Hub: Interesting choice to use the first map for it, the secret was in an unexpected place, but n...

Hub: Interesting choice to use the first map for it, the secret was in an unexpected place, but nothing too out of the ordinary. The fight is quite hectic because it starts right away, but somewhat frustrating due to spots where you can get stuck or slowed down. Multiple chokepoints make it easier to hold them off though after the initial rush, and then it's just a mop up. A bit disappointed at the lack of a big boss enemy, the power ups remained unused because of it. 6/10
Training Day: Not a bad map to start off, there's a quick training section and there's still the entire mission ahead. A lot of backtracking and the tower piece makes it confusing at the start, however, as you need to shoot a tiny lamp-looking button on the ceiling to progress which stumped me for a while. I like the theme of heading through tunnels to infiltrating a large square base and then escaping from a massive warehouse. The escape trigger is placed a bit too closely to final enemies so the map might terminate before you'd pick up every secret. I liked the secrets too, they're fair and can be found with a bit of thinking. Lots of details and brushes, it's a giant map. Have to retract a point due to the issues I've listed, 7/10
Coolant Plant: an atmospheric setpiece that heavily draws from the addons, including the weapons that it lets you play with. I quite liked the final sudden death spiral setpiece, although the last secret being the super obvious one made me chase a ghost for some time as there was no way to return, only to realize it was at the end all along. Overall I liked it quite a bit, the two-story arenas it had spoke to my soul, 9/10
Low Rank HQ: Action-packed run and gun skirmish map, quite compact and well made. I found all secrets during play, except for the last one, would've helped a lot before the final fight. The start gave me a huge deja-vu, which made me think it'd be just a compilation of copy-pasted assets from the original, but thankfully I was wrong. Each combat encounter is tight and well designed, and so it's 8/10
Stroyent Reactor: Quite a sadistic map, that despite its relatively moderate frag count, it can easily make you find yourself on the ropes due to very low resources and healing. I nearly ran out of ammo many times and was consistently below 50hp the whole map. I liked the hub-like feel to it though, making you gradually clean the map and progress forward with new threats refilling the old rooms, and the enemies are always placed in such advantageous positions, too. It's super dark though, so I had to give myself a flashlight. Secrets are tough as well, and one of them seriously expects you to save a grenade and land a sick grenade jump to access it, sheesh. The final fight features a boss enemy, which was a complete surprise because I never expected it to be a boss room, and I found myself getting pinned down and chipped to one digit hp until I dashed around it, landed in the ditch with health and powerup, and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat. Because it was such a thrill, I can't help but rate it 9/10
Base MEW: Oh yeah baby, we're mewing here. This map features a ton of Q2-cute brushes, with very "interesting" easter eggs from the prisoners. I love the theme of a fallen Martian base with a ship that crashed inside long ago. This map has very well hidden secrets, one of which eludes me still. There's no music the whole time until the very end, which is a bit boring imo, given the length of the map. The music kicks back in full swinging at the very end with a massive encounter, and when you thought that was it, psyche! Here's a real fight, which was a real kick in the balls moment given that I didn't gib every corpse lol. There's also a lot of fake doors at the end which made secret hunting a bit more difficult and confusing, but overall, it's a map with a lot of soul in it for sure. And memes. 9/10
You're the cargo!: A man woke up one day and chose violence by embracing the meme full ahead. I expected the worst from a gimmick-type map, but was surprisingly delighted to receive a treat. It was a very simple map overall, difficulty wise, but the whole theme of giant boxes stacked so high you'd fall to your death from them is mystifying as it is horrifying. The last secret eluded me, sadly. Love it, but it wasn't special enough, 8/10
Blackened Nexus: Brutal map due to low supplies and open-ended nature of it, where you can miss crucial pickups early on if you don't know where they are. I was basically bruteforcing the map buttnaked, having to resort to hand grenades at the end, the horror. The once cleared areas repopulate as well, which doesn't make it any easier. The slow elevator portion was excruciating, the two enforcers immediately gunning me to 0 due to low health on the way out on the elevator down in the corridor with no cover was unfair (hence the grenades), the left portion with lots of backtracking if you want to grab everything was pace-killing. The final fight was disappointingly too easy and even yawn-inducing after all that struggle and misery it makes you go through, 6/10
Ruinous: Atmospheric map of a base in deep disrepair. Starts off easy, until it ramps up significantly at the end in the acid bridge with two Iron Babes in a very good position behind a wall of meat in the way, that even despite the powerup it's still a struggle to get to them, and they can just spam homing rockets that can turn incredibly well around corners and obstacles and get you every time, very evil and genius positioning. Luckily the final escape is aided by teslas that can melt the final Tank to nothing rather easily. I missed one secret there, though. Gotta subtract a point due to how shoddily made this map feels, sorry. It's a bit rough, like low polish, for example there's points where the jumping mutants can get stuck in, some brushes are weirdly placed, there are weird holes in walls, the rooms look like giant cubes from outside the map, and so on. I liked the map, don't get me wrong, but I can only think of it as decent, 7/10
