The Classic Episode

At a time when the Doom mapping well was running dry and source ports had made it possible to steal ideas wholesale from "Quake II" and "Half-Life", the humble and aptly-named Classic Episode was released. While it was made by the same authors of "The Darkening E1", The Classic Episode outclasses both it and its overhyped sequel in terms of gameplay.

 

Sure, the maps are nothing more than the same tired IWAD tropes we've seen countless times before, particularly in E2M3 "The Deimos Complex". However, it is precisely this lack of pretensions why The Classic Episode works so well. It's an episode that plays in the vintage style, but with the massive leaps in quality that came with years of experience in the Doom community. The maps work well, have impeccable balancing, and provide a damn good difficulty curve throughout the 9 levels. E2M9 "Dissension" in particular is the highlight of the episode, which is probably why they made the secret exit in E2M5 so stupidly obvious in the first place.  E2M7 "A Place of Sin" is also stellar, seamlessly merging "Pandemonium" with "And Hell Followed".

 

I wouldn't say it's the best or most faithful IWAD-style levelset ever created, as I still feel fondness for 1995's "Fava Beans". In terms of sheer fun factor, however, The Classic Episode delivers in spades.

Super

The Classic Episode is very likely to be forgotten in time nowadays, but it's one of the few add-on packs to be used for Compet-N, which means it has some recognition that way. of course, it's by far the most obscure of those Compet-N add-ons, but back in the day it sure wasn't. people outright thought this was a worthwhile episode replacement (the only one out of all the addons for Doom 1 I may add).

 

when you look at Classic Episode on the surface, it's really nothing much. no new textures, no new monsters, the layouts aren't really as exciting as what you could expect from modern wads. BUT THAT'S EXACTLY WHY IT IS CALLED CLASSIC EPISODE, ISN'T IT? it aimed only for the classic style of Doom that had the same run-and-gun action and atmosphere as the original Doom. Thus, the level layouts aren't amazing and aren't designed to be amazing, they're made to just be normal levels, without any gimmicks really. only E2M8 seemed to have one with the way the teleporters and locked doors were set up, but the gameplay isn't all that different from Classic Doom.

 

if you wanna take a break from all the fancy schmancy Zandronum/Zdoom/Boom maps of the modern age, this can be right up your alley. there's many episode replacements like this one old and new but this has aged considerably well and its gameplay is a great reminder of the original game in every way.

Everything you could want from a E1 episode. Fun fun and more fun. 5 stars is more than deserved. -TRRobin.

5/5 deserved! One of the best Doom1 pwads with primarily E1 atmosphere. I like the baron trap at e2m7. Difficulty and enemy placement is right!

Great enjoyable maps which do a decent job of capturing the classic DOOM feel.

This map stays VERY true to the Doom style but it drifts away from the Episode 1 theme, so I give it 4/5.

This is truly classic stuff. I just wish it was a (full) E1 replacer instead of an E2 replacer, but then again I'm in love with E1 :)

I love it. The classic feel and the great gameplay make this for me one of the best UDoom maps ever. 5/5 - Damned

A good doom1 levelset. The levels truly capture the whole doom1 feel as each of the 3 famous styles from the episode have thier representatives here. I do feel that this endless "recapturing" of the old feel is a bit over the top as there are truly loads of maps and mapsets that try to do that. But, that doesn't take away from the quallity of these maps, so it's a 4 from me.

The best UDoom maps ever. I don't understand why people whine about the lack of e1 feel. THIS IS NOT AN E1 REPLACEMENT! It's based on all 3 eps, and it succeds at recreating their feel. Just read the txt next time before you start whining. 5/5 - Belial

Certainly one of the top three Ep.1 replacements ever, along with "Ch Retro" and "Fava Beans". Whereas "Fava Beans" had great atmosphere but barely any opposition, "Classic Episode" has great gameplay but sometimes doesn't quite manage to give you the illusion that you are actually at the same Phobos base you were in Knee-Deep. Still, with people involved with "The Darkening" behind the wheel, you can't go wrong. --5/5

Belial is right, but I understand that some people are so spoiled, if they don´t get what was announced in the advertisement, they want their money back... 5/5

The best doom 1 maps I've ever played. These are simply very, very enjoyable to play. The difficulty is done very nicely - it gradually gets harder as you progress. I found the secret level for the first time in my life I think, which is just wonderful. As Belial said, the whiners should read the text file and learn to appreciate different level design styles. Would you believe I only died once... and by the final enemy in the game >.< Awesome stuff! 5 stars - Starburst.

This truly is a classic episode. A nice combination of E1 and just a little E2.

Great one, pure oldschool 4/5

Incredible, I had a lot of fun with it, great work!

Classic episode I keep coming back to. One thing to point out is the creativity with the monster closet ambushes. I was constantly flinching and jumping in my seat, but even though the difficulty is high, I usually found a way through the battles without too many reloads. So this is basically Ep1-2-3 compressed into 9 levels with the challenge ramped up a bit.

Brilliant! Just like what it says on the tin! I almost felt I was back in the early days of DOOM back in the mid 90's after finishing the shareware version and just got home after buying the full version... Don't get excited though because this IS a classic style wad so don't expect any of those 'modern port' tricks, just great game-play. I feel so nostalgic :-) Nice job Jan. 5/5 -jb

One of the very best, ever. A superbly designed episode with great gameplay and architecture. A combination inspired by all the episodes for Doom and they all look very good. It was like I was playing Doom for the first time all over again. 5 Stars -PC

Difficulty seems higher than Doom episodes 1-3. Probably needs more medikits (because of all the ambushes). Worth playing, even if you have to drop down a skill level or two.

This is perhaps THE BEST true U-Doom style
episode. Go get it!!

This is a really great (and definitely classic IMO) episode for the Ultimate Doom. At least some homage is paid to each episode; see the text file for details. The design, gameplay, and difficulty are all in line with what you'd expect from a wad of this style. You might have thought ID Software made these levels! 5/5

A must download

Excellent! 5/5 Too bad it didn't had full game replacement, I was expecting episode 1 and 3 as well but it doesn't matter, we have DTWID for this!