Sunday, June 18, 2017

The Dark Army: Uprising

******NOTE: SPOILERS AHEAD! PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED THE DARK ARMY: UPRISING YET!*******







Author: Titeuf-85 (William)
# of levels: 6 (5 playable and 1 cutscene)
Rating: 8.5/10
Difficulty: Medium to Hard




I'm finally back with another review! Today, I'm reviewing the Rtcw SP standalone mod called The Dark Army: Uprising made by Titeuf-85.



There are 6 levels in this mod, 1 of which is only a cutscene. The cutscene level is at the very start of the mod, and unfortunately it can't be skipped like most cutscenes in other releases. Apart from all cutscenes being unskippable, there are some other small nuances with this mod. I'll discuss those first.


One of the nuances that exist in this mod are the redundancy of puzzles, which usually consist of activating a button which unlocks the door to another button which unlocks the door to another button. This is an interesting puzzle, but after doing it for a while, it starts to get annoying. This puzzle was used in a majority of the mod's levels, so after doing this puzzle continuously, you start to want something different. I'm not saying that this is a bad puzzle, but the other levels of the mod needed more variety in their puzzles. Reusing the same puzzle for almost every level is too redundant.


Another nuance is the spawning of some enemies. There are multiple occasions where soldiers or other enemies spawn from nowhere, with no door being nearby to make sense of where they actually came from. This is really evident on the final level during the Super Soldier fight, where 2 Protosoldiers appear behind the player after a cutscene. Another example is on the same level, where Deathshead is shown in a small room above where the final fight will take place, and there is no door in the room anywhere for Deathshead to enter or exit. While these are not major issues, they are still issues.


When this mod was first released in 2015, it had a promising story but a rather poor execution. Thankfully, Titeuf-85 fixed most of the problems and greatly improved the mod as a whole.



That's about it for the nuances of The Dark Army: Uprising. Now, I'll discuss the good aspects of the mod.



First, I'll talk about the secrets and treasure. Both are hidden rather well in many cases, with some requiring skillful jumping and others requiring some form of parkour. And a few are really easy to find, being in plain sight and requiring little to no effort to reach. There is some awesome variety in secret and treasure placement, so that's definitely a plus.


Next, I'll talk about the level design. While it's nothing amazing, there are some unique areas that I noticed. For example, in the crypt level, the upper areas in the big room near the level's start are interesting and remind me of the level design in some of kat (Ken Beyer's) releases, like Relic Hunt or Castlekeep. Since this mod is Titeuf's first public release, I won't be too harsh in criticizing his level design skills. =)



Next, I'll talk about Easter Eggs. That's right; there are Easter Eggs in this mod, if you never noticed them while playing. Some that I noticed were:



  • A promotional poster for the Rtcw SP addon called Horrors of Hell
  • A promotional poster for Carl Brooks (Deathshead, Karl and Wilhelm von Starke's voice actor)
  • A promotional poster for the Rtcw SP addon called Operation Deathshead
  • Some cubes with the logo of The Renegadist (Jack Stone and The Director's voice actor)
  • A promotional poster for the Rtcw SP addon called The Victors
  • A promotional poster for Titeuf's company called 85 Productions
  • A promotional poster for the Rtcw SP mod called Runaway
  • A promotional poster for the Rtcw SP addon called Flying Saucers
  • A picture of a cat

If you noticed all of these Easter Eggs, then good for you! If you didn't, then you should be more observant! Let me know if there are any eggs that I missed.


Next, I'll talk about the voice actors. That's right; this mod has actual voice actors that did several of the important characters. Below are the characters and their associated actors.



  • Jack Stone and The Director - The Renegadist (Max Huggins)
  • BJ Blazkowicz - MegapiemanPHD
  • Deathshead, Karl von Starke and Wilhelm von Starke - Carl Brooks (Br0kenEnglish)

These voice actors did a good job. The only character that needed a better voice was The Director, because his voice was too quiet and sounded a little strange as well. I know that I'm not the only player with this opinion, because I've seen other comments with the same thoughts.



Next, I'll talk about the difficulty levels. The first level (the village) starts out rather easy, but the difficulty greatly increases beginning with the fourth level (track), where the player starts the level with 50 health, even if his health was above 50 in the previous level. I'll explain why his health is at 50 later. From this point on, the remainder of the mod is very challenging, where the player is given plenty of ammo but very little health/armor. The enemies are nasty, having a decent amount of health and accuracy. This mod will truly test your FPS skills, especially with the final fight against Deathshead's gigantic Super Soldier.



Next, I'll talk about what weapons the enemies have.




  • Luger
  • Silenced Luger
  • MP40
  • Mauser Rifle
  • MP44
  • G43 Rifle
  • Mobile MG42
  • Scoped Mauser
  • FG42
  • Panzerfaust
  • MP34
  • Sten
  • Venom Gun
  • Tesla Gun
  • Flamethrower

As you can see, the enemies have a big variety of weapons, some of which are custom weapons that cannot be found in the original Rtcw game. I'll talk more about the custom weapons later.



Next, I'll talk about what enemies appear in the mod.




  • Regular Infantry
  • Officers
  • Zombies
  • Warrior Zombies
  • Flame Zombies
  • Olarics
  • Eliteguards
  • Venom Soldiers
  • Scientists
  • Mechanics
  • Blackguard Paratroopers
  • Lopers
  • Protosoldiers
  • Super Soldier

As you can see, there are also a variety of enemies in the mod. Some are weak obviously, while others will put your survival skills to the test. Having variety in both weapons and enemies is another plus for this mod.



Next, I'll talk about the story of the mod. We start out the mod at the OSA (Office of Secret Actions). The time of day will either be daytime or nighttime, depending on which time of day mode that you selected when you started playing. That's another plus to this mod is the day or night setting, where both settings have differences in the amount of enemies as well as what weapons some of them have. The night mode has less soldiers, more zombies, and most soldiers have silenced weapons. The day mode has more soldiers, less zombies, and most soldiers have loud weapons.


