Basic Details
- Title: Pillars of Pain
- File Name: hl1-sp-pillars-of-pain.7z
- Original File Name: popbaks.zip
- Size : 1.10Mb
- Author: Brian Mayberry and Shaun Ross
- Date Released: 04 November 1999
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If I remember right it was a map pack base on UT offical maps (4 map “converted” from DM to SP like grunt feast) but not from great quality.
ok/different/fun/no combat
4 basic early style maps with no link between them. Maps must be loaded manally. Each one is intense death match type fighting with respawning enemies and ammo. ‘stay alive as long as you can” it says in the readme. Ho hum. For deathmatch fans only who are really bored.
I’m confused, mel said no combat, then again, piledriver said intense fighting..?
Ade, I think mel has his comment archive mixed up a little. Try it for yourself.
A little mappack containing 3 maps with all the same style:
Find yourself in a small area, grab weapons, ammo and health if needed and keep shooting spawning grunts and sometimes aliens – they keep respawning over and over again.
So it’s just as the readme said: a mix of Deathmatch and SP map – unfortunately it gets boring in no time.
Pro’s:
-Some new textures
-Lot of action
Con’s:
-Less variation
-Very short playtime until it starts to get boring
-Basic leveldesign
-No real story (c’mon readme, you kidding?), puzzles etc.
-Just boring
Pillars of Pain contains four separate maps. There is no storyline connecting them. Instead they all share the same concept: wave after wave of grunts spawn into a small arena and you have to kill them. There is no end to any of the maps, the enemy just keeps appearing. The idea was that it would provide fast and furious, trigger-happy combat.
2 of the maps are made by Brian Mayberry. One takes place on top of two tower blocks. You and some Barneys start on one tower, and grunts appear on top of the other. If you so wish you can cross over to the other tower and kill the grunts from close range. The whole arrangement is very bland and uninteresting; the towers are simply two cuboids with a few bits and pieces stuck on top (such as an air-conditioning vent). The author’s other map is some kind of uncompleted tower: there is a large flat, open area at the bottom and above is some kind of girder arrangement. The girders are very repetitive, difficult to navigate and are completely impractical to fight across, the flat area at the bottom is just as bad because there is practically no cover. On top of this there is the added difficulty of having an Apache to deal with. According to the author your supposed to play the maps by: “see how long you can live, then see how long you can keep your bodyguards alive.” The inclusion of the bodyguards/Barneys doesn’t added anything to the map. Their AI isn’t designed for this kind of layout, making them behave almost suicidal. Both of these office-style maps are very frustrating, I tried playing on Hard and got slaughtered as soon as I started. The only way to survive for any length of time is to play on Easy and stay behind what cover there is.
The other 2 maps, made by Shaun Ross, are based on Xen. The architecture is visually pleasing if you like Xen. One map uses the excellent textures made by Christopher Buecheler, and architecture fits them well, but in practical terms, the map is far too small and completely unsuited to being a combat arena. There is no connectivity, and you’re forced to take cover almost permanently, completely unable move without being badly hurt by gunfire from the grunts that just never stop coming. I managed to have some fun using the crossbow to snipe the grunts and consider it the best map of the four but that isn’t saying much. The other map is a typical xen island floating in the void. Grunts are joined by a couple a bull-chickens, and quite often you are left alone while they fight each other. Strangely neither the grunts nor bull-chickens seem to move from their spawn positions. Because they don’t move the map becomes dull extremely quickly.
The main gameplay flaw of the entire set is immediately obvious: its dull, it’s repetitive and it’s frustrating. None of the maps have any real scope for tactics; they don’t even give you a chance to really practice your skill. Combat is just completely chaotic. This sort of endless-wave gameplay went out of fashion with Space Invaders. It completely ignores the elements that make Half-Life fun to play: the sense of exploration, interaction with a realistic environment, and balanced, well-arranged combat. This is a grunt-fest with all other elements stripped away. The bad layouts will probably put off even the people who enjoy this kind of mindless, trigger-happy style. It just isn’t worth playing.
Notes
This review is republished here by permission and was originally published Thursday, 23rd December, 1999 by Chris.
This review was originally posted on the Ten Four Website, which is now offline. Permission has been granted to republish the full review and more details can be found on the About page.