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[DocHavoc2]

Hey, I'm Doc, and this is my invisible tie.


All joking aside, this is my Honest Map Reviews thread. Now, you may be saying "BLARGH Y SO MANY MAP REVIEWW THREADS BLARG". Well, I have no honest answer to that (irony is fun) so I'll just cut to important things.


Firstly, a bit about this thread. IF IT'S IN BOLD OR HUGE, READ IT.

1) I will never review a skyblock map. I have my reasons. (Mainly them being bland. Incredibly bland) However, hybrid maps are allowed as long as they are mostly adv/puz/parkour/etc.


2) I may be brutal in my reviews. I'm sorry, but I'll be very frank and straightforward, and if I don't like your map It'll show. However, I'll also suggest something to help turn your map into something that is polished and well-made.

Rating Criteria:


I use a four-area rating system.


1) Story (15 points)
How good is the story? Does it make sense? Is it new and original? Note, if your map is primarily a puzzle/parkour map that doesn't really need a story than this part will be exempt from the review.

2) Visuals (15 points)
Is the map fun to look at? Does it use a variety of blocks? Does it fit the theme of the map? Does it have any good architecture?

3) Challenge/Difficulty (10 points)
How hard is the map? Is it at a good level of difficulty for the average Minecraft player? Does it fit what difficulty it is made out to be?

4) Length (10 points)
Is the map really, really short? Is it long enough to keep someone's attention? Is it horrendously long?

5) Total (50 points; rounded to a percentage): Your total score.


Now, my reviews will tend to be long so I will always bold the percentage score at the bottom if you just want to skip past the whole review for some reason.


SUBMISSION FORM:(You must use this if you want your map to be reviewed)

Spoiler

Creator(s):
Map Name:
Genre:
Mods/Texture Packs Needed:
Link:
Estimated Completion Time:
Anything Extra:

Review Archive

Spoiler

Stuck in A Box:

Stuck in a Box:

Stuck In a Box: 5.9/10


What can I say? Yet another survival map-the creator even acknowledges this in the map itself. While bringing nothing really new to the genre, I did stomach this map for a time.

1) Story: Because this is a survival map this section will not be rated. Besides, you're stuck in a box. That's about it.

2) Visuals: This is a survival map. It's not supposed to look cool. My standard on visuals for (most) survival maps is an 8/15, so let's leave it at that.

3) Challenge/Difficulty: I have to admit, some of the challenges in this map (yay different challenges) are actually pretty difficult, if not monotonous (FENCE CHALLENGE...AGH, ME AND MY PERFECTIONISM). They actually do something a little bit new for the survival genre, plus this guy basically gives you random things to build a house with. Mine was made of dirt, fences, pumpkins, wood, leaves, and stone. Yeah. MLG. 10/15

4) Length: This is a survival map. They last as long as you want them to last. Again, survival maps get the midway here, which is why their scores are always odd. HOWEVER, I will give an extra point due to the myriad of challenges: 9/15

Total Points: 27/45
Percentage Score: 59%
Points out of 10: 5.9/10

Overall, Stuck in a Box is for survival fanatics only. It does have some good elements, but not nearly enough to become a solid, reputable map.

Bugs/tips:

-Make more challenges, some of yours are fun and unique.

-At least make a story (weird for a survival map). I don't even care if it's "one day, you were walking in the forest and this weird box dropped on you." At least it's something.

-Put in more hidden areas! They give the map an air of replay value.

[/spoiler]

Ruins of Kegrin:

Spoiler

Ruins of Kegrin: 8/10

A classic example of one of those maps that doesn't seem all that good for half the map, then makes up for its lost ground in the other half of the map. I liked it..a lot.

1) Story: Although this is a series, I have to love how the creator gives you a synopsis of the story in a note. I won't spoil it here, but it is very original, albeit a bit confusing. 13/15

2) Visuals: This map did not look fantastic in the first half of the map, except for the Spider Crypt-I particularly liked it for some reason. But the second half...I am humbled. You did some good visuals for this map, and I really liked some of the buildings. 12/15

3) Challenge/Difficulty: This is not a very hard map. It's not too hard, either, but the fact that you get enchanted swords about midway through the game that set things on fire kind of ruined the challenge for me. The dungeons were, however, a challenge, until you get to the enchanted armor. Overall, not too hard, but needed a little bit more in the way of difficulty. 6/10

4) Length: This map wasn't too long. It was good, and even when you had to go a long way (usually by walking or by railroad), that's not the case. This map has...Mario Kart. -ish type thing. And I LOVE IT. I absolutely LOVED that part, and it made what would've been a monotonous railroad ride into a fun competition, provided you're in multiplayer. 9/10

Total Score: 40/50
Percentage Grade: 80%
Score out of 10: 8/10

Overall, Ruins of Kegrin is a good, snappy adventure map with good visuals and rather fun gameplay. I'd recommend checking it out sometime, and playing the rest of the series.