(Laser) Drill Baby Drill: Somehow this was the worst map of the bunch for me. You get immediately spooked by Tank sounds at the start (who doesn't appear until the end, so psyche), then the map starts off with a slow, boring sewer section (ding), terribly slow elevator that you'd probably need to ride twice if you fall down from the elevated bridge section as there's no easy way to get back up unless you're hopping off of enemies, an awful fight with a tank where you're forced to use hand grenades because the map is very stingy with weapons, and then it ends. Where's the damn secret, anyway?! 3/10
Neuron Uplink: The first map I played actually. It's tight, it's tough, it has a cool theme and a psyche moment, but there's a lot of pace-killing elements, some backtracking, and you can get lost kinda easily in the second half. It lets you use lots of cool rare toys, and the enemies aren't too shabby either. Still, I wasn't particularly thrilled by the map, I can't even tell why, although it set a good standard for all the following maps to come, 7/10
Laser Mayhem: Surprise challenge map that caught me lacking big time, I had to run it twice to complete it, my first run was a complete disaster. Turns out you just need to run&gun for your dear life and don't attempt to score 100% of the kills due to how short of a timer is on NM compared to other difficulties. There's really only several required kills to make, and you even get to meet the tiny Makron and the Tank with homing rockets, and the big cuddly Shamblers, holy crap! This map is a nailbiter for sure, even if frustrating at times, but once you figure it out it's as smooth as butter, 9/10. (My big issue is probably the fact that you can easily get stuck after the Tank section, as I overlooked the fact that it drops its head necessary for progression, and then it's GG)
Omicron Base: Made in the traditions of a good old slaughter map, this one rocks big time. The first encounter is even balanced around the fact that you haven't taken the big toys from the warehouse yet, the water section there lets you cool off a bit (hehe), and the warehouse section itself is a nonstop slugfest with a skillful secret, and the last arena fight is totally crazy that'll probably turn out to be incredibly messy for the first time, but for repeat plays you'll learn to use the secrets and invul to your full advantage there. 10/10
Canyon Crusade: One of the better polished maps that gives me huge addon vibes, as if it was part of it at some point. Great progression, decent difficulty, fun secrets, and nailbiting encounters at times. The map almost requires you to heavily (ab)use Ionripper in order to tackle less fair encounters around corners with enemies ready to rip you a new one. Also a very rare Disruptor appearance. 9/10
Dam Fright: Quick and easy map that follows the typical Q2 map recipe: corridor, gun, arena, bigger gun, arena, cool off water section, warm up arena, final boss (who's extremely pathetic due to the central column making him rotate around and never fire a shot at you, oh well). If anything, this map would've been too bland if it wasn't for its very special secret. Alas, they didn't let me take a bite from the pizza, so 6/10 it is.
Strategic Command: Probably the most amateurish map in this pack, this gave me serious Doom 3 amateur fan map vibe with its giant rooms and bland corridors connecting them, copy-pasted areas from vanilla game, the slavjank combat encounter and difficulty design, it was almost cute. It even included a boss fight where your resources deplete right as he dies, and a final butt clencher with a Tank in an extremely short ranged fight while being two-shots away from dying (either to him or your own rockets). It's almost like being locked with a boxer in a stuffed elevator who wants to rip you a new one, happens all the time in Russia I swear. The one secret that was hinted with a cute picture talking something about the beams still eluded me somehow. 5/10, it was okay.
Remnant of a powerful sphere: Classic palace-like map with huge verticality that is intricately connected. I loved the secrets in this one, even though most of them are too easy, and one actually hidden shortcut area was not marked as a secret (the one with the doggo). I liked the thought that went into it, challenges that include the suddenly unleashed Tanks and Hornets at the end. Might be one of my favorite maps, shame for the lack of the mine launcher, would've been great here. 10/10
Air Defense Cannon: A straightforward arena survival map, with its central map piece being a Q4-esque big gun. Looks cool, but the fight itself was incredibly messy and frustrating due to the rocket turret guys being the real show stoppers if they're not eliminated first as they're turning, as they will consistently snipe you down to 0 while you're busy, the Tank having homing rockets not giving you any respite, and the best pick ups locked behind enemy waves. The teleports were truly the only saving grace, otherwise it would've been nigh unplayable without some heavy cheesing. Sorry, but it ended up leaving a sour taste right at the very end, shame. 4/10
Vanilla Base: A secret map, complete meme tier. I actually love it that way, the author clearly had too much fun with it. My only complaint is how confusing it was to find the Pyramid Key after finding the Power Cube, as the objective made me think that I could already return back, and there was no hint that there was another pathway unlocking. The map design making it very easy to get lost didn't help either. But I liked the shitpost vibe and the Pyramid Key room slaughter, 8/10

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