Back to the OSA, we hear Jack Stone talking to The Director about what's going on inside of a village in Germany. While they are discussing the situation, you will notice the connections to previous Wolfenstein games, like Wolfenstein 2009, and of course, Rtcw. We even hear a brief discussion about Simon the Wanderer, who is shown on the original Rtcw SP intro to have confronted Heinrich I, and sealed him into the Earth. That's another plus to this mod is the amount of work that went into the story aspect, where various connections to previous events are made.


If you played Wolfenstein 2009, then you will know that Deathshead survived the Zeppelin crash, which is shown in a small scene after the game's credits finish rolling. His surprising survival is mentioned a few times in The Dark Army: Uprising, which is once again a plus. Jack explains to The Director that Deathshead is planning to create an invincible army called The Dark Army, which is where this mod gets its name from obviously.


After discussing the situation further, it's decided that only one man can stop the enemy's plans: BJ Blazkowicz! We then see Jack communicating with BJ via a radio, where BJ is given a summary of his mission. Another plus to this scene is when BJ is shown to blame himself over the death of Agent One, who died in the first level of the original Rtcw game at the hands of Dr. Zee. I say that this is a plus because it gives more depth to BJ as a character, which you rarely see in custom Rtcw SP releases.



After being briefed with his mission, BJ sets out to once again stop the Nazis! Throughout the remainder of the mod, Jack will give BJ various instructions via the radio. The objectives for each level range from eliminating various threats to destroying something of importance. A few objectives also involve activating certain buttons or switches.



BJ is shown to enter the German-occupied village that was mentioned in the intro cutscene at the OSA. After entering the village and cleaning it from the Nazi filth, BJ finds a secret entrance to the sewers that run below the village. Once in the sewers, he has to disable some security devices in order to unlock some doors. Unfortunately for him, most of the doors are locked and he must unlock each door, one at a time.


Since the crypt's entrance from the sewers is unknown to the Kreisau Circle, BJ must find the entrance himself. Up until this point, the Kreisau Circle had the required information that BJ needed for his mission, but the crypt's entrance from the sewers is one thing that they didn't know. Once BJ found it, he was warned by Jack to be careful, as he might encounter anything in the upcoming crypt.



Upon entering the crypt, he hears some distant Nazis panicking and being killed by zombies. Jack then gives BJ a new objective: to eliminate Christoph Machtig, who was previously mentioned during the OSA cutscene as being a threat that worked closely with Deathshead. Another objective for BJ is to find the Dark Relic, which was also previously mentioned in the OSA cutscene as being a powerful artifact that gives invincibility to its user. Simon the Wanderer apparently used this artifact to seal Heinrich I into the Earth, and now Deathshead wants it for his own evil use. 



After being briefed, BJ sets out to do his duties. He finds and kills Christoph Machtig, kills some Nazis, and also some zombies who are awoken by the disturbance. This crypt level has the classic Nazi vs zombie fights, like the original Rtcw game did. A good tactic is to let them fight each other, and then kill whoever won the fight.



One interesting item that BJ can pick up is a book called The Dark Army: Volume 1. This book is similar to the original game's Venom Tech Manual and the Paranormal Division's Project Book, because it gives detailed information on the Nazi's plans. It doesn't appear to be mandatory to pick this book up, but I would recommend finding it at least once and reading its contents. It's only a few pages in length, so it's not too long. The book talks about The Dark Relic and Deathshead's plans for it.



One typical but great addition to this mod is the use of clipboards, which contain backstory on what's happening. One of the clipboards that BJ finds in the crypt gives him some bad news: the Nazis have found The Dark Relic and are sending it to Deathshead's nearby base, where he plans to unleash The Dark Army. As BJ is going down an elevator, Jack gives this same information to him, and gives him a new objective: escape the crypt and go to Deathshead's base to stop him.


To make things worse, one of the clipboards that BJ reads mentions a "trap" that the Nazis have prepared for him somewhere in the crypt. After this additional bad news, we get to see an interesting Nazi vs zombie fight: some soldiers against an Olaric (or 2 if you're playing the night mode). The player's screen will temporarily go black as the soldiers are hit with the Olaric's spirit attacks, so don't let that worry you. This is a bug with the game itself, because Olaric was never intended to fight anyone other than the player. This type of fight is rare, so that's another plus for the mod.



As BJ traverses through the crypt, he eventually arrives at a narrow hallway where the floor collapses below him due to an explosion. It's revealed that this is the "trap" that was mentioned on a clipboard earlier, and in a panic, Jack warns BJ to avoid getting captured, otherwise the mission will fail. Unfortunately, BJ gets captured and taken to a nearby torturing facility.



You may think that this is the end of the mod, but you're wrong! Continue reading.




After BJ's capture, we see scientists working with machinery and torture devices as someone is talking to him. The cutscene doesn't show the actual conversation unfortunately; we only hear it coming through a slightly opened door as the camera rotates around the room. Apparently BJ is being interrogated by a someone, who is later revealed to be Karl von Starke. Karl tells BJ a story about how he interrogated and tortured an English agent, who was captured on a Nazi battleship during Karl's stay in Africa.


We don't learn the name of this agent, but we do find out that Karl almost considered him to be "death incarnate", since the agent survived various torture sessions without giving in to them. The agent also escaped his captors, and traveled all the way from Africa to Germany, where Karl had went, to kill him. According to Karl, the agent's motivation for doing so was the pain that he had went through when he was being tortured. Karl was close to being killed by the agent, but somehow the agent failed in his mission. We don't find out if the agent died or not. Karl concludes his story by telling BJ that even he was not "death incarnate", and such a thing doesn't exist.


BJ then says that he's different from the English agent, and that he won't fail to kill a single Nazi. We hear him struggle, and it sounds like he's strapped to a table or a chair as something metallic falls to the floor. Karl tells BJ that Deathshead actually wants him to be alive to see the uprising of The Dark Army, but not in a healthy state. After taunting BJ, he inflicts pain on BJ's face, which leaves a scar that we see in a future cutscene. Once Karl scars BJ's face, he angrily orders BJ to be sent to a prisoner cell, which concludes this long but interesting cutscene. 


