#level review

[sydneylikesgd]

boogie by connot

BUSSIN is one of the worst Geometry Dash levels I have ever played. It's obnoxious, soulless, derivative, and just obsessed with the idea of chasing "quality". The song is awful and annoying, and the generic gameplay does nothing to help with the level's enjoyability. It's a soulless, bland product of a level.

Which is why I'm shocked that connot's follow-up to BUSSIN is so great. boogie is oozing with fun and whimsy. It's flashy, but its flashiness isn't where the substance of the level lies. The heart of this level is in simple, cute, colorful fun.

A lot of people have called boogie "BUSSIN for girls", and to be honest, that's kind of affirming to me in a way--but the comparison isn't inaccurate. It's definitely possible that I'm being pandered to, but that doesn't make the level not cute. It's over-the-top, but in a way that isn't obnoxious.

And boogie knows where to tone it down. Being a 2 star, there's a lot less pressure to decipher the gameplay--you can just relax and let the level play itself, pretty much. And the places where the level is slightly more involved and requires actually clicking to avoid obstacles (astonishing for a 2 star, honestly), the visuals are chill and so pleasant. Essentially, you can actually see what the fuck is going on, which is a plus.

My favorite part of the level is absolutely the colorful paper craft part. It's a style that's been done many, many times before, but connot takes it to a new level with 2.2 features. It's simply beautiful, and I couldn't hate it if I wanted to.

I'm so surprised to find that boogie is one of my favorite levels of 2.2 so far. Everything comes together to tickle my brain in the perfect way. Are there things I'd change about it? Yeah, absolutely, but I can't ignore everything that's so appealing about it. This level rocks.

Also it helps that the song isn't annoying as fuck like BUSSIN

8/10

Level ID: 114694142 Video: https://youtu.be/Zuy1gj88OFg

[maydaymemer]

Hitman WOA: Ambrose on Trial - The Case for and Against

Back in 2022 IO released their final sandbox level for the Hitman trilogy: Ambrose Island. This level took place between the events of vanilla Hitman 2’s penultimate and final locations, but due to being released during Hitman 3’s lifecycle it was never treated as such. Instead Ambrose sat in an obscure spot of a specific menu, placed after Hitman 3’s locations but never having a mechanism during either campaign to go to it naturally. Until recently when a patch brought Ambrose to its chronological placement: now players upon beating Whittleton Creek’s Another Life will be prompted to play Ambrose’s main mission before moving onto the rest of Hitman 2

But was that a good decision? Even before this happened I was planning this post with the premise of if a new player should try to incorporate Ambrose into their first playthrough, but now it’s reality I want to examine if that made sense as a decision. In this little essay I will example the case FOR and AGAINST chronological Ambrose:

FOR #1 Convenience of Discovery

The first argument for placing Ambrose into chronological order is that every map of the trilogy is part of the main campaign, and keeping this consistent will ensure not only can old players who want to play Ambrose cant get there as convenient as possible but new players will know Ambrose exists without having to be told about it by the internet. Someone binging the trilogy now has a quick throughline to know what to play next, what has been played and what can be played

Even if Hitman 2’s cutscenes now change from motion comic style to cheap full motion back to motion comic and then to slightly less cheap full motion it’s at least consistently inconsistent. It was already precedent with Hitman 2’s DLC to have each level follow another in chronological order. You dont go from Sgail to Dubai; you go from Sgail to New York to Haven to Dubai. IO released this trilogy episodically so even retroactive releases earlier in the timeline should be accounted for

It also may be confusing for new players to play Romania and then see storyline targets they don’t recognize, granted they may still do that with New York and Haven but hey that’s IO’s fault for not having a convenient bundle of all the DLC

FOR #2 Fanservice, Plot, Development

It just makes sense to play Ambrose in its chronological place because the map’s identity as a pretend-lost chapter in H2 is so engrained into the design and premise of the map that anyone currently playing Hitman 2 will appreciate the details more having just played everything in a big glut. The map mixes set-pieces and characters from Hawke’s Bay, Colombia and Mumbai to give you the sense that this happened soon after those, so just outright playing it in that order will enhance what they were going for

It also helps to know what’s going on in the plot if the events are fresh in your mind. Taking out Grey’s militia is a big part of H2 but putting too much space between that and your playthrough of Ambrose might make you forget some details

With the foreknowledge of Hitman 3, IO went into Ambrose trying to patch up mistakes in the trilogy’s writing, and to clarify some plot points that were previously obscure details

