Jan. 28, 2021, 7:19 p.m.   (Last edited: 3 years, 9 months ago)

Will the rain ever stop? Perhaps, but for now, all we have is lamp oil shortage, inefficient drainage system and curfews!

This is the world of Raid on Washout Central. The City is on a brink of major crisis and people are scared - Baron is losing the war, City Watch doubled patrols and flood is imminent... Lots of turmoil, but also a grand opportunity for robbers, plunderers and thieves. That's US.

This was my first fan mission back in a day and I was immediately hooked. There is something about water, you know? I mean, there must be a good reason why the level was conceived that way, and why the fans responded with wonderment and awe. I see a common thread in all of us taffers, if not whole mankind, that makes us fascinated with huge bodies of water, rainfall in all forms, tides so powerful that all civilizations came up with their own flood myths. Just a thought. Anyways! Raid on Washout Central plays to that tune, presenting its world as dark, cold, always misty and soaked to the bone. It doesn't look very convincing (Dark Engine after all), but it's potent enough to put my imagination on the fast track and fill the gaps with perfect imagery.

So if there was just a couple of things I was allowed to tell you about Raid, I'd start with that drenched, ultimately Thief-ian atmosphere it creates. When I think of Thief, I see all that darkness, brick walls, tall structures; I come back to my own nocturnal memories; and I hear the storm hovering outside. I bet many of you do as well! Atmosphere and worldbuilding are strong here. Main objective - quite unusual, fun, creative. Loot requirements? Very lax. To complete Expert mode you only need 60-65% score. Completionists will be busy, and casual fans... well, they will be busy too, because the layout is VERY confusing.

This is my gripe: you're almost guaranteed to get lost, especially in the slums district or sewers (yes, it has sewers, ducts, canals and water maintenance stations, the whole package). Getting lost in itself isn't the worst thing, but once you realize most areas are just "there", devoid of loot, interaction or unique features, the whole thing loses some appeal. Often times you tread back and meander, wondering how to skip to the next juicy part. Shaving off a quarter of that map would only improve the experience.

But I won't complain too much. It came out in June 2001, way before DromEd was properly explored and mastered. The author (Belboz) was among the frontrunners in mapmaking so it's easier to forgive mistakes. I'm also aware that early FMs couldn't match later releases in terms of esthetics - creating the most detailed models and textures surely took years. With that in mind, I'm willing to give it a real nice score. Sure, it could've been tidier, more fleshed out, more believable - once you stumble upon the casino and That Puzzle you'll know what I mean - but the theme was captivating and stuck in my head for good.

And I think that counts.