Description
Fly as the Shivans on this mission. Lead your wing of Maras on an attack on a Terran rescue operation. I tried to bring some meaning to the usual Shivan genoxide and xenophobia... hope you like!

Storyline:
The storyline of this mission is good enough, and attempts to explain the ShivansÂ’ motives as far as possible (which isnÂ’t very due to the nature of the game), using appropriate language. The ship icons all match up and thereÂ’s a polished feel throughout. In the mission messages are a little light on the ground, but thatÂ’s to be expected. IÂ’d have liked to see the Shivan electromagnetic chatter used, though.

Balance:
The first part of this mission is easy and will be over in minutes. The second part is considerably more hectic but youÂ’ll still probably win without much trouble, as the Mara is super-tough and the Seraphim has such huge bays and strong armour that itÂ’s a threat right up to the end.

Design:
Design is as good as can be expected from a mission like this. There aren’t too many messages so there are no send-message-lists, but there are some waypoint paths and all the directives work. It’s actually more complex than it needs to be – some of the events could have been condensed down. Still, this won’t affect gameplay. The use of the Terran Mara detracts somewhat - the ships could've been renamed using Alt-names.

Gameplay:
The first part of this mission is good fun, feeling all superior in your Shivan ships. The second part is very hectic and you often wonÂ’t even know which way your ship is facing. However, it isnÂ’t horribly unplayable. All in the entire mission is good to play, although itÂ’s over very quickly and the replay value is severely limited by the fact that you canÂ’t switch ship and weapon loadouts at all.

Other Thoughts:
It would take a proper mod to really explore the world of the Shivans. Oh, and some more answers from Volition, but like thatÂ’s going to happen...