This is probably my favorite cutscene from the mod, because it gives some interesting backstory as well as some personality to the characters (BJ and Karl). But as I've said before, an option to skip the cutscenes would be great, after you've seen them a few times. This one in particular is about 3 minutes long, so an option to skip it would be nice.



After BJ is placed into a prisoner cell, he has a health of 50, all of his weapons/ammo are gone, and his radio equipment to communicate with Jack is gone as well. He's on his own, for this level at least. This is where the mod becomes difficult, for reasons that I've already stated. The "prisoner cell" definately doesn't look like one though, so I think that the level design could have been better here. Also, somehow BJ managed to keep a knife in his arsenal without having it confiscated by the Nazis like his other stuff was.



There is a convenient weak spot in the wall for BJ to escape the cell. After escaping, an interesting clipboard has someone wondering why Deathshead wants BJ to stay alive.  After getting a gun from a dead soldier, BJ once again resumes his mission to go towards Deathshead's base. After taking a slow-moving elevator, he encounters some lopers, which are attacking the Nazis. I would definitely recommend that you let them fight each other, and kill whoever wins the fight. You cannot afford to waste health or ammo from this level onwards!



Also, note that the lopers are larger than usual, and the typical blue tesla on their bottoms are now red. This is explained in a clipboard that I will mention shortly.




While this level is annoying with its "switch puzzle", it's not bad either. After opening various doors and activating various switches, a clipboard talks about the mysterious change in the lopers that I mentioned above. Apparently, Deathshead has used The Dark Relic's power on the lopers, which is why they look different than usual.




After finally opening the entrance to Deathshead's base, BJ proceeds on. Here comes the final level!




We start out the final level with another cutscene, where BJ has killed some Nazis and somehow has found his radio equipment that was confiscated when he was captured. After re-connecting with Jack, BJ is ordered to find Deathshead and stop him from unleashing The Dark Army. A small bug at the end of the cutscene is hearing BJ dying (the body fall sound plays as the cutscene ends).


Before taking the large elevator, notice that a modified Tesla Gun is sitting on a table, accompanied by a letter. The letter talks about the gun briefly, referring to it as the Tesla-44DR, a weapon that uses some of The Dark Relic's power. This weapon was originally going to set enemies on fire during the mod's first release in 2015, but that idea was unfortunately removed and the modified gun is the exact same as the original game's Tesla Gun.


As BJ takes the slow elevator downwards, he enters a large outside area where there are some enemies that can be easily killed with a scoped weapon. After killing some Nazis, he encounters Wilhelm von Starke, who is the brother of Karl von Starke. Wilhelm mentions that he was the designer of the original Tesla Gun, and that BJ is too late, since Deathshead will be unleashing The Dark Army very soon. A fight ensues after this.


This fight involves 2 protosoldiers, Wilhelm himself, and a shit-ton of lopers. My advice here is to hide in one of the empty openings in the wall. Be careful though, because a shit-ton of lopers will appear after you kill one of the protosoldiers, so don't be surprised if some appear behind you (if you hid in one of the empty openings in the wall).



After killing some of the enemies here, a ladder from a walkway above will be lowered, and you can climb it to progress. Note that you can kill the remaining lopers from this walkway, where it seems that they can't hurt you. Use this walkway to your advantage!



After killing more Nazis, Jack informs BJ that behind a large gate is where Deathshead is. Be warned however that the upcoming fight is very difficult, so make sure that you grab as much health, ammo, and armor as you can!


Before I get to the final fight, there's a few things that I want to mention. First, note a conversation (on readable letters) between Deathshead and Karl von Starke. Karl knows that BJ will escape from his imprisonment, and go after Deathshead. Karl also mentions that another "uprising" is occurring other than Deathshead's, so Karl clearly has something planned that Deathshead might not agree with...



After BJ finally finds Deathshead, he is told that Deathshead is "delighted to see him". Deathshead then gives a small speech about the uprising that will be coming. He mentions that this is "just the beginning" for BJ, and that people will suffer at the cost of the new world order: THE DARK ARMY! After this dramatic statement, BJ is greeted by a GIANT Super Soldier!


This is no doubt the toughest fight in the mod. My advice here would be to hide in either doorway (there are 2 doors that can be opened to your left and to your right). Stay around either doorway, and fire in short bursts at the Super Soldier's legs, since that appears to be its only weak point. The 2 protosoldiers that appear behind you after the cutscene with Deathshead are easy to kill, but try to sprint towards either doorway first for cover.


Both doorways have a medical cabinet that contains a small amount of health, but use them wisely. Every drop of blood will matter in this fight! Do NOT stay in one spot for too long, because the Super Soldier will most likely kill you easily with its Tesla Gun, which it fires instantly upon seeing you. Hiding in either doorway seems to work well, because the Super Soldier seems to have trouble attacking you if you're there. If this fight is giving you trouble, then just keep trying and save often!



After the defeat of the GIANT Super Soldier, you can hear Deathshead doing something that not even BJ knows. An alarm is turned on, and distant gunfire starts. Jack tells a confused BJ that "something has happened", and a mercenary group has infiltrated Deathshead's base. But apparently something is not good about this group, because Jack says something about them and tells BJ to "get out of there" in a panic. It's difficult to hear what Jack is saying here, because his radio transmissions suddenly become weaker. BJ starts to run away as the ceiling is caving in (rocks can be seen falling from the ceiling). And that's the end of The Dark Army: Uprising!


Ending the mod on a cliffhanger was an excellent idea, in my opinion. Who was this mercenary group? What was Deathshead doing in the room that he was in? What happened to BJ? Some of these questions will apparently be answered in the upcoming sequel called The Dark Army: Downfall!



Now that I've discussed a majority of the mod's content, let's finish with the custom weapons! That's right; this mod has a handful of custom weapons that are NOT available in the original Rtcw game. They include the following.




  • M1 Garand
  • BAR
  • MP34
  • MP44
  • G43 Rifle
  • Mobile MG42


These weapons are all from the RealRTCW 2.0 mod, which The Dark Army: Uprising uses as a base.




