Review: Drawn & Quartered

Details
Title: Drawn & Quartered
Creator: Ringman
Released: 02/04/2006
Length: 3 Levels (No secrets)
Level Format: Continuous
Story: New
Graphics: Original (All hand drawn)
Sound: New
Special Features: None
Dos/SDL: Dos

Initial impressions: An amazingly original mod with all walls, sprites and guards being hand drawn and scanned before being placed into the game. The mod has a look of it's own but for me, unfortunately, it makes things very hard to distinguish in game, when playing.
Every aspect of the mod has been redone in a hand drawn manner which shows great attention to detail. Completely new music and sounds have also been added.

Gameplay: The gameplay can be quite challenging as visually this can be very difficult on the eyes trying to clarify all elements within the game. It is generally only when you eyes sense movement that you can tell what is an enemy and what is a sprite. The player needs to basically walk around and towards everything as some wall textures can be very lightly drawn and there is all manner of proportions in size on the various sprites and decorations.

Mapping: The maps aren't large but are adequate for the mod, especially with the difficulty in separating visuals within the game. There are only 3 levels in the mod but they are distinctly different levels, each with their own theme and each with differing designs, but they all work well in their own way. Some of the health and treasure items are a little confusing and there is a fair bit of trial and error through the first few levels working out what is what.
Ultimately the level design is very basic but anything more complicated would have only made things more confusing and visually difficult.

Likes: The story, encompassing members of the Wolfenstein 3d Community, is highly creative and original and fits perfectly with the mod. There is a lot of humor within the mod as this is obviously intended to be a 'fun' set. The mix of funny looking enemies works very well as does the other visual nods to some other Wolf mods, including the obvious visual look of Operation Letztershultz submarine theme and a very similar looking enemy to Ringman's previous mod, 'Mutant Blobs from Uranus'.
The creativity to completely revolutionise the Wolfenstein 3d graphics set makes this the most original looking Wolf mod ever produced. The detail that the makers have gone to redo everything in hand drawn versions would have been very time consuming but helps make the mod have such a unique look.

Dislikes: The visuals, although original, for me, made playing the mod extremely difficult to distinguish. I have had similar problems with other mods like 'Halls of Stonehenge' and 'Planet Nexion' when playing, and maybe it's just my eyes, but such original styles of graphics, as used in these mods, do genuinely make things more challenging.
The music that plays on each level seems to be of poor quality and although some how fitting the mod isn't very likeable, I do feel this is intentional though. The tune that plays on level 2 is specifically grating and repetitive and almost makes you want to turn the music off.


Ratings
Dean's Score: 7.0/10
Difficulty: More difficult than usual due to visual aspects
Best Level: 3
Worst Level: None

Wrap-up: A highly creative and entertaining mod that is extremely well done. This is a fun set to play and works well as a 3 level mod. It's always fantastic to see a modder think completely out of the box and produce something so original that no one else has ever seen before. This is well worth a play for those reasons alone.

Where Can I get it?: You can download the mod HERE or by clicking on the screenshot at the top of this post.

Disclaimer: All reviews are only my opinion when playing the mod and are not intended to discredit anyone or the hard work they have put into creating their mod.