The DWmegawad Club plays: Slaughter Until Death & The Evil Unleashed & Obituary

SUDTIC E2M6

This level is something of an eclectic mess, but I found it a fun mess.  Well, except for the moving platforms room.  That kind of time-wasting does not appeal.

The map certainly has a wild and wooly collection of thematic themes, transitioning from techbase to flesh without a blink, and then throwing in computer labs and gstone to boot.

There feels like more height use here: more areas where monsters overlook the player or the player the monsters.  Lighting is also relatively dynamic.  This means that the combat feels more dynamic, even if it’s not really all that difficult.

I think this is also the first good use of teleporting monsters in the WAD, unless I missed one in the secret level.

On ‎7‎/‎2‎/‎2017 at 5:08 PM, Demon of the Well said:

E2M3 -- The Blazed - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets

Right! This is a good example of what I was referring to earlier when I mentioned the WAD using a number of design decisions that have come to popularly be viewed as 'wrong', or at least as 'questionable.' Steve's harried experience with the mapstart (which he evidently loved rather than resented, note--few things warm my heart more than that guy's positive attitude towards this kind of stuff, I swear :D)

Always happy to warm the cockles of your Doomer's heart. ;)

Obviously, we sometimes have the minority view on these issues. Probably the most notable example in my case was my fondness for E3M6 of 2002:ADO,  IMO a totally fun masterpiece by Chris "The Axe-Murderer" Hansen, whereas many thought it was an exercise in cheapass bullshit design, forcing players to take damage over lava. But he did it in a way that showed such gleeful malice aforethought that I couldn't help but be charmed. ;) Not every mapper can pull this off -- for example, Jim Bagrow -- but he was pretty damned close, actually, and had he been willing to take constructive criticism, his natural penchant for ripping your guts out by fair means or foul could have made him one helluva mapper.

The "foul" means are part of the mapper's toolkit, and many of them were tried and tested by id themselves. So while modern players would prefer that emphasis is placed on engaging combat scenarios, the fact remains that mass hitscanner attacks and environmental meanness have always been there in some form or another, but it takes a certain combination of 'tude and execution to pull off the "foul" means in ways that at least some of us will appreciate. And with that . . .

E2M4 - Death Pain by Denis Moller

Foul means are certainly on display here! :D The opening is a Hitscanner Holocaust RNG Nightmare, at least for pistol-starters. Continuers should be coming into this with a Chaingun and a healthy supply of bullets. I had to die and restart and savescum to figure out the best way to handle the onslaught, although I can't say a reliable "best" was ever achieved. I could end up at 52 - 62% health whether I tried to coax infighting from the caged histscanners before charging into the hallway, or just going straight into the hallway and leaving the caged monsters mostly intact.

That was a pretty nice corner trap in the hallway, which thoughtfully left a column for cover against the massed hitscanners. Definitely a tough way to get your hands on a shotgun!

The next room, with four-corner Imp snipers and teleporting Pinkies, demonstrates a tendency towards setpiece encounters, which were mostly clever but needed more firepower behind them. This lack of firepower in the projectile-beast Meat Game has been a downfall for the mapset so far. As we all know, apart from sudden in-yer-grill traps, Meat poses no immediate danger the way hitscanners do, so the Meat Game is harder to pull off, because the player can dodge their attacks. The very next setpiece, the Caco-Pinky fight, can be easily mastered on the ground or by clearing some barrels on the switch ledge and plinking Cacos with the single-shotty until it's time to descend and wipe out the Demons. This is followed by the more effective Rocket Launcher Battle where you have to deal with Cacos and Spectres immediately. I committed a "Good at Doom!" rocket suicide by backing up and shooting a rocket into a Floor Lamp. :D On the second try, I almost died again by shooting into a Spectre that raced unseen practically into my face. After that, you had a lot of Spectres plus a bunch of Sergeants and -- foul means -- a Really Huge Crusher, which accounted for my third and final death. 

