise either. Well here is where that all stops because the story, is unfortunatly the worst aspect of the map. As I said at the start trying to make us feel some compassion for player characters is usually a failed process in games and here it proves a particularily poor tactic because it is pretty much the only chracter trait we are given. Supposedly our daughter and family are dying of starvation, so rather than getting a job or something, we decide to sail off an find a goldmine that has killed hundreds of solitary care providers before us. As you may be able to tell from that sumation this plot doesn't make alot of sense, I mean if we have no money then how did we afford the boat we rocked up on? and why don't we just dig up the minecart track and just sell that at home. You see once you take away the normal gamer backstory of simply wanting fame and fortune the plot starts to become an unweildly messs of motivations and feelings. My suggestion is that the creator takes it back down a notch, just get the guy to come looking for the fame and fortune of finding the gold, or if you really want to have the starving family style backstory then mae there be some potion for our daughters mytery illness in there that you are trying to percure, or esle we'll have no reason to feel or empathise with your characters and the whole backstory just becomes a big mess.
[3.5/10]
Things that need Improvement:- Story
- Minecart rides
Things that need No-Improvement:- Visual Design
Final Thoughts:As wit most adventure maps this one is cursed by the fact it will live and die by its story, and since the story is relativly poor then it really isn't reccmendable just yet. What I will say for it is that it looks nice and is all set up well Maybe just hold off until the story is righted and then jump straight in when the plot holes won't niggle at you (or if you're not like me and don't give a damn about story and just want puzzles... go play a puzzle game.)
Perrcentage Score: 57%
Link: http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/549599-%e2%98%85-%e2%98%85-adv-goldmine-4500-downloads-v25-1819-compatible-%e2%98%85-%e2%98%85/
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