Bugs/tips:

Spoiler

-I absolutely LOVED that nether race. Combine it with parkour and...I JUST HAD AN IDEA.

-You need to improve the visuals in the first half of the map, it gets boring sometimes.

-Side quest, anyone? I think that pirate ship in the village harbor could be used for something.

Levels:

Spoiler

Levels: 6/10

Levels is one of those midfield puzzlecour maps: a map that does some things right and gets a lot of things wrong. Now, the map isn't bad, it just has design and puzzle flaws that seem like a whole big cliche.

1) Story: The story is explained in 6 signs in the whole map. That's usually a bad sign; but since this is a parkour map, they don't really need stories, but it certainly helps. In this case, someone has to "help" you flee prosecution by leading you through a parkour/puzzle facility. Sound familiar? It should. This has been done several, several, several times. 7/15

2) Visuals: The map is very colorful and varies from theme to theme rather inconsistently. However, and this is a big however, it has some pretty neat buildings and pixel art near the end of the map. Shame it couldn't be throughout the whole map. 11/15

3) Challenge/Difficulty: Let me make a statement here:

MAZES ARE NOT FUN
MAZES ARE NOT FUN
MAZES ARE NOT FUN

Seriously. Every three or so puzzles you are confronted with a maze with some gimmick going on for it. At this point I just noclipped through them because making a maze in your map is pretty much shooting your creativity in the foot. The first parkour room was also very hectic, and at some points I couldn't figure out where to go. Maybe something more linear would work better. But what the map did relatively well were puzzles, from a simple fetch quest-type thing to Frogger. Yes, I said Frogger, and I spent 20 minutes in that minigame alone because it was so fun, especially with multiple people and multiple carts. For the parkour segment (yes, you can choose, which is kind of...odd), some of the parkour was just plain boring and tedious. (soulsand race, anyone? "NO."). Also, FAITH JUMPS. ARGH. Towards the end, that kind of cliche is just unnecessary. 5/10

4) Length: This map is relatively short, unless you play through both the segments, in which case the playthrough length is relatively good. Couldn't have hurt to put in a couple more puzzles/parkour segments, though (most of the parkour was mazes/races. :c) 7/10

Total Score: 30/50
Total Percentage: 60%
Score out of 10: 6/10

Overall, Levels is one of those maps you can enjoy without the interruption of intertwining segments. I'd recommend a checking out if you like a hectic puzzle every now and then, too.

Bugs/tips:

Spoiler

-Get rid of the mazes. Get rid of them all.

-In the first parkour room, try to make it more linear-the lava, cacti, iron, and sand just look horrible and confusing together.

-Get rid of the faith jump at the end

-In parkour, it'd be nice to see some more "games" like Frogger

The Hidden Kingdom:

Spoiler

The Hidden Kingdom: 3/10

Another adventure map. Another one. Yep. Although this map does have a unique story, it manages to do next to nothing else in terms of uniqueness. Shall we?


1) Story: As mentioned before, the story is unique. HOWEVER, the story, with all its uniqueness, is also very, very underused in the map. There's no fleshing out, there's no backstory, there's no twists, it's just...that. 3/10

2) Visuals: As you would expect from most adventure maps, the visuals are so-so. The only part that wow'd me was the valley; but then again that was most likely a natural generation, not what the map maker built. Also, the creator ADMITS he took some of his buildings from MCSchematics...wat do? 5/10

3) Challenge/Difficulty: I never took damage in this entire map from a mob. Never. That is a statement alone, but this map manages to give you practically everything you need to become a war-mongerer in less than five minutes...provided you do all the mundane side-quests. Which I didn't. Back to difficulty...the only two dungeons in this map (well, the first one had NOTHING spawn in it and had NO "huge reward" in it are either ridiculously easy or ridiculously boring. Or both, like the maze dungeon, which wasn't even required to beat the map. 1/10

4) Length: This map was much too short...if you don't do any of the side quests. If you're into that kind of thing, then you'll find it has a nice length. 6/10

Total Score: 15/50
Total Percentage: 30%
Score out of 10: 3/10

Overall, the Hidden Kingdom plays like it's unfinished, with a lacking story, nonexistent combat, and scrawny visuals. I wouldn't recommend it.

