The overall design of the map looks immediately impressive. Regrettably, when zooming in on it after purchase and later when printing it out I realized the very poor resolution of everything, which makes it look very pasty and unsharp. Plus, the grid seems a little out of the way in some places of the map, creating squares for figures to stand on where it doesn't make much sense for the to do so (half inside a wall, etc.). All in all, a great map in theory, but a very unsatisfying product.

The following review was originally posted at Roleplayers Chronicle and can be read in its entirety at http://roleplayerschronicle.com/?p=22379.

Abandoned Station depicts just that, a small, abandoned train station with three decrepit train cars. The style is that of post-apocalyptic or modern and can easily be used for horror type gaming. However, you may need to add some destroyed bits for use in post-apocalyptic settings.

The map depicts a small train station set on the sidewalk leading to two sets of train tracks. One track has a large passenger car while the other track has two freight-styled cars. The building and the train cars are all depicted without a roof and the roof overlays are given as separate pieces later in the battlemap. The whole scene shows a general sense of years of neglect.

OVERALL

I like the simplicity of this Abandoned Station but I also like how it’s very different then what you find elsewhere. While most are making fantasy oriented maps, this outdoor depiction can be used for a number of encounters with a mountain of questions leading to “Why is it abandoned?”

RATINGS

Publication Quality: 10 out of 10 Abandoned Station is laid out very nicely with a good focus on centering each tile. What really steals the show, however, is the amount of detail added to make the entire map feel like it was abandoned. There is graffiti all over, the interior of the passenger train car is worn out while looking like someone was here recently. And my favorite is the body chalk outline in one of the rooms of the train station – that’s just awesome!

Visual Appeal: 10 out of 10 The Abandoned Station battlemap looks stunning. The textures are incredible in terms of choice and weathering. They all have a very weathered appeal including the grass which looks dead or dying from years of neglect. The coloring really grabs you when looking at the overview of the battlemap, seeing the decay of everything through muted tones and dirty effects.

Desire to Use: 8 out of 10 I like this battlemap and would definitely use it in a modern horror or post-apocalyptic setting. It could use a few more options such as being able to add additional tracks on the opposite side of the train station instead of the sidewalk or a way to simply extend the train tracks for additional cars, but that is quite minor. With the look and feel of the battlemap, you’re sure to find something lurking in one of those cars that will be trouble for the PCs. Maybe it’s a possessed hobo that turns into a vicious demon, or maybe its a group of zombies.

Overall: 9 out of 10 Abandoned Station is another great battlemap from DramaScape. There’s definite attention paid to detail and the concept of “abandoned” comes through perfectly in every single way. Its design is great for loose interpretation allowing GMs to use it for multiple settings instead of being stuck with only one or two.