BombingRun Maps
Anubis - "The Infidels seek to defile your ancestors. Send them to meet theirs."
Most people are familiar with Anubis from the demo. The two team goals lie in facing temples separated by team courtyards and a central ball area. Spawn rooms are in the corners of the map.
Anubis has all of the expected Egyptian accessories - great textures, imposing statuary, and columns a-plenty. The very cool reflective gold accents from Face3 also appear here.
Every weapon can be found (at least once) here, and they are placed well. They are generally located around the outskirts of the arena, ensuring that defenders will have to leave their posts to re-arm. Much of the action takes place in each team's courtyard leaving the side chambers relatively empty, save for the small skirmish over powerups.
RaptoR: BR-Anubis sees the return of the Egyptian style that we saw only briefly in the original UT. A solid, if rather flat and open BR arena that allows for lots of teamplay and use of BR tactics such as resetting the ball. Expect to see lots of long passes in the open area in front of both goal rooms.
hal: This is the ideal BR map. There's lots of wide-open room for passing, it's easy to find your way around, and you have to work for your weapons. It looks great too. 8/10
Bifrost - "Without the pocket of warm air venting from your thermal unit, your life expectancy is less than two minutes. Throw in a few hardened killers and some firepower and you can cut that number in half."
Two bases sit on opposite ends of a curved icy valley. Ice covers every inch of ground and the ball sits high atop a central hill flanked by spotlights. The sky overhead is clear and starry, but glowing with Aurora Borealis.
Be sure to find the Ion Cannon Painter gun overlooking the ball, you'll need it. The wide-open central area ensures that there are lots of passing lanes. The enemy will be able to bear down on you fast unless you pass the ball.
The bases are nice, but most players will bypass them in favor of the roof routes. A ball runner attempting to run through the enemy base will only face respawning players... and that's not good.
RaptoR: BR-Bifrost is a map with potential. There’s lots of z-axis action to be had. The bomb itself is raised on a hill, and you’ll also notice an Ion Painter perched on a ledge between the two bases. My only real problem with this map is the open dome which allows relatively easy access to the goals for attackers.
hal: This is one of my favorite BR maps. The open playing field allows it to play more like a sport. There are lots of great passing opportunities here. 8/10
Disclosure - "This enclosed Bombing Run arena has a reputation for fast paced matches with close combat. Be careful - the open center area is a perfect location for snipers to show their skill."
The central area is large and open in this map. Three corridors lead from it to the enemy goal: the low corridor is the shortest and most direct route; the middle corridor is the longest, but affords the ball carrier the opportunity to change routes midway; the top corridor is also short, and does enter the goal room from above, but the carrier will have to enter directly through the other team's LightningGun room. Jump pads in the center room give the carrier a chance to switch routes and lose defenders.
The action takes place in an arena built especially for Bombing Run. The map is well lit and cleanly textured, with plenty of visual cues to let you know which base you are headed into.
Once you leave the central room, the action gets rather close and personal. The corridors are narrow and winding, and the goal room is small.
RaptoR: BR-Disclosure is what I call a ‘bleh’ map. It’s a fairly dull-looking indoor map, however it plays very well once you get to know it. Like BR-IceFields, scoring a seven point goal on this map with three or four defenders on your tail requires skill.
hal: This is a good map for small numbers of players. Larger numbers make it difficult to power the ball through corridors filled with weapons and respawning players. I like the central room where lots of passing is key, but the corridors are a death trap, meaning that you should avoid them until you're 100% ready to run it in. The looks and layout are what you'd expect from a professional mapper, but it lacks the visual 'hook' many of the other maps have. 7/10
Kalendra Ice Fields - "What was once an endless field of obsidian left behind by the volcanic activity of a young planet has become a cold and desolate wasteland of permafrost and broken stone."
Dead, twisted trees look down on this snow covered valley. Abandoned metal structures and debris litter the landscape. The sky overhead is cloudy, and snow is falling, but there are plenty of lamp posts and emergency lights to light the way.
This "W" shaped map has a few shortcuts that you must know to play this map well. The first is located high on the cliff wall, just outside the view of the goal. The second allows you to bypass the central ball area altogether. The layout is very clever in it's simplicity.
The goals sit atop metal structures at opposite ends of the "W". You can take the lift up and run around the back of the structure to score 7, or you can take a shortcut by pulling off a lift-jump. Either way, pushing the ball down the enemies throat will be a job for the whole team.