That's all that I have to say about The Dark Army: Uprising. An addon version (non-standalone) and standalone version are both available for this mod, so you can still play it, even if you don't have Rtcw installed on your PC. 



What are you waiting for? Go and kill some Nazis in The Dark Army: Uprising, if you haven't already!






Walkthrough by Vicpas: https://goo.gl/9gXRyT


Playthrough by Yo$hik in "extreme quality": https://goo.gl/agvJvJ


Playthrough by ZED: https://goo.gl/UrGbww


Playthrough by Tatiana: https://goo.gl/0RGqVu


Playthrough by Juho: https://goo.gl/aXftB8


Playthrough by General Red: https://goo.gl/vMMo7J


Playthrough by me: https://goo.gl/LtjkJ3



Saturday, February 18, 2017

Beach Defend

********NOTE: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS! PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED Beach Defend!************



Authors: Ronboy (me) and Vicpas (Vicente Pasquino)
# of levels: 1
Rating: 6.5/10
Difficulty: Medium to Hard

It's been a long while since my last review of a Rtcw SP release. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy!


Today, I will be reviewing Beach Defend by Ronboy and Vicpas, which consists of only 1 level. I want to begin by saying that this map was originally created by me for my old addon called Operation Deathshead, as a bonus level. Unfortunately, the game's strict limitations forced me to constantly remove cool details and effects from the map, until I finally was forced to abandon the map. The bunker section was kept intact for Operation Deathshead, but the beach area was removed.

In the original setting of Beach Defend (before it was removed from Operation Deathshead), the player was a German soldier who was tasked by Deathshead to protect the bunker and lab from the Allied attack. However, when the map was altered by Vicpas, the setting changed. Now, the player must protect the bunker from a large scale coastal attack by the Allies, steal some top secret documents, protect some radar communications, and finally destroy a captured submarine (u-boat). Some of these objectives were newly added when Vicpas altered the map (the radar communications and secret documents were not in the original version).

In addition to the 2 new objectives, a secret area and a treasure item (a gold bar) were added. There is a hint near the secret's location, so see if you can find it if you haven't already! I quite enjoyed the new effects and details that were added to the map as well. I definitely would like to thank Vicpas for reviving this map, because I had no plans to do anything with it. Without him, the map probably would have never been released to the community. Thanks, Vicpas!

I gave this map a 6.5 rating out of 10, because while it was much better than the original version, the level design was still very amateur (the flat beach, the very tall ceiling in the bunker, and the transition from the beach to the ocean were poorly designed). But, these amateur attributes are not the fault of Vicpas, but rather me, since I originally created the map. Vicpas only enhanced the map while leaving the level design unchanged. It would definitely be interesting to see how different the map would be if I would have created it more recently, with my improved mapping and scripting skills.

Let's discuss the level of difficulty next. This map is medium to hard in its difficulty, because the Allied soldiers are fairly tough and have a variety of weapons. In addition to this, they usually try to overwhelm you with their large numbers. Their weaponry consists of the:

~ Thompson
~ Colt
~ Mauser Rifle
~ Panzerfaust
~ Flamethrower
~ Sten
~ Scoped Mauser


As you can see, the weaponry listed above combined with the large number of Allied soldiers means that your skills will definitely be tested. You won't be alone though; you have your German companions to help you out. Their weaponry consists of the:

~ MP40
~ Luger
~ Silenced Luger
~ Mounted MG42
~ Scoped Mauser
~ Flamethrower
~ FG42


As you can see, your companions are fairly strong too. Be careful not to kill any of them though, because your mission will fail. Also, your mission will fail if the officer shown at the level's start is killed by the Allies. Don't let the Allies get to him!


If you're looking for some advice on how to beat this level, then I will gladly help. The first obvious advice is to use tactics that you would use in all Rtcw SP releases (always try to get headshots on enemies, conserve health/ammo, etc...). In the case of this level, most of the Allied soldiers will try to enter the bunker once the entrance door is destroyed. The door won't be destroyed until you approach it, so don't worry about rushing to the bunker's entrance. When the Allied soldiers try to enter the bunker, hide behind one of the side walls and kill them as they enter. Be aware however that there will be a few Allies hiding on the beach or inside the lander boats, even after the bunker's entrance door is destroyed. If you follow this advice and save the game often, then you should have no problem with completing the level, even if it takes a few attempts. Don't give up!


One more thing: be aware that 1 lander with about 5 Allied soldiers will spawn after you steal the secret documents. One of them has a panzerfaust, and he will try to destroy the radar communications. You must stop him, or the mission will fail. Some more of your companions will spawn at this time too, so you won't be alone.


Overall, Beach Defend is a nice and small level to play, especially for the challenge factor. The heavy action combined with the death messages (for example: Pvt. Bell has been killed) are very similar to the gameplay style of a multiplayer game like Rtcw MP or Wolf ET. It's a nice addition that makes this level more appealing.


That's all for this review. Thanks for reading.



Walkthrough by Vicpas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4vCbJlmqys

Playthrough by General Red: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89LIKYraEC4 

Playthrough by V8PRO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5kdT64m7LE

Playthrough by me: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PRT4HDrzkkY

Playthrough by Yo$hik in "extreme quality": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap4NwyxEHnI&t=1s

Confused on how to install Rtcw SP addons? Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzbOUVNa89E





Saturday, June 20, 2015

Dark Matters

********NOTE: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS! PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED DARK MATTERS!************


Author: Yo$hik
# of levels: 5
Rating: 7/10
Difficulty: Medium to Hard

Yo$hik has returned with another interesting addon for Rtcw SP. Dark Matters is a 5 level addon, but the last map is only a cutscene. As far as gameplay goes, that means there are only 4 playable levels.

The theme for Dark Matters is something that is currently an unused idea for Rtcw SP releases: aliens! That's right, aliens are in Dark Matters. Unfortunately, the player doesn't get the opportunity to fight them. Starting with the last playable level, you will see dead aliens everywhere. It seems that the Nazis had fun with experimenting on the aliens.

But first, let's start at the beginning of Dark Matters. According to the mission briefing, the player is apparently an agent who is searching for one of his comrades, who was captured by the Nazis. The player arrives on a train, similar to the beginning of Vendetta, which is another addon made by Yo$hik.