Bugs/tips:

Spoiler

Put in some combat! The map gets awfully boring just running around. I'm looking at the first dungeon specifically.

Expand on the story! There's a lot of potential in it.

The Economy System. Yes, yes, yes. I loved it. I don't know how, but expand on it.

The main story has got to be longer and it needs to be finished better.

Arugenia Lands:

Spoiler

Arugenia Lands: 7.4/10

Almost every survival map I see nowadays is one of two things: a ) Flatland Survival or b ) Skyblock Ripoff. It's extremely oversaturated and, besides, you can do the same freakin' thing in Minecraft. But, once in a while comes along a survival map that disregards those stereotypes and makes survival..exotic. Arugenia Lands is one of those maps.

1) Story: Because this is a survival map and there is next to no story in one, midway point is breached at 8/15.

2) Visuals: This map doesn't seem all that impressive. It is a survival map, after all. It doesn't have any grandeur, no pizzaz, etc. However, and this is a big however, it does look natural, which is grandeur on its own. Take into account that the map creator admits he built this incredibly real-looking biome all by himself (if he's not lying ), then effort begins to come into perspective. All the locales are extremely varied, and they even have some interactivity to them due to villagers (I mean, swamp treehouse village? That's pretty sweet.) 13/15

3) Challenge/Difficulty: Surviving is pretty difficult on its own-creepers, endermen, endless armies of zombies to nom you, etc. However, Arugenia Lands makes it terrifying all over again because of flatland. Oh, and a GIGANTIC CAVE SYSTEM RIGHT UNDER THE GROUND. Where everything is out to kill you. It's like a Vechs map down there, geez. But it's survivable, and it's fun because tree sniping is fun. Again, though, the creator does give you an awful lot of materials with which to decimate the forces. A little more difficulty would be appreciated. 9/10

4) Length: This is a survival map. They go on FOREVER. As such, the midway score will be used. HOWEVER, this map adds a lot of replayability because of the little towns/easter eggs/etc, which I am a huge fan of, and so the score comes out to be 7/10

Overall Score: 37/50
Percentage Grade: 74%
Score out of 10: 7.4/10

Overall, Arugenia Lands is a pretty good survival map. The only thing that bogs it down is a lack of story, which is something nearly all maps need to succeed, no matter how bad it is.

Bugs/Tips:

Spoiler

-Put in a story. I don't care if it's "Once upon a time you were adventuring and got lost.", as long as it's something. You can do a lot with the village society story-wise too.

-Maybe get rid of all those feedback signs? They were all over the place and it eventually got annoying.

-Give the player a little less to find in terms of items; within five minutes I already had about 20 apples.

Lord of Bloodycross:

Spoiler

Abstergo: The Last Subject:

Spoiler

Abstergo-The Last Subject: 8.6/10

Abstergo is one of the most underrated maps I've ever seen. It's got a great story, fantastic visuals, and great, natural parkour. It truly deserves more than it's gotten so far.

1) Story: If you're a frequent reader of my reviews you know that I believe a map has to have at least a good story to be a good map altogether. Well, Abstergo answered my call, with a unique storyline. I have to say I've never played an Assassin's Creed game in my life, but now I feel as if I had. While at its most dumbed-down it still is an "Escape this!" plot, Abstergo manages to make that plotline into something good. 13/15

2) Visuals: This map didn't chintz out on its visuals. The whole map takes place inside one building--one--yet the objectives and storyline (and parkour!) flow into the surroundings fantastically. The buildings themselves are nothing to sneeze at, either--this one building has so much eye candy packed into it that it's crazy. Although, it is only one building--shame there's not more for me to awe at. 14/15

3) Challenge/Difficulty: I didn't find this map particularly hard, but that's most likely because I'm a parkour junkie and know everything about it in Minecraft. For anyone else, you'll find the parkour at a nice difficulty. The one thing I question are the boss battles: they're just too easy. Otherwise, this has fantastic parkour and is at a great difficulty level overall. 8/10

4) Length: I'll let this map's short length slide for the most part because it's a WIP. It's still a shame how short the map is--makes me kind of sad. :c 8/10

Total Score: 43/50
Percentage Grade: 86%
Score out of 10: 8.6/10

Overall, Abstergo is a horribly underrated map. You know a map's good when it's done this well--and only in an early beta stage. I'd recommend it to parkour junkies and regular MC players alike.

