It's a pretty interesting premise, really. Half your spawns are near the enemy base, while they're spawning behind yours as well.. that's just weird, sometimes, but as I said, refreshingly different.
The base layout is simple, really, just a few bunkers scattered around. The flag base has a base turret in close proximity, and a few (4) bunkers with inventory stations in them for rearming purposes, while your "forward" spawning base has 2 inventories and a forcefield to keep out the enemy players.
Flag defense is going to need to be done by people themselves.. not much in the way of surface for clamp turrets (tho' spike turrets should be easy enough), and the base turret is very destroyable by just a few intent hostiles, as it is very open. The Flag bunker lies in a little bowl of the ground, so again, a heavy with a mortar could fairly easily de-farm the area with a few shots. Personal, up-close and friendly defense is a must. In addition, you never truly know where the enemy will be coming, unless you have scouts posted (or keep your sensor up).. just when you think you've fought off one wave of cappers, another comes up from behind, having spawned anew at the base right there with you. While at times frustrating (Defense really has to be on their toes), it does keep your eyes sharp, that's sure!
This map is very playable, tho' skills in skiing are preferable. The gentle, rolling terrain is perfect for building up some speed, although the small bowl the flag sits in, coupled with the angled bunker rather defuses all but the most masterful of high-speed cap routes.
Attention to Detail doesn't really lack anywhere, nothing jarred my mind much at all. The terrain fits well, and the Trident sky matches fairly well with the surroundings.
Balance between teams is perfect, with neither one having the upper hand.. but between Offense/Defense, the offense gets a major boost. The Defense just hardly has time to re-group.. best bet is to post a strong guard, but then you've got to try to mount an attack, too. It's a very fine line to walk.
Item Placement is well done, however, I did not like the bunkers that the Inventories near the flag were in. They are the most spammable death-traps I can remember ever seeing.. but that's ok. Just a personal preference. Be careful, tho', and watch your back!
The Mechanics of this map are awesome. I love the idea, and the execution of that idea is nearly dead-on. It's really fun to be able to coordinate a two-pronged attack on the enemy without having to make a contingent of HO trudge the long way around to get "backdoor".. they just spawn there to begin with!
The chaos that results from this is just fun, pure and simple. Not sure if this is what some would term "ladder quality", but it is just a very, very enjoyable map.. it lent itself well to the "pickup" atmosphere I played it in.
Possibly also a very good training map for clans, I can highly recommend it to anyone!