Black Flame
Review by Henning Knoff

Gameplay: 8
The Black Flame, all in all, plays really well. There is just the right mix of fights, puzzles, and evil traps. The beginning is a bit slow, but after entering the mines, the level design gets better. There is a lot to do, and several rooms or areas are done really clever.

Originality: 9
Speaking of clever parts, there are a lot of very original ideas. The "patience is a virtue" bit is done with a beautiful twist. The ending is especially fun and original. I also like the ideas of a "town" with shops and a well as well as having mines with a very long mine shaft. There are also some very nice re-designs of monsters, like the Bullette from EOB2, the stormtroopers, and especially the very impressive Lord Redav at the end!

Difficulty: 9
Compared to the first version, the CSBWin version is a lot more balanced, which is a good thing. The monster generators are not as vicious, and there are no 4000 HP knights anymore. The weapons are also better, which makes even very hard monsters managable. Still, some parts are quite hard to do, even if you know what to do. Good thing that these parts are found near the end of the game! The "Armageddon" level and the final level stand out here. But it actually never gets unfair, and everything can be done with the proper preparation. The difficulty curve rises nicely, and to cope with the relatively hard monsters in the beginning, there is a very good training opportunity.

Puzzles: 8
Compared to your "other" big dungeon, Towers of Chaos, The Black Flame has less puzzles, and some of them are quite obvious (like "feed my vanity" or "bring me luck"). Still, there is at least one marvellous puzzle that can function as a trap, a puzzle or a weapon. That fireball puzzle alone is reason enough to play this dungeon! There are also some very nice throwing puzzles.

Size: 9
The dungeon seems a bit shorter than DM, but not much, which is a very fitting size for me. Not all is as action-packed as, say, CSB, but there is definitely enough to do to justify the size. Well done.

Replayability: 7
There is some random item placement which makes a second try worthwhile, but apart from that, there isn't much to explore once you finish it. Still, the dungeon is nice enough to play it again after a while.

Craft: 9
The CSBWin version is definitely improved here, with teleporters leading back to the beginning and some very elegant design in general. The Vortex is a great example of using an idea employed in the original DM and enhanced greatly with new twists. And "Armageddon" is one of the coolest dungeon levels I have ever seen: very hard, very confusing and annoying, but with enough built-in symmetry and structure to keep the player motivated, because he just "feels" it can be done.

Game Ending: 10
This is probably the strongest point of the whole dungeon! There still is the classic ending of Fusing Lord Cha... Redav, but this is more an added bonus for those who can't figure out the real ending. It is not easy to figure out, but actually very well done, very atmospheric, and highly original. The best ending I have seen in a dungeon so far!

Atmosphere: 8
There are several very atmospheric parts, like the worm/ruster trap, the well in the town in the beginning, and the mines entry. Thanks to the new DSA overlay, the Cracks of Doom are now very cool (or rather, very hot).

Overall: 9
All in all, a very good dungeon with a great ending. The finale, starting with "Armageddon" in my book, is among the best things I have ever played. The way there sometimes drags on a bit, though; especially in the beginning, you don't have that much to do, and up to the point where you enter the mines, everything seems a bit demotivated. But it is definitely a strong point of the dungeon that it keeps getting better and better as you progress, resulting in a very rich experience in the end. With more to be done in the beginning and some more puzzles thrown in, The Black Flame might have gotten a 10 from me; as it is, it ranks a 9 (which still is a huge compliment).



Best part:
The ending and the "Armageddon" level.

Worst part:
The first few levels that seem a bit "empty".