For example, a conversation in Isle of Sgail that The Constant has on his phone directly references that Grey disbanded the Militia after the killing of Janus in Whittleton Creek. This detail is never mentioned again and if you dont ever hear this again the idea of “what happened to the militia?” might come off as a plot hole. Even though it isn’t a plot hole, closing an entire narrative thread in one phone call is still a bit strange

So Ambrose already fixes this, but the major problems come in Hitman 2’s DLC which inadvertently created a shadiness in Grey’s character that H3 had to correct. With the context of Ambrose people will be less inclined to get a false impression of Grey’s motives

The introductory briefing then provides minor foreshadowing of Diana’s character arc in H3, which isn’t much but it’s nice to make the trilogy seem more cohesive story-wise by including that

FOR #3 A Better Penultimate Level

I would argue that if you look at Ambrose and Sgail as two sides of the same coin, there’s some interesting thematic mirroring between the dingy, dark island of the Militia and the dark but opulent island belonging to an asset of Providence. I think its important to have that juxtaposition especially since this is the last major map of the trilogy where we tackle these sorts of themes, at least until Berlin

I also think that if you were to consider Whittleton as the penultimate level of Hitman 2, it’s a little easy. To go from a relaxing level like that to the last level in the game and one of the most intense it’s a little too abrupt. This stopgap also helps to buildup the location in-story as an important and secure area, which adds to the mystique and imposing nature when you get there

AGAINST #1 Pacing and The Themes of H2

My main issue with Ambrose’s placement is how it retroactively fucks up the one constant of Hitman 2’s design philosophy and that’s the contrast between levels

In the lead up to marketing and BTS of the trilogy each entry’s main philosophy is always touted as follows: Hitman 1’s theming is clean professionalism with each level showing 47 at the height of his career, Hitman 2’s theme is the criminal and colorful with each level visually and conceptually being the complete opposite of the last and Hitman 3’s theme was of the emotional journey, it starts out light, gets darker before ending on a more hopeful note

Unlike Hitman 1 and 3 which are more homogenous for the sake of the tone they’re going for Hitman 2 aims for this contrast and keeps it even into the DLCs: the quiet and stormy Hawke’s Bay is followed by the bright and bombastic Miami, then by the quiet and naturalistic Colombia followed by the bustling metropolis of Mumbai, then the serene Suburbia ended off with the dark and ominous Isle of Sgail which is then contrasted with the very small and modern Bank which is then contrasted by a tropical paradise in Haven

Ambrose fits the criminal and colorful (which doesnt need to mean literal color, because H2 has a ton of dingy and monochrome areas, moreso it refers to the colorful personalities of career criminals). It even adheres to Hitman 2’s more blue collar theming, contrasted with New Money in H1 and Old Money in H3. The problem is its aesthetic of the night time storm is already similar to Sgail, which is the very next map chronologically. The progression from Whittleton to Sgail was always intended to wow the audience, and I feel this plus H2 vanilla’s amazing pacing will now be lost on new players because H2 now has three levels made post-launch that are tacked onto its campaign

AGAINST #2 Difficulty Spike

The problem with Ambrose being considered now as part of H2 is it isn’t a H2 location in terms of its design philosophy. It makes use of mechanics like crafting, shortcuts and the camera which aren’t properly tutorialized until H3 and even Freelancer

I actually have any conclusion I drew from admittedly anecdotal evidence and it’s nowhere near conclusive but the fact Ambrose Island doesnt have guidance for its mission stories kind of assumes you have enough experience playing Hitman to know what you’re doing. When Berlin did this it was a calculated decision and the amount of signposting was carefully crafted to give a sense of freedom without being aimless. Ambrose isn’t nearly as well designed to accommodate the inexperienced player

So when I see streams of new players going through Ambrose I see them getting lost and finding the map impenetrable. This is with half the maps under there belt, but it seems Ambrose is maybe too much of an enthusiast’s map to be sprung on a player in the middle of a more guided experience like the other H2 maps

AGAINST #3 Repetition

This is more of a misc. category but there’s problems with Ambrose’s placement in a visual and gameplay sense. Just to rapid fire those complaints:

- The fact it reuses so many assets from Colombia and Mumbai so soon after playing those maps will make the map seem odd

- The fact there’s three island maps almost in a row from Ambrose to Sgail to Haven will potentially fatigue the play on that structure of level design

- Its briefing menu clearly uses the H3 style, but also the fact the pre-Sgail cutscene is meant to follow on from Janus death gives a slight anachronistic order to the whole affair

The Verdict

Now that Ambrose is forever part of H2’s gameplay experience, I think it’s up to the individual player to decide whether it works as part of the campaign or if they think it comes off as padding. Ive given reasons for and against, and I hope next time you play Ambrose or try it for the first time in its new Chronological order if it was truly better that way or not

And that may seem like a cop out, but that’s just because it is

[minis-gaming]

Hello again!

