izigame.me

It's so hard to review these maps... And I really hate to leave a negative remark, but frankly, a positive one just doesn't feel right, nor will it get any attentions from EW.
To be clear, the map is gorgeous. But that's usually the case with all maps anyway, so whatever. I've not encountered any major bugs either, save for the gun textures (see below).
My beefs though are the following:
1- There's really nothing new in NE. I'm no forest expert, but let's be frank here, there's not that much of a difference here between Layton and Hirsh. There's a bit of a different vibe to it, and you know you're on a new map, but it's not really exciting either. I thought the last map also had the same issue. I just do not understand this resistance from EW to come out with a jungle map, or something really different. You know, it's ok for me to shoot at a panther or elephant etc. in a video game. Really. There are no ethical issues here. It's not going to turn me (or 99.9% of your players for that matter) into some crazy endangered species poacher. Respectfully, you're game just doesn't have that much impact into people lives. But pumping out something different could definitely have an impact on your bottom-line though, just saying.
2- After about 3 hours of hunting, I've still shot the same damn thing that I always shoot. A lot of moose, some deer, another bear, a few turkeys. More of the same really...
3- I still get trolled by a variety of game birds that chirp up 175 yards away up wind, and that are never to actually be seen or shot at. So... whatever. I'm really not sure what to make of these. Is this you telling me I need to but the dog DLC? Like, isn't the point of an arcade-style hunting game to let me shoot things? Why are these species even in there?
4- Same story for the smaller mammals. IMO, these critters are way too reclusive to be any fun. There's something not working right when I can easily track, lure, and kill a 400 kg moose, but can't for the life of me kill a raccoon or rabbit. Looking through the binoculars at 200 yards should usually let me spot something, not just lifeless forest. I could be wrong here, and I don't mean to spark some sort of debate on the comparative real-life challenges of small game vs big game hunting. But something just doesn't feel normal in the games now when it comes to small game and birds.
5- The new textures thing is good, I suppose, but it totally screwed up the old textures on the guns. Was that intentional? Will this be fixed? There's this sort of weird jagged look in the larger pictures of the guns when in the store or inventory, and the textures have also changed in the normal first person view. That's not an improvement.
In conclusion, I'm ok with having bought the DLC, because I think EW has the potential to come out with cool maps and to continue improving on the game and I want to encourage that in some humble way. But to be brutally honest, the Angler is a disaster and the last CoTW content has been somewhat... stagnating of late. This map is more of the same, and since it's not that much different from the 2 original maps, it's hard to really give it a thumbs up (especially since new species will be introduced into these old maps).