Analogie Fatidique

Analogie Fatidique is one of those action-centered maps consisting mostly of setpieces. It has 400 monsters, and you get all non-melee weapons but the BFG, all early. A first play on UV might have an exit time of around 15 minutes, not including deaths. UV is somewhat easier than its avowed Hard Map influences, and lower difficulties soften it up greatly, making this one of the most accessible maps of its kind. 
    
Later on, there is a big two-wave fight I really loved. Set in a gloomy cave, it rewards taking the initiative, SR40-ing around to get stuff done ASAP, before the second wave arrives to complicate your job. You can play it more passively too, using a large central pillar to desperately avoid devious viles that flank you from two sides, with revvies and reanimated blood-red mancubi in tow. What I liked less: a good heap of the combat in the start hub is extended rocket-lobbing against bulky groups without either movement pressure or reward for heightened activity.

Aesthetics initially felt understated, but I came to really appreciate them. Stock Doom 2 tech and industry assets tend to fall on one of two extremes: cheery or drab. Here, lots of REDWALL and blue lights combine with gritty stuff like STARBR2 (a brown variant of STARTAN) to paint an eerie hybrid picture -- even before accounting for the bloody caves that depict Hell's corruption. The detailing is very sleek and polished. Overall, a decent map. 
 

Analogie Fatidique is a great hell map with hordes big monsters, big weapons and big health to get you through it. From the start you're thrown into a giant room with dozens of cacos and other big enemies lining the walls. There is plenty of big weapons to whittle them down.

Once the dozens of enemies are whittled down, its time to switch find. The map makes it fairly easy to find switches even in big environments littered with corpses. Find a switch or a transporter that will get you to a switch that opens a door to the next grand environment and rocket brawl against mancubus and revenants. Kill everything flip a switch, flip another switch, go back to the original room to get to the next big environment.

The environments make the fights more engaging. Round rooms full of revenants where their rockets curve around a doughnut at you. Dozens of enemies on ledges showering you with fiery projectiles and times with arch viles on pedestals orchestrating it all. Its a diverse array of problems, but you always have the rocket launchers and plasma rifles to solve them.

Speaking of heights, the tall ledges become deep floors that lead to subterranean areas. This map has a good sense of height shifting. That first main room modifies itself to draw your attention rather than opening a simple floor, an entire series of walls opens up. Of course the wall floods in more enemies, otherwise that might be seen as backtracking.

While the challenge is manageable, the only thing that blurred into the line of the unfair are the reskins. Mancubus are now red, which tends to blend in with the red background of hell. Other reskins include a gory arachnatron and revenants. Its good to have the reskins and the new music to keep the level fresh to set it apart from the others. Even calling it unfair is harsh, because everything seemed fair and balanced. The doughnut room fighting revenants in the dark? You're still in the light and there's plenty of rockets and megaspheres.

From looking at the .txt file this is a single level that was made for a megawad, so it will be good to check that one out.

Great, enjoyable map.