I had to take a break from almost everything due to some issues I recently had. I had a deep depression and I wasn’t able to work or get things done. Playing Hitman and seeing others peoples work here on tumblr was one of the few things that kept me happy the last weeks. I’m thankful for all of your great screenshots, characterisations and the whole drooling haha! It was a light at the end of a dark tunnel.

I feel better now, so I want to be more active on my tumblr again. And I will start with my review for Mendoza! As always, Spoilers are incoming!

Mendoza is, next to Berlin, my most favorite location in Hitman 3. This has many reasons and I will start with the easiest but most obvious one: the look!

The whole level is separated in three parts. We have the villa on the top, where or first target Don Yate’s lives. We have the event area in the middle and the winery on the ground. And every part is very individual. The villa is more vintage and has some mediterranean vibes, while the event area is very modern and exclusive. And than we have the winery itself, which is separated with the wine fields on the outside and everything necessary for the process to make wine on the inside like the winepress.

The location is not very huge but it uses everything it has in the right way. And the view is one of the most beautiful we have ever seen in a Hitman game. I can’t get over it!

But, it’s not just it’s look that I love about Mendoza. It’s also the whole James Bond vibe the level gives me. Everything is so luxury and exclusive and the hints are everywhere- from 47s suit, to his way of leaving the property in a wetsuit through a cave. It’s funny, because it’s an interesting Goldfinger reference: 47s suit looks almost exactly like the one Sean Connery wore in Goldfinger and in that movie, Sean Connery starts in a wetsuit, putting it off, and than he’s in the white suit. Well that’s one reference! IOI truly did their homework; I’m sure they will do a great job with the 007 game.

But, the thing I love the most about Mendoza is OF COURSE the interactions between 47 and Diana. Or let’s say, all the interactions they have with everyone because I have never seen 47 talk so much than in this level and IT IS WONDERFUL! We can talk to some of the waiters, where 47 proofs that he can be kind and gentle and that he can take every role. We can wear different suits and Diana will react in different ways with us. It is so much fun! I loved the mission story where we make the tour through the winery, killing Tamara Vidal in every grotesque way possible and Dianas reactions are fucking priceless!

And of course the tango. I’m not a huge Diana/47 shipper, but with that I have to admit that these two are the perfect couple. And all these interactions and their deep black and dry humour was so much fun to watch. I’m pretty sure that I haven’t heard every conversation yet and I can’t wait to play this level again and again to figure it out!

What do you think about Mendoza? I would love to hear your opinion! Tell me in the comments or feel free to message me!

[sydneylikesgd]

rAiNbOw OrIgIn by TornadoMan616

For seven years after 2.1 released, 2.0 felt like it just ended. It didn't seem like that long ago that we didn't have the rotate trigger; the spider gamemode was still brand new. But the release of 2.2 shattered that misconception. The limitations of 2.0 were long behind us, and the editor had become so powerful that levels made in 2.0, a revolutionary update, started looking dated. Levels made in 2.0 started feeling nostalgic.

This level is a testament to the transient beauty of the 2.0 era. Its decoration is simple but perfectly executed, from the monochrome rainbow color scheme to the clean semitransparent block design. Put simply, this level makes me feel like a kid again. It's simple, beautiful, and wonderful.

Of course I have to mention the main gimmick of the level; entire parts of the level move around the player to give the illusion of free movement. This was a very popular gimmick in 2.0, and it's done exceptionally well here. The modern 2.2 elements are used sparingly in ways that amplify the aesthetic in a very cool way, particularly with the free dual mode making the reflection effect much more convincing.

rAiNbOw OrIgIn is one of my favorite levels of 2.2. It's a beautiful nostalgic journey while using modern objects and techniques very tastefully. Besides being a bit derivative and repetitive at times, I really don't have a whole lot of negative things to say. It accomplished exactly what it set out to do, making it a treat for long-time players.

8/10

Level ID: 110557646 Video: https://youtu.be/1mpJF6lCUmc

[sydneylikesgd]

LIMEADE by AudieoVisual

LIMEADE is a level I'm surprised I don't like more, because there's a lot of elements that I really love, but there are some parts of the level that, ironically, sour the experience for me. "Sweet and sour" is actually a very appropriate way to describe the level, funnily enough. I'll start by describing the sour half.

