What is your favourite episode 2 level?

[Maximum Matt]

And let's not forget E2M2 introduces the berserk pack, and has zero hitscanners. And I don't think those facts are unrelated.

[-TDRR-]

E2M3 all the way. It's like a big techbase and semi-hellish maze, it's great. I really like the room at the right of your start, it's super simple and for some reason i just like how it looks.

[DuckReconMajor]

DEMO2 4 LYF

 

Episode 2 will always be the scariest Doom episode to me. E3 is almost cartoonishly hellish (which I love, but not scary). E2 just feels unsettlingly evil.

Not least of which is because of Halls of the Damned. I have never suffered from claustrophobia but the E2M6 maze certainly tries to make that happen, and for the most part succeeds. And then of course as others mentioned, the pure horror of stepping outside in E2M8.

 

Also how can you not like E2M2’s music? I think it’s the most memorable song from Doom, aside from E1M1. And I mean that in a good way.

 

 

[peach freak]

Containment Area. Wide open level, a lot of places to explore, and super satisfying to pick up the Berserk and start punching out Imps.

 

Runner-up: Halls of the Damned. This was honestly the first level in Doom to creep me out. The music track (Sinister) fits the level perfectly, most of the level is cramped up and claustrophobic, and the level gives you a feeling that something terrifying is around the corner. When I first played the level, I only did what was minimally required to beat the level, I was pretty scared to step into optional areas (mostly the rooms surrounding the Yellow Key room). I just wanted to pick up the three keys and make a run for the exit, before another round of Cacodemons or Barons of Hell were released on me.

[eulo]

E2M2 is THE second episode level, with great atmosphere, and lots of secrets to visit. The crate maze is one truly memorable area.

 

E2M4 and E2M6 have some nice atmosphere as well, but nowhere near as good as the crate maze. The rest of the maps are meh. 

[CyberDreams]

E2M6 - Halls of the Damned

 

I really like the dark part as well as the false exit.

 

I also really like E2M4 - Deimos Lab as well.

 

Although when i think of Episode 2 it's probably either the crate maze from E2M2 or the Cyberdemon battle in E2M8 that first come to mind.

Edited July 2, 2019 by CyberDreams

[Robo_Cola]

E2M6 for the scariest use of lighting in the original Doom.  Oh and it's use of the "no trespassing" texture that's never seen again in the game.

 

E2M5 is cool too with it's secret outdoor area where you grab the plasma rifle.

[Unitron]

I really like E2M4, but I have to go with the boss fight of E2M8. Doom II has the best maps imo, but you can't beat the fantastic boss fights Doom 1 has.

[insertwackynamehere]

On 6/30/2019 at 1:31 AM, Maximum Matt said:

And let's not forget E2M2 introduces the berserk pack, and has zero hitscanners. And I don't think those facts are unrelated.

There are zero hitscanners in E2M2? Is this true or are you exaggerating