Fan Mission Reviews, walkthroughs

[Springheel]

I'd like a place to start collecting links to off-site reviews and mission walkthroughs. People can also post full reviews of missions here.

[Springheel]

Blog of Lutonaut: Review of The Builder's Influence

 

the abandoned workshops' review of Heart of Lone Salvation

 

the abandoned workshops' review of Patently Dangerous

 

the abandoned workshops' review of Beleagured Fence

 

TTLG Megathread reviews:

 

Review of TDM overall

 

The Outpost

 

The Chalice of Kings

 

The Crown of Penitence

 

Patently Dangerous

 

St. Alban's Cathedral

 

Somewhere Above the City

 

Beleaguered Fence

 

Mad's Mountain

 

No Honour Among Thieves

[Springheel]

Knighton Manor, by Sotha, is a medium sized mission for The Dark Mod.

 

This is a straightforward mansion break-in, and perfect for anyone who is new to TDM or stealth gaming in general. While it is a prequel to the Thomas Porter series, it is not necessary to be familiar with the series to enjoy it.

 

 

The story here is relatively simple. You’re breaking into the residence of a the captain of the City Watch, in order to steal an expensive scepter. What makes it stand out from other TDM missions is small immersive touches that increase your suspension of disbelief. I genuinely felt like a burglar breaking into a mansion most of the time, rather than someone playing a game.

 

For example, the mission opens with a small, cinematic sequence of the player (in first person) hopping over a hedge and hiding behind a tree while scoping out the front of the mansion. A few moments later, a group of party guests, bottles in hand, leave through the front gate, talking and laughing loudly like the group of drunks that they are.

 

 

This minor touch already had me hooked. There were plenty of other situations that felt comfortably real too—the group of guards drinking and playing cards in their off-hours in the attic, and the left-over mess of spilled wine and empty bottles in the main hall. Sotha has the ability to tell stories with simple props and suggestive details—I felt like these AI had actual lives and weren’t just waiting around for me to break in.

 

 

The gameplay was well-balanced. The number of guards wasn’t overwhelming, but some had lanterns, and there were enough to force you to pay attention. You had plenty of time to think and plan, for the most part, but you had to be careful when you ventured into new areas. There were several ways into the mansion, and you could proceed in a very open-ended manner.

 

There were a couple interesting secrets that I won’t spoil, except to say that they were the kind of discoveries that made me do things that had no gameplay purpose at all—I actually started sneaking around, dragging bodies and dropping evidence in particular places, not because it was an objective, but because I was caught up in the story and wanted to imagine how it would play out after I was gone. I love it when that happens in a mission.

 

 

The mission had a small but clever puzzle that I won’t spoil either.

 

There was a moment near the end of the mission where AI did not react in a very believable manner, but after a couple hours of complete immersion, I was able to forgive that failing.

 

Simple, immersive, and with solid gameplay, I recommend Knighton Manor highly.

Review by Springheel

[Bikerdude]

Just read the review of my Cathedral mission over at ttlg by LS, nice to get a good review :-)

[quakis]

Return to the City - Review (the abandoned workshops)

[Nielsen74]

Too Late - Review by SneakyJack

[quakis]

Somewhere Above the City - Review (the abandoned workshops)

[Melan]

Lutonaut's review of Heart of Lone Salvation (which I have just discovered).

[Fidcal]

Pity. Wish I'd done player notes earlier then he could have finished it.

[nbohr1more]

Probably the wrong thread but some blog called "Games Codex" has a recent overview of the mod:

 

http://games-codex.com/Blog/2011/the-dark-mod-a-worthy-successor-to-the-thief-series/

[Baddcog]

it was a 'thin' review that only hit on the very basics imo. But it was a positive review from start to finish, that's always good.

[nbohr1more]

A more in-depth recent review:

 

http://andr01d.hubpages.com/hub/The-Dark-Mod

[Melan]

This is an excellent in-depth review. Props to the author.

[jaxa]

Allow me to cross the streams: http://www.ttlg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=88654&p=2079635&viewfull=1#post2079635

 

Wrote before I saw the in-depth (and I thought fair) actual review.

[Springheel]

An older review, but a good one that I'd never read before:

 

http://www.creative-resolve.com/story-writer/the-dark-mod/

[quakis]

Flakebridge Monastery (the abandoned workshops) Edited August 23, 2011 by quakis

[nbohr1more]

A new blog showed-up in my Google Searches:

 

"thed4rkblog"

 

http://thed4rkblog.blogspot.com/

 

?

 

The author did a scathing review of "Dragon's Claw" (but prefaced the review with his appreciation of previous superior Biker missions).

 

... and gave Mortem Desino accolades as a "first time author" for "The Creeps" ...

[Melan]

A new blog showed-up in my Google Searches:

"thed4rkblog"

http://thed4rkblog.blogspot.com/

?

 

The author did a scathing review of "Dragon's Claw" (but prefaced the review with his appreciation of previous superior Biker missions).

... and gave Mortem Desino accolades as a "first time author" for "The Creeps" ...

I actually agree with most of the Dragon's Claw review (and have written to that effect in the mission thread). The city segment is superflous and non-interactive, and the Plague Ward segment also lacks engaging gameplay. It looks appealing, but visuals only take a mission so far. It is a strongly flawed mission the same way RttC v1 is a strongly flawed mission due to the horrible performance. Bikerdude has done much better (e.g. with The Caduceus of St. Alban or Alberic's Curse), and I think reusing the terrain and expanding on it in another mission would do the work good.

 

Criticism, if done fairly and adeptly, should be welcomed.

Edited January 2, 2012 by Melan

[Springheel]

House of Theo: http://lutonaut.wordpress.com/2012/01/05/house-of-theo-dark-mod-mission-review/

[Springheel]

Night to Remember: http://lutonaut.wordpress.com/2012/01/07/a-night-to-remember-dark-mod-mission-review/

[quakis]

Ever so slowly getting back into the pace of TDM (and Thief) to finally write reviews more regulary for these games.

 

Short review for a small mission;

 

Pandora's Box - Review (the abandoned workshops)

[Springheel]

Review of A Score to Settle by Lutonaut (heavy spoilers)

http://lutonaut.wordpress.com/2012/02/12/a-score-to-settle-dark-mod-mission-review/#comment-866

[quakis]

Another from me;

 

In Remembrance of Him - Review (the abandoned workshops)

[Springheel]

Don't think I've seen this one before...it has a least a dozen recent reviews of TDM missions:

 

http://thed4rkblog.blogspot.ca/

[SiyahParsomen]

Nbhor mentioned that blog in this page too. It's a big resource on darkmod reviews indeed.