But instead of being a spy who sneaked onto the train (in the case of Vendetta), the player apparently was brought to a Nazi-occupied village along with a group of prisoners. The player then must sneak past the guards, until he reaches a hotel.

Once he arrives at the hotel, he finds a woman in a wine cellar who is tied to a wall. She apparently was one of the hotel workers who was tied to the wall by the agent that the player is searching for. The agent did this to prevent the woman from alerting the Nazis about his presence.

In the wine cellar, the player finds a key to one of the hotel rooms. Inside the hotel room is a case containing 2 weapons: the Sten and the Silenced Luger. A flak jacket is also laying near the case.

After the player is armed with weaponry, he must fight his way through a part of the town, and enter a cathedral. Inside the cathedral are SS soldiers who are rather dangerous with their high accuracy. The player must then enter the basement of the cathedral after he makes it through the top area.

After going through a small torture chamber, the player will enter a laboratory. From here on is where things become strange and creepy. There are dead bodies everywhere in the lab. The walls and floors are covered with blood. Parts of the lab are destroyed or are on fire. Something is not right...

In the 4th level, the player will notice something rather disturbing. There are dead aliens everywhere, some attached to the ceiling, and others laying on tables. It's clear that the Nazis were experimenting on some aliens, but the aliens fought back.

Near the end of Dark Matters, the player encounters Deathshead, who has 2 female assistants for some reason...( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)


Anyway, the player must fight 2 protosoldiers, who are rather tough. After the player defeats them, he will stop to observe the madness that the Nazis have been conducting in the laboratory. Unfortunately, one of Deathshead's assistants walks behind him, and knocks him out with a needle injection. Deathshead has some plans for the agent...


The final level will show what plans Deathshead had exactly. The player is apparently now a supersoldier. The player failed in his mission to find his captured comrade.


Meanwhile, a group of Nazis are observing a temple located on top of a snowy mountain. They have a conversation, which quickly turns into a rather noisy argument. The noise attracts some aliens who are hiding within the shadows of the temple. What happens after that is obvious.


Now that I've explained the story of Dark Matters, I'll discuss the enemies.


The enemies include:

~ Nazi Soldiers

~ Venom Soldiers

~ Officers

~ Protosoldiers

~ Scientists


As you can see, there isn't much variety with the type of enemies.


The enemy weapons include:

~ MP40

~ Mauser Rifle

~ Luger

~ Flamethrower

~ Venom

~ Panzerfaust

~ Tesla


On the other hand, the weaponry in Dark Matters has quite a bit of variety. This combined with the low amount of health packs makes Dark Matters a challenge.

As I said before, the enemies can be very accurate, so it's a good idea to take your time and save often.

There are some secret areas and treasure hidden in Dark Matters. Some are really easy to find, while others are a bit difficult. One of them in particular requires some trick jumping.

As usual from Yo$hik, Dark Matters includes quite a bit of custom content, such as new textures, custom sounds, custom models, and custom music. The notebook (N key) is finally not empty, which is an improvement for Yo$hik.

Another improvement is the use of animated custom models, such as the civilians inside the hotel of the first level, and the guinea pigs inside some cages in the first laboratory level.

The main menu for Dark Matters is obviously custom, and I really like it. It really sets the mood, in my opinion.

You may be wondering: why is the score for Dark Matters a 7/10? I will answer that question now.
Like Yo$hik's other works, there are still many bugs in this release. Also, there was supposed to be an English version of Dark Matters, but it apparently was canceled.

Other than that, Dark Matters is a well-made addon. But I think that Vendetta and especially Devils Manor 2: Edge of Darkness are much better overall when compared to Dark Matters. Another reason why Dark Matters pales in comparison to Yo$hik's other works is due to how short it is (only 5 levels).

The atmosphere in Dark Matters is great, but it's not as good as Yo$hik's other works. I'm sure that many of you agree with me on that.


That's about all that I have to say. Thanks for reading!

Dark Matters Trailer (made by Yo$hik): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0qqt20ILFkE

Walkthrough by Vicpas (level 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PR3gN7T54o
Walkthrough by Vicpas (level 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4zQH0mWSPg
Walkthrough by Vicpas (level 3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yR5QryLUUcQ
Walkthrough by Vicpas (level 4): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_3tFhOxab30

My playthrough: http://mikebwolf.wix.com/ronboyproductions#!New-Rtcw-SP-Videos-Uploaded/c12im/55bd767c0cf22a872584f3f6

General Red's playthrough: http://goo.gl/GVMDnM

Confused on how to install Rtcw SP addons? Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzbOUVNa89E


Yo$hik's playthrough with RealRTCW 2.1 installed: https://goo.gl/44b9nZ







Saturday, March 21, 2015

Horrors of Hell

************NOTE: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS. IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED HORRORS OF HELL YET, PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER.**********

Author: Ronboy (Mike Smith)
# of levels: 3
Rating: 8.3/10
Difficulty: Easy to Medium

My latest release, Horrors of Hell, is a three level addon for Rtcw SP, and my last release (at least on the Quake 3 Arena engine). I don't want to elaborate on this, since it will go off-topic.

If you are familiar with my earlier works (Hell Mappack and Hell Mappack Remake), you will notice a similarity in the map names, map design, and the themes. Horrors of Hell is intended to be a "reboot" for these two releases.

Indeed, it is a reboot, and a well done reboot, in my opinion. Despite the relatively shortness of the maps, the whole addon is almost free of any bugs, and there are some new effects that I've learned as a mapper, to implement them into my project.

An optional stealth mode for the first level, new traps, and more interesting level design are among some of the positive attributes that I can list for Horrors of Hell. Like my previous works, there is quite a bit of custom content available in Horrors of Hell.

Since having BJ be the hero is overdone, I decided to take a different approach, and use someone different. As a result, I came up with a (fictional) highly experienced Russian soldier named Pavlov. You will notice in the OSA briefing for the first level that Pavlov has been given the task of putting a stop to another of the SS Paranormal Division's diabolical projects.

