Downloads: Sanatory

We've had some rather good maps of late here at the site. This one came to us out of the blue, and The MetsFan and I were eager to have a look at it. We wondered how it would stack up against the recent offerings such as Ancient Empire and Apocalypse: Part 1.

Visually? WOW! All new look, nothing like anything previously seen at Serious Sam. The castle motif has an almost fairy-tale flavor to it, complete with streaming flags and the whole bit. The visuals were beautifully executed, so beautifully that I did not notice the single visual flaw that The MetsFan caught: when you go to press a certain button, you can sink right into it. That aside, the looks are stunning. Layout? Well, it is somewhat linear, but with lots of backtracking, and often several alternate ways (left and right) to proceed. It can be confusing at times. The author is one of those who believe in action-at-a-distance, or opening a door that may be fairly far removed from where you do whatever it is that opens the door. Nonetheless, it is quite possible to get from beginning to end without extreme frustration. To some, by the way, the ending may seem odd, almost an anticlimax, but to those who have been in the gaming community a while, you'll appreciate it. (Do you know who Old Man Murray is? If not, the ending is going to puzzle you...) Oh, and if the all new look were not enough, the music is also all new, and very well suited.

The visuals are nicely complemented by the gameplay. The battles are fierce, but always survivable... if you take some time to think. The author likes circuits: enemies going around and around in a circle, ignoring you unless you fire on them - but then turning on you en masse. This happens several times, and in one in particular, the author is nice enough (or sadistic enough) to count down the assorted gnaars, werebulls, and Kleer skeletons for you... starting somewhere around 150. Still, while those numbers are daunting, there is a relatively easy way to keep from being surrounded and eaten alive. Ammo and health are plentiful, thanks to respawning of both at various locations - locations where you will need them both.

There are also nice little touches that make a map extraordinary: a gnaar doing the backstroke in a pool, gnaars making a porn movie in a room (four of them indulging in front of a camera in acts intended for reproduction, shall we say... The MetsFan had to draw my attention to these), the aforementioned streaming flags, all kinds of nifty little touches that really make this map a pleasure to wander around.

Flaws? Well, even on my 1.1GHz (GeForce 2 GTS) system, I had some pretty bad slowdowns at times. Your mileage will of course vary, but The MetsFan was even worse off with a 450MHz system, so be warned. (Oh, and by the way, just so you know, The MetsFan has a system that is faster than mine, but chooses to play on the slower system so that slowdowns are more readily apparent and can be reported better. Is that service, or what?)

OK, despite the slowdowns, this is the first map which I have been willing to call Superb. Aside from some trouble with the ending, The MetsFan agrees with this. This map is a must-play for any Serious Sam FANatic!

Sanatory, created on January 4, 2002

Level name: Sanatory

Game: Serious Sam

Any new graphics? Yes

Any new sound? Yes

Any new models or code? No

Author's name: Alexey "Vodkins" Morozov

File size: 7.0 Mb

Number of levels: 1

Difficulty levels included? Yes

Background story? No