Tangler

The Fall of Rapture
ID: 299507
Author: @Aristocras
Tags: Challenging, Non-Canon, Save the World
Morality: Heroic

The Fall of Rapture is an arc where your hero answers a distress call from another dimension while in Portal Corp. As he enters, your hero finds himself in a futuristic, fascist new world called Rapture, and things only get worse from here.

First, allow me to say that I really wanted to like this arc. It does a few neat things that I thought was really cool, so much so that I didn’t ended up 1 starring this arc. Just how bad can that be? It’s bad in that when it hits you with the stupid stick, you console yourself on the trail of breadcrumbs that are the redeeming values of the arc, repeating to yourself ‘well, it can’t possibly get any more stupid than this at least’, only for the arc to exceed your expectations time and time again. I am not playing for laughs when I say that I started playing this arc thinking that this was a 4+ star grade arc, only for it to drop to a 3 star arc halfway through, and then just facepalming by the end.

This review will be structured differently compared to my other reviews, in that in order to talk about the bad, I will have to pretty much detail every mission just to talk about all the stupid. If you want to keep this as a spoiler-lite review, I would recommend that you just read up to the good bits and skip over to the verdict.

First the good, the author has done a really great job in costuming the custom faction. The enemies are your usual faceless soldiers type, but their uniforms are spot on for that futuristic, fascist motif that is going on in this arc. My screens really can’t do them justice as to how stylish they look in game.




Oppression never looked this fabulous.

The arc also ties in the mission to the map much better than most arcs, with the crowning moment being mission 4. There are also some smaller but also good touches in the arc such as finding the exit in the first mission (which isn’t code for ‘fight the boss who spawned all the way back at the start’). All in all, if there’s one thing I can say that this arc does do well, it’s atmosphere.

Now onto the… stupid. As your hero explores this new dimension, he’ll rescue some stragglers who were about to be ‘purged’ by troopers of this tyrant. The stragglers tell you that this tyrant goes by the name of Lord Mesisen


*Piercing silence*

-who according to the rumours is also a shapeshifter (you can just taste the cheese twist). After freeing the stragglers and finding your way back home, you are contacted by the leader of that world’s resistance who calls itself ‘The Answer’. The Answer explains that what the hero saw was the remnant of a terrible war that Lord Mesisen waged and won against the former tyrant, Lord Recluse (wait, so are we in the Rogue Isles, or did Recluse take over Paragon, and also, what happened to all the heroes?). The resistance, who call themselves T.R.A.P.


*Piercing silence*

-are interested in recruiting you, but first they want to test that you are trustworthy before they let your hero in because apparently, saving civilians from Mesisen troops isn’t enough to prove whose side your hero is on.

The Answer tasks you to destroy one of Mesisen’s factories using bombs it has dropped off in a dumpster outside the plant (not explicitly clear what kind of factory it is, but it probably involves baby-stomping). Your hero enters the factory, which is already set to explode in 30 minutes for some reason (time limit really needs to be explicitly mentioned). Your hero plants the bombs and takes out the foreman, who was specifically ‘picked for his cruelty’ (so definitely a baby-stomping factory then), and on the way you overhear one of the troopers comment on the influx of brass being brought into the factory (HINT HINT).

After the bombing, The Answer decides it and your hero should finally meet, and tells him to go to an abandoned office where your hero will find an underground network for the resistances' hideout. Upon entering the office, your hero feels suspicious that the office feels too quiet, because abandoned offices are known for their loud background noises. Further investigation leads your hero to find The Answer, a toxic tarantula whose being held by Mesisen troops. After your hero successfully frees The Answer, he makes a passing comment that there’s something odd about Lord Mesisen, almost as if he doesn’t belong.

For your next mission, The Answer wants you to finally take down Mesisen, and by taken down I mean assassination, which your hero is totally fine with regardless of their moral background. This is the mission I’ve mentioned with the particularly good map use, it’s a hard mission but fitting considering what your about to do, and the whole thing evokes the final scene of Equilibrium which is certainly not a bad thing. Reading Mesisen’s bio, you find out that his iron rule crushes all thoughts of resistance (except there is a resistance group), he is also a noted shapeshifter but tries to hide it (if he’s already well known for this then how and why is he trying to suppress it?) as he fears the public’s knowledge of this will lead to an uprising, because being ruled by a despot I'll take grudgingly, but I'll be damned if I get lorded over by those damn dirty shifters! Mesisen does his evil monologue, fights your hero and then teleports away.

