Counter-Strike 2

Counter-Strike 2

Cascade (Prime)
Personal take:
Overall, I like what this map tries to do: Which is standing out visually and thematically from the rest of CS:GO's roster by giving every graphical nook and cranny a level of respect and detail instead of going with the usual plastic and artificial design that the majority of modern CS maps tend to lean towards. I wish more mappers gave this much attention to their maps graphical display; though considering SDK's quirks and limitations, that's easier said than done.

The layout itself is fun, fast-paced, and optimized well for Wingman. I played a few rounds with some friends and we had a good time.

However, since graphical display seems to be the selling point of this map I'd like to make a few comments on the subject:

There's too much effects on this map, plain and simple. Unless this map was meant to pay homage to every J.J. Abrams film ever, there's no reason why there should be this many lens flares in one area alone. It's almost painful, especially in CT spawn, having to physically stare at so many blinding lights on my screen at once. It also just ruins whatever this map does right with its design, for anything that could be appreciated is smudged and washed over with these ugly hues. It's like someone made a beautiful canvas of a natural landscape and then proceeded to take the most irritating, unpleasant color of paint and brush it all over the frame.

TL;DR The map does well with a lot of what it's trying to accomplish, but the people who made it need to learn how to manage their effects.