Decade 0 II
Fleshdance

Right. My first review ever, and the victim is DM-Decade0][ by Fleshdance. It is very popular to build UT-remakes of maps released previously for Unreal, and this is one of them. Although I cannot remember having played DM-Decade0 before, the name Fleshdance is well known as he is the guy who made the excellent DM-Prong and a UT version of that map. He also made DMMechanic for Unreal, the ultimate sniper map.

The purpose of this map is very clear: Most of you will agree that this map was made for fast paced fragging for 1-on-1 games. Three players is simply one too many for this map.

I will start off with the looks. At first this seems a bit of a straightforward map. Well it is actually, but that doesn't mean it looks bad. The author created a small arena, worked his way around it and added some nice bits and pieces to it. I guess because he did not have much room to play with, he had to focus on using the right textures and even more so, using the right lighting. Some coloured lighting was used, as was some white lighting, and some very nice effects in the trap below one of the 2 Flaks. Although there are quite some graphical goodies in this small map, it surely doesn't look "overdone". I couldn't find any flaws or glitches in the map.

Now for the playability of the thingy. In fact it is not bad - but in this case, playability is relative to its size. After playing one bot over and over again, I got bored with it soon. But then, this map was not really intended for bots. They perform pretty well, although one of them got stuck most of the time in one of the hallways at the bottom of the trap. Quite annoying, considering there are not many places in a map as small as this one where they can get stuck at all.

The choice of weapons is good. Apart from the Enforcer and the Impact Hammer, the only weapon is the Flakcannon, and it sure is the best weapon for a map like this. Ammo and health are well placed. Some powerups are there and I am not sure if there might be too much for a map this small. The shieldbelt is in plain sight, as is the armour, but the damage amp is tricky to get. It is in the water (check the screenshots), but if you're opponent picks up the flak on the ledge over the water two electrodes will drop in the water and you're history. Very nice that trap.