IMO, this is a much better map than Denis's first offering, and while some have said it is "generic," I can't quite agree. This one showcases interesting, non-orthogonal room design and good use of textures, plus it keeps things percolating by flooding recently-cleared areas with enemies that you encounter as you backtrack. Keeping in mind that this is a 1994 map, literally, from the Dawn of Mapping, I'd say this is definitely a cut above. Solid work. I'm honestly surprised by how much I'm liking this mapset so far. 

s2t9 fda

lol

1) Thomas really likes shotgunners in cubby holes

2) i cant navigate at all

3) the bfg is basically only meant to be used in 1 room at the end of the map. good luck if you used it before then!

weird map.

E2M9: Arena of Punishment

This is an odd one that I find reminiscent primarily of the original Doom's E3M9: Warrens; it is no doubt the corridors full of short, niche-like branches that call such a comparison to mind.  It's otherwise a map full of peculiar choices, the most arena-like of rooms being the one through which the player passes most quickly, and an outdoor area full of demons that can't actually get to the player and can thus be ignored or punched/sawed with immunity through transparent textures.  I don't know that there's a whole lot of satisfying gameplay to be found here, with many spaces that are too similar to be memorable, too large for their inhabitants to present a challenge, or too tight to be comfortable.  Moving on, then.

E2M6: Damned Bastards

That's better.  This is a lot of fun, an entertaining maze of alternating dark and light hallways and technological and infernal elements, cast in the mould of the best Shores of Hell levels, though I think it shines here for more than simple reasons of emulation.  There are a perhaps surprising number of coloured doors here for such a compact map, not just impeding the progress of the player until the appropriate keys are found but also functioning as signposts to direct the player as to just where they're supposed to go next.  There are enough close-range encounters with demons, spectres, and shotgunners with limited room to manoeuvre that it feels pretty intense and dynamic, even though there's generally plenty of health scattered about once the gunplay dies down.

E2M6: I think Denis Möller kept to get better with each map he made. Gameplay was pretty good and there are more nice architectural features overall compared to the previous maps. The theme is the classical E2 corrupted techbase but the map feels also very personal. The only remark I can make is that the map lacks some diverse combats situations, few more cacos and barons would have fit well here.

RE-WIND!!

wrrr-#^(@%#^*!

It’s 1994. In my world, I turned 12. Bill Clinton helps complete George H. W. Bush’s diplomatic work and signs the USA into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with Canada and Mexico. Forest Gump and Dumb and Dumber hit theaters. Kurt Cobain is found dead. Video games like Donkey Kong Country and Earth Worm Jim are released while Sony quietly launches Playstation. The Dallas “cocaine” Cowboys beat the Buffalo Bills to win Super Bowl XXVIII. Nancy Kerrigan cries and asks the age old question, “WHY?!” O.J. Simpson murders a few people and leads police on a televised low speed car chase inside of a white Bronco riding down an L.A. freeway. TV shows like ER and Seinfeld were crushing it on NBC at the same time Friends was warming up. Ace of Base was a thing as bands like Pearl Jam, Green Day and The Stone Temple Pilots were hot young acts. Custom levels for Doom start coming out. Slaughter Until Death is released in June and people start learning about wads.

Slaughter Until Death

E2M1 – “Flying Guts” by Thomas Möller

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/continuous/no saves

Hah, yup my guts went flying thanks to the shotgun welcoming crew. Ouch, lol. What a start. Lots of shotgunners! Going to have to keep that ‘94 mindset here this month as there isn’t too much to look at but there were some neat things done still with lots of different ideas that adds a lot of variety right away. Some of the interesting bits were simple but do stand out from each other nicely. Both keys had a stepped platforms of sorts. The hallway with the pentagram window designs was cool. The high walkway with the large elevator drop to the yard full of zombies and a CG was memorable. I liked how the initial hub of sorts opens up and I liked the way the different textured areas kind of flowed in to one another. Simple, effective stuff with a kind of wrapping around end where the RK exit shows up back by the first hub area. Cool stuff for a ‘94 map 1.

