Single player levels

Here you will find reviews of single player add on levels that have been made by the Drakan community some of which are really stunning and rival some of the shipped levels. I would recommend spending some time checking these out especially the ones with a rating of 70% or more. Note 70% does not mean average with our rating system, it means the level is good with a few flaws that some people will probably never notice. So try them 🙂

For information on how we rate levels, go here. Levels are reviewed by Arokh’s Twin unless stated otherwise.

You can read the review by clicking on the level title, and there will be download links on the review page. Installation instructions are usually provided with the download but if not go here.

Multiplayer levels & other files click here.

 Date order (newest last) dates are in UK format DD/MM/YYYY

 Key: Air = human and dragon playable characters.   Ground = Biped (human) playable character only

Ancient City Author: Paul FN Size: 152KbDate: ??/??/1999 Score: 62% Type: GroundA short level in which Rynn travels alone to an ancient city of the Order to look for an artifact. Originally part of a series that was never finished.
Snowy Valley Author: Paul FN Size: 11.5KbDate: ??/??/1999 Score: 42% Type: AirA test level in which Rynn and Arokh venture through a long valley dispatching both air and ground foes.
Crossroads of Drakan Author: Zeoc Size: 195KbDate: ??/??/1999 Score: 69% Type: GroundGround only level where you play as Rynn exploring an old ruined city. There is a vague storyline set sometime before the games.
Hidden Vale Author: Signal Size: 31KbDate: ??/??/1999 Score: 64%  Type: GroundSet a year before the PC game, Rynn sets out to finish a quest after the death of a friend.
Paradise Author: Chris Wilson Size: 79KbDate: ??/???1999 Score: 71%  Type: GroundA stunning ground only level with a very low frame rate. Originally going to be the first level in a series that was never finished.
Start  Author: Duncan Mcleod Size: 16KbDate: ??/??/1999 Score: 46% Type: GroundA small test level which features lots of enemies.
Dragonmech Author: Zeoc Size: 4.83MbDate: ??/??/2000 Score: 90%  Type: Air3 level series which is a direct continuation of the PC game featuring a different mount which is a robotic dragon. This is an alternative to TAG for non PS2 owners.
Valley of Storn Author: SteamteckSize: 189KbDate: ??/??/2000 Score: 75% Type: AirFirst in a series of levels set a year or so after the PC game. The storyline does not contradict the official sequel’s storyline either so its a sort of Drakan3 if you like.
Anwynn Author: Steamteck Size: 358KbDate: 19/04/2000 Score: 74% Type: Air

Sequel to Valley of Storn.

 

