Dystopia 3: Re-Birth of Anarchy - Add-On Level (DYST301.WAD)

DYSTOPIA 3:
RE-BIRTH OF ANARCHY
Add-On Level
by Anthony "Adelusion" Czerwonka

Dystopia 3's .TXT gave a homepage for the project that hinted at more Dystopia levels to come in the future. As of 2011, only one add-on level for Dystopia 3 has been released, a MAP01 replacement by Anthony "Adelusion" Czerwonka. Just load it up with DYST3TEX.WAD or on top of DYST3.WAD to utilize the custom textures. There's no real story included, so one can only assume it's the continuing adventures of the Marine trying desperately to escape the hellish borderlands after destroying the demonic cult.

Much in the theme of Czerwonka's contributions to Dystopia 3, it's a small, very difficult techbase map. You start out in a small, enclosed room, with a lone SSG. Grabbing the SSG from any of the four sides will open up a corresponding door opposite the plane crossed, unleashing a revenant. This can get pretty complicated, same as the four Hell knights revealed in similarly cramped locations. This action spills out into the level's biggest bottleneck and trouble spot, a complex room that puts you in the thick of dozens of hitscanners, many of whom are difficult to spot with the pitch black lighting. It's a bit frustrating to deal with.

The blue key is pretty easy to snag, with parallel mancubi the only complication. This opens up the yellow key room, a nicely designed computer area with some toxic pools and surprise traps. It's a simple sequence, though, and grants access to the finale, a room with a central platform with four smaller ones surrounding. The initial two encounters are nicely set up (though easily handled). It's the last two you may have to worry about, putting you in the crossfire of four mancubi, followed by a surprise attack from everyone's favorite firestarter.

The Dystopia textures make the level look quite gorgeous. The techbase portions fit well within Czerwonka's established themes. The standout area, which houses the final series of encounters, looks great. It has a surreal outer texture and some hanging accoutrements surrounding the central pillar that help the room stand out. The other two major areas, the yellow key room and the cramped blue key section, are competently laid out and detailed, though the superior design leaves the beginning section looking quite plain in contrast.

Czerwonka's add-on level for Dystopia 3 is a formidable challenge and well worth playing, especially if you enjoyed the original episode. It's a great showcase of his stylistic sensibilities and while it has none of the special effects that got Dystopia 3 so much attention, it plays much the same, if not a little harder. It would have been nice to see some more add-on levels, but Czerwonka was hard at work in the Alpha Dog Alliance for STRAIN, and both contributed a fair number of maps to Requiem (some in the same style as Dystopia 3!). I'm grateful for this sole morsel, a good way to extend the feel of their freshman project.

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