*whew* I have some catching up to do! The story of my summer.

E2M6 Damned Bastards

I actually recognize this map from playing Heroes a while back. It's truly one of the strangest, yet most classic, maps ever. The traps are quite strange here, but apart from that stupid room with the rising blocks which only serves as a time sink, nothing the average Doom player cannot really handle. The secrets are hard to come by, and some of the hints aren't as subtle, but that's the fun part apart from some generally run of the mill combat that isn't tough to deal with. The computer maze is a doozy to go through as it also lacks subtle hints as to where to go. I think I remember wandering this map for a long time before figuring out where everything is. As I would always say though, this map has its moments.

E2M2 - “Mysterious Halls” by Denis Möller

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/continuous/no saves

Interesting start with the lowering elevator shaft followed by a sequence of rising switch pillars and a constantly evolving room before and after lots of switch finding. A fun introduction to the first teleport. Little bit of balancing over green toxins and such to be done. Again, lots of different ideas at work from one room to the next. Loved the blood fountain and it’s ambush by the exit. Was the highlight of this map for me. Oh hey, I found the computer map! Too bad I couldn’t find one on the next level...

E2M3 - “The Blazed” by Thomas Möller

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/continuous/no saves

A hub style map straight up with a few really cool stuff at times. The environmental damage ramps up here but stays consistent thankfully with the blood passages being navigable unlike the lava. The hiding caco with the soulsphere was a fun find. Didn’t find too many other secrets unfortunately. Not a big fan of wall humping and that seems to be what’s needed as the few I found had no real hint to them. I think the switches by the BSK exit are what lowered the soulsphere and armor in the winding white staircase room. (I bet that was impressive for the time.)

I enjoyed the amount of demons and the attempt to ambush you in close. Classic stuff some chainsaw work.

The use of marble with the blood and light panels was done really well. The baron showing up was quite a surprise. Nothing seemed to be too difficult here yet and then there’s a big guy wondering about the YSK out of no where! No plasma or rockets yet (that I found) so that was unexpected.

Loved being able to mow down some zombies in a tiny narrow hallway. Always fun and just feels right.

All in all, seems like a really good map with a lot of smaller maze experiences with key collection quests being the focus and usually capped off with a fun fight at the end. Lots of enjoyable tricks and traps that weren’t overly dickish IMO.

Ya know, for such an old set… this stuff is pretty entertaining in a low key, unoffensive kind of way. One could say these maps are... quaint. 

E2M4 - “Death Pain” by Denis Möller

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/continuous/no saves

Okay. Kind of an awkward one. The enemy placement seemed just a tad off. For instance, it’s too bad this room couldn’t have been used better. It’s an interesting layout and I expected the walls to drop and I would see some action. With such a great visual in the hallway leading in to it, you’d think there would be more to it beyond just a single switch on the wall. But no, just a nothing group of zombies and demons behind the wall in the back hallway. I dunno. Miss opportunity there.

There is a little bit more of green sludge in this base. Even with the raising walkway there is some exploration to be had as well with the EV suit and secrets. Nice ones too with armor, health, ammo and a backpack. There's even a blue armor I found. Very generous.

Finally get the the RL after the slow raising stair sequence. That crushing ceiling caught me good. Ouch. Thankfully the two groups of shotgun guys waited for me to regroup before hand. Again, you would think the walls lower and they ambush once you get squished… not after you flipped the switch. *shrug*

The YK area had some weird auto teleportation trick to it as well that sends demons at you from the other side of the entrance as you clean up the imps above. Cute. Eventually that room opens a bit with a side hall with health and crusher traps. It was kind of funny when the exit kind of came out of nowhere after accidentally teleporting.