RaptoR: BR-IceFields can be dull with bots, but online play is where it really shines. There’s a lot of z-axis use here, the goals themselves being suspended above the rest of the map. This, of course, means you have to work as a team to score a seven point goal. Expect some pretty chaotic firefights in this map as both teams fight for control of the ball.
hal: Excellent layout, great look. The LightningGun is well placed, under the goal, but it'll be tough for you to use it zoomed in due to the glare from the lights on the scope. 8/10
Skyline - "Far above the teeming metropolis, sounds of battle break the cold silence of the desolate urban canopy. Feel the adrenaline rush through your body as your ruthless enemies, and gravity, seek your downfall."
Skyline takes place across the tops of three uncompleted high rise buildings. True to it's name, this map sports a breathtaking skybox of the city below. A blimp circles high overhead taking in all of the action.
The central building is the neutral zone where the ball is placed. The two flanking buildings are the player spawn/goal buildings. Each one has multiple levels to fight on. The highest point of each goal/base building is actually a chimney of sorts, allowing you to shoot the ball down for a quick three point score. Scoring seven's going to be a little tougher requiring you to, again, run into the spawning area of the other team.
The ION Painter gun is cleverly hidden here, and can be accessed only by tossing your translocator beacon into one of the support structures. Jump pads can lift you to higher floors or send you flailing towards a goal building.
RaptoR: I’ll admit it... BR-Skyline is one of my favourite UT2003 maps. Its low gravity allows for a lot of z-axis movement. You’ll soon find yourself making extensive use of the translocator in this map. Skyline is also visually impressive, set high above a city on the tops of skyscrapers. Play this map and you’ll see why it’s one of the most popular Bombing Run maps online at the moment. My only problem with this map is that its low gravity continues inside the buildings too, making jumping inside the enemy goal a difficult task.
hal: Plunge for the BR crowd. It looks great and is lots of fun, but the goal buildings are curiously small. I wish they were as large as the central building. 6/10
Slaughterhouse - "Even commercial companies can get in on the action... for a fee."
A sprawling, complex map taking place in ... a slaughterhouse. Despite the grim name and the scenery, this map is full of fun additions. From the rolling eyes on the humorous billboards ("55% Grade A Ground Meat... 45% Our little secret"), to the swinging lamps and hooks... this is a map that looks amazing, yet doesn't take itself too seriously.
There are numerous routes to take to the goal, though there are only actually two entrances to the goal room, and there are numerous places to hide. This map can be confusing, but if you remember what the spawn rooms look like and just avoid them, it becomes a little easier.
The detail in this map is staggering. The aforementioned billboards, swinging cuts of meat, blood dripping from the ceiling, turning cogs, and terrific lighting all bring this map to life. This is one of the kind of unique maps that the Unreal series is known for.
RaptoR: With the right number of players, and evenly-matched teams, Slaughterhouse really shines as one of the best maps in the game. Make no mistake, this is a map with character -- the blood splattered over every surface, the chunks of meat lying in corridors, the billboards. Framerate issues aside, this is my favorite BR map, second only to Skyline.
hal: A visual feast... literally. The humor, the detail, and the impressive size of this map ensure that it will earn a place in everyone's favorite list. The only downside to this map is the slaughtering it does to your frame rates. I'll have to agree with RaptoR about the semi-confusing layout, however. Though if you take heed of my earlier advice to just avoid the spawn rooms, you'll find your way around much easier. 8/10
Twin Tombs - "The dead tell no tales, so we've come to rely on live video feeds to keep us on top of the latest matches. This elegant recreation of the twin tombs of brothers Ramses III and Rudamon has a reputation for speed, brutality, and treachery, just like the pharoah interred within."
Two tombs sit in opposing corners of this map, divided by tusk-like structures in the center. Each tomb is a maze of corridors. There are no less than four ways into each goal room, and countless ways of reaching them. The weapons are well placed, though having Shock Ammo right next to the goal may encourage camping in that spot, as a SR combo is the ideal deterrent for a ball runner leaping over a deadly drop.
Despite the word "Tomb" in the name, this is not an Egyptian themed map. It's a very surreal, almost sci-fi look. Almost otherworldly with a Myst quality. Good theme, great layout, great map.
RaptoR: Another map where scoring seven points requires skill. The pit between you and the goal means you'll need to work as a team to score. Again, this map's visuals are impressive, especially outdoors where it makes great use of static meshes.
hal: Weeeee! I love this one. The theme is unique, the routes are endless, the flag room is an absolute classic. Good job! I think this map gets away with closed-in corridors because of the huge number of choices you can make in your route, unlike Disclosure which largely forces you to commit to whatever route you've chosen. I suppose you can chalk that up to preference though...8/10
Join us for Part 3 as we take a look at the Capture the Flag maps, Gameplay, and wrap it all up with our conclusion!