there was plenty of love put into the game -- into the procedural terrain algorithms, lod management system, and the many various brushes and effects. well, and the soundtrack, which is indeed stellar, as is the dynamic music.
trouble is, f5 didn't seem to put any love into the art direction, gameplay, or the proper application of their tech. they're still scene coders at heart, because the game design and mechanics are not only utterly derivative, their completely amateurish. the whole game is a case of "look what we can do, other developers!" and it is indeed impressive to folks with a dev background. to everyone else, it's a muddy, janky, unplayable mess.
