Layout - Score 6

Lights! Camera! Cinema! Let's go check out tonight's feature, but don't expect to see Siskel and Ebert standing next to you toting a sniper rifle. The layout consists of a multi level building housing a movie theater. Downstairs is a small ticket counter, with access outside into a small street area. There is a trailer which is parked in front of the theater, providing for a bit of cover. Following the staircase leads you to the second floor. Upstairs there is a small "Out of Order" restroom and two entrances into the theater. Its a good layout, but like most maps, there is only one way in and one way out, making the map feel a bit awkward.

Textures & Sky - Score 8

The author worked the overall color scheme into the theater well. The entire cinema is finished in different shades of red, from the carpet to the walls and even the scene on the movie screen. The textures are very well done, but it all seems to run together. It would have been just fine if, there was some ambient lighting to help to differentiate between the reds. But it does not, and it stay very dark through the entire map.

Prefabs - Score 6

There are a few prefabs which help to accent the overall feeling of the cinema. There is a small circular ticket counter, complete with computer. The restroom is complemented with broken toilets and a sink. While the theater has what most have, rows of seats, finished in a red tone.

Sounds - Score 7

As you pass from the lobby into the theater, you can hear film spooling, as if a movie was actually playing. That is the extent of sounds used in cinema. It seems that a music score or some movie type sound could have been used inside the movie theater to help out the ambience.

Lighting - Score 7

As most theaters are dark, so is this map. There are areas in which there is no light to cast any sort of outline of a figure, which could play into the hands of a sniper. There are lights, but they seem to be on the walls, with the light shining upwards, onto the walls. This works fine for the lobby area and the outside of the theater. But downstairs in the lobby, there is virtually no light at all, except the glare from outside and the glass windows on the far wall. This is inevitably where the heaviest action takes place.

Playability - Score 4

All the files unzip correctly. As for r_speeds, this is an example of what you do not want r_speeds to look like. The speeds on this map easily average 1000. If you are standing outside of the lobby of the theater, near the trailer or inside near the staircase, r_speeds climb to just over 1900! As you make your way up the stairs speeds seem to decrease to 400-500, but jump back up over 1000 after reach the top floor. While in the theater, the speeds tended to stay below 1000.

Teamplay - Score 6

If you decide to stay on a small scale team match, this map will fit in well. But get 8 vs. 8 and the cinema gets very small. The main action will take place between the two floors on the staircase. This is similar to the layout on airport, where the teams fight on two different levels for control of the map. One team will respawn in the back of the trailer, while the other team starts upstairs.

DM - Score

N/A

Originality - Score 7

Holy Goat made the idea work well on his map. I just wish there was a back exit, from the theater back down to the street. With only one way in and one way out, the map does not flow smoothly at all times. This is one of those maps in which shotguns and hand cannons have the advantage for the close in fire fights. Although if you just cannot give up your sniper rifle, find that darkened corner and wait for the unsuspecting to walk through your site. And where is the concession stand? I need my hot buttered popcorn and soda before the movie begins.

General Feel - Score 6

Give cinema by Holy Goat "two thumbs up" for originality! But "two thumbs down" on the size and the overall flow of the map. This map, as I mentioned above plays similar to airport by Schmung, but on a smaller scale. All the action usually occurs in and around the staircase, until one team decides to rush the stairs and the other team.

Final Rating - Score 6.3 (57/9)