Town square for COD

Level name : Town Square

Author : Jeff Browne

Date of release : 24 April 2005

Size : 3 864 ko

Number of maps : 1


Website : here

Download link: here


Story:
None describe by the author. It's just a small town neer Carentan that you need to 'clean' from enemies and after use a MG42 to resist till reinforcement comes


Review:

The author who has been graduated by the Guildhall at Smu (http://students.guildhall.smu.edu/)
start this project in a way he wanted to create something different in a short time (less than a month).

Design and architecture are really well done using a perfect mix of architecture, texturing and squaling in a 'non flat' small town. There isn't a lot to explore but attention has been put to surrounding detail, houses, church(include cemetary) and even the lighting. Its tiny but nearly perfect .

Gameplay is also well handled: fighting through the town with you squad produce a lot of triggered ambushes that will cause a lot of suprise and from each direction. Objective are simple and easy to execute. You won't walk for miles in this towns and fight won't take ages to complete, but challenge is defenetly present with all the enemies respawn that will occur.


In conclusion: Short, sweet, well worth to give it a try and to certainly put in front of mapping newbies to show that with a good immersion into a game by coding and mapping it seems really easy to make a good level




Playtime : 20 Minutes



Rating : A B C D E (85%)

Leoncod2 for COD

Level name : LeonCOD2

Author : Leon Stephan Brinkman

Date of release : 3 Decmeber 2004

Size : 3 925 ko

Number of maps : 4


Website : none related

Download link: here

Other map reviewed from the author :

Leon COD2, LeonCOD1

Story:
You get extracted in the first of four big sp-maps as a American soldier somewhere outside a big German city with 3 other soldiers at the end of the second worldwar in the year 1945. Your mission is to fight your way trough the city to a little hotel. Somewhere in the basement of that hotel a English spy is held in a jailcell. He was captured on a secret mission as a high German general to collect classified information.The SS will interracate in the next few days and it is very important that you find him before the SS can get information out of him. Therefor you have to free him and lead him out of the city, you have to succeed, whatever it takes.

Important Notes:
I have encounter a wierd problem with this release (You can pick up german wepaons but mostly they are all empty of ammo). It could only be fixed by remove all custom pk3 files from main and UO folder.
Another think to know if the confuse in relation with zip file this COD release is called leoncod2.zip and the other release from Leon according COD2 is called leoncod2_map1.zip


Review:

The Second release for Call Of Duty from Mr Brinkman is in all part a lot better as it's first one. This time, some scripted objective (only in map 4) . and prouve that the team with baltic is quite efficiant.

Design is well put together with a good looking to scale, realism in a mix between outdoor and indoor places (like is other release for COD2).
This release is only focussed on a city where you will need to sneak from place to place. The way you move through the whole place and in all directions from cave to upper floor in a constant progression, really keeps, through the whole release, the spirit of going further.
Architecture is well balance and even in some place brilliant (building where you need to reach the rooftop that is destroyed by a bomb). Minor default could be the part just before the rooftop building where your in a kind of dark city part with external light like if you were at night (but on the top of the roof it's midtime...)

Gameplay is perhaps the part i didn't like too much. At start, and for one third of the first mission, you will progress with your squad make it quite easy to avoid the very first ambushes. when after arriving on a central road with huge door and cars the rest of the squad will be stuck behind a grid and won't help you till this moment. objective is for arround 80% of this release a streight forward progression where only aim is to kill and survive.
Respawn of enemies make a good challenge to this release with mostly goo placement but certainly create an unreal mission (over 300 germans to kill...) that in some place will wait for you arriving to rush wish heavy machinery in tiny place (the best example is the MG42 in the prison cave to free the Lieutenant(map4)). This certainly increase the durability of the entire release but will create in several place quite frustating moment.

Scipting is mostly absent but when you will encounter some especially map 4 is well put together.


In conclusion: This map like all other releases from Leon is really well design and correctly scripted (for the small parts). There is certainly a huge amount of hours (during the 8 weeks of construction) that have been spent to create a suppose from scratch level divided in 4 maps.
I was a little confuse also by some 'Frensh decals' used as publicity on house that should be german and when looking to screenshots, building houses create without classic rooftop wasn't really the generality during WW2. Appart from those minor glitches it's another really recommended one, especially for people who likes to have heavy fight during a consequent period of playtime.




Playtime : 2 Hours



Rating : A B C D E (83%)

Reusville for CODUO

Level name : Reusville

Author : Ryan 'Ace008' Krysiak

Date of release : 7 May 2006

Size : 9 662 ko

Number of maps : 1


Website : none

Download link: here

Other map reviewed from the author :

Normandy,St Lamaire

Story:

none described but it could easily be the simple continuation of Normandy the first map from Ryan

Review:



In this sequel to normandy you and your squadron will need to take back another village hold by german and at the outskirt of this village ressist to a counter attack. Lot's of objective are include like stole important paper destroy tank and Flag and much more).


A special custom intro screen has been made with a list of the missions detailed and layed out like in the original game.


