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Level: Village of the Damned back home search
Author(s): Dhama
total rating:7.02 Gameplay &
Puzzles		 Enemies,
Objects &
Secrets		 Atmosphere,
Sound &
Cameras		 Lighting &
Textures
Andi Croft 7 7 7 9
CC 7 6 9 9
Dimpfelmoser 6 6 9 8
Dougsan 6 6 8 8
eTux 3 4 5 4
Gerty 7 7 8 8
Jbc21 9 9 10 10
Kersaho 3 3 6 6
Kristina 7 7 7 7
Lara 7 6 8 9
MichaelP 7 6 8 9
Orbit Dream 6 6 9 9
Phabius Phodes 6 5 7 8
Phil 7 8 8 7
RaiderGirl 7 6 9 8
Ruediger 6 4 8 8
Sash 7 6 7 9
Sheevah 2 3 7 7
Staticon 7 7 10 10
Treeble 5 4 6 6
TrueRaider 7 7 8 10
Yonatan 6 8 10 9
category averages
(22 reviews)		 6.14 5.95 7.91 8.09

Reviewer's comments

"When the whole custom level scene was all new and trendy, I remember regarding this level with great piety for a number of reasons - it was one of the very first I ever played, I thought the atmosphere was absolutely goosebump-inducing, and the fact that I couldn't figure out how to finish it wasn't yet an annoyance, but more respect to the author's skills for creating something so deviously mind-boggling I couldn't master! Of course my standards evolved as I managed to play more and more levels, and by now the large, scarcely utilized rooms fail to impress, the confusion caused is written down to lack of direction as far as the gameplay goes, and the atmosphere suffers a bit from such annoyances as lighting nuances, the possibilty to bypass some of the threats or gameplay elements (lake the bike ride, by jumping directly to the central building from one of the rooftops) and other little nitpicky things I just cannot not notice anymore. Still, the village setting feels fairly authentic and the gameplay actually not hard at all if you persist, so I don't want this to sound like this level should be looked down to because of the high standards of nowadays. It may not be the gem it was at that time, but play it for what it is, rather than what it is not." - eTux (19-Dec-2008)

"I recently (4/05) played all of dhama's earlier releases to fill in some gaps in our walkthrough collection. Village of the Damned was nice enough, but I feel it's probably the least of Terry's first efforts. Other reviewers have noted all the rooms that are empty except for some crates and an SAS. There's an intriguing segment near the end where you gain access to the rooftops and scamper about looking for something to do. However, unless I missed something, it all fizzles out with no essential tasks to perform, no pickups, and one measly SAS to kill. The motorbike is used only to get you quickly past a sentry gun, then you abandon it and find an alternate way across a gap to the ending segment. I never did figure out how the level got its name, unless it's for all those damned SAS. Not a bad gaming experience, by any means, but one that you'll get through in a half hour or less." - Phil (03-May-2005)

“I remember that when this level was released I *tried* to play it. Didn't succeed and even thought it was way too difficult! I am playing some old levels nowadays (it's May 2004) and was afraid of trying this one again. When I played it I couldn't believe it was so short and so easy! I believe that's what we call experience huh. The author states he tried to make it as non linear as possible but I found it to be pretty straight forward with several rooms being there just for being there (most likely empty with just one SAS inside). The level isn't really exciting although that the atmosphere is interesting (but... damned? Who?). The level might seem a little dark but it's pretty simple so you shouldn't have trouble through its 20 minutes.” – Treeble (23-May-2004)

“I liked the gloomy village with the houses but not the many SAS. This is quite different from the usual city levels and although an old one it has interesting elements. The walk on the rooftops was nice the gap with the yellow explosions and the fire places inside the houses. The bike though wasn’t necessary as you can either jump across or simply shimmy from the right side and access the house. Twenty five minutes with the breast plate as a trophy and a pleasant feeling by playing a good level. Try it some of the old levels have much to give.” – Kristina (17-Aug-2003)

“Spooky dark enclosed village/town which looks great. Gameplay is shooting guards an easy to shoot machine gun pulling levers and opening umpteen doors to shoot guards in empty rooms. Much obliged to the dead guy at the start who hauled himself off the flares for me now that's worth seeing. I had great fun exploring the roofs. A short bike ride over a deep pit that continually explodes with yellow light. Actually I got across without the bike before I realised I could use it! And into a warehouse/base type building. At one time you go underground and I thought this was nice looking with the see-through coloured entrances. Nice fast action throughout the level. But just when I thought I was entering a final battle showdown the level ended.” – CC (09-Jun-2003)