As you return, The Answer informs you that Mesisen has retreated to his main HQ and tells you to go hunt him down. Your hero finds Mesisen and beats him down again, and he proceeds to teleport away again. Your hero finds him again but this time shifted into a ‘demonic form'. As your hero defeats this version he gains a clue noting that as the body (which the clue calls a werewolf for some reason) fell, it made a ‘clunking’ sound as it hit the floor (if you haven’t guessed where this is going yet, I feel really bad for you). Your hero finally encounters Mesisen’s true form, only to discover the incredible twist that well, I’ll just let him speak for himself:


I don't think I could add anything to this.

After your hero finally puts down Nemesis for good, he returns home only to be greeted with this wonderful closing:



/em double_facepalm

Final Verdict: There are some truly good things about this arc, and there is also a lot of stupid.

2.5/5 Stars

I'll ask a non feature request question too:

What are your thoughts on all these AE hijackers jury-rigging the system to make the simulations dangerously real/sentient or to act as a galaxy spanning teleporter/dimension hopper/time machine/the maw of Cthulu? Are you ever gonna have a look at your network security?

Eva already asked my main question, so I'll ask:

Any plans for the ability to complete missions through different path objectives in the near future? In other words no more fiddling around with failed objectives conditions to have faux-branching.

Hi MartyRallner, in case you didn't know, any new submissions may be in for a long wait as I want to catch up with some other things before regularly reviewing again.

Still, if you want a more prompt review you can still opt to play and comment on one of my arcs. The two arcs are in my sig, though I should warn you that Might Makes Right is still in need of a large update to i16 (hence why I'm taking a break).

As cool as I would like to use random maps, it's time consuming enough as it is to bug test even just static maps.

BE Prologue: Gangs United
ID: 250480
Author: @Ozzie Arcane
Keywords: Solo Friendly (disputable), Mystery
Morality: Heroic

Gangs United is a light mystery arc that is also the first of a planned multi-arc storyline. Your contact is the oddly named Scothew, a reclusive conspiracy theorist who happens to look a bit like Alan Moore. Schothew has just stumbled upon a hot lead on a mysterious organisation in Paragon, though it’s one the Freedom Phalanx and Longbow are choosing to ignore as they assume he’s just some kind of crazy nut (again, looking like Alan Moore probably doesn’t help), so he pleads to your hero to follow the lead in their stead.

Oh, and he thinks it is the Illumanti. dun dun dunnn

Scothew fills your hero in that they’ve been arming the Hellions with something that’ll make them an even bigger threat, and so off your hero goes to investigate a warehouse where the meeting is taking place.


Super special awesome ultra special sexy transformation sequence GO!








As it turns out the organisation behind the deal are a group known as Big Evil, and along your hero’s adventures he will find out that Big Evil has been similarly levelling up other small time groups for the purpose of one Big Evil Plan.

The arc boasts various customs, from the already shown improved Hellions to the new Frost Giants for the trolls. They’ll all nicely costumed, and fit in well for the arc’s story.

The arc being lablled as ‘solo friendly’ is debatable, as each mission has A LOT of bosses with most of them being customs, and they’re all mandatory. I find this to be indulgent even post SO levels, let alone for an arc ranged between levels 10-20, and there were a few times where my hero got curb stomped because she ended up getting agro from multiple bosses at once.

Big Evil is I can only suspect the author’s SG. The reason being because there were plenty of moments where I felt I was being prodded with the ‘you should care about this cameo’ stick, to which I could only reply incredulously with “why should I?”

