Dream Mansion
RR: 8.5
Try new Dream Mansion - the new product that's taking the nation by storm!  It cleans, protects, stain-proofs, and polishes, and all in one handy - what?   Oh, sorry.  This is actually a map by SLAM, a "pointblast" version of one of the arenas he has been working on for the much-anticipated "Capture The Flag" mod.
  Well, as CTF maps go, by Unreal Tournament standards this is pretty small, if perfectly formed; it needs the quake3a.utx texture file, which you can download from SLAM as well if you haven't yet got it.  One other mapmaker thought that there were a lot of "prefabs" here, objects like the statues and light-holders that you can import into a map you are making rather than trying to "model" them yourself, but SLAM assures me that only the statues in the fountain are ready-made - everything else was lovingly hand-crafted for this map.  Anyway, I can't see that as a criticism, especially when the items are part of such a mellow, well- designed experience.  The only criticism really is that this version does have a lot of clipping in one of the side corridors, around the top of the windows.
  So, a nice-looking map, and nice-playing too, with plenty of the weapons and some excellent "eye candy".  I don't rate it as one of SLAM's very best maps, at least in this version - but in any other company it would be a stand-out, an original NAB map to rank with the best of the UT remixes.