"Never send an ewok to do a man's job." That's the line I was constantly thinking of as I worked my way through the level. After I had finished I also realized that this level seemed to fit all the necessary requirements for an average level. Sadly, it doesn't even live up to those mediocre expectations. We have a rescue mission, a secret imperial base (apparently these guys aren't very good at keeping secrets), a few small twists and turns, lots of ventilation shafts, and a phase III DT thrown in for good measure and for no good reason. The level does start off with some promise but then quickly peters out towards the end.

I mentioned just above that the level started off on a good note. The architecture and overall design was quite admirable during the mountainous scenes where you're looking for the entrance to the imperial base. The terrain was broken and varied constantly in elevation. There were overheads, some cool looking caves, and the walls seemed to form naturally rather than at right angles. Now, I do realize that some boxiness is inevitable given the nature of the DF engine, but the author did take steps to ensure that nothing looked like one gigantic box with rock texturing. Some attention to detail needs to be recognized. However, this good start kind of falls on its face the instant you enter the base. Gone are the little bits and pieces that help make a level come alive with atmosphere. Instead, we get treated to a whole bunch of large rooms with little to nothing in them. Oh, sure there were a few nicely designed areas. The barricade that the imperials set up about halfway through was pretty interesting, and one of the officer's rooms and the hangar control room near the end were both well detailed. However, much of the base lacked substance. It lacked control terminals, readouts, displays, beams, pipes, etc. I don't mind if the basic foundation to a room is box-like because, in reality, most are. But there are always things in a room to give it purpose. You don't create four bare walls, stick a table in the center, and call it a rec. room, but that's exactly the kinds of things I saw here. Texturing wasn't much help either. It's bad enough when the design in your base is sparse, but then to have repeating colors throughout much of it in addition doesn't help any. DF has several unique, imperial themed textures that when blended together, can create some pleasing areas. "Discovery at Ironfort" is one example of proper balance. This level just grabbed a couple and used them consistently. The only drastic change was in the detention areas, and that's just not good enough I'm sorry to say.

Enemy placement was, for the most part, well done. There are a couple challenges like a checkpoint in the beginning parts of the base and a barricade midway through it. However, it never got out of hand. A little patience and timing can get you through most of the scraps relatively unscathed. That's not to say this level's a cakewalk though. In fact, the author increases the difficulty by only giving you one life. If you're not constantly on alert, you will end up very dead, very quickly. My only complaint was the phase III DT right at the end. It serves no purpose whatsoever and only ends up killing the atmosphere. I really wish authors would cease from putting in boss characters unless there's a really good reason for it. Also, there are Gammoreans in the mountains. Yeah, they're not in the base, but I still can't accept the imperials hiring them to help guard a secret base considering their discrimination of alien races. Scout troopers would have been a better choice. At least the patrolling droids helped. Item Placement complimented the enemies nicely. There were usually shields and health around after a major fight but it never was more than what you needed. Plus, they were tucked away appropriately and not lying strewn about the floor like I've seen in some levels. One thing that surprised me a bit was the lack of enhancements. I mean, there is nothing new in this level, and even simple things like elevators were absent. Now, I personally don't put much emphasis on enhancements because they're only really what their name indicates. They enhance a level. They don't make or break it. However, this does put more weight on the design and the atmosphere. Since neither of the two were particularly jaw-dropping, it does make the lack of enhancements more noticeable.

Lighting followed hand in hand with the design. The beginning shots of the mountains had some really nice contrasting light depending on whether the player was out in the open, or by an overhead or curve. Artificial lights were also placed occasionally to further add to the variation as well as add to the realism. It was all very well executed. However, the lighting (much like the design) seems to fade once the player enters the imperial base. Much of the base is one degree of intensity. At times, it was just as bright inside the air ducts as it was in some of the control rooms. The plot raises a few issues with me as well. For one thing, it just doesn't seem threatening. I mean, we know already that this ship that the imperials are hiding in the mountains is just an escape ship. Does the New Republic have nothing better to do than send its best agents to investigate this? Don't they have more important things on their agenda, like say liberating Coruscant (the plot indicates that the imperial capital has not yet been captured)? On one hand, I do like the simplicity and realism in that this isn't some off the wall superweapon of mass destruction. But we're talking about a ship that's primary function is avoiding combat. The thing's smaller than a Dreadnought. Why is it worth all the attention? There are also a few problems with the level itself. For instance, whoever designed this base's air duct system must have been out of their mind. Half the ducts don't go anywhere and the rest simply connect between two rooms. Correct me if I'm wrong but the point of air ducts is to circulate air throughout an entire base, not two measly rooms. Also, getting into the base was a little too easy. You reach the top of a mountain, you activate a section of the wall, and voila! The whole thing rises up like some giant door and you're in the base. There's just something about this scene that doesn't make the base seem very... secure. Lastly, and most importantly, the semblance is a mess. Sections are stacked up next to each other with little thought. For instance, why can I only reach the TIE hangars by going through the detention areas? There's also a part about midway through that features a yawning chasm that cuts the imperial base in half. Hundreds of doors at various elevations line both sides of the walls. It looks ok visually, but this has got to be one of the most inefficient ways to design a base. The doors don't go anywhere or lead to anything. There aren't any bridges connecting them. They just drop off suddenly. What's the point of that? If the author wanted to treat us with something visual, than he should've used windows instead. The gameplay likewise suffers. The most prominent error: the level doesn't end. The author lists this as a bug in the text file, and I can confirm it after playing it several times. I'm sorry, but successfully ending your level is a fundamental step. It's not like it's hard to do or figure how to do it. And if you really can't figure it out on your own, ask someone. This also shows me that the author didn't use any beta testers, which is also a big no-no in my book.

This level could have been a typical, average level. However, several easily fixable problems have dropped it down to something that I can't recommend downloading and playing unless you're starving for new sp levels or have nothing better to do.