Since the buildings are what you first see (and spend the most time thinking about), allow me to detail on them. They capture better than any other Badland's structure I've seen (yes, that includes the base structures even) the feel of a "BioDerm" building. There are free-standing arches angling into the ground, sinking you further away from the light.. then inside, there are open doorways, and openings in the ground which are made to look like half-open blast doors. The texturing inside lends so much detail to everything: I got the feeling that there was more to the base, but that some of the entrances were just closed off, thus denying access.. some of the textures seem to be shut doors, and so on. The main base carries generators and two inventory stations, and is situated behind the flag. There's a secondary base just to the front of the flagstand, and up on a ridge is the v-pad. (The V-Pad building is every bit impressive as the rest, let me assure you)
The base turrets really aren't going to come into play much, if you're careful: their line of sight is too much blocked by the surrounding hills. Admitably, you may get a missile launched a few times, or a Plas-barrel shooting at you, but nothing more than an average player should be able to avoid.
The ground near the flagstand (and actually pretty much everywhere) is peaked and jagged: I was hardly able to find a place to put down turrets, so your Flag D is going to have to be pretty much personal. Flag ski-routes are likewise almost non-existant, so vehicles also will be important.
The terrain doesn't stand out in any way, except for the feeling of some blasted, ruinous wasteland spewing fire.. as it should, being set on volcanous ground. The peaks can make for some frustrating treks (especially as a Jug!), but if you're good, you'll deal with it, and make use of all those awesome hiding spots when you need them.
Playability takes a hit from the terrain layout: Novices will be frustrated, most likely, and the foot-soldier will be defeated. However, good use of vehicle coordination could save the day for a team. Better have some Shrike pickets up and running. Attention to Detail is great: Buildings are some of the best I've ever layed eyes on, and the mission lighting and fog is good enough not to stand out. (Yes, that's a good thing) Balance is slanted ever so slightly in the defensive favor: while capping is hard, so is chasing some flag-carrier down. But the trick is still to get the flag in the first place. Item Placement is just a little obscure: it took me and a teammate quite some time to find an inventory station; they're rather hidden. Still, once you find one, you remmeber where they are, and the ones on the V-Pad are in the wide open. Mechanics: the mission works well, and certainly forces you to develop new strategies.. your old ones probly will fail you here. This map is rather innovative in that way, actually.
Overall, a nice map to run around on. Couldn't imagine ever scoring, personally, but that's because I'm not that great. The base layout allows for some sneaky cloak/jam raping, but your normal frontal assult could very well be foiled. Take a look if for no other reason than the structures!