Cold Wastes Author: SteamteckSize: 357.5KbDate: 31/05/2000 Score: 59% Type: Air Sequel to Anwynn.
Mnar along the river Ai Author: Steamteck Size: 671kbDate: 02/09/2000 Score: 76% Type: Air3 levels in this download which are a sequel to Cold Wastes.
Miner Village Author: Trail Size: 50.5kbDate: 25/09/2000 Score: 59% Type: GroundA small test level which is useful for practicing your multiplayer skills.
Oriab Author: Steamteck Size: 315kbDate: 20/10/2000 Score: 78% Type: Air Another adventure by Steamteck but not part of the storylines of the previous levels.
Jungles of Kled Author: Steamteck Size: 183kbDate: 09/12/2000 Score: 77% Type; AirThe sequel to Oriab.
The Breaking of the World Author: Mick Size: 578kbDate: 28/01/2001 Score: 91% Type: GroundA stunning level which was originally to be part of an 8 level series intended as a Drakan 2 alternative now cancelled due to lack to time. Definitely still worth playing though!
T.F.O.U.DAuthor: Douglas442 Size: 11.02MbDate: 02/06/2001 Score: 83% Type: GroundThis is actually the second level in a planned series that may or may not see the light of day. Storyline revolves around a time travel experiment that Rynn got caught up with.
Southern islesAuthor: Steamteck Size: 906kbDate: 11/08/2001 Score: 71% Type: AirThe direct sequel to Mnar along the river Ai which is in turn part of a long running series of Drakan levels by Steamteck.
The Hood Author: Sam Size: 30kbDate: 06/10/2001 Score: 69% Type: GroundQuite a well designed level which sees Rynn setting out to rescue a captured Arokh. 
Trouble in Town Author: Owl Size: 203kbDate: 03/11/2001 Score: 79% Type: GroundGreat level featuring a stunning castle to explore and generally great attention to detail. It’s set about 9 years after OOTF but contradicts the ending of both Drakan games.
Winter at the top of the world Author: Steamteck Size: 858kbDate: 10/11/2001 Score: 78% Type: AirThis is set  six centuries before the PC game when the Order of the Flame was in the last decades of its rule of Drakan. You play as a warrior of the Order and her dragon. 
War of a Dark Age Author: Assassin Size: 3.11MbDate: 05/10/2002 Score: 76% Type: AirThis is more of a RPG conversion than a series of add on levels. It borrows a lot of things from TAG such as a money and skill point system. Click on the level for more info.
Search for Arokh Author: Surburnan Size: 2.71MbDate: 22/12/2002 Score: 77% Type: AirA short level set after the events of The Ancient’s Gates. There are some cool scripted events in this level which make it more interesting.
Drakan3: The End of the World Author: Dark Master Size: 4.63MbDate: 13/09/2003 Score: 56% Type: AirThis is Dark Master’s ideas of what could have happened after The Ancient’s Gates left off. Its a long level series with a decent storyline and well worth playing.
Vale of Gadagar Author: Dragoroth Size: 1.93MbDate: 23/04/2005 Score: 71% Type: AirA single medium sized level which starts with Rynn and Arokh imprisoned albeit separately. Its up to Rynn to break out of jail, find Arokh and find out who captured them.
DoomsdayAuthor: Assassin Size: 2.9MbDate: 10/06/2012 Score: Not Reviewed Type: AirReleased work done on a 12 level series which adds RPG elements and other features from Drakan2. Cancelled due to limitations with the game engine. Intro and first level only.
The CountryAuthor: Vader DarthSize: 798KbDate: 10/06/2012 Score: Not Reviewed Type: GroundAnother level series which adds a trading system, ability to get a job and buy your own property and much more to the game for improved gameplay. 3 of 10 levels released so far. Series on hold – may not get finished.
AergothAuthor: Dfoehammer & Yami Size: 2.7MbDate: 10/06/2012 Score: 94% Type: AirThe best player made level made so far which was originally going to be a series of levels. The first is complete and most of the second. Work may continue on this yet.
Journey to AzeneraAuthor: Zeoc Size: 1.9MbDate: 10/06/2012 Score: 89% Type: AirCancelled level series that was intended to be a sequel to the PC game. Four of the first levels are complete and this is a well designed series which is well worth playing.

 Useful links

For multiplayer levels click here

Level installation instructions

English 445 patch (required to play add on levels)

International versions 445 patch

These levels below are training levels which you may find useful before going online to play the game. These have not been reviewed as there isn’t much point. They are for the most popular levels and game matches.

Multiplayer training levels Hill of Fire and Relic (60.4Kb) released 11/07/01 Download 

Multiplayer training levels ‘Sparring Partners’ (8kb) released 18/07/01 Download

Level rating system

Levels are rated in 5 key areas and the individual scores for each area are added together and multiplied by 2 to give the final score. When reviewing levels the most important things I look for are basically summed up as below. Note that expectations and level quality changes over time; some of these levels here are 6 years old! For example, a level rated at 86% back in 1999 may not score as highly if re-reviewed today. There are some great quality levels out there, particularly the ones made in the last year or so.

