WAR-Araja2 By Minifloppy

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Reviewed by Firefly.

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Originally the Nali were forced to flee from their villages by the invading Skaarj. The fled to the lost valleys of Araja in search of the powerful crystals. Dangerous and strange creatures forced the poor nali to desert their homes once again, never to return. The ghosts of Na'pali have been woken from their peaceful slumber.

Gameplay 28/30

A big warfare map that provides big action. Araja's layout was first seen in an Onslaught UT2k4 map of the same name, made by the same author. The node layout has remained the same as the UT2k4 original. There are two versions of node links included: default and classic. The classic version tries to stay close to the original UT2k4 with no bonus vehicles spawning. Another new feature are the "Crystal Strikes". You can fire these off when one or more of your prime nodes have been taken by the enemy. Just hit the switch under the statue that's near your core. This recaptures them for you, giving you a chance to turn the battle to your favour.

The layout twists its way through valleys and around great drops. Bottle necks created by rope bridges and narrow pathways intensify the fire fights near the centre of the map. This leads to some great battles that feel really intense. It really feels like a war zone. You'll find your favourite style of play here and it's so addictive. Performance is a problem though.

Player load is suggested to be 20-24 and that's just right. Bots are well behaved and spread themselves out well, using every part of the map. Weapon lockers and Avrils are usually situated right next to each other so going into battle without proper armament is never a problem. Vehicles of all types are included here accept the Leviathan.

Performance 22/30 (Hardware)

Not wonderful. Big maps with higher player counts are always going to be harder on the hardware. The frames almost never went above 30, staying around the 20 to 30 mark.

Eye Candy 23/25

Very atmospheric and convincing. Lots of custom content means a nice fresh feel. The jungle valley look has been carried off well and it's great to feel a connection with Na'pali once again. The map also uses old Unreal sounds amongst others. That frog croaking sound will take you back. Speaking of things aural, the music track is a custom track by MrFerroni. A lot of work has gone into this map and the polish is quite evident throughout. I didn't notice one clipping error on one big rock though. It turns invisible when you get right up close. Nothing major though.

Lighting is excellent with good use of bright sunshine and shadows. You can almost feel the temperature drop when you go in the shadows. Little splashes of colour created by lights and structures break up the green and brown vista.