Tileset, by 
The Holiday Hare tileset triplets have pretty much monopolized the Christmas tileset realm and for good reason. They are packed full of everything Christmasy – trees, houses, decorations, snow, etcetera. There have been many attempts to make a better holiday tileset, but very few of them have actually left a mark. This could be because there was not enough effort in them, or maybe it was because the Holiday Hare tilesets are just so darn well done. Whatever it is, people still seem to continue to try to dethrone them from the crown of most loved holiday tileset(s). The newest attempt is C3mini, by CraccoBoyCC. C3Mini was originally an entry into Disguise’s rigerous tileset competition, which accounts for its small size and lack of varied colors. For such a small tileset, it captures the spirit of Christmas fairly adequately. Within it is snow (which almost looks like clouds), signs, a block, red tapey stuff, one tile for background creation (actually turns out looking better than you would think), a very nice looking Christmas tree, and some jewel-covered item that I can not seem to figure out. The first thing I checked about this tileset was the mask. Not only has this been a problem with past CraccoBoy tilesets, but this is one part of the tileset that the competition did not limit. Gladly, the mask was fine. Such a simple tileset is not hard to make a mask for, but it is good to see that it was not messed up badly. The colors were surprisingly accurate and generally cheery. Still, as I can not rate higher just because it is a part of Disguise’s contest, my rating seems a bit low. This tileset is good, especially for the size. If this did not come close to winning, I am very anxious to see the other entries.
+ PROS: Excellent use of colors. Looks quite cheery. Christmas tree looks spiffy.
- CONS: Inept background eyecandy. Small. A string of Christmas lights would have been a nice addition.
VERDICT: Overall, this is probably pretty good for its size. Unfortunately, it still is very small. I can not rate higher just because it was in the competition (that would be unfair), so I will give this tileset a 4.7 and a download recommendation. I know it seems strange that I am giving a 4.7 tileset a download recommendation, but it is an interesting use of the provided space. I can not wait to see the other tilesets (especially ET’s) that were in this competition. While I’m waiting, however, this one will keep my attention long enough.
UPDATE: Oh, yes, and a note: I await the final, expanded version of this tileset. The mini version is high-quality, and I hope that the same high-qualityness (is that even a word?) will also be there in the final version. The “big”, non-contest version may give the Holiday Hare tilesets a run for the money if you keep up the quality through the entire tileset and – most importantly – avoid ripping of any sort. ;-P[This review has been edited by Trafton AT]