“The village in the Village of the Damned is quite attractively done though it doesn't have the look or feel of any Welsh village I have ever lived in or visited. Start to finish it took me 25 minutes and 7 saved games to complete Village of the Damned. The BIG motorcycle jump which appears to be central to the level isn't at all necessary since you can get across without the bike and you can get across with the 'bike without jumping. This is a basic shoot-em-up effort and if you enjoy such you might enjoy Village of the Damned. There are no puzzles of any consequence. The enemies are slow witted and die easily. The machinegun is VERY easy to take out (just saddle up to it and shoot). Ho-hum.” – Dougsan (03-Mar-2003)

“This dark spooky village was just made for exploring and is laid out so that you want to search every building and every roof top. Unfortunately almost every one of the rooms is empty except for a lonely soldier. Luckily I found the revolver early on and they were easily killed with two shots which was nice as I only found one large health pack. It takes around thirty minutes to explore the small mining community and soon after a short bike ride you'll find the Golden Breastplate - another treasure for Lara to take back to the mansion. I loved the secret near the beginning where the soldier dragged his body off of the flares so I could get to them - truly creepy!” – RaiderGirl (05-Nov-2002)

“Non-linear gameplay (which is always good to see) but no puzzles as such; simply open a door and shoot a guard over and over. This isn't important really because the setting is most effective. I enjoyed the way you could explore everything even if there wasn't always that much to find. And at last the City Wad is finally used to good effect; creating an atmosphere that is genuinely suited to the location.” – Orbit Dream (28-Sep-2002)

“It seems to be the story of my life as I went the wrong way first and found the laser-sight and revolver right away. It did save me enough trouble by blowing up one sentry gun and all the SAS soldiers I encountered in the beginning. Talking about beginning the first secret I found was a big eeew. They were flares - that was not what made me say that it was the wounded soldier that dragged himself away. Opening a lot of doors and shooting a lot of SAS men and pushing some levers. Found the bike and after that I went back to explored the lake and all the other buildings. Still don’t know what to do with that block I raised though as there is no problem getting from one house to the next. Left the level with a golden breastplate in Lara’s backpack. 02-09-2002” – Gerty (03-Sep-2002)

“This is a short but a nice city-level. It is easy. There are some soldiers and some firing-guns. In some rooms is nothing to do but soldiers are shooting at you. The textures are very good and the lighting is nice. This short level has not many things to find. Only a small health-pack and not much ammunition. Only the revolver I found and one secret. This is a nice city-level. I was playing 30 minutes in it.” – Andi Croft (11-Aug-2002)

“When you first start this level you can't help being just spellbound by the outside environment dark and brooding it doesn't take long before you come across something that may either frighten you half to death like myself or just make you laugh this is a nearly purely based shoot 'em up level unlike the creator's others which gives him a broad spectrum of fans I myself prefer the more puzzle based levels so I found after opening the umpteenth door only to be staring at someone with a gun a little tedious but don't get me wrong for the right person this would be fabulous. I found being able to jump from rooftop to rooftop just exhilarating not to mention it let's you fully take in the size of this little town that he has created this level finishes quickly but being able to ride a motorbike through a wall at one stage made it all worth it.” - Sash (21-Jun-2002)

“This level also includes a little title flyby that is not extremely great but already sets the atmosphere which is really great in this level. I still marvel how one could possibly build such a perfect little town with only 28 rooms!? Those houses look very realistic (liked the fireplaces and that weird green stairway) and it is great fun to run around on the rooftops. The colours in the area where you find the breastplate near the end are cool and to build in the motorbike as sort of a red herring was a nice idea – well like Jbc21 I used the rope as I could not make the bike jump across the pit. On the downside gameplay basically consists of a lot of exploring (good) opening doors and shooting the baddies behind them in often otherwise empty rooms (bad) and pulling four levers or so to progress to the end which for me was after about 30 minutes. ” – Michael (21-Jun-2002)

“This is the third level that I play from the author and I have to admit that I really like his style! Village of the Damned is a wonderful outdoor/indoor level with a high quality of architecture and texturing. The night setting from the City wad is perfectly controlled for rendering the feeling of a ghost town and yet is it in no way similar to the official level City of the Dead. The action is permanent with all those SAS coming out from every corner: the challenge is to go through all this firing action with a minimal health loss as the author was not generous in pickups especially health packages! I hope that there were no interesting objects in the cricket mining passage (at the end of the level) as I hadn't enough health left to explore it! Well I just have to congratulate the author one more time for his artistic talents and sense of gaming... Just one question: What is the motorcycle for in this level? I didn't need to use it at all...” – Jbc21 (21-Jun-2002)