You find out the reason why Big Evil is amassing all these gangs near the end, as well as a bit more on Big Evil, but discovering the Big Evil Conspiracy left me with one big “oh… okay.” This was mostly a delivery issue, which as my previous comment on the Big Evil members I noted, the arc suffers from as a whole. Am I itching to play the sequel(s) to know what happens next? I honestly and brutally say I cannot. This arc has room for improvement if the author is serious about taking it beyond an arc to share with SG mates and one for public consumption.



Final Verdict: Not bad overall, but could have been better.

3/5 Stars

Oh, and a big thanks to Bubba for organising this competition, as well as let me agree with the others in saying this comp has done far more for arc awareness and morale than the official comp itself.

Wow so close, congratulations to all the winners.

Now as to the questions:

Out of curiosity, is it a tie using 1st place = 2 points, 2nd = 1 point rule, or are you using a different system?

Edit: typo.

Check out Mercytown (ID: 6017) in my sig. It's a villainous arc using standard TO level mobs, save for one spawn where I have some custom Hellion girlfriends.

Edit: Woops, beaten to the punch, but thanks for recommending me Eva.

I never had any problems finding that door on my first experience as a lowbie villain. It's true that players are conditioned not to bother trying doors, but I found the map layout and the direction you face as you start, pretty much leads you to the door to that big prominent building.

If you want confusing, Marshal Brass has you entering the TV broadcasting building (one of many in a large outdoor map) to access the roof for one of your objectives.

It's listed right above the 'reviewed' list on the first post. I'll copy/paste my current queue for your convenience:

Next For Review
Gangs United
The Fall of Rapture
Glory of Moment

2nd Batch
Assault on Aru Prime
The Long Road Back
Glory Days
Hobo Rising
The Tangled Weave
The Descender

End Game – Final Moves
ID: 17006
Author: Calash
Tags: Complex Mechanics, Challenging, Custom (Author) Characters

End Game – Final Moves is an adventure arc where your hero tries to foil a dastardly plot that one gadgeteer brother has for his sister. Your contact is a lady called Minkia, former assistant to said evil brother known as Robert “Dark” Veil, who has since had a change of heart (read: left for dead by Dark Veil after being caught embezzling) and now aids his sister, Susan Veil.

Dark Veil is in the dark that his former assistant still lives, and Minkia exploits this and easily hacks into his systems, uncovering Dark Veil’s plot to ruin his sister’s life, and so begins your mission to foil his schemes before it is too late.


With the aid of Longbow, your hero lifts the dark veil of Dark Veil's plot (I'll stop now).


Robots allies huh? That sounds nice-


Oh, hell yes.

The arc makes excellent use of mechanics, as well as the set up for it. Talking with Minkia after the initial debriefing will supply you with information on exploiting enemy weaknesses, as well as hints as to how to call for additional reinforcements if needed. While most heroes won’t need the additional allies, they can certainly help against the more powerful EBs as well as adding flavour to the arc. There was also a scene where you hero needs to hack into a network by accessing the correct computer node. There is an element of risk involved as accessing the wrong node will alert the guards, but you are able to tell which nodes are a trap and pull out before it is too late. It is in all a refreshing take on the ‘click some glowies’ objective.

In the end I was unable to stop Dark Veil, as he used the most nefarious power known to man as the bugged objective spawn. For some reason one of the two robot henchmen I had to defeat before they escaped did not spawn. I ended up clearing the entire map and he still refused to show up, and so my hero ended up just sitting there waiting for the countdown timer to go down.

Unfortunately the story isn’t much to write about. The evil brother wants revenge on her good sister, and that’s about it. Your hero never finds out much history on their sibling grudge, like say why Dark Veil blames his sister for his fall, nor does your hero makes any connections with the characters... except Minkia.

If there is one thing you can say about Minkia is that she is flirtatious, even her flirts are enveloped in pink text whenever she puts the moves on your hero. Though before the phrase ‘that’s hawt’ forms in your mind, I’ll just add that her flirtations were less Jessica Rabbit and more Sue Collini* (the last link isn’t for kids… though nor is Jessica Rabbit actually).



Final Verdict: A decent arc, it is its gameplay that carries it.

3.5/5 Stars

*Fun fact: both are performed by the same actress for those not in the know.

Grats to Chesire Cat.