Design is well put together in the same way as Normandy and this time it's under an heavy rain.
Destroyed city, bomb holes, the church everything make this town really a really battle place during Normandy campaign. I noticed several glitches in design and texturing but they really dont spoiled the general realisation (i'm even not sure you will noticed them). In comparaison with Normandy the map seems to be smaller but attention to details (include sounds) and general layout make it quite bigger in size.


Gameplay is straight forward and quite well coded with your squad and the event you're going to encounter. Fights and Combats are easy to complete and won't make you restart a lot of time except perhaps at the end where the counter attack with tiger tanks will make it more. It as to be noticed that sounds (from COD2) and music are well associated and increase certainly the realism and gameplay.

In conclusion: Another well put together mission made by Ryan this night has been replaced by rain hopefully it's not too slippery. objectives, combats and especially the mix between them make this release another worth to play one. Sadly it's really too short Just hope that other project are on the way so we could enjoy other mission by Ryan.

Playtime : 40 minutes



Rating : A B C D E (89%)

Normandy for CODUO

Level name : Normandy

Author : Ryan 'Ace008' Krysiak

Date of release : 15 January 2006

Size : 2 786 ko

Number of maps : 1


Website : none

Download link: here


Other map reviewed from the author :


Reusville,St Lamaire

Story:

none described

Review:

Important Note: like you can see (?) in those screen it's a night mission so i recommand you to play it with minor light in the room

This mission Could be easily resume, Somewhere in Normandy just after the 7th june you and your team are droped by night near a village to 'clean' it and to destoy also two german Flag 88. The only problem is that you where drop to fast and so you will need to succeed all objectives alone but also meet the rest of your squadron at the outskirt of the village to finish the mission.

The mission start direcly with several houses, a truck an a MG42 (would like to have a short dropping scene before). Progression is obvious through design and architecture well handle to create a correct village with a good neight atmosphere. Even if there isn't a lot of exploration arround the road you need to follow the varied layout change in building texturing, small river, surrounding walls, not too flat terrain breaks the monotony. All objectives are also put well together with the correct challenge in each places.

Gameplay is quite well balanced with weapons change and disponibility being place to give some variation, some trap and ambush (inside building, truck with squad, MG42 on window) add here and there also some good challenge, all being coded proprely. There are no real disapointment trough this release exept perhaps that the experience was too short and give in most of the place to closed combat making them , if you same at the right point, not to much difficulty.


In conclusion: Another well put together mission this time by night using a good, non repetitive mix between architecture objectives and combats. Lighting isn't perfect like the enemy placement (would have like at the end a counter attack against witch you need to resist for a certain period) but appart from those minor glitches it's another recommanded mission.

Playtime : 30 minutes



Rating : A B C D E (87%)

test map for COD2

Level name : Test map

Author : Chrizz

Date of release : 1 November 2006

Size : 280 ko

Number of maps : 1



Website : none

Download link: here


Story:

None since it's is just a map to show how create a sp level for COD2

Review:

You might think it is strange to review a demo map that only try to show how to create a single play map or perhaps you think: he certainly will add a smal review just to critic a certainly bad design map without good texturing, design and gameplay and that why i review this one that is certainly short and lack storyline or challenge but in comparaison with other map for COD2 called Kublai Khan's Palace, JailBreak or 5togo (those maps really disapoints me by backing me in the FPS stone age release for DOOM or Duke Nukem where ton's of crap where release) that it's certainly not that difficult to create something correct and enjoyable.

Design is pretty basic but correctly squaled and varied there is even a house or two a trench all put together with good enemy triggering and weapon in the place they should be. It cetainly make me think to a king of Hazard course.

Gameplay is simple and fast so an experienced played could certaintly starts his chronograph and rush in it for the less time he can (this could have been add to the release by triggering a sort of countdown to succeed the map in less than 5 minutes for example).

Other things to mention is that i didn't encoutered any bug or problems even if it's just too short.

In conclusion: and interesting learn and play release that shows the mapping skill of the author, defenetly looking for something more consistent


Playtime : 10 minutes





Rating : A B C D E (60%)

Usefull info

I have played a lot of things for Call of Duty and most of them didn't show well written objective but just something like OBJ_01, which can be confusing to solve if it's not explicitly described what to do next. I Suppose it was due to the fact of using custom map made using another version of Call Of Duty (retail version) that didn' have the same language instalment. According this problem, Steve Acaster (Yorshire rifles), send me a reply explaining how to make the objectives fully visible in game so if you encounter several problem with the onscreen message due to another language installation program here is what to do.

1 under COD/main folder or uo folder (if its a map for uo), create a subfolder called localizedstrings in which you create another folder called French, English, German, or else looking to the language you are using through the game.

2 Open the pk3 map file with a compressing tool (Winzip, Winrar, 7-zip,...) and you will see all the associated file include just point out on the mapname.str file

3 Copy/Paste the str file into the localizedstrings/language folder you have created

4 Start the map bring down the console and all objective will appears like they should but in the language they where created, so if a map was created in german, french or anyother language it will appears in it's original developping language.