Like my previous works Operation Deathshead and Project Uran, Horrors of Hell uses all 3 custom weapons that are currently available: the Russian PPSH, the German MP44, and the German K43 Rifle. Note that the PPSH was not in Operation Deathshead or Project Uran, so it is actually a new weapon that I've never included before in any of my works. The true challenge (according to other players who have played Horrors of Hell) is conserving ammunition. If you are struggling to finish Horrors of Hell due to low health/ammo, just remember to save the game often. When you don't save the game, dying and having to start the map all over again can become frustrating.

The first level contains no secret areas, but the second and third levels have some. If you want to find all secrets and treasure, be sure to take your time and explore. The secrets are pretty well hidden, but not as good as in some other recent releases such as Flying Saucers.

The ambiance starts out normal, but slowly becomes more creepy as you enter the depths of Hell. If you pay attention to the cutscenes and read all of the letters/clipboards, then you will get a good understanding of what is happening. I think that I may have failed somewhat with making Horrors of Hell as atmospheric as Devils Manor 2: Edge of Darkness, but I at least tried.

Out of all of the custom content used in Horrors of Hell, my favorite is definitely the soundtrack "The House of Leaves" by Kevin Macleod. It's very suiting, especially when you're wondering through the dimension of Hell.

In terms of difficulty, the first level has a medium difficulty, while the second and third levels have a mixture of easy and medium. The first level has an optional stealth mode, which will turn into a tough action mode if the alarm is triggered near the map's beginning. It is entirely possible to survive this action mode (without cheating). Just always remember to be careful of your surroundings, and save often. Rushing through the maps will highly increase your chances of dying, which is usually the case will most Rtcw SP releases. Be careful with the second and third levels, because there are some traps that will instantly kill you.

The enemies include:
~ Nazi Soldiers
~ Scientists
~ Mechanics
~ Venom Soldiers
~ Protosoldiers
~ Lopers
~ Zombies
~ Warrior Zombies
~ Femzombie (Zombie Marianna)
~ Flame Zombie
~ Olaric
~ Heinrich
~ Priestess

The enemy weapons include:
~ MP40
~ MP44
~ K43 Rifle
~ Scoped Mauser
~ MG42
~ Luger
~ Venom
~ Panzerfaust
~ Tesla

As you can see, there are a variety of weapons and enemies, which are very important to the quality of a release, in my opinion.

Overall, I think that Horrors of Hell is a short, but great addon for Rtcw SP. It's probably my best release, by far. There was room for improvement, but nothing is perfect. If you have tried Horrors of Hell, but haven't completed it yet, give it another try and finish it. I think that you will enjoy it.

That's about all that I want to say. Thanks for reading!

 Trailer for Horrors of Hell (thanks Titeuf-85!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPZjbd_l8k4

Confused on how to install Rtcw SP addons? Watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzbOUVNa89E



Walkthrough by Vicpas: http://mikebwolf.wix.com/ronboyproductions#!More-New-Rtcw-SP-Videos-Uploaded/c12im/55d8ef010cf20831ee3b9d7c


Playthrough by General Red: http://goo.gl/zlj7Dp


My playthrough for Horrors of Hell: http://tinyurl.com/otk7fph


Yo$hik's playthrough in "extreme quality": https://goo.gl/qHiNrw



Saturday, January 31, 2015

Flying Saucers

************NOTE: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS. IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED FLYING SAUCERS YET, PLEASE DO NOT READ ANY FURTHER.**********

Author: Depro777 (Denis Nevajno)
# of levels: 12
Rating: 9.2/10
Difficulty: Medium to Hard

Flying Saucers is one of the longest releases for Rtcw SP. Although 2 of the 12 levels are only cutscenes, leaving the number of playable levels to be 10, that doesn't stop this addon from being great.
Flying Saucers has been in development for a few years, and it was finally finished and released a few weeks ago. The author, Depro777, doesn't seem to have much confidence that this addon will be anything special, according to a conversation that I had with him. I don't agree with this, because Flying Saucers is great. When the addon was in the testing stages of development, it wasn't as great. But many errors were corrected to make this addon memorable.
I say that this addon is memorable for quite a few reasons. Keep on reading to discover those reasons.

To begin with, you are given the choice of playing the standalone version (having the original Rtcw game is not required) or the addon version (having the original Rtcw game is required). I played the standalone version until the addon version was released. Once the addon version was released, I removed the standalone version, because I prefer the addon version of releases.

The difficulty of Flying Saucers starts off rather easy, but it becomes more challenging as you complete each level. The toughest levels, in my opinion, are the maps darkles and karyer, due to tough enemies and scattered health. These 2 levels are especially tough, but you shouldn't have to resort to cheating in order to finish them. Just remember to save often, and conserve your ammo/health.

Some of the levels remind me of the original Rtcw SP maps (the default maps). The atmosphere also is similar to the original maps. The crypt levels have great ambiance as well as traps, zombies, and secret areas. The traps in the crypt levels are quite creative, such as a large boulder rolling down a narrow hallway towards the player. There are other traps too, but I won't mention them.

There are some moments of Flying Saucers that are quite exciting, like a truck ride in the map darkles, with enemies shooting at you as the truck drives by them. It can be difficult to survive at times, but you must keep trying. If I was able to finish Flying Saucers (without cheating), then anyone can finish it.

There are quite a few secret areas that are difficult to find. Even after playing Flying Saucers over and over, I still don't know how to access certain secret areas. The author was quite creative with the placement of the secrets, as well as the level design and special effects. You will have to take your time if you want to find all secrets.

