Usually I just cut and paste the plot that's in the text file. However, this one was so big and detailed that I couldn't do it without making this review very long. I have to hand it to the author. He has once again, shown his talent for telling a good story.

Although the architecture was better then the average DF level, it ultimately fell short of the author's potential. Parts of it were detailed- like the main hallway- which had tons of arches and pillars supporting the ceiling, giving the level a "palace" atmosphere. Exterior scenes were also well done, but too much of the level consisted of boxes. After the initial thrill, the level subsides and is replaced with 900 angle rooms. There was some attempt at detail, and not one room was just a box with nothing in it. However, it's a letdown after good start that the author got off to early on. Texturing was adequate, but most of the level consisted of the same textures over and over. There was variety (even some new BM's to help alleviate the over-use of one texture), but I still think that the level might have benefited more with a little more variety. I pleased, though, at the fact that there were no texture problems that I could find. Everything lined up perfectly with no stitching or miss-alignment. There was a significant amount of detail, but it doesn't make the boxes go away. Still, every room was unique and interesting which is better then some levels out there.

I was expecting Goatha to go back on his words (he is a Hutt after all). Despite that, I was till amazed at the number of enemies that were clustered into this level. I was also disappointed. Most of the enemies seemed to be packed in sections. In other words you'd have 15 enemies in a room, then several rooms with one or two enemies, and then another room with 20 enemies. They weren't spread out or put in strategic positions. The numerous amounts of enemies made the game challenging, but not very fun. For a second, I actually thought I was playing Doom. This from the same guy who did "Phantom Point", which had some of the best enemy placement I've ever seen in a level. Item Placement was also disappointing. Despite the copious number of bad guys, you would think that the author would place a fair amount of shields and ammo to give you a fighting chance. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case with this level. Shields were scarce along with health packs. After the halfway point I found myself constantly on the brink of death. Ammo was plentiful, but most of it has to be collected from the guys that you killed. Since the enemies are clumped together in various rooms, you literally have to kill a dozen enemies before you can collect ammo. Several times, I had to start the level over because I ran out of ammo during some fights. This just makes the level frustrating, and it brings back the bad memories I had when I played the JK level "Rebel Base" and the MOTS level "Death Star". Fortunately, enhancements were as abundant as the enemies. Several new BM's can be found in the level which helps relieve the author's overuse of the same textures. There are also several new WAX's, along with a couple that you might remember from "Ruins of Talos". The author's use of VOC's is, once again, my favorite enhancement of the level. Rounding off the new features is a new briefing, which, although isn't hard to do, is still a welcome addition to any level.

Despite the mediocre design of the level, it was still able to create a realistic atmosphere. Lighting was, for the most part, one degree. However, towards the end, the author dimmed the lighting and increased the shadows which helped add a bit a tension. Furthermore, in spite of the boxy architecture, the author was still able to capture a "Huttese" feel. I felt like I was in a palace, which helped add to the overall gameplay. Another good thing about the palace is that it was realistically setup. Almost all the rooms had a purpose. Unfortunately, the realism did suffer at the end. To make the experience longer (the level was pretty short) the author threw in some caves between the palace and the roof, which is where Goatha was. The problem is that the caves were completely unnecessary. Moreover, they were setup like a maze. It's really easy to get lost, and there lots of enemies around every turn, waiting to blast you. Finally, I reach the roof and I find Goatha sitting next to the Crow! Where did it come from? Is Kyle Katarn a part of the betrayal? Also, since the roof is part of the palace, are we supposed to believe that the caves are part of the palace? Who would setup part of their palace like a maze? Not only is it confusing to walk through, but it looks completely unnatural (unlike the caves in "Ruins of Talos"). If the author just wanted to make the level longer, he succeeded. However, it didn't make the level anymore enjoyable. Fortunately, there were no bugs or crashes. However, The game might run a little slow on lower-end machines due to some of the firefights.

Overall, it wasn't any worse then your typical DF level. However, I know for a fact that the author is capable of doing so much more. If you've already played "Ruins of Talos" and "Phantom Point", then there really isn't much of a reason to play this.