The Review Hub

[DRiSCOLL]

hows my fellow reviewers?...

its good to see reviews going again and i will join, but the problem is timexones, thats why i came up with this

i had a great idea: In the first post put the names and links of the active review hub members and place their time zone next to it GMT -5 GMT etc this way members can get a good idea on when other members will be on and show non members the team

like so:

GO34R - GMT -5
Matty - GMT
The Yellow - GMT
E93 - GMT -5
DRiSCOLL - GMT

i am just GMT which is uk
Pegasi delta is GMT
Go34r is GMT -5
E93 is -5

[Pegasi Delta]

I'm GMT, UK

[E93]

Gmt -5

[G043R]

GMt -5 (EST)

[Matty]

G043R there have been 3 reviews since.

Project Z, Paragon, and something else on the first page.

Not 2, lucky someone checked ;p

[Bloumbas]

matty the third map was monument I believe, I was wondering, when the next review session is? Because if 10 maps are gonna get on the page, a lot of them are gonna get reviewed, so I was also wondering if there is gonna be more then one game, and if you needed any help.

[The Yellow]

The Review Hub
Map Name: Eclipse
Author(s): DeadeyeForge
Reviewed by: The Yellow

Enjoyment: 6/10

Well, at first I chose to review Eclipse because it looked very well made and reminded me of a more open Bayonetwork, which this map fraws heavily from. So, initially I and my fellow reviewers expected some pretty fun-filled battles. But.. not so much. Really for Team Slayer this map is the strongest. In the description the author says it was made for FFA, but really that doesn not show in game. Overall this map was just not exciting. There weren't any "Holy sh*t" moments. And as the game went on I could tell it was getting stale. So really, this map was not too enjoyable, and that was the consensus from all in the review session. Nothing really stood out, and nothing kept it going, perhaps it was because of the mass amount of weapons and grenades, maybe too much. Or maybe something else. But at least it did play, not too exciting, but it didn't suck or anything.

Balance: 5.5/10

I could tell after just half a game that this map was pretty unbalanced. There were ALOT of weapons and grenades, but the ones that players would generally want seemed to be clumped in one half of the map. There were just way too many power weapons, and there wasn't a single moment I wasn't chock full of Firebomb, Plasma, Frag and Spike grenades. In a competitive map it isn't really a good idea to have a sentinel beam, especially one with a relatively swift respawn rate. The rockets were in an awkward position that could then allow a jump to the top of a "curve" in which you could fall to the bottom of a double box and be potentially trapped. But, than again, for a casual game with maybe a Fiesta gametype, I'd go for it. But back to balance. During our 2 Flag and 1 Flag CTF matches they both turned out almost exactly the same. The "attackers" would just whore it up and the best weapons while the defender's were left basically hopeless. It just seemed that the entire map revolved around one central area of the map, even though the map itself covers a large exspanse of Foundry.

Durability: 7.5/10

Ok, for this map you can't really spawn camp, although some spawns were great this map is just simply too big and has too many structures of which to spawn camp, so good job on that. Also, you can't really get outside the map... except for in the back hallways of Foundry the creator just used barriers to block it off, and trust me, it really isn't all that hard to blast one of them loose and get back there. But then again that's not that useful of a spot, unless you can find a way to use it strategically. But, you can indeed exploit a few spots on this map to dominate fairly well. Really, if you get a nice full BR and and/or a Sentinel Beam up to one of the higher spots in the map, wow, boi can you rape. And if you couple that with 8 grenades and a piece of equipment you will be one happy camper. For the most part the maps has a number of structures that you can hide behind for cover, but still, if you get up high its quite unfair. But other than a few key locations there are so many structures that you should be k.

Aesthetics: 9/10

This map's highest point most undoubtedly is heavily put on looks. It does look really good in most parts. Every merge I saw was really clean. The interlocking was pretty pro too. But during gameplay none of us really did stop and stare. It looked clean, but nothing new really. And I think perhaps the fact gameplay was mundane actually made it seem less interesting. I did really like though that collumn with the stairs around it. And I really loved that multi level area with the fusion coils and a Power Drainer, that was just really nice. So overall I'm going to have to give props for all the work that was put into making this look nice.

Originality: 6/10

To us, this map really seemed to falter in this category. I mean yes yes it did look good. It was well made. But even so, everything I saw pretty much either looked basic or from another map. Many of the center structures look like they were cut from Bayonetwork as I said before. And although they might look cool there that isn't original. So as a whole I think DeadeyeForge should really go for something innovative and astonishingly new for his next project....

Overall: 6/10

The map looked very clean and every thing was interlocked or merged. But, after that it pretty much stops. Gameplay was relatively mundane, and as the game went on it didn't become more intense but rather the opposite. There were some areas that everything seemed to revolve around. I think perhaps with a heavy re-doing of the weapon placement on the map and perhaps a few less grenades this map would fare much better. But also something a few mentioned was the number of jumps in the map. Everyone loves tactical jumps in Halo, or at least alot do. But in this map it seemed to go overboard. To many times were players more concentrated on jumping than anything else. It seemed that to get to anywhere of importance a string of jumps was involved. And additionally, pretty much if you are on the ground then you are fucked. For sure. All the comments in this review were based off of the discussion of the members who particpated in reviewing this map. We all strongly feel thatthe author should go back and put a good amount of time thinking critically about his weapon placement and a few other things like spawn areas, because considering how much time it would have taken to put this map together, it would be a real shame to see it go to waste.

[Shihuru]

So how many members do you guys have active on the review hub as of now?

[E93]

About 5...

Alright guys, I'm calling for a Review Session.
Since school starts Tuesday, and I'll be gone from Friday to Sunday, and Monday will be a very busy day, how about not this Saturday, next Saturday, September 6th.
I remember Pegasi saying something about how he wanted the time for the next one to be a bit different, so it's up to you guys. I'm all ears.

1. E93
2 ?
3 ?
4 ?
5 ?
6 ?

[The Yellow]

Ok I'm in. Well school already started for me, but anytime I guess, after 6 that is... I have volleyball after school everyday. I guess depending on when you guys are on I'll try to do my homewrok either before or after. And as for Saturday... I hope you like to review ealier in the day because I sometimes go to the movies. But umm yeah E93 if you aren't going to be on this weekend than I still might review with some of the team because right now all I hav left to do is Hotel Zanzibar... Oh yeah and like C Block beta or something. Anyway.. next Saturday just invite me then, but if you invite me send a txt message saying its for the review hub because I will probably be really busy forging . Ok then.