This was an interesting, fun level. It's definitely the best one that we've seen from this author. On to the review.

The architecture of Emperor's Reach III was fairly admirable. There was improvement over the blandness of the previous level, and there were a bunch of interesting features. The canyon areas were nice because the sides were sloped, not perpendicular to the ground. It made it feel a lot more like a real outdoor area than plain, boring walls would have. In addition to the sloped walls, the ground was rocky and uneven, not giving the impression of a hallway with canyon textures. Lastly, there was a cool chain link fence surrounding the compound that houses the power generator station. The indoor architecture was also well done. Many control panels were indented into the wall, or were thrusting out. Not too many seemed to be just slapped on the wall as we've seen in the past. The rebel base contained some nice beams and pipes, which combined with the pillars for a nice architectural look. There were some good elevation changes by way of elevator, yet there were very few stairs or ramps to make it a little more interesting. The two or so ramps that I found were quite steep; almost unrealistically so. However, a good job was done on the architecture overall. The texturing in this level was not as well done on the other hand. There were just too many dull grays and blues, lacking some inspiring colors to liven them up. Also, in some places, such as the main entrance, the textures did not match each other very well. Furthermore, in some places the textures were not stitched correctly, but it was not incredibly noticeable. On a whole, there was not enough of a variety of textures, I suggest integrating some more textures into the 'rotation'.

The enemy placement of the level was great. There was a good balance between enemies and items. In a few places, rebel troops were abundant, but your loyal stormtroopers help you fight them! (If they don't accidently shoot you in the back.) There were enough enemies to give you a nice challenge, however, it was not aggravating. Furthermore, they were placed well, sometimes having the advantage of high ground so that less enemies were needed. The level also had some new enemy vehicles which were well made, even if they look a little funny. The placement of items, as well as that of enemies, was also well done. There was a near perfect amount of powerups for the level. You were kept at a reasonable level throughout your endeavor, and after certain tough areas, you pick up a revive to restore yourself to your former glory. On the small downside of item placement, the keys are placed very unrealistically. The blue key is in a vent that you access from outside the base! A small bird could fly through the grate, grab the key and the rebels would be locked out of their own base! Also, the yellow key was sitting on top of a crate in a small landing area, apparently for no reason. The enhancements of this level were very interesting. There was a small cutscene in which the character gives an inspirational speech to her stormie brigade, and it's cool when they all move out afterwards to engage the rebels. After you enter the rebel base, some more things make an appearance. In one area, a stormtrooper is guarding some rebels who have surrendered, and have their hands behind their heads. In another spot, there is a cool bridge you extend to cross over the the other side of the main entrance area. A few areas had flashing lights, and in the saber fight area there was a strobe light. I didn't really like it because it hurt my eyes, but it was a nice detail.

The atmosphere was very pleasing to me. I truly enjoyed this level. The lighting was good. There was nice use of shadows, and the colored lighting added more and more to the level. I think the lighting of this one level far surpassed that of all the author's other levels combined. One or two areas were too dark, sporting pitch black surfaces, but on a whole the lighting was very good. A small downpoint was that there were no mission objectives, but that paled in comparison the fun gameplay. It was quite enjoyable to lead your loyal stormies into battle with the rebel scum, and the other features only enhanced the gameplay. To get a key you have to hop onto an x-wing, and from there onto the top of a big crate. The only sad part was that the second half of the level was pretty much a key hunt, but it was still fun.

I really urge you to play this level and check out the great improvements over its predecessors. I commend the author for his excellent work on this level and hope he continues making levels of this calibur. Until next time!