As I saw a little bit of AudieoVisual's WIP streams for this level, I was a little disappointed to see the use of the pixellate shader for the background of the first ball part. It's very reminiscent of how iTMG uses a pixellation effect for backgrounds in their videos, so much so that honestly could be a point of inspiration. But where it works for iTMG and where it doesn't for AudieoVisual is the context. iTMG makes videos about Minecraft, so the pixellation integrates the motion graphics in a really cool way. This isn't a review of an iTMG video though, so I'll say that it doesn't fit in LIMEADE at all, even as a contrast. LIMEADE is poppy, smooth, and fluid, and to me, the pixel shader breaks up that flow.

There are a handful of details I dislike, like how the Blast Processing blocks (for lack of a better term) used towards the middle of the level have an abrupt cutoff that looks intentional, but my biggest gripe is the gameplay and difficulty progression. The first part, the upward ship, is a really cool opening, but after playing it for the tenth time, it gets a little stale in terms of gameplay. It wouldn't be out of place in a 2-4 star level, and this is an 8 star level. This is something I've noticed in another of AudieoVisual's levels, CUT DEEP, where the first wave is impossible to die to, so while it looks cool, it gets very boring for a demon level.

This wouldn't be as much of a problem if the dual towards the end of the level wasn't such a big difficulty spike. I understand the choice to use a mirror portal for this part, because I think the level definitely could have benefited from a direction change--making the first ship part go up was a great decision that made the level stand out, but the mirror portal ain't it, man. I think it, or a camera rotation to make the part go up or down, would have been more effective if the part wasn't quite so hard. Despite the click indicators, the readability is a little tough, and I encountered a few bugs where I shouldn't have died, which was somewhat frustrating. This dual is definitely what brings the level up to an 8 star, and I think nerfing it to bring the level down to something like a 6 star would've improved the experience.

Onto the sweet part of the review! AudieoVisual's foray into art levels has been great to watch, I love the various art components and how they've been integrated into the level. The citrus fruits, obviously, are used heavily and are used as obstacles for a few parts, which I thought was really cute, and I really like the martini glass that you drop into and float out of; it really enhances the flavor of the level, in more ways than one.

Another detail I like, though less flavorful in one aspect, is the very tasteful yet impactful use of particles. I love the rotating stars that splash onto the screen in the first part, and the floating background particles in the background of the first ball are such a perfect emulation of a bubbling drink--it almost makes my mouth water.

Since this is AudieoVisual we're talking about, there's a lot of kinetic text, and I think this is always a really nice detail to include, but it's executed very well here--in particular the squash and stretch on "zesty", it is absolutely delectable. Besides that, not much else to say here; great as usual.

I could go on describing every individual component of the level, but I don't want to write that much, so I'll zoom out to a bigger picture perspective. If I were to describe LIMEADE in one word, it would be "juicy". While I'm not the biggest fan of the song, the level synergizes with it extremely well; it's so poppy, colorful, and saturated. I feel like I'm a kid in the early 90's on a hot and humid summer day cooling off with an intensely sweet can of lemonade--the vibes are excellently communicated.

The single piece of media this level reminded me of the most was a poem from the character Selmers in Night in the Woods, and I'll conclude with that:

Sometimes I like fruit snacks Out by The train tracks A juice box And headphones I enter The juice zone.

7/10

Level ID: 108060508 Video: https://youtu.be/HtNq6sWJavE

[minis-gaming]

It took some time, but here is my review of Chongquing! You can read my reviews for the previous levels here:

Dubai

Dartmoor

Berlin

And as always: Spoilers ahead!

To be honest, it was hard for me to write the review for Chongquing, because until now I don’t know exactly what to feel about this level.

When I first played it, I got very huge Blade Runner vibes. Chongquing is very futuristic and that’s exactly the problem I have with this level.

First of all, it is very well designed. The setting is beautiful, the skyline is one of the best in the WoA trilogy and the rain makes some pretty reflections (starting from small puddles to 47s shiny head).

My problem with Chongquing is it’s futuristic setting. I know, Hitman always had some sci-fi elements, beginning with the whole cloning program by Ort-Meyer over a necklace that drives a teenage girl insane to the hospital in Hokkaido or a serum that wibes away your memories and another one that gives them back. And in Chongquing we have Drones that fly over the city, Hush who’s doing dubious experiments with homeless people, controlling their minds and we have the ICA headquarters.

For me, the ICA was always an organisation acting in the shadows. That’s why I was kinda confused seeing that huge yacht in Absolution. And now, with the headquarters in Chongquing, the ICA lost a bit of it’s mystery for me. Especially because of Hush and Emogen Royce.

I always thought the ICA is an organisation that stands behind its agents and handlers, giving them the equipment and informations they need. Now they are an organisation doing human experiments. And to be honest, I don’t like this plot. It feels more like IOI wanted to make Hush and Emogen Royce “the bad people” we can kill without a guilty conscience. So they made them two people who do these experiments to make them more unlikable. At least that was the feeling I got.