Feel free to contact me for any questions.

Beyond Rostov for CODUO

Level name : Beyond Rostov

Author : Yorkshire Rifles

Date of release : 3 January 2007

Size : 43 926 ko

Number of maps : 7


Website : here

Download link: here

Other map reviewed from the author :

Aachen,East Yorkshire campain,East York 2

Story:

To be brief and to not spoil the outro sequence explaining the story behind, here is just a brief plot for this add-on: Simulates the 1942 defense of the Caucaus (kuban) area - if you've seen the Sam Penkinpah film - Cross of Iron - then it is the same place, just a year earlier.

Review:

After several other release Yorkshire Rifles as got enough experience in mapping and scripting to make a real strong release featuring Intro and Outro map , custom skin and texture all being put together in a 5 maps episode plenty of action and great moments. You will, in this custom made release, travel with a truck to fight and take the germans first line before retreat and battle to keep you defending lines (Bataysk), attack a village, drive a german car and take a 'too far' bridge (Krasnodar), fight through a maze of trenches in order to destroy oilfied tower (Maykop) and finally get back in the main town of Novorossiysk (divide in two part) where sniping will alternate with rushing through a destroyed city full of ambushes.

This mission look exiting and it really is. Design is quite realistic and not repetitive changing a lot of environment during day and night nearly all feature from original game are visited here from driving vehicles, flying planes to mission objective always in a teamplay (squad) progression. There is no place to rest, it's really full of action and like it is told in the readme you need to progress to prevent enemies to spawn for ages in places you fighting through.

Gameplay is perfectly drawn (weapon and health are well put all over the places), team objective senario are done like it should be and ambiance with amush fights and surpise is drop at the moment it was needed.

There is for me no real complain about: objective are clear (even if i play with a French copy and Objectives are, i suppose due to this, not correctly displayed), difficulty is perfect, progression is well structured and playtime through mission is good. The only thing which bother me a little is that i associate russian battle with winter condition which wasn't the case here.

My opinion was made on a single play of this mission (a second try will perhaps change i litlle my point of view), which could easily be replayed in the future, my only disapointment being the fact that there is so much out here to be played in FPS sp that I won't take the time in the near future to do it.

In Conlusion : A must have sp campaign that give us the opportunity to replay a not so known episode of the WW II.

Playtime : 4 Hours

Rating : A B C D E (96%)

Additional Screenshots

St Eugene for COD

*** review slightly update on 12/03/07***


Level name : St Eugene

Author : Sturmgoat

Date of release : 18 December 2006

Size : 10 216 ko

Number of maps : 1


Website : none

Download link: here

Story: none

Review:

This is the second release from the author (SP_Moabit) and in this one he really improved his mapping experience.
There seems to be no storyline and looking through the web over St eugene match 6 differents villages all over France. It seems, looking at the end map message, that this St Eugene is located near Falaise in Normandy .

First of all Sturmgoat decide to change the 'point of view' and will make through his release act like a german soldier who try, with is small team, to take back a small village protected by well hidden allies forces and after reach the rest of their team at the outskirt of the village. Design is for me well done and architecture look realistic (the way you need to progress is also well put together using walls, bushes and military equipment to 'force your progression').

The only things that bother me a little after playing the map was that it looks to calm for an ocupied village (with birds singer under heavy fire), the use of german halftrack for orienting you progression is also a little confusing (in an allied occupied village) and finally the lack to anime vehicules and events (which is not a pieces of cake to manage in mapping/scripting) certainly hold the realism of this release to be nearly perfect.

For the rest, you will encounter a lot of variation through the map according use of terture, situation and buildings. It still doesn't provide totally visitable place (ex would have been great to get in the top of the church and use the MG42 against 'enemies') but it is certainly realistic enough.

Gameplay is in my opinion (like in his first release) too challenging and need a lot of precision, especially using the kar98 in order to not waste time, munitions and health (need 3 to 5 hits to kill an 'enemy' except if you hit him directly in the head).

The lack to changing weapons (kar98 and MP40-in the middile mission), except close to the end, is also frustrating and makes the all experience quite challenging to even unbeatable (MG42 at the outskirt of the village). After this MG42, (I needed sadly to cheat to pass this point) you will reach a sort of farm with an artilery canon where you will get back to the rest of your squad and be prepared to some more thaught ambushes that provide, in the bulding, some other weapons.

The scripting is well handled to make all entitites move in the right place but will lead to some quite buggy events (perhaps due to my config) in several part especially last one where a lot of runtime errors occured.

In conclusion: Sturmgoat has increase a lot is mapping skill through the last two years and provides us a well krafted experience that only disapoints me through the challenging or should i say frustrating gameplay. Hope the author undestand in the future that it could make a more challenging mission just by pushing fight and enemy placement (Yorkshire Rifles releases but certainly without making them super soldiers!


Playtime : 1 Hour 30 min





Rating : A B C D E (73%)