This map outshines even The Canal, one of the best MoH maps currently around. And unsurprisingly, it is by the same author, Draska; AKA Flying sheep. I'll go into detail about each of the sections this map is marked on.
Presentation / Technical
So many new textures, and used so well, that I have no choice to give top marks. Although some are a little blurry, this can be excused because of the sheer filesize that would amount if they were all high quality .bmp or .tga's. The use of facades takes away none of the three dimensional-ness that we have
now-a-days come to expect from top maps, and infact the detail of the textures helps keep the FPS high. The clouds scrolling overhead were a great touch.
Lighting was used exceedingly well, creating wonderful indoor and outdoor ambience, without creating too many dark spots or having to use too much ambientlight. The suncolor used created a nice tint of blue for moonlight - a nice touch. Again, I cannot help but give a top score for the lighting.
The brushwork was beautifully simplistic. The author used the textures to make every brush count. The architecture was pure class, The Opera House itself,
the cathedral, the bridges, all built simplistically, and beautifully. The lack of detail brushes, made up for by the textures helped create a FPS that belies a map this grand. Even the destruction is wonderful, I had to spend quite an amount of time staring at the loadingscreen to find out if the screenshots were actually photos; which shows how natural this map looks. Going off-topic slightly, the loadingscreen was great too, and those screenshots were fantastic. Top marks? Yup.
The only thing I thought a little lacking was the sound. Although ambientsound was present and correct, as well as sounds for the blowing-up of stuff, I thought some speakers, such as in the canal for water, would have been nice. So, only partial marks for this, while nothing was wrong, a little more would
have been very right.
The theme was generic, in that it could really have been anywhere. Everything fitted into place, and I found nothing really that didn't fit - apart from
some of the metal door textures. The map was creative in that it is original in its design, if not in its overall theme. Not full marks, but definateley
not low marks.
Playability / Game Flaws
Unfortunatley I managed to find no servers running this map, which was a real pity. But, then again, I can see why. This map would play so well, and one can see all the consideration gone into layout and design - if you had about 32 people. The map is huge! Its grandness lets it down a little in this respect, which is a real pity. You can see some of the thought gone into gameplay, however, by seeing all the things you can do to affect the way the game flows; destroying the bridge, opening the water gate, destroying those barrels; each creates a different situation that the other team has to overcome. It's gotta have good marks; the map isn't at fault, the players are, there just isn't enough willing to play great custom maps like this.
Conclusion
It is a work of art. "Should I download it?" YES! If not to play, one can be occupied for ages just taking in the sights. And blowing up things, of course. A truly wonderful map, made by a maker of truly wonderful maps. Thanks Draska!
