Sparta 2 - Project vesuvius

cannonball is yet another mapper who will probably take some getting used to when it comes to his maps. I remember hating on Return to Hadron when I first played it, but after subsequent plays it got easier. the same can be said for a lot of his other wads.

 

while this is my first time playing through Sparta 2, I easily got into cannonball's playstyle. his architecture style is always the same, as are his usage of monsters, basically you'll be running around often in the heat of monsters; the space is wide enough to accomodate this kind of playstyle and you just gotta be quite wary of where projectiles are flying. even if the monster count is low the layouts make things rough. but overall, what I like most about cannonball's maps is how well they can be run through. sure, you're gonna be dealing with a fuckload of carnage in these maps, but they all are very speedrun-friendly which is a plus. notable maps include:

 

MAP08, which is probably the roughest start in the wad

MAP12, which has a false sense of security with its monster count.

the two slaughter finales which are both well done.

Hard maps with good architecture. I enjoy this wad

Another great mapset from the cannonball. The architecture is, as usual with this mapper, precise and logical. Thankfully the gameplay is also finely-honed and there are some really exciting moments throughout this. Just be sure to play on HMP first as after map 08 it's simply madness on UV!

Pretty good for a scrap-map WAD.

You know how people say that Tormentor's beastiary monsters are awful and overused? Well, those dehacked red marines and effrits are by tenfold more fucktarded and overused. The first 8 maps are very good, deserve 4*. But then it goes downhill by a waterfall. All other maps are slaughterfuckery of the worst kind. Playing this makes your hair go gray, your veins pop and your desk crash after too many fist slams. Then you become numb. At least all maps are technically and architecturally sound.

This and Stardate 20X6 are by far this year's best releases, and in regards to s2pv in particular - I wish all srcapmaps could've been like this. Fun and quality through and through. Great work!