Dm-BeneathTheSand is a tight, small map good for 2-4 players. But be prepared, the map has a lot of 'close-quarters' fighting that will keep those arrow keys a smokin'.

"Dangerus" Dave O has used a combination of textures, including Egyptian and Nali Castle, to create a ruin that has been buried by sand for eons, only to emerge for our fragging pleasure. But you'll hardly have time to notice the texturing as you fend for yourself against angry bots who want nothing more than to make minced meat out of you.

This level is tight. By that I mean that you won't have a lot of room to dodge incoming ammo as it 'rips you a new one.' This gives this map a unique feel, since most DM maps have some extra clearance as a buffer. The entire map isn't set up this way, though, with a few places opening up so you can work up a good head of steam. For example, the middle of the map sees lots of action as the bots seem to gravitate here to do their dirty work. But no lift centers/lift exits were used, so you will find confused bots around the lifts, now and again. It's also a good idea in a DM map to set the lifts to 'crush when encroached' so they aren't bouncing off the bots' heads and tying up the lifts. Just don't forget to set the 'encroach damage' if you do.

The architecture is made up of simple shapes: cubes, cylinders, stairs, and quite a few archways, but the map didn't seem all that boring with Dave O's construction techniques. Because of the layout and architecture, the poly counts are low and the level moves very quickly, keeping those frustrating 'slowdowns' to a minimum.

The item placement worked, but could have used some tweaking: Rifle bullets clutter the build, and the armor is harder to reach than the shieldbelt is. As a matter of fact, I found the perfect niche for lazy fraggers to be: If you stand in the shieldbelt location, you are surrounded by 3 tight walls, and you can frag away here, and remain reasonably healthy for some time. This is a no-no with a map. Breakable vases, and triggers tagged to smoke generators also seemed a little strange. I'm not sure how this adds to the level. Moreover, the Udamage was placed adjacent to a 'Player Start' giving a lucky spawner an advantage instead of making you work for the powerup. A sniper rifle is supplied, but also seemed out of place with all the close fighting going on around you.

The lighting is dim, and is done well. It helps to raise the tension as you race around the multitude of corners, and come face-to-face with a bot in the shadows. The author provided us with some music and some mover sounds for the lifts (nice!), but there were no ambient torch sounds or outdoor sounds near the skybox opening.

I would recommend this level if you like small maps, 2-4 players, and like working small hallways for all they're worth.