“This level is a landmark achievement in its design a fantastically created little town and being able to jump over rooftops is great fun! A little samey in the fact that there is a lot of enemies behind doors and the level is a little short but otherwise you must play this!” - TrueRaider (21-Jun-2002)

“Haven't played such a creepy level in a long time. By far the atmosphere and environment design in this level is the best I have seen. It is dark and creepy. There are many places to go in this level but in most of them you have got nothing to do. Besides the level is pretty easy and quick. This level may not be the most original in puzzles but you should download it just for the atmosphere...if you dare...” - Yonatan (21-Jun-2002)

“This is a short action level with the City WAD. Not many puzzles here. If you like unloading your guns frequently you will love it as there are rooms with nothing inside but killer baddies with no mercy. The high points are the very well modeled and textured little village and the exciting motorbike jump over a huge pit. Overall a cool level. You should give it a try.” - Phabius Phodes (21-Jun-2002)

“This level is really cool to play and ‘look around’. However some of the object and enemy placement needs work - the whole baddy behind door thing got boring after a while and I had to resort to the fly cheat due to lack of health packs but as I said before the look of the place is brilliant; it looks just like a town and there are some hard jumps to get by (I like that). My fave part was driving through the breakable walls with the bike and getting burnt to death by the machine guns! This level is not Dhama's best but it certainly isn't bad; not bad at all! I wouldn't know where to start building a level like this! :)” – Lara (21-Jun-2002)

“This level is very nicely designed you really feel like being in a little village. But I missed some more puzzles. As for me I don't like these purely action and shooting oriented levels very much. But action fans may take a closer look.” – Sheevah (21-Jun-2002)

“Village Of The Damned - the third level by Dhama. This is not a long level but it is another landmark in level creation. It also moves away from puzzle/exploration type levels in being a pure shoot-em-up against some fairly tough SAS renegades. What makes this outstanding is the setting. It is a spooky deserted Welsh village at night. It's all there houses to explore a factory and a mine to climb down into. I'm not a great shoot-em-up fan usually but this one had the adrenalin pumping several times. Lighting design and texturing all add to the atmosphere. This is one you have to see to do it justice.” – Staticon (21-Jun-2002)

“How I would love to bitch some more here since I haven't forgiven Dhama for rating Ego's In London: Big Church/Underground so low but the atmosphere in the doomed village is truly spooky and I really enjoyed the 45 minutes of exploring all over the place. This feels like the prelude to something bigger cause if you get down to it you don't do much apart from opening doors and killing guards. Quite entertaining in it's own right but since the setting is so magnificent you expect more of a story here. Even the revolver and laser sight is employed only once and I don't suppose the motorbike was vital to complete this quest for the golden breastplate. Mind you it's nice to ride a few yards and give those rusty knee joints a break. I really appreciated the cut scenes you get with each lever (there are not that many) giving you something of a clue in this not so linear adventure but there comes a time when it seems a bit pointless to kill for nothing as there are no pick ups in the guarded rooms. You're tempted to save before you open a door and then reload if you find nothing but low flying bullets. I did so at the end to avoid the swarm of locusts and the wraith cause I thought the final battle was yet to come and apart from a box of flares and the aforementioned revolver I found only one big medi pack to prepare myself for the final showdown. Sadly enough there was none.” – Dimpfelmoser (21-Jun-2002)

”What I liked best are the lights: quite dark, yet very colourful, for example at the bottom of the drillhole where you find the breastplate. The gameplay has two major flaws, though. Behind every door lurks a guard; not really surprising after the 5th one you met. The motorbike is not needed at all as you can cross the gap by a simple jump from the roof of the building as well. Still this level has a few challenges and as already mentioned great visuals.” – Rüdiger (21-Jun-2002)

“In this village you have to explore almost empty houses some depots with boxes to find THE lever to open the doors of the last depot and also another lever to find a perfect useless motorcycle and a third one to end the level. So I have given one point for each lever in the puzzles department. The level is rather short and it ends when I thought that things would become interesting. You can try this level if you like to explore and walk on the roofs of a nice but small celtic village and kill for free some SAS in a spooky atmosphere. The problem with SAS as enemies is that they walk very slow and there is no surprise.” – Kersaho (21-Jun-2002)
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