Bugs/tips:

Spoiler

The first tip the templar gives us is just a regular map, not a note.

Make the boss battles harder! The parkour for those parts was just too easy.

Implement the armor stands a little bit more. They creeped me out, and they could do a lot in the village, especially if it's destroyed (the player sees the dead villagers as himself...?)

Glacier Island Survival:

Spoiler

[center][url=http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/1026829-surv-glaciar-island-survival/]Glacier Island Survival: 7.2/10

In the increasingly deathly stale hellhole of an oozing pit that is the population of survival maps, one map shone through to me and called me to the light. It was this map. Granted, I may be exaggerating a little bit and, again, granted, it's not perfect or a prophet. But it's certainly better than 90% of the crap out there for survival maps today.

1) Story: As soon as I loaded up this map, I wanted to give the map maker a gold star. He actually had a story. And not a cliche'd one (well, not for Minecraft standards, anyway). It's actually pretty decent, and it makes me want to actually play the map. How do I confess my joy? With this: 11/15

2) Visuals: As with most survival maps, this map isn't especially gorgeous. But I do have to give points for terraforming--the map looks especially natural, like it was generated by MC itself...except for that bedrock barrier. It always bugs me for some reason. The buildings--all two of them!--give a simplistic and rural feel, which is always good for a survival map. Says me. 12/15

3) Challenge/Difficulty: Snow biomes are incredibly hard to survive in. I judged that by this map alone. Granted, they're not this extreme in the vanilla game, but there were zero animals to kill. Zero. I lived off zombie meat for six Minecraft days. And it was horrible. However, the creator does give you tools and food right off the bat, which is good if you want to give people an actual survival chance, but bad if you want your map to be hair-tearingly hard. Overall, it was mostly the right kind of frustrating--the kind you're too cold to notice. 7/10

4) Length: This, again, is a survival map. They go on forever, and ever. However, because of the addition of (some) original challenges, I shall bestow upon you an extra point. 6/10

Total Score: 36/50
Percentage Score: 72%
Score out of 10: 7.2/10


Overall, like most survival maps, I'm not particularly fond of Glacier Island Survival. However, it is worth a check out if you like dying in horribly cold environments over and over again..for fun.

Bugs/tips:

Spoiler

Get rid of most of the tools in the beginning. It makes it a little too easy, unless of course that's what you're going for...

What exactly is that...thing buried so deep in the ground? Just asking.

Add a little more challenges in.

[/spoiler][/b][/size]

Reviews-in-Waiting
Green Hill (Kerblahh)
The King of Hrothgaria (Haevo)
The Forest of Silence (Fangride)
Paladin's Quest: Episode 1 (Noxcrew)
Hold the House (Warhawk193)
Levels (Retrospective) (Kinglau3)
Waterworld 2070 (Rodgermourtagh)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Also, check out my map(s)!

[center][url="http://www.minecraftforum.net/topic/677282-parkescwip100punishmentparkour-v05-4000-downloads/"]

BRONY PRIDE

• Back to top

[VKRxbetterthanyou]

Creator(s):VKRxbetterthanyou
Map Name:stuck in a box
Genre:survival
Mods/Texture Packs Needed:none
Estimated Completion Time:however long you play it
Anything Extra:nope not really

[Josh_Brenne]

Creator: JesusNails
Map Name: Ruins of Kegrin
Genre: Adv
Mods/Texture Packs Needed: Dokucraft
Estimated Completion Time: :45 - 1:30
Anything Extra: Sequel to both "The Magician's Trial" and "The Wizards Demise".

