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Review:
The vast majority of Tribes 2 maps are good at best. Occasionally, a map will provide a new challenge, a novelty, a slight of beauty, or some other alluring trait. This is the first map I have ever seen which combines all of these - beauty, innovation, functionality, and all-around fun - into a single package. If you only ever download one map, think hard about making it this one. This map causes players to be truly pressed for words.
The bases are totally new. They are a consfusing network of connecting levels, tubes, and cat-tracks which are cunningly wrought to confuse first-timers. Most of the commonly used, Dynamix-supplied bases have been memorized by players. They know how to find their way to any given point in a matter of seconds. Insurgence's bases, however, are so complex that this will be all but possible. Navigation consists of picking a destination, using the flag waypoints to figure out roughly where you are, and setting off in one direction. This is NOT, however, a downside; the bases are incredible. There are constantly new bits of the base to look at - some little nook to explore, a tube to take, a level you don't remember seeing - the bases keep giving.
The bases are situated on cliffs overlooking a lake of lava. The main bases give much the same feel as one of the pre-existing Bioderm bunkers, but are very different. They proceed underground, projecting a vehicle bay out of the cliff face. If the entire base were in view, it would look much like a starship of some sort, ready to spew out fighters and attack anything in its way. The flag is situated in one of the upper levels. There are many paths leading to and away from the flag, which is sitting on a raised platform over a small pit (housing an escape route for cappers). There are no defenses nearby, but plenty of locations for spider turrets and hidden mines.
Thre are three turrets and two sensors belonging to each team. There is one plasma turret on each flank of the upper portion of the base, as well as a missile turret on a podium slightly to the fore of the upper portion of the base. The lower opening is not protected by sensors or turrets, but is protected by accessibility; the openings are on a cliff face, and nothing nearby offers a good footing to jump in. A player with a missile launcher will have no problem repelling any incoming flying vehicles. There is, in addition to turrets, one large sensor overlooking each base. A second sensor rests on a platform by the mission's upper bridge.
The terrain layout is reminiscent of a figure-8. The bases are located at the top and bottom of the 8, with the center being a large bridge spanning a gorge filled with lava. This lava is also spanned by twin bridges connecting to a small, central island. The bridges were also custom-made and are, though not on such a large scale, as impressive as the bases themselves.
The map's last quirk is the spawnspheres. If your team's power is cut, your primary spawn is disabled, and your team is forced to spawn outside the base.
This map is truly incredible. Akira's long work has payed off beautifully, and I congratulate him on a wonderous map.
To see the rest of the map details, including the map author's
description of the map, and user-submitted comments, go to the
map detail page.
To see all reviews from Riatha, go to Riatha's bio page.
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