Capture the flag, by 
No, these quick reviewers above didn’t overrate this level, not by a lot at least. This level isn’t just any other CTF out there. As new author as Dodges is in the public, one cannot expect this high quality from him. Actually this is Dodges’ 3rd upload so far, and definitely much better(and BIGGER) than his previous works.
The level uses ‘Casualty Mines’ as the tileset, which has a bit similar looks like Gus’ another set ‘Pokljuka Heights,’ that Dodges’ used previously. The tileset is so handy, that a level creator doesn’t need to use transparent black tiles or something else to make the background more distant, so that it doesn’t blend with the sprite layer. The tileset simply offers background tiles with a suitable contrast.
Basically, the author succeeded somewhat splendidly on creating the right atmosphere for this level. The tileset is used nearly to the maximum. The author used even some MCE/SCE’s and pickups like Food to also make the level feel more “alive”, although they aren’t really that well visible. The level is after all really inspiring, due to the amount of details it has in the background and especially sprite layer decoration. And of course, the calm music makes the atmosphere feel complete, although it might get a bit boring after listening to it for a longer while.
The level may look absolutely weird in low detail, so I definitely recommend playing it on high detail only, since it was designed only that in mind.
The author didn’t leave the gameplay any less unimportant here. The level is after all quite solid, and doesn’t have that much of small platforms. The level size is large though. I wouldn’t play smaller games than 4vs4 here I guess. The level is bordered with walls in a way, that the layout feels like a horizontal oval with a “canyon.” The level is symmetric and has a lot of height in it indeed. There are secret tunnels and tubes here and there. The amount of tactical movement combinations you may use while playing is just mind-blowing. The flow is excellent, and I haven’t yet found anything that would be overdone in it, eventhough there are so many of those ‘ladders’ that either boost your movement or work as elevators.
A level simply can’t get more balanced than this is. There are four minor carrots, which fits considering the size of the level. Two of them are floating in the center of the level next to each other, which can be considered as the same as full energy with the default health, although it theoretically isn’t. If the middle feels too dangerous, no worry, you may also heal yourself below your own basement. I guess the Bouncer/RF/Pepper Power Ups are the right choices for this level, as are the rest of ammo-types. I still haven’t figured the real purpose of TNT though. But I suppose it can still be useful in games here, when it’s damage is turned on.
IMPORTANT FOR THE AUTHOR: I found that often when I tried to enter the top warps with a certain timing(with the SCE-event animation I think) the game crashed. I suggest that you remove those SCEs and figure some other way to make the warps visible for everyone. I’m not decreasing the rating because of this, but I wouldn’t try to play a competitive game here before it’s fixed. Just do that asap, and I’ll be thankful.
So, ‘The Canyon’ is indeed some special stuff. It is easy to learn, but hard to master as good levels often tend to be, right? Definitely a great level for JDC events and Bash 12. Would be my favourite nominee for Download of the Month, but since Memories 3 was uploaded, I guess not. Nevertheless I suggest to re-download this level as soon as the bug I mentioned above has been fixed, and play it. Although there is no big gimmick or anything very original put into this level, I can’t still deny that it amazes me with the way of being just “really good.” It doesn’t at least directly remind me of any other CTF-level right now, so it must have some of it’s own style. For the effort, an 8.6 should do fine. Well done Dodges!
EDIT: After all, I noticed that I rated on this level biasedly, probably because Dodges is a new creator. 8.6 seemed too high, since I rated some levels/packs lower, that I however liked better generally, and so it just didn’t make sense. However, this is still a very decent level, and it’s going to stay as worthy for me as it was before.
Also, thanks for fixing the warps. The crashing was after all quite rare, but it still happened to me, don’t know why.
SJ