[DocHavoc2]

VKRxbetterthanyou, on 02 February 2012 - 03:28 AM, said:

Creator(s):VKRxbetterthanyou
Map Name:stuck in a box
Genre:survival
Mods/Texture Packs Needed:none
Estimated Completion Time:however long you play it
Anything Extra:nope not really

Josh_Brenne, on 02 February 2012 - 03:29 AM, said:

Creator: JesusNails
Map Name: Ruins of Kegrin
Genre: Adv
Mods/Texture Packs Needed: Dokucraft
Estimated Completion Time: :45 - 1:30
Anything Extra: Filled with enchantments, puzzles, challenges, and is overall my favorite map.

Added.

[DocHavoc2]

Stuck In a Box: 5.9/10

What can I say? Yet another survival map-the creator even acknowledges this in the map itself. While bringing nothing really new to the genre, I did stomach this map for a time.

1) Story: Because this is a survival map this section will not be rated. Besides, you're stuck in a box. That's about it.

2) Visuals: This is a survival map. It's not supposed to look cool. My standard on visuals for (most) survival maps is an 8/15, so let's leave it at that.

3) Challenge/Difficulty: I have to admit, some of the challenges in this map (yay different challenges) are actually pretty difficult, if not monotonous (FENCE CHALLENGE...AGH, ME AND MY PERFECTIONISM). They actually do something a little bit new for the survival genre, plus this guy basically gives you random things to build a house with. Mine was made of dirt, fences, pumpkins, wood, leaves, and stone. Yeah. MLG. 10/15

4) Length: This is a survival map. They last as long as you want them to last. Again, survival maps get the midway here, which is why their scores are always odd. HOWEVER, I will give an extra point due to the myriad of challenges: 9/15

Total Points: 27/45
Percentage Score: 59%
Points out of 10: 5.9/10

Overall, Stuck in a Box is for survival fanatics only. It does have some good elements, but not nearly enough to become a solid, reputable map.

Bugs/tips:

Spoiler

-Make more challenges, some of yours are fun and unique.

-At least make a story (weird for a survival map). I don't even care if it's "one day, you were walking in the forest and this weird box dropped on you." At least it's something.

-Put in more hidden areas! They give the map an air of replay value.

Ruins of Kegrin is up next.

[DocHavoc2]

Ruins of Kegrin: 8/10

A classic example of one of those maps that doesn't seem all that good for half the map, then makes up for its lost ground in the other half of the map. I liked it..a lot.

1) Story: Although this is a series, I have to love how the creator gives you a synopsis of the story in a note. I won't spoil it here, but it is very original, albeit a bit confusing. 13/15

2) Visuals: This map did not look fantastic in the first half of the map, except for the Spider Crypt-I particularly liked it for some reason. But the second half...I am humbled. You did some good visuals for this map, and I really liked some of the buildings. 12/15

3) Challenge/Difficulty: This is not a very hard map. It's not too hard, either, but the fact that you get enchanted swords about midway through the game that set things on fire kind of ruined the challenge for me. The dungeons were, however, a challenge, until you get to the enchanted armor. Overall, not too hard, but needed a little bit more in the way of difficulty. 6/10

4) Length: This map wasn't too long. It was good, and even when you had to go a long way (usually by walking or by railroad), that's not the case. This map has...Mario Kart. -ish type thing. And I LOVE IT. I absolutely LOVED that part, and it made what would've been a monotonous railroad ride into a fun competition, provided you're in multiplayer. 9/10

Total Score: 40/50
Percentage Grade: 80%
Score out of 10: 8/10

Overall, Ruins of Kegrin is a good, snappy adventure map with good visuals and rather fun gameplay. I'd recommend checking it out sometime, and playing the rest of the series.

Bugs/tips:

Spoiler

-I absolutely LOVED that nether race. Combine it with parkour and...I JUST HAD AN IDEA.

-You need to improve the visuals in the first half of the map, it gets boring sometimes.

-Side quest, anyone? I think that pirate ship in the village harbor could be used for something.

And now I am out of maps :c

[Kinglau3]

Hey Doc! Could you do mine?

Creator: Kinglau3
Map name: Levels
Genre: puzzle / parkour
Mods/ tex packs required: none
Link: It's in my signature
Estimated completion time: 1 Hour
Anything else: Could you post the review on my forum topic please?

Thanks in advance! Enjoy!

[DocHavoc2]

Kinglau3, on 07 February 2012 - 10:49 PM, said:

Hey Doc! Could you do mine?

