Playing a brand new level that comes from the hard drive straight to the internet is around for quite some time, but only a handful of people knew of its existence. I only learned about it a month ago. Jokingly, it is known as the DF "Lost Level." However, in reality, it was probably a level that was released with little-to no- hype; therefore not many people went after it and played it. When I downloaded it a few weeks ago, I didn't know what to expect. Sometimes, "Lost Levels" can be the best levels ever, but other times, it seems like they were lost for a reason. I was hoping that this one would not disappoint me.

Just a quick reminder: parts of the level won't be reviewed on it's design for obvious reasons. I don't really mind that the author borrowed form LEC because he gave them credit, and most of the level is original. With that out of the way, let's start: The author doesn't really start using his own architecture until after you jump across the river in the opening part of the level. However, the transition was very smooth. The first time I played it, I thought I was still in the opening scenes of LEC level 6. This can be said about most of the exterior architecture of the level. The author keeps the terrain broken, and uneven so it would look more natural. Although, it's next to impossible to use slopes in DF, the author does a good job of keeping of keeping the rocky walls from looking boringly flat. Interior architecture, while not as good as the exterior architecture, had its moments of glory too. The various control rooms were well done. Each of them had an good number of terminals and various computers. The room that holds the Phrink metal was also well detailed, as were the rooms that controlled the landing bay. Other areas needed some work. The room with the all of the excess sewage, for example, was just a giant box with sewage in it. There wasn't even a place for it all to go. Texturing was good in some places and not so good in others. For the most part, everything fit in nicely, but occasionally things didn't quite match up. There's one area where you're inside a large chunk of rock that has obviously been excavated to serve the needs of the base. The textures are mainly brown, and are very dirty looking which is good considering where the player is. However, in the same area is a pristine control room. The textures here are very conflicting and don't really look like they belong. Then there are areas where one texture dominates the rest, creating a bland feel to the level. All in all, the texturing needed work.

Perhaps the worst part of the level is the placement of enemies. There are simply too many enemies. Some rooms had a dozen imperials in them, sometimes more. Worse yet, the author broke the cardinal rule of don't mix imperials with aliens unless it's absolutely necessary. In a top-secret power base, I find it hardly necessary, and yet there were Gammoreans mingling with imperials near the barracks rooms. Grans were manning control stations. Not only does this hurt the realism, but it also just looks out of place. There were also too many items. Don't get wrong, for the number of enemies I thought the number shields and health packs were perfect. My concern though, is with the amount of ammo. Within the first five minutes, I had 500 units of energy, 35 T.D.'s, 200 power cells, and 5 I.M. mines. It's a frag-fest. You can just walk in and just start shooting at random and not have to worry at all about running out. The author needs to balance the number of enemies and items appropriately. Insignificant rooms don't need a dozen imperials. Ammo should be balanced out so that the player will always have some when he needs it, but must be careful with it or risk running out. Not only will it keep the player awake at his keyboard, but it will also make him/her think a bit more about each fight. Enhancements were well done. In addition to a new briefing, there's also a text crawl that is definitely worth seeing. In the game itself, the only thing that's new are some BM's. However, they really add to game in more then one way. Not only do they look good, but they also help the player out a little bit. I won't say what, but if decide to play this level, you won't have too much trouble finding them. There's also a commando which throws T.D's, an area where you can break glass, and an elevator that goes underwater. While these aren't new, they still nice additions, and they help make the level more enjoyable.

Lighting was a little bit of a problem for me. Most of the control rooms are dark, which doesn't make sense when you consider all of the lights that are there. Like a said though, it's a small problem. For the most part, the lighting was very well done. The author did a good job balancing out light and shadow to bring out a certain moodiness about the place. The plot was also well done. I think it would have been in the author's best interest to use a metal other then Phrink, but it doesn't hurt the plot at all. It would have been interesting to see what the imperials would have built using that new source of energy, but I'm not very disappointed that we don't know. Unfortunately, like many other levels, this one has some realism and semblance issues. The latter is the more important of the two. For one thing, the base isn't constructed very well. Parts of it seem disconnected, as if the only way to get from one area to the next is by jumping through sewage, or crawling through the ventilation systems. This is especially true in the beginning parts of the base. This also hurts the realism as well, not to mention the overall atmosphere. There's also a problem in the beginning of the level, when you have to walk into the base. I think the author wanted to place a bridge there, but it didn't quite come out right. I can walk across the lake and into the base, but it looks like I'm walking on air! Mechanically this level had a few glitches. Aside from the usual HOMing and stitching errors (which were rare BTW), the level also has the tendency to crash in the detention center. Out of the dozen times I played this level, it only happened once, but that's still one time too many. Don't worry about system requirements. If you can run DF, you can run this level, although it may get a little choppy in some of the larger areas.

While this is not one of the greatest levels out there, I am glad that it is no longer "lost." The lighting and the architecture are well done, and the new features are worth seeing. If only it wasn't so much of a frag-fest...