Around The Ring - Written Review #2: Racetime

A map review of "Racetime"

Map: Racetime Author: Katana Type: Multiplayer - Racetrack Filesize: 12.3MB

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General Description Well this is a linear racetrack map. Not one of the best I've seen...actually somewhat lower on the scale, but it had some potential.

Terrain
The track is contained inside a box. You start off in one corner of the map and end the course by driving off a cliff above the starting location. The track initially twists sharply around a bunch of 90 degree turns like a Pac-Man maze. Then you swerve up a curved ramp and start driving above ground level on unguarded bridges and along the edge of the map.

One thing I really didn't like about the ground levels was the random plants stuck in the road that will stop you dead and impale your vehicle. I ended up landing on one of them while going off the starting ramp (top left). Really annoying. That and the arrows on the ground can sometimes tell you to drive into a wall.

Now when I got to this part (below) I ran into an invisible wall where you see my first warthog parked (the left one). However I was able to walk across the barrier to the group of warthogs nicely parked on the other side (on the path right side). Unfortunately on my first time through while resuming my course I went a bit far right and the barrier caught me and flung me down to the bottom. I really think this particular feature kills the whole race aspect, turning it into a strange biathlon of sorts.

To form the maze on ground level and some walls on the upper levels the maker used walls with walkways with ramps leading up them. With lots of weapons spawns in places these walls provide camping spots galore, along with the odd elevated turret.

The end of the course isn't really friendly either. It's tricky to make a landing because of the thin edge you drive along at that section.

Vehicles
Only warthogs thankfully. Any other vehicles would be useless on this map. Even driving the warthogs can be a bit iffy in some parts of this map

Weapons
You get two weapons, a knife and a sword. The knife has one main attack that does massive damage but then thats it. Then all you can do is throw weak melee attacks. The sword only does melee attacks but the power of those has been amped up so that it's decently effective.

Here you see the sword and my warthog impaled by a random sign in the back area of the starting zone. I ran into it after driving off that silly cliff...

Final Score
Terrain: 5/10
Assets: 5/10
Gameplay: 4/10
Overall Score: 3/10

The Word: Meyah
The maps design had some potential but the way things were seemingly just dropped onto the map along with the problems mentioned about the terrain REALLY kill it. The sword weapons are a bit silly, the knife could use more main attacks and the sword could use a main attack period. If you feel like trying it out go ahead but don't be expecting a whole lot. Also what's with the sideways auger drilling onto the side of the starting zone?