Creator: Kinglau3
Map name: Levels
Genre: puzzle / parkour
Mods/ tex packs required: none
Link: It's in my signature
Estimated completion time: 1 Hour
Anything else: Could you post the review on my forum topic please?

Thanks in advance! Enjoy!

Accepted.

[DocHavoc2]

Levels: 6/10

Levels is one of those midfield puzzlecour maps: a map that does some things right and gets a lot of things wrong. Now, the map isn't bad, it just has design and puzzle flaws that seem like a whole big cliche.

1) Story: The story is explained in 6 signs in the whole map. That's usually a bad sign; but since this is a parkour map, they don't really need stories, but it certainly helps. In this case, someone has to "help" you flee prosecution by leading you through a parkour/puzzle facility. Sound familiar? It should. This has been done several, several, several times. 7/15

2) Visuals: The map is very colorful and varies from theme to theme rather inconsistently. However, and this is a big however, it has some pretty neat buildings and pixel art near the end of the map. Shame it couldn't be throughout the whole map. 11/15

3) Challenge/Difficulty: Let me make a statement here:

MAZES ARE NOT FUN
MAZES ARE NOT FUN
MAZES ARE NOT FUN

Seriously. Every three or so puzzles you are confronted with a maze with some gimmick going on for it. At this point I just noclipped through them because making a maze in your map is pretty much shooting your creativity in the foot. The first parkour room was also very hectic, and at some points I couldn't figure out where to go. Maybe something more linear would work better. But what the map did relatively well were puzzles, from a simple fetch quest-type thing to Frogger. Yes, I said Frogger, and I spent 20 minutes in that minigame alone because it was so fun, especially with multiple people and multiple carts. For the parkour segment (yes, you can choose, which is kind of...odd), some of the parkour was just plain boring and tedious. (soulsand race, anyone? "NO."). Also, FAITH JUMPS. ARGH. Towards the end, that kind of cliche is just unnecessary. 5/10

4) Length: This map is relatively short, unless you play through both the segments, in which case the playthrough length is relatively good. Couldn't have hurt to put in a couple more puzzles/parkour segments, though (most of the parkour was mazes/races. :c) 7/10

Total Score: 30/50
Total Percentage: 60%
Score out of 10: 6/10

Overall, Levels is one of those maps you can enjoy without the interruption of intertwining segments. I'd recommend a checking out if you like a hectic puzzle every now and then, too.

Bugs/tips:

Spoiler

-Get rid of the mazes. Get rid of them all.

-In the first parkour room, try to make it more linear-the lava, cacti, iron, and sand just look horrible and confusing together.

-Get rid of the faith jump at the end

-In parkour, it'd be nice to see some more "games" like Frogger

[DocHavoc2]

BRING ME DEM MAPS.

But seriously, I'm running out here :c

[Piggle]

Mine's in my sig! Tear my self confidence to shreds if you feel it so, but please give reasons so I can improve, and give specific things you want to see better!

[DocHavoc2]

Piggle, on 10 February 2012 - 12:42 AM, said:

Mine's in my sig! Tear my self confidence to shreds if you feel it so, but please give reasons so I can improve, and give specific things you want to see better!

So it shall be.

[the3rdnumber]

Creator(s): the3rdnumber
Map Name: Arugenia Lands
Genre: Huge Biome Survival
Mods/Texture Packs Needed: txtpack: SUMMERFIELDS
Link: ITS IN DESCRIPTION
Estimated Completion Time: infinite (not adv, its free)
Anything Extra: yeah, i made it by my oen, so imagine the work...
Plz lemme know!

[DocHavoc2]

The Hidden Kingdom: 3/10

Another adventure map. Another one. Yep. Although this map does have a unique story, it manages to do next to nothing else in terms of uniqueness. Shall we?


1) Story: As mentioned before, the story is unique. HOWEVER, the story, with all its uniqueness, is also very, very underused in the map. There's no fleshing out, there's no backstory, there's no twists, it's just...that. 3/15

2) Visuals: As you would expect from most adventure maps, the visuals are so-so. The only part that wow'd me was the valley; but then again that was most likely a natural generation, not what the map maker built. Also, the creator ADMITS he took some of his buildings from MCSchematics...wat do? 5/15

3) Challenge/Difficulty: I never took damage in this entire map from a mob. Never. That is a statement alone, but this map manages to give you practically everything you need to become a war-mongerer in less than five minutes...provided you do all the mundane side-quests. Which I didn't. Back to difficulty...the only two dungeons in this map (well, the first one had NOTHING spawn in it and had NO "huge reward" in it are either ridiculously easy or ridiculously boring. Or both, like the maze dungeon, which wasn't even required to beat the map. 1/10

4) Length: This map was much too short...if you don't do any of the side quests. If you're into that kind of thing, then you'll find it has a nice length. 6/10

Total Score: 15/50
Total Percentage: 30%
Score out of 10: 3/10

Overall, the Hidden Kingdom plays like it's unfinished, with a lacking story, nonexistent combat, and scrawny visuals. I wouldn't recommend it.

