Fortunately, this isn't the plot in its entirety. There's a much more detailed briefing in addition to a text crawl at the beginning. Therefore, I won't comment on the lack of detail that's above. Even though the premise seems basic, keep in mind that this is supposed to be the first of a three level trilogy. Plus, there is enough detail and background information to keep the player interested before the level even begins.

In the text file the author states that this was his first full length level. Therefore, I wasn't expecting too much from the architectural detail and texturing of the level, especially since most of updates displayed in the progress reports were of the level's enhancements and not its design. However, I was quite surprised with various pieces of the level. I was impressed with much of the imperial base. The sewage parts were constructed nicely. The same holds true for the laboratories as well. One part of the base rests along the sides of a giant pit with catwalks extending to the various sections. However, rather then leave most of the area bare, the author added several energy columns, giving the impression that the player was inside one the bases power generators. It was a nice touch that made the experience much more enjoyable. The governor's room and the areas surrounded it had some nice architecture too. Of course, not everything consisted of good detail. There were several spots where I could tell that more work was needed. The area just beyond the underwater elevator for example stands out in my mind. The exterior portion looks like a box with smooth rock walls that intersect with each other at 90 degrees. The elevator itself, viewed from the outside, is just a large cube sitting in the middle of all this. Texturing, despite the fact that several spots were really good, needed some work too. On the plus side, exterior textures matched up perfectly and there was a pleasing mixture to boot. Texturing within the sewers was equally as impressive and the textures used were believable which created a more realistic feel. However, the main problem throughout much of the level was variety. Almost 80 of the laboratories for example, were done using one texture. That's much too much. Not only is it boring to look at but, the player can become easily confused and get lost because there's not enough texture variation to tell one room from another. I noticed similar problems in the spaceport as well. Remember, one of the keys to proper texturing is knowing when to vary and match different textures to create a realistic look. In the laboratories for example, instead of having one texture dominate the walls, floor, and ceiling, try mixing and matching to see which ones blend together.

Enemy placement, for the most part was quite good. There was one or two spots when the number got a bit excessive but there wasn't anything seriously wrong. Imperial stormtroopers and commandos guarded doors while officers manned key terminals. Also, you wouldn't find many soldiers out in the open waiting to be picked off, and you wouldn't see huge groups packed together in insignificant parts of the level, like the caves. Instead, the highest concentrations were in the spaceport, the high security sections, and other places where you would expect them to be. Some were even placed strategically so that they could get off a shot before you, which added to the challenge. Even the DT towards the end didn't bother me because it was well placed. Item placement was also pretty good. There were a few too many revives for my liking, but they balanced out the low number of shields. Not only that, but they were used in imaginative ways which brings me to the next part of the level: the enhancements. This was the part that was hyped up the most, so I was expecting a lot. The good news: I got a lot. There are dozens of new BM's, 3DO's, VOC's, and WAX's. The one VOC that kept prattling on about serving the empire got on my nerves after a while, but everything else really added to the experience. In addition, there are new fonts for the on-screen text, there are several new VUE's which look smooth and are executed nicely. There's a new text crawl in the beginning that's narrated (something I've never seen done before), and the briefing to go with it is stunning. There's even some new music, borrowing from the game "TIE Fighter." The best part is, that's not even all of them. There are several new features that I left out purposely, because I think it would more fun to watch them rather then read about them. Just a little side note to the author: I loved the ending sequence.

There's some nice lighting in the level which adds to the atmosphere. I especially enjoyed the scenes around the governor's room. The shading heightens the tension, which builds up to an incredible sequence using some well executed enhancements to bring out the mood even further. The laboratories were also well lit, and I was briefly able to overlook the repetitive textures used. However, like the most of the levels categories, the lighting wasn't perfect either. The underwater parts were too well lit especially without any nearby light source. The realism part of the level also took a hit in some spots, which turn affected the atmosphere. For on thing I never understood how I managed to flood the governor's room in the first place. I opened up a ventilation grate, walked around to the other side a door, and the next thing I know the room starts flooding. Just beyond that point there's a spot where you can jump on to a plateau, where you're treated with a beautiful skyline shot. There's just one problem: you can look up and see where you jumped out of, and the opening looks like it's floating up in the sky with a thin stretch of rock running below it. Next, there's a part in the sewage areas where you can control the amount of sewage as if it were an elevator. By simply standing on the sewage up pressing the spacebar, you can make it go up and down. The forcefield that is suppose to be holding back the water from flowing into the elevator (in the underwater scene) doesn't work properly. I managed to walk right through it without any problems, and yet it still kept the water out. In addition to the various realism errors there were several semblance problems with the imperial base. While each section of the base is setup correctly, transition from one section to the next is disjointed. The player has to crawl around in ducts or caves or swim underwater. Now I know that infiltrating a base means taking routes off the beaten path, but there isn't anything to suggest that there's another way in. There aren't any locked doors, or impassible forcefields. There's one broken elevator but that's about it. As far as gameplay is concerned, make sure that you're running on a good computer. The one drawback to all of the new features is that it can cause serious framerate issues. Make sure you fit the requirements before you decide whether or not you want to play the level. In addition, there are several nasty HOM's. They are the most prevalent in the spaceport where I had to turn on my map to see where I was going. There were a few stitching errors too, but that's about it as far as bugs and glitches. At no point did it lock up on me, which is always a good thing.

Despite the numerous realism errors, as well as architectural blandness, this level is one that is definitely worth trying once. There are several excellent features that deserve to be looked at. However, what you do afterwards with it is entirely up to you.