Return To Dust

Return to Dust is a nighttime temple map, in a strange mix of Runic and Egyptian styles (sounds similar to FMB8, but it isn't). It's not overly large, just the right size in fact, and sees the player make his way through an infested Egyptian area.

As soon as you spawn you get the message: 'You are not welcome here.' This brooding message and the darkly-lit temple theme reminded me of Daz's Arabian Nights. The textures are some that I haven't seen before, well-defined and crisply made. The whole map is just that; simple yet deceptively detailed, crisp and clean-cut, and overall strongly built. Some of the architectural touches I didn't like, though; the curved 'quarter pillars' were obviously just a prefab that was chucked in around the level; normal pillars or just having curved walls would have been much better. As well, the holes in the ceiling seemed a little thin; that is, the ceiling shoud have been thicker.

Playing the map is interesting, well-balanced throughout, with several challenging areas, including a strong finale. The only problem I found was that one area had four hellknights at the top of an elevator, when the player didn't have enough supplies to defeat them. Other than that though, a very entertaining map - particularly the floor trap at the gold key (can be avoided) and the ending. The layout was also quite good, interconnective in a bit of a strange way, but good in how it centered around that first room.

In conclusion, a much stronger map than Perssp1, and one which you ought to get right away.

This was an excellent map from Fern. It didn't quite have the beauty that some maps have (due to the dull textures), but Fern did a good job with details and strong architecture. I especially liked the layout with much overlapping. The central area almost seems like a DM.
Also the gameplay was very good, with the map being quite challenging. The end was hard, as it should be, but by the time you've finished you won't have much ammo left. A great map from Fern.