In the end, we just went there to hack the whole system, so 47 could make the ICA public. But a whole level without targets would have been a bit boring, I get that. But Hush and Emogen Royce are two of the most forgettable targets in the whole trilogy.

It was kinda fun to have Olivia as our handler. She is young and has a much different attitude than Diana and it felt very refreshing to have someone like her guiding 47. But just like with Grey in Dubai, I’d wish we would have more interactions with her.

And talking about interactions, there is this wonderful scene at the beginning, when you start at the bridge in Chongquing with 47 talking to a woman there. I wrote about it here and it is one of my favortie moments in the whole game.

In conclusion I have to say that Chongquing is one of my least favourite levels in Hitman 3. The setting is beautiful, but it is way too futuristic for me and the targets were kinda boring.

What do you think of Chongquing? I would love to hear your opinion so feel free to comment or write me a message!

[minis-gaming]

After talking about Dubai, it’s time for my review of the second location in Hitman 3- Thornbridge Manor! Spoilers ahead!

After the amazing trailer for Thornbridge Manor, which revealed the detective mission story, I was very hyped. I’m a huge Fan of Sherlock Holmes and when I was a child, my mother used to watch series like Miss Marple or Murder, She wrote. I myself was a huge fan of Alfred Hitchcock. That’s why the trailer gave me all the mystery detective vibes.

And I wasn’t disappointed. The huge building looked eerie in the secluded surroundings of Dartmoor. The whole atmosphere was kinda menacing.

Nonetheless, the detective mission story is one of the best mission stories in the whole WOA trilogy. It was so much fun! It put the threatening mood behind. I was all in the detective mode!

As the detective, I was alllowed to look around almost every corner of the building. Neither the building nor it’s surroundings are as huge as they first seemed. But the design is absolutely stunning!

The manor has so many details. I liked, that every room was designed individually (not like the houses in Whittleton Creek which looked all the same). The house looks like a combination of every murder mystery movie cliche.

It feels like the house has it’s own story. It’s one of those houses you’d like to visit during daytime and where you don’t want to be alone at night. Huge chandeliers, hunting trophies and paintings of grumpy looking people adorn the rooms. The building’s perfect design makes up for it’s lack of size.

But, let’s go back to the murder mystery. You have to take a closer look at the crime scene, using the new camera to scan the dead body of Alexa Carlisle’s brother and other interesting things.

Little by little it becomes clear that this strange family, which is led by a cold matriarch, holds many dark secrets and it is fun to reveal all of them.

Playing as the detective was also fun, because 47 and Diana worked so good together. It was cool to have so many interactions with people. I wish there’d be more chances like this to interact with NPC’s.

The other mission stories are also fun. Pushing Alexa into her fake grave or electrocuting her while taking a family picture is both morbid and fun and it fits the whole plot as a homage to old murder mystery crime movies and novels.

In the end, the whole threatening atmosphere becomes true. The location is followed by my most hated cutscene, so I always hate to leave the property. But in the end, Thornbridge Manor is one of my most favourite locations in Hitman 3; I would put it on the second place.

What do you think about Thornbridge Manor? I would love to hear your opinion, so feel free to comment or to write me a message!

[minis-gaming]

I want to talk about every level in Hitman 3, giving them a little review.

So I start with Dubai!

After that amazing cutscene with 47 and Grey jumping out of plane, we enter the Burj Al-Ghazali, also known as the Sceptre.

In the world of Hitman it is the tallest building and it combines everything you think about when it comes to Dubai- gold, glass, impressive design, swank.

Another part of the building is an art exhibition. It is so pretty that playing the first time I just walked slowly through it and looked at it like an ordinary tourist.

The location fits the two targets: the providence partners Marcus Stuyvesant and Carl Ingram. Two very rich and powerful men who use their influence to find refuge in this imposing place. A mountain hut wouldn’t have fit them.

The first mission I played is also my favourite. Grey tells me that he wants to speak to Stuyvesant and Ingram directly. So I want to fulfill this wish for him. And than Grey FaceTiming the partners?! I mean WHAAAAAAAAT?! That’s drama, baby!

In the end, Dubai was more like a training level. It is not very huge nor demanding. It isn’t my least favourite Hitman 3 level (that’s Romania, but I will discuss that later), but it’s not in the top. It’s more like... okay... it may be difficult for beginners, but for people who played the previous two games it’s easy.

What do you think about Dubai? What was your favourite and least favourite part? I would like to hear your opinion so feel free to comment or send me a message!