1) level design and architecture; a level that is stunning to look at and has good use of textures as this shows time and effort has been put into the level to make it look cool. Levels that have rounded natural looking landscapes and caves score highly in overall level architecture where boxy, sparsely detailed levels with triangular mountains do not. Texturing that does not suit the level’s theme and / or have the well known carpet tile effect takes a drop in the score. Good levels show realism such as villages with crop fields, town squares and detailed buildings. Also enemy installations which have separate areas for eating, sleeping complete with appropriate furniture score highly in overall level design. I could go on but I guess you get the idea. An example of great architecture and texturing is ‘The Breaking of the World’ by Mick – one of the best SP levels out there.

2) Good lighting; a level that is all the same brightness throughout and has no shadows or lights looks bad. Lighting in a level should come from an intended source and caves that are as bright as day are a big no-no. Note the interior of the tavern in the game as that is the best example of indoor lighting. Poor lighting degrades the atmosphere of the level and in turn the gameplay.

3) Scripted events and new ideas (such as the magic / skill system in War of a Dark Age); Things like traps, NPC’s milling about round villages, farmers working in their fields etc make the world seem more alive and keeps the player interested. The level, ‘Search for Arokh’ for example has some cool fully working machinery which you can use to your advantage to defeat your foe.

4) A good storyline / plot; A level with no goals or backstory is a bit pointless and can lead to the player becoming bored and moving on. If a level only has a brief introduction, NPC’s who you meet should be included to help move the story along and give some indication to the player where he / she should be heading. Most levels nowadays seem to be so-called PC Drakan2’s  – I’d like to see some levels featuring new playable characters set before and / or after the PC and PS2 games for a change. Also if the story is quite an extensive one, it pays to make sure it fits in with the official backstory and plot of the PC game.

5) Good enemy placement and an even balance of weapons, powerups and enemies; Levels that are way too easy give no challenge and are often not much fun. On the other hand, a very difficult level results in cheating or the player giving up.

Well, here is a brief overview of how levels score in percentages. You will notice that most levels score between 60% to 80% which are good scores and they are definitely worth playing. Only truly outstanding levels score 90% or above and these are few and far between  – you should definitely play these without a doubt.

0-30% – considered a poor level which may be full of bugs, poor level design etc.

31-50% –  considered below average, these levels may have one or two good features but fall short in other areas.

51-65% – average level, good but could have done with some more work, also if a level is good in most areas but full of bugs then it may fall into this category.

66-75% –  above average, usually levels that fall into this category are good but may have one or two things that prevent them from attaining a higher score.

76-90% – Very good, may have one or two problems in some areas but definitely worth playing without a doubt.

91-100% – Perfect level, 9 or 10 out of 10 in all areas, no bugs at all, great atmosphere and a truly great single player Drakan adventure.

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Installation instructions

All levels are downloadable from this site now as planetdrakan has closed down. Some newer levels use the sky common database which is a collection of new skies which you will need to install in order to play them. They can be downloaded here. The 445 patch is required to play most add-ons for the game; the English version can be downloaded here.

First of all, you unzip the level(s) to a directory named the same as the PCL’s title. For example Hidden Vale should be unzipped into a directory named Hidden Vale. The directory name may be different in some cases, so check the readme to see what it should be called.  This directory should go in your ../program files/psygnosis/drakan directory. Please note that if a level has to be put into an alternative directory, I will mention this in the review. Of course, check the readme that came with the download to double check. I have tested all PCL’s and I can assure you they all work fine as long as they are installed in the correct place.

Next, you need to start Drakan in developer mode. To do this, hold down shift whilst starting Drakan. You should get the options box but a third tab should be visible entitled developer mode. Click on this and tick the enable developer mode checkbox than start Drakan using the button below. This only has to be done once so you can start Drakan in the usual way in future.

Note that this causes the intro cutscene to be skipped and the game to bring up the menu straight away. Next, select new game then select the level you whish to play from the menu. Simple as that!

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