Well I've been a fan of reviewing for a long time and it's really cool to be able to write them once more.
My first one under Roshko ;)
Playability: 4
Well mate the map was really awesome to play especially if you pick strong opponents like Richard Saladin. I liked it a lot an it offered a good in-game experience which I love in all the maps. A small problem (a really small one) was the iron ore. :D It was all over the place and I placed a lot of mines. They helped me iconomicaly and provided tons of warriors (strong ones ;) But I hardly consider that a problem if you try to make tougher maps in the future with less resources it would definately have a good impact on the playability.
Balance: 4.5
As I mentioned above the terrain was a small problem.It was like: I can only attack from one side and be attacked from one side. I just forified the "attack point" with everything I got and watched the fireworks. My castle was mabye just one wall with hundreds of archers. My advice is to make some terrain changes next time so that the map will have more of an addicting feeling. Basicaly make the terrain tough but not at some points impassable and don't add so much iron and stone. They are the most precious resources in Crusader and one must fight for them a lot before he can cotrol them. Thats what Crusader is about control where surviving itself is a great feat. Other than that the balance was perfect. It's 0.5 instead of 1 because you can place your keep at a different location and thus it's a different experience. ;)
Creativity: 4
The map itself wasn't something new with groundbraking designs and crativity (not that theres anything wrong with that) but to achieve 5 everything must be AMAZING. In the skirmish it's either by placing lots of eyecany (neutral) or making a beautiful landscape. If you practise a lot with the edditor I'm sure that soon enough you'll be able to make wonderful maps. I myself prefer the terrain instead of eyecandy because I think that it has a much bigger impact. However rightly placed some eyecandy can look magnificent. The trick is not to overbuild with eyecandy. (eyecandy-eyecandy :D)
Map Design: 3.5
The design of the map is really good the mountain systems were well placed and the see too, but too little effort went into making them and that resulted in a somewhat unnatural terrain. For me the oasis is the most important part in SHC and I'm dissapointed when grass areas are rushed. My advice is to look at 5 or 4.5 rated maps preferably Skrimishes and from there you'll aquire a feeling how things are supposed to look ;)
Story/Instructions: 1
Well theres not much to say here. The story is something which everyone can make and it's easy.Don't let something which can be easily made lower the score.
I think the map is a good example of Crusader and other than some minor corrections it's actually very playable.