Bugs/tips:

Spoiler

Put in some combat! The map gets awfully boring just running around. I'm looking at the first dungeon specifically.

Expand on the story! There's a lot of potential in it.

The Economy System. Yes, yes, yes. I loved it. I don't know how, but expand on it.

The main story has got to be longer and it needs to be finished better.

Arugenia Lands is up next.

[VKRxbetterthanyou]

thanks for the review sorry im so late on these things

[Aramanon]

Creator(s): daDonn (aka Aramanon)
Map Name: [CONVENIENCE] LORD OF BLOODYCROSS
Genre: ADV
Mods/Texture Packs Needed: No mods, but there is a texture pack, which is included with the map download.
Link: http://www.minecraft...of-bloodycross/
Estimated Completion Time: Most players have taken 2-3 hours so far.
Anything Extra:



MAP FEATURES
• Voice Acting / Narration - (by daDonn)
• Musical Score - (entirely sourced from incompetech.com and freesound.org and specifically credited in the readme)
• Dynamic Locations - (the scenery changes!)
• Multiple Endings - (replayability!)
• Collectables - (compete with your friends - who can find the most slimeballs?)
• Awesomely Epic Builds - (if I do say so myself!)
• Lots And Lots Of Redstone - (though none you need to understand!)
• Monsters - (who try to kill you!)
And much, much more...

RELEASE TRAILER

[Cheesefryc00k]

Creator: Cheesefrycook
Map Name: Parkour Thief
Genre: Parkour
Mods/Texture Packs Needed: ShortStuf7's Clean Design Pack
Link: Parkour Thief
Estimated Completion Time: About an hour and a half
Anything Extra: This is a parkour map I created after seeing what most parkour maps are like. Most parkour maps these days have a bunch of ugly floating blocks. In this map, you go jumping around in citys. It is my third map, so I have experience. Throw as much critism as you can at me because I want to make it as best as I can

[DocHavoc2]

Aramanon, on 11 February 2012 - 02:35 AM, said:

Creator(s): daDonn (aka Aramanon)Map Name: [CONVENIENCE] LORD OF BLOODYCROSSGenre: ADVMods/Texture Packs Needed: No mods, but there is a texture pack, which is included with the map download.Link: http://www.minecraft...of-bloodycross/Estimated Completion Time: Most players have taken 2-3 hours so far.Anything Extra:MAP FEATURES• Voice Acting / Narration - (by daDonn)• Musical Score - (entirely sourced from incompetech.com and freesound.org and specifically credited in the readme)• Dynamic Locations - (the scenery changes!)• Multiple Endings - (replayability!)• Collectables - (compete with your friends - who can find the most slimeballs?)• Awesomely Epic Builds - (if I do say so myself!)• Lots And Lots Of Redstone - (though none you need to understand!)• Monsters - (who try to kill you!)And much, much more...RELEASE TRAILER

Cheesefryc00k, on 11 February 2012 - 05:24 PM, said:

Creator: CheesefrycookMap Name: Parkour ThiefGenre: ParkourMods/Texture Packs Needed: ShortStuf7's Clean Design PackLink: Parkour ThiefEstimated Completion Time: About an hour and a halfAnything Extra: This is a parkour map I created after seeing what most parkour maps are like. Most parkour maps these days have a bunch of ugly floating blocks. In this map, you go jumping around in citys. It is my third map, so I have experience. Throw as much critism as you can at me because I want to make it as best as I can

Accepted.

[DocHavoc2]

Arugenia Lands: 7.4/10

Almost every survival map I see nowadays is one of two things: a ) Flatland Survival or b ) Skyblock Ripoff. It's extremely oversaturated and, besides, you can do the same freakin' thing in Minecraft. But, once in a while comes along a survival map that disregards those stereotypes and makes survival..exotic. Arugenia Lands is one of those maps.

