The Dink Network

Kyle says, "We built this d-mod for an English school project. It revolves around the Maori population, but don't expect to learn that much from it."

This is a fair D-Mod that actually has a bit to offer in the way of a 30 minute excursion. There are many enjoyable traits, such as the fact that the enemies were hard, but not too hard... I admire that. I went to a Hangii in Rotoroa many years ago, so I find it interesting that someone had taken the time to study the Maori- a tribal group many have probably never heard of.

***Plot***
The plot is fairly developed as D-Mods of this size go. Dink has been washed ashore on YET ANOTHER mysterious island previously unheard of. Here he will meet the proud Maoris (Ma-o-rees). The great thing about this D-Mod was the fact that you can not just siddle through the story quickly, you are actually required to think. My only major complaint in regards to the plot was that the Maori tribesmen on the island did not seem very true to the actual Polynesian culture that exsists on New Zealand and the surrounding islands. It may be a matter of my own opinion, but when I there I got the impression that the ancient Maoris were a race of fearful warriors, not a group of idyllic pacifists (oddly enough, many people seem to view Native Americans the same way). I always had the impressing that the warriors engaged in power battles between each other for positions of honor- if an opponent laughed at the fact that the warrior would stick out his tongue to seem fearful, he would quickly get severed in two. To me, it matters little, since I am not a partisan pundit or one of the folks at factcheck.com.
***8.7***

***Gameplay***
The gameplay was well balanced and never impossibly hard, but by no means easy. The slayers were the only monsters that bothered me in the way of stats, others, like the stone giants, were extremely well done, and were not too challenging for a low-level player - meaning I did not have to waste time killing tons of monsters to bring up my level just so that I could make it to the ending.
***9.0***

***Map***
The map was good, with few flaws in the tiling, but nothing really innovative in the tiling either. (example: Simon's Desert Canyon in SOB) The only major detractor here is that one of the statues was really difficult to get to because there was only a small gap in the hardness where the door was.
***8.2***

***Graphics***
The graphics were alright, they were not the best I have seen, but not the worst either. They did not mesh well with the original Dink graphics, but were done well enough to get a passing grade from me.
***7.8***

FINAL SCORE:
***8.4***

This is a fine D-Mod and worth the download. Whilst I disagree with the validity of the so-called facts presented, it is still a likable game.