This is a solid effort from what I could only ascertain to be the author's first level. Though not perfect, it already includes many tried and true methods and styles, starting with a detailed and familiar (but not bland) plot and working its way through the level itself. It also begs the question: how much better will this author's next level be now that he has one under his belt?

It almost seemed as though the author was learning the architecture as he built his level. I doubt that's really the case unless he has one of the quickest learning curves I've ever seen in DF editing. But it struck me as interesting how, the deeper I progressed, the more complex and detailed the design became. The prison block you first start in was fairly average. Most of it consisted of simple rectangles stretched into hallways and individual cells. Even the prison control room lacked detail for its size. However, that's only a small portion and everything changes once you get beyond it. The main pathways and central rooms on the ground floor look stunning. Pillars, varying degrees of elevation, detailed walls, terminals, and branched paths all form a wonderful layout. It was amazing how much the author could pack in without the level becoming too cramped and crowded. Exterior scenes on the planet's surface were rugged and broken, giving it a natural look. It's too bad most of them were so short. I hope the author expands in this area in future levels. The central operations room where your card is being hacked was an architectural high point with its two tiers, side rooms, and terminal stations. Again, the quality stayed consistently high. And then right at the end, it raised its own internal bar yet again with the control rooms overlooking the hangar bay. It was a wonderful way to cap off the level from a design standpoint and it really showed the progress that the author made throughout. Texturing was consistently well done also. No one texture dominated a room, and all of the ones used fit together and blended in a realistic fashion, accentuating the atmosphere and overall feel of the imperial base. Even stitching errors and misalignments were kept to a minimum. I couldn't find any of the latter and very little of the former. Even complex spots like the hangar control rooms were clean. Overall, an outstanding job.

Enemy placement is consistently fair. The difficulty settings provide enough variance for the player to pick and receive his poison. The regenerators add to this, keeping certain parts from becoming predictable, so you won't be able to breeze through areas just because you cleared it out once. The only thing that could have made it truly exceptional would have been to have a bit more dispersal. Even in the higher difficulty settings, some rooms were vacant, whereas others, like the cargo bay control rooms, held over twenty imperials. The positioning is realistic but the number can get excessive even if it's not overwhelming. Item placement blends in with the enemy placement here, allowing for varying styles of gameplay. The "easy" setting gives you a lot of ammo and plenty of shields, letting you run-and-gun. However, the more difficult settings force you to play conservative, pick your fights, as ammo and health are drastically reduced. Overall, it's well balanced. The spread is even throughout the level as well, rather than having clumps of items followed by stretches of nothing. Enhancements round out the dynamics, further adding to it. Along with the standard elements (doors, elevators, etc) there are several borrowed features including new WAX's, VOC's, and music. There're also some brand new BM's and FME's as well. The former are drawn well and easily noticeable, providing the player with clues as to how to get past certain puzzles. The INF coding isn't as extensive as some of the newer levels like "The Dark Tide" or "Discovery at Ironfort," but it fits the bill nicely and works well with the mission objectives. Rounding things out is a detailed briefing and textcrawl.

The level does start to slip a little here but not by anything significant, and there are still plenty of good parts to mention. Start with the lighting, for instance. The author managed to keep the intensity varied but realistic. Exterior scenes were dull and darkened to reflect the overall planetary mood. High traffic areas inside the base glowed in sterile light, but deserted rooms, or parts off the regular path, had a higher degree of shading. The lighting is also dynamic as the player progresses through the level. When the power generator is shut down, parts of the base are also turned off as well. It's a simple concept, but very effective. The level also demonstrates proper use of semblance. The imperial base is constructed in a realistic sense, that is to say the base isn't a random series of linear rooms with only one way to enter and exit. Areas like the rec. rooms, the cargo bay, and the power generator are all placed accordingly. High security areas are even marked as such. Though the player will be forced along a set path for most of the level, it's not due to the design. Realistically, the level does a great job of setting a mood tone and quickly getting the player into the experience. The plot is sound, picking up in between the events of levels five and six of DF. There are many objectives and I liked the little twist of having to shut off power to the control rooms before you can steal back your data card. There were only a few problems with the realism but most are small. For one thing, I never understood how a planet with a thin enough atmosphere that forces me to use a breathing apparatus can sustain moving water. Shouldn't the water float off into space along with the gases? And even if the breathing problem is caused by a toxic concentration of some gas instead of a thin atmosphere, then how can that forcefield at the bottom of the waterfall block it while still allowing liquid and even solid (i.e. the player) particles to pass through? Also, while the regenerating stormtroopers do provide an extra challenge, it begs the question as to where they're actually coming from. There are no locked doors anywhere in the base that cannot eventually be opened at some point, and yet the imperials keep on coming. Unless there's a second base, apart from the first but not too far away, I have no idea how they're materializing. Of course, that's just being really picky. My only true complaint is that if you're not fast enough, this level can become impossible to beat. To get to the power generator you need to flip a switch that opens a door across a nearby bridge. If you don't move quickly the door will close before you can get inside. However, if that happens, there's no way to open the door again because the switch stays flipped and cannot be moved again. The player is left with no choice other than cheating or starting the level over and trying again. Either option doesn't work for me. Now, it's been a long time since the level was released. It's more than possible that this mistake was fixed. However, I have not seen the level, so until someone remedies this then the score has to stand where it is. The only other real problem with the level is that at times there's some nasty HOMing when you look out the windows into the cavern. Besides that there aren't any serious mechanical errors. The level never once crashed or locked up.

It deserves a slightly higher score than given but until that little switch bug is fixed (or someone points me in the direction of the updated version if it has been fixed), nothing changes. However, I'll still recommend this level because there's a lot of great stuff here. If this is the author's first, then I can't wait to play future ones.