Review of Map: Unholy Ground by Star on January 7, 2003

Playability: 95 Detail: 95 Balance: 85 Placement: 90 Mechanics: 95

The first thing I noticed about the map was the environment. The cloud layer looks very close like a storm is looming over the area. The terrain has large spike clusters protruding from it in scattered areas around the map. This hostile terrority theme is carried over to the base construction as well. The flag stand is lined with spikes on the arms.

The wind from violent storms has eroded the hills making them very ski-friendly. The visibility is far allowing for sniping. The distance between the flags is fairly wide so vehicles are available. The main bases are positioned close to the flag stand so farmers have no trouble setting up defense. Farmers must do this quickly, however, because even though there are base turrets for defense, they are far enough away from the flag stand that they cannot get the job done alone. The turrets distance means they rely on the sensor net heavily. These sensors are easily destroyed and therefore deploying pulse sensors may be a wise idea.

Offense has many targets to choose from. The sensors are easy pickings and therefore are usually destroyed early in the match. The main base is very accessable so even one heavy can cause major damage before being taken down. The offense would be wise to clear the flag area often since it is easy to set up a large number of turrets there.

This map is by no means vehicle-centric. A light can cross the map in a good 20-30 seconds using the hills to their aid. A skillful capper can fly to the flag stand using a strike and grab the flag while bailing. By the time any turrets see them, they are moving mach 5 and are well in their way back to their base. I saw a good deal of duels in the center of the map for the flag or otherwise. On one occasion, the enemy's flag switched between 4-5 of us before making it back to our base.

This map is a lot of fun because it moves unusually fast for a larger map. It also has bot support for those who want to test their meddle with the bots.