1) Story: Because this is a survival map and there is next to no story in one, midway point is breached at 8/15.

2) Visuals: This map doesn't seem all that impressive. It is a survival map, after all. It doesn't have any grandeur, no pizzaz, etc. However, and this is a big however, it does look natural, which is grandeur on its own. Take into account that the map creator admits he built this incredibly real-looking biome all by himself (if he's not lying ), then effort begins to come into perspective. All the locales are extremely varied, and they even have some interactivity to them due to villagers (I mean, swamp treehouse village? That's pretty sweet.) 13/15

3) Challenge/Difficulty: Surviving is pretty difficult on its own-creepers, endermen, endless armies of zombies to nom you, etc. However, Arugenia Lands makes it terrifying all over again because of flatland. Oh, and a GIGANTIC CAVE SYSTEM RIGHT UNDER THE GROUND. Where everything is out to kill you. It's like a Vechs map down there, geez. But it's survivable, and it's fun because tree sniping is fun. Again, though, the creator does give you an awful lot of materials with which to decimate the forces. A little more difficulty would be appreciated. 9/10

4) Length: This is a survival map. They go on FOREVER. As such, the midway score will be used. HOWEVER, this map adds a lot of replayability because of the little towns/easter eggs/etc, which I am a huge fan of, and so the score comes out to be 7/10

Overall Score: 37/50
Percentage Grade: 74%
Score out of 10: 7.4/10

Overall, Arugenia Lands is a pretty good survival map. The only thing that bogs it down is a lack of story, which is something nearly all maps need to succeed, no matter how bad it is.

Bugs/Tips:

Spoiler

-Put in a story. I don't care if it's "Once upon a time you were adventuring and got lost.", as long as it's something. You can do a lot with the village society story-wise too.

-Maybe get rid of all those feedback signs? They were all over the place and it eventually got annoying.

-Give the player a little less to find in terms of items; within five minutes I already had about 20 apples.

Lord of Bloodycross is next. I have a feeling it's going to be good, although I can't wait to play Parkour Thief :L

[DocHavoc2]

Lord of Bloodycross: 9.2/10

Color me impressed. I have never, ever played a map so dynamic, so atmospheric, so adventurous. From voice narration to an impeccable musical score, Lord of Bloodycross gets so many things right, it's hard to find any flaws. Dive in, shall we?

1) Story: The story, whilst not entirely unique in its own right, is very well written and narrated by the map's creator, which gives a HUGE ambiance factor. Twist endings and a split story path make for tons of replayability. 14/15

2) Visuals: This map started off with some decent builds; the castle was very nice and although big was not that hard to get around in. About midway though, it surprises you with some nice looking crypts and altars. And, soon enough, dynamic locations come into factor, which absolutely blew my mind--there is no way those could be the same. I never even thought such things were possible in Minecraft with redstone. Commendations, sir--these locations are both dynamic and appealing. 14/15

3) Challenge/Difficulty: The difficulty in Bloodycross is not all that bad. Most of the map is spent either rummaging around the towns or in the castle. Whereas in the village there are hordes of pigmen, as long as you don't set them off, you're fine...and there's the Ghasts, too, which up the ante. I can say I've died three times from this map. Not bad... 9/10

4) Length: This is an epic map. And by epic, I mean the truest sense of the word--chronically LOOOOOOONG. It's not something you can finish in one playthrough--it's almost a whole game on its own! And the best part is that every second of that playtime is worth it. There's no repetition; every minute is unique in its own way. 9/10

Total Score: 46/50
Total Percentage: 92%
Total Score out of 10: 9.2/10

Overall, Lord of Bloodycross is one of those must-have maps. It breathes new life into the adventure genre with epic narration and dynamic locales that are a sight for sore eyes. It's free. Go download it. NOW.

Bugs/tips:

Spoiler

-Get rid of the noclip barriers. For...reasons.

-Maybe make a spectacle in the town (i.e. a visual treat or epic build) for ambiance?

-Remove some of the Ghast spawners on the road. You really only need one.

-Tone down some of the lava in Bloodycross Castle (Destroyed). My computer almost lagged to death in there, but maybe that's just because my comp sucks...

Tough act to follow, Parkour Thief... :3