Most of the content (or about over half) is default, but there is some custom content used. For example, there are 3 new and 3 (not quite new) weapons:

  • MP44
  • K43 Rifle
  • Mosin Nagant
  • TT33
  • RGD-33 Grenades (only available in the standalone version)
  • PPSH

The MP44 is a modified version of the MP44 from the Additional Weapons Mod by Alexandre. It uses it's own ammo instead of 9mm ammo (which Alexandre's MP44 used).
The K43 Rifle is a modified version of the K43 from Alexandre's Mod. But unlike Alexandre's K43, this one has a slightly slower firing rate. It still uses 792mm ammo like Alexandre's K43 does.
 The Mosin Nagant is a brand new weapon that has never been used in Rtcw before. Some other World War 2 games that I know use this weapon are Call of Duty, Call of Duty: United Offensive, and Call of Duty 2. It only has 5 bullets per round, and you won't get any ammo for it obviously (since you will be behind enemy lines), so use it wisely!
The TT33 is the other new weapon, which has never been used in Rtcw before. This pistol was only available in other games like Call of Duty: United Offensive and Call of Duty 2. Like the Mosin, you won't get any ammo for it, so use it wisely!
The RGD-33 Grenades are another new weapon, which haven't been used in Rtcw before. All of the early Call of Duty games have these grenades available, and now they can be used in Flying Saucers! They can't seem to be thrown far, and they have a high damage radius compared to the German "potato-masher" grenades, so be careful when throwing them, and use them wisely. You have only once chance to get ammo for these grenades, and that's in a secret area on the map dep_lab.
The PPSH is the last custom weapon. The main differences between this modified version and Alexandre's version are: The default key to access it on your keyboard is 8 (it was 5 with Alexandre's version), and it will overheat if you fire it for too long (Alexandre's version didn't overheat).

As you can see, the additional weapons that are included with Flying Saucers help make the addon even better. There are currently no addons that have the TT33, Mosin Nagant, and RGD-33 Grenades included, so having them included with Flying Saucers was a great idea. It really makes the addon special when compared to other addons.

Some of the default content has been modified, such as the "potato-masher" grenades (they have a custom texture, but this feature is only available in the standalone version). Some of the default doors, walls, and logos have replaced what ever they had originally with a UFO (flying saucer) logo. You will see what I mean when you look at the textures yourself.

There are some custom sounds, models, and textures included with Flying Saucers. Some custom skins (for Russian soldiers and officers) can be found in a few of the cutscenes. There are also some custom skins for some of the enemies. Depro777 really put a lot of effort into making Flying Saucers unique.

Among the custom sounds are some new dialogue, which are thankfully in English. The English is not broken either, but the accent may be a bit difficult to understand for some players. There is a little bit of custom music (in the opening cutscene), but the rest is default.

The AI are surprisingly clever at times, and you will have to think things through before you make a decision. Like I said earlier, remember to save often, and conserve health/ammo.

Flying Saucers has a custom main menu, even if you didn't download the standalone version. The player's notebook (N key) works, and there are some custom clipboards and letters in some of the maps.

The theme for Flying Saucers is obviously the Nazi involvement with UFO's (UFO= Unidentified Flying Object). The space theme was tried before in a past release (Operation Redmoon by PolygonValley), but it was never finished unfortunately. That's okay though, because we now have Flying Saucers, which is much better!

The environments for each level will change, like from a snowy village to a factory complex to crypts. The whole idea and aspect of Flying Saucers is truly creative, especially since there are currently no (finished) Rtcw releases out there that use the space/UFO/alien theme.

The enemies that you will face in Flying Saucers include:

  • Doctors/Scientists
  • Soldiers/Guards
  • Paratroopers/Blackguards
  • Zombies
  • Warrior Zombies
  • Flame Zombies
  • Lopers
  • 1 Supersoldier
  • Protosoldiers
  • 1 Olaric
  • 1 Priestess Zombie
  • Officers
  • Elite Guards
  • Venom Soldiers
As you can see, there are a variety of enemies to fight, almost every enemy from the original Rtcw SP campaign. 

The weapons of the enemy include:
  • Luger
  • MP40
  • MP44
  • K43 Rifle
  • FG42
  • Mauser Rifle
  • Sniper Scope (Mauser with a scope)
  • Flamethrower
  • Venom
  • Panzerfaust
  • Sten
  • MG42
  • Tesla
  • "Potato-masher" Grenades
As you can see, the enemy has some tough weaponry, almost every weapon included in Rtcw.

If you read the credits, you will notice that I was one of the testers for Flying Saucers. I was happy to help Depro777 make this addon as error-free as possible. Despite this, there are some (rather small) errors that still exist (which is why I didn't give this addon a rating of 10/10), but they shouldn't affect your enjoyment.

Overall, it's great to see that another large project was successfully finished and released to the Rtcw community. I enjoyed Flying Saucers, and I hope that you enjoyed/will enjoy it as well.

That's all for this review. Thanks for reading!




My playthrough of Flying Saucers: http://tinyurl.com/pxh8roc


General Red's playthrough: http://goo.gl/eQuILj

Tatiana's playthrough for levels 1-5: https://goo.gl/0fPtua

Tatiana's playthrough for levels 6-10: https://goo.gl/bFyNvs

Yo$hik's playthrough in "extreme quality": https://goo.gl/vTRs66


Saturday, October 25, 2014

Project Uran

Author: Ronboy (Mike Smith and Ron Smith)
# of levels: 2
Rating: 8.5/10
Difficulty: Easy to Medium (1st level), Medium to Hard (2nd level)


****************NOTE: THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS. DO NOT READ ANY MORE IF YOU HAVEN'T PLAYED PROJECT URAN YET.***********************

Project Uran is a 2 level addon, and the sequel to Greenbrier on the Rhine. Ron and I were the authors of this addon.

Like Greenbrier, there are 2 maps in this mission. Although the Greenbrier and Uran levels aren't connected (your ammo, stats, etc. aren't carried over), the story and setting are indeed connected. The difficulty is easy to medium for the first level (because the zombies are easy), and medium to hard for the second level (because some of the Nazis are tough).

Continuing where Greenbrier finished, you and your escort must navigate the underground tunnels, looking for any intel as well as the escape route. Expect the unexpected, because some surprises await you...

The lighting in both maps, especially the first map, is mostly dark. It's recommended to turn up your monitor brightness, turn off any light sources in the room, or anything else that might make viewing your screen difficult.

The story involves an idea that has never been used in a Rtcw map before: uranium! That's why the addon's name is Project Uran (Uran means uranium in the German language). To get a full understanding of the story, you should read the clipboards and letters that are available in both maps.

The enemies are:
~ Zombies
~ Warrior Zombies
~ Femzombie (Zombie Marianna)
~ Flame Zombie
~ Nazi Soldiers
~ Nazi Officers
~ Scientists
~ Mechanics


The enemy weapons include:
~ MP44
~ Luger
~ Sten
~ K43 Rifle
~ Silenced Luger
~ MG42
~ Mauser Sniper Rifle

Like Greenbrier, the enemies and their weapons aren't full of variety. Despite that, Project Uran is still a fun addon to play, and is a good sequel to Greenbrier. The notebook (N key) is not empty like it was in Greenbrier. The 2 new custom weapons (MP44 and K43 Rifle) are available in Project Uran, but not Greenbrier.

The installation of Project Uran is very different than the installation of Greenbrier. I won't list the instructions here, since this is a review. You can find the instructions and other information on the readme file provided with the Project Uran download. The maps will not work correctly if you don't follow the instructions. Don't let that discourage you from downloading the addon, because you should only have to install it once.

With Project Uran, there is a good amount of custom music, textures, and more that make the addon more unique. You will be fighting zombies in the first map, and Nazis in the second map. One thing that got my attention was the issue of lag (low fps) in the second map. This is partly due to the map not being "fully" optimized, but it also could be caused by using an old computer. I didn't have any problems on both my mapping and gaming computers (both are running Windows 7), and most of the players haven't reported any lag problems, so I'm not going to fix it. To those of you who are receiving lag, I will try to optimize any future maps to the best of my ability, which will hopefully reduce the lag issues.

About treasure/secret areas, there aren't any secrets, but the first level has some treasure that you should be able to find easily. I know that the lack of secrets is disappointing, but that doesn't make Project Uran bad.

That's all I really have to say about this addon. Thanks for reading!

General Red's playthrough of Project Uran (Part 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ATSbPYi-mI
General Red's playthrough of Project Uran (Part 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcf4QDX_jXc

Walkthrough by Vicpas: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j1uCj2BUVU

My playthrough of Project Uran (Level 1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPmXtQ3_0d4&list=PLYWhrG56_-7pUvaR1ykuZIN4zz8n8xeOR&index=28
My playthrough of Project Uran (Level 2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyMubVWVWaA&index=29&list=PLYWhrG56_-7pUvaR1ykuZIN4zz8n8xeOR


Yo$hik's playthrough in "extreme quality": https://goo.gl/w6191B






Monday, July 28, 2014

The Fortress 2 (Version 1.1)

Author: Vicente Pasquino (Vicpas)
# of levels: 6
Rating: 8.8/10
Difficulty: Easy to Medium

The Fortress 2 is an addon for Rtcw sp developed by Vicpas. Development for this project took a few years, but finally Vicpas finished the project as an "almost perfect" addon.

There are a total of 6 maps. One of them is just a cutscene. The difficulty is easy, but tough in some areas, giving it a "easy to medium" difficulty. You are dropped near a German occupied fortress via parachute, and there are a variety of enemies to fight.

The enemies are:
~ Lopers
~ Proto soldiers
~ Super soldiers
~ Normal infantry soldiers
~ Officers
~ A scientist
~ Mechanics
~ Marianna Blavatsky
~ Venom/Flamethrower soldiers
~ Eva (Half dressed woman)
~ Zombies
~ Flame Zombies
~ Warrior Zombies
~ Olaric
~ Femzombie (green zombie)
~ A elite guard
~ Black Guards

The enemy weapons include:
~ MP40
~ Mauser Rifle
~ Luger
~ MG42
~ Silenced Luger
~ Sten
~ FG42
~ MP44
~ Flamethrower
~ Venom
~ Panzerfaust
~ Tesla
~ Grenades

As you can see, most of the enemies from the original Rtcw maps are present in The Fortress 2.

There are also some civilians and Allies:
~ A Inge (Female Civilian)
~ (Russian?) Partisans

The partisan weapons include:
~ PPSH
~ MP40
~ Scoped Mauser
~ Mauser Rifle

I'm not sure if these partisans are Russian or not, because they have red colored uniforms, similar to those of a Russian partisan/soldier.

The partisans make their appearance in the map "level3", as they are attacking a German facility and need your help. The Inge also appears in this map. Don't kill her! :)

I like the variety that The Fortress 2 has to offer. The setting varies from military complexes to crypts. Each level in The Fortress 2 gives you a few objectives, or many objectives. The notebook (N key) works, and can be very helpful with keeping track of your objectives.

Each level contains a secret area or two, as well as treasure.

Each level also has a briefing screen, similar to the original Rtcw maps. There is a custom main menu as well as a new loading screen instead of the default black screen with the Wolf logo in the bottom right corner. Another treat from Vicpas is a wallpaper, which can be found inside the folder for this addon.

There are a few custom sounds, textures, models, and more. The Fortress 2 used to have many bugs and errors, but thanks to my private testings, The Fortress 2 was "almost perfect", as stated by Vicpas in an email to me. I was happy to help in any way I could.

You are given the choice to play with or without the new weapons from the "Additional Weapons Mod" by Alexandre, as well as new weapon sounds.

The opening cutscene to The Fortress 2 is really interesting. We see an American plane being attacked by anti-aircraft fire. BJ is then seen jumping out of the plane in a parachute. From there, he begins his mission!

I don't want to spoil too much, so that's all I will mention regarding what happens next. You may wonder why The Fortress 2 has a rating of 8.8/10, despite being free of many bugs and errors. This is simply because most of the maps are "too easy", at least in my opinion. At least there are some challenging segments to make up for the easiness.

While I enjoyed the use of the default music, it would have been nice to have at least one custom music used in The Fortress 2. Other than that and the "too easy" difficulty, I think The Fortress 2 is worth playing.

My playthrough of The Fortress 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeJcWier8ew&list=PLYWhrG56_-7pUvaR1ykuZIN4zz8n8xeOR&index=30

General Red's playthrough:  http://goo.gl/HJvHF3

Yo$hik's playthrough in "extreme quality": https://goo.gl/716u4j