E2M5: Mutilated Corpses

100% kills, 6/6 secrets

Pretty standard corridor crawl for the most part, nothing bad nothing great. There are a few interesting design bits, like the construction of the blue door oval and needing to use the secondary access doors to manuever around without the key. I also liked the reconfiguration of the 'crossover' hallway. The custom demon-embossed silver panel texture (that turns out to be a false wall) was a little bizarre. The yellow key area was a little tedious, but the opposition is so meager it's not too bad. These maps could really use berserk packs, though.

E2M9: Arena of Punishment

94% kills, 7/10 secrets

Lots of very tight, constrained areas (author working on his micro-design?) with a few large ones... actually missed the tripwire that made the bridge in the southwestern half for awhile. The southern section as a whole really bogs down with all the shotgunners in cubby holes, though I was happy to finally get a berserk pack. I agree it's a bit of an odd one, so good choice to slot into the secret map spot.

E2M6: Damned Bastards

95% kills, 5/7 secrets

This one feels the most like an IWAD map so far, with more of an interconnected layout and classic use of keys/doors. It's also notable for being a Tyson map for the first third of the map if you pistol start, with only the pistol and a (secret) chainsaw to get through all the monsters. Midway you finally get a shotgun off a sergeant (and a secret chaingun if you find it) with the real weapons near the end of the map. The crusher by the red key is particularly dangerous (and honestly felt like it could have used a higher ceiling) but aside from that this map probably could've used some beefing up of the enemies in the latter half. Took me a little while to remember the yellow door with the switch for the bridge, but you can actually hit the exit switch from below.

SUDTIC E2M7

I found this one a bit of a trial, thanks to its love affair with slow moving platforms and rather shall we say “enigmatic” progression.  Good to see continued use of varying heights, though, and I liked that some areas appeared to be completely optional in terms of completing the map.

Interesting to see that we finally get more attention to Y alignment even as the X alignment remains mostly non-existent.  The “corridor of secret steps” has been manually offset for vertical texture alignment, but not horizontal.  Though maybe it was deliberately left as is, as it does create an interesting pattern?

The most easterly section - which appears to be one of those optional parts of the maps - is probably the most hectic in terms of action.  Or it could be, if you don’t just find a corner and chaingun everything like I did.

Not a fan of the church area. TiC always did like their barons in narrow areas.

E2M7: Dehumanization

This one's got more of an Inferno feel to it, reminiscent of E3M3: Pandemonium or E3M4: House of Pain more than the fusion of technology and demonic elements that has prevailed so far, but it's an interesting change of setting, and with an opposing force consisting almost entirely of low-tier enemies, there's an appealing sense of being allowed to explore things at your own pace and pick your own direction (though much of that latter is illusory given the classing hub-and-keys arrangement of the whole thing).  There are more in the way of representational elements, too, with a church, a torture chamber, and an execution ground embedded in a maze of more abstract passages and platforms.  I was left feeling kind of claustrophobic, though, with its preponderence of 64-unit-wide corridors and the connecting hub area made less imposing by the fact that it's too cramped to get a good look at the middle central structure as a whole.

I'm super behind. Let me write something first and then in the evening I will read through what you guys wrote...

E2M3
Texture combinations are getting nicer. This pipe walls / blood floor is very Thomas' style, it does already resemble MM2 MAP14!! Though lighting is meh and it was the first time the misaligned textures were so striking for me. Not for pistol start? (SteveD) I would say they always had this in their minds, after all they were doing Wolf3D maps before (I didn't play them though). But these sergeants after the 4 pinkies are exactly for pistol start.

E2M4
A proto Memento Mori map... GRAY, grey bricks, sladwall... memento mori textures. There's a room with a ledge and barrels, similar to ones in MAP22 or MAP26 from MM. Lighting is good! I found no secrets, so no armor, no chaingun. Well, there was an armor at the exit switch which I though that would be the "last trap switch", but no.

E2M5
Wow wow wow! The red key section (gray textures) with all these stairs up and down is so... gaspe alreay used this word: cute. So are the towers, possibly inspired by Knee Deep E1M6 and possibly they inspired Paul Noble to create "The Silos" from MM2. This map is already much better than the IWAD maps! One nitpick: the steel texture with a demon picture is goofy.

E2M9
This is very weird and very cramped. I found 2 secrets, the red key and died in a section that resembles Wolf3D E6M1 (bad idea). It's a never ending corridor with alcoves on both sides and monsters in alcoves. After my death I didn't really want to replay that map.

E2M7 Dehumanization

Now here's an interesting take on a hub map that utilizes a central lift going up and down at the start and some other paths that need to be raised to reach some keys. There's also another lift going up and down leading back to the central lift, and even more rising/lowering platforms elsewhere in the map. What do we say to this? TIME SINK! Because again, that's really what it is. It's almost impossible to get a good time in this actually small map due to these rising/lowering platforms, although a good skip jump can reach the yellow key easily if you're good. There's also a lot of switches to press, plus some linked secrets (a whopping 18 in one staircase area, plus 4 more, which makes 22 in total, but all of them are easy to get).

Nevertheless, this map has an EXCELLENT setting if you look past the yellow key doors. It's an execution center of sorts, with an imprisoned demon (and a shotgun guy on HMP and higher) in a jail cell along with shotgun guy firing squad already killing three marines, the shadows from the posts make one hell of an emphasis. Plus the fried hanging corpse with the imp below it (although this one can be screwed up by falling in the hole, as there's no way out of it when you fall). And then there's that chaingun trap which actually was a load of fun when it comes to mowing down hordes! See, look past the bad stuff and you can find good things. I know, I am saying all this like it's all new stuff, but it was new back in 94. There's even a chapel with a baron as a preacher.

Heh, so I'm secretly a chaingun fan. I guess I'm not too surprised: I really like the comfort of knowing that I can quickly interrupt any monster that suddenly appears.

Anyway, e2m3 kicked my ass... Redoing the start only to die in the lava pool with spectres again and again got too frustrating. Not sure if I want to turn off fastmonsters or just quit.

@rdwpa posted something to that effect a while ago; always have the cg out as it will give you more of a chance than the sg or ssg will to escape a trap.

since then my survivability has gone up 26.6% during FDAs (▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿)

E2M7: Lots of cool stuff here. I liked the overall progression but the gameplay felt a bit underwhelming. The central tower in the hub with the moving platform was nice, those are rarely used well though I think that in the rest of the map they were unnecessary. I was really glad to see some of the old mapping tropes of realistic stuff (I feel that these are kinda disappeared in modern mapping): the prison, the torture chambers, the executions and the church.

E2M5 - “Mutilated Corpses” by Denis Möller

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/continuous/no saves

A very enjoyable little toxic waste base to explore. I liked the center area you had to figure out how to get around. I found that there is a second BK by the beginning but I couldn’t figure out how to get it early enough to avoid running through the toxic sludge to continue on.

The sort of nested stairway was a nice little touch. Provided a winding over itself kind of illusion that worked really well with the back lot area out the windows. As was the raising stairway. Those are always neat and I suppose they were fairly noteworthy back then. I noticed too that there was a tad more detailing in this map compared to others. The proper BK area was slick.

I really liked the series of towers and walkways before the YK. It had a unique feel to it and added a sense of danger with the potential fall as well having to throw yourself into smaller circle with enemies to keep from going off a ledge.

Interesting use of the one way wall with the frozen demon on it. Kind of an odd choice to hide a computer map pick up. Super handy for that secret exit though as I’m sure as shit not going to run around an entire map shooting walls to find a secret. Ain’t nobody got time for that! So I appreciated the hint.

17 minutes ago, Demtor said:

E2M5 - “Mutilated Corpses” by Denis Möller

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/continuous/no saves

 

A very enjoyable little toxic waste base to explore. I liked the center area you had to figure out how to get around. I found that there is a second BK by the beginning but I couldn’t figure out how to get it early enough to avoid running through the toxic sludge to continue on.

I think the second key exists primarily for multiplayer purposes, to avoid sequence breaking?  The blue key lets you into the central 'hub' of that particular torus-shaped area but in the course of getting the regular blue key (thing 40) you'll raise bridges in the northern and southern nukage pools of the hub (sectors 70 and 78) that block further progression by anyone to the east of that who doesn't have a blue key.  The door to the second blue key (sector 366, thing 279) opens up right at the time those bridges are raised, I figure precisely to avoid that sequence break in a co-op game where the party has been split up.

E2M9 - “Arena of Punishment” by Thomas Möller

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/continuous/no saves

Like a lot of others have said, real weird one right from the start. Lots of cramped spaces and different designs. Almost like a mapper experimenting from one room to the next. Mostly good stuff, but a little odd overall as there is no singular theme. Just a lot of different looking stuff linked together in odd ways at questionable angles with excessive details in small rooms.

Also like many others, I too disliked the nooked hallways with shotgun guys. Gross. That kind of gameplay died with Wolf3D and I don’t miss it.

I was stuck for a good 15 minutes until I crossed this point to raise the prior invisible walkway to the switch island in the middle. My god do I hate stuff like that. Makes zero sense for me to walk past that point. For one, you’re attention is drawn to the windows with the worthless demons growling at you, visually there is nothing that differentiates that ledge from the others and worst of all…. THERE’S NOTHING THERE! Grrr. Arena of punishment, indeed.

Another interesting choice is you get a BFG right at the start. Why? No real reason. I guess itself is the reward for finding the secret map? I dunno. I expected a little better beyond an eclectic architectural display. Even for ‘94.

5 hours ago, rehelekretep said:

@rdwpa posted something to that effect a while ago; always have the cg out as it will give you more of a chance than the sg or ssg will to escape a trap.

since then my survivability has gone up 26.6% during FDAs (▀̿Ĺ̯▀̿ ̿)

Yeah, especially in lots of Doom 1 mapsets (Double Impact, for example, which I played recently), my approach is 'use SG for as much of the lower pressure stuff as possible, and hoard bullets for traps'. The CG feels like a legit mid-tier weapon when the main threat is sergeants, and there aren't too many cacos or barons to chew through. 

E2M6 - “Damned Bastards” by Denis Möller

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/continuous/no saves

An alien hell base of sorts with some tech based halls along side more traditional looking stuff. I died at the caco RK trap. Damned bastard got himself caught in the crusher and I made the mistake of taking the teleport exit that spit me out with a live one. There I am, blocked in by the slowed down ceiling crusher, taking damage from the floor and dealing with an angry cac in my face. Not a good look. First death so far. Good trap. I should have slowed down and thought it through first.

Pistol starting this and I have a new respect for those doing this the whole time. I practically ran around with a secret chainsaw for what felt like a reeeeaally long time before I managed to get the RK to find a shotgun guy I could steal his gun from and put to use all of the shells I found up to that point. That was rough going. This is why I chose continuous play with no saves. I figured the older maps wouldn’t be as fine tuned for pistol starts as modern ones. I was right. Even the CG was a secret! Damn man. I ended up using the chainsaw a lot this map.

The trap with imps and the door that wouldn’t quite open like normal was an interesting choice. I didn’t like the elevating floor sections. That was annoying, but I get it. Was a built in trap of sorts once you found the center opening. Pain in the ass waiting to proceed at parts of it though.

All in all, I'm glad I died. It was pretty interesting trying to figure out how I'd manage with a pistol and a chainsaw for as long as I did.

E2M7 - “Dehumanization” by Thomas Möller

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/continuous/no saves

Well we have a clear front runner for the worst map. Wow. Not just tons of useless switches that apparently do nothing, oh no, we have switches marked with key code coloring... that don’t need keys!! I abhore that design. If a switch or door has a key’s coloring around, it should require that colored key. Period. In my mind, that is Doom law. When mappers break that, I nerd rage and consider skipping the map.

Aside that, time for tons of slow rising and falling floors/lifts. Good times... I do love staring at this kind of thing while playing Doom. What fun.

The layout was atrocious. Having to squeeze back and forth through this mess while being forced to stop and wait every few seconds was downright painful. And what the hell is this? A big ugly square column in the way, just cause. The worst.

Add to all of that with a cute chapel, prison cells, gallows, execution chambers and what not. Blah. It all just gets one big eyeroll from me. If I reaffixed my ‘94 glasses I could see it all was pretty clever stuff. It’s just hard for me to get past the negatives above.

On 2.07.2017 at 5:16 AM, Demon of the Well said:

E2M2 -- Mysterious Halls - 100% Kills / 100% Secrets

 

Please tell us how.

No DSDA demo has 100% secrets and I spent an hour looking for one missing secret in various source ports and map editors. Apparently it's sector #91 according to DeepSea, but it's nowhere to be found. TheOrganGrinder also found 5/6.

1 hour ago, Demtor said:

E2M7 - “Dehumanization” by Thomas Möller

gzDoom - UV – pistol start/continuous/no saves

 

time for tons of slow rising and falling floors/lifts. Good times...

Well put. As well as the other notes you made.

I'm quite partial however to 'hub' layouts (returning back to a central/focal point stage by stage) so in that sense I appreciated it.

The only other cool thing was the Chaingun room. Always fun mowing everyone down.

SUDTIC E2M8

It's a cyberdemon fight.  The setting is a fair bit more attractive than the original, but the action is no different (well, there's a bunch of riff raff around the place I guess, but they hardly factor in continuous play).

I lured the big guy out into the open and circle strafed him.  The end.

@Steve D Oh god, I am so sorry I didn't reply to you. I appreciate the comment, and I don't take offense in someone seeing me die over and over. I know some gamers are put off by that, and I would edit them out...but I don't have the time for that lol.

I am SOOOOOO behind, so let's get this ball rolling.

E2M2: With this level and the next one, I notice that there is some major nukage. Normally nukage wouldn't that big of a deal, but without that armor, I've come to fear it. That pit with the small maze and soulsphere was so nerve racking...not to overcome, but that dredd of slipping in just by accident.

E2M6: Damned Bastards

19:51 | 93% Kills | 91% Items | 71% Secrets

Holy crap, that pistol start is exactly why I hate, well, pistol starts. Demons and imps everywhere and nothing but a pistol (and a billion worthless shells) unless you find the secret chainsaw. And even then I died a half dozen times. A number of those were to that B.S. red key caco crusher trap. Once you get past that stuff, though, this is a really fun level. Lots of low-tier meat to mow through and fun secrets to sniff out. I like how the yellow key was tucked away in particular.

E2M7: Dehumanization

20:41 | 99% Kills | 100% Items | 0% Secrets

Ugh, those lifts. I don't often mind them too much, but this was too much. Especially that central one at the start: wanna duck into all the cubbies to grab stuff? Ha ha. Otherwise this is an odd, cramped level full of lots of odd little details that make you really wonder what the author was trying to do. Bizarre. Not terribly unfun to play, though, besides the lift to the chaingun room: walk across a damaging floor to hit switches, wait for the (also damaging) lift and hope the door up top doesn't shut you out so you have to do it all over again? Come on. At least the chaingun room was fun, but why were there even two YK-requiring paths to the exit? All that and I never found a single secret--I have to assume the 22 listed were all just one majorly-borked-up secret with the last baddie in it?

E2M8: Baphomet's Throne

???

It's a cyber fight, but way more interesting (at least to look at) than many. It was (of course) ridiculously easy when I played on continuous. From a pistol start it's still pretty much a piece of cake--especially if you can find the backpack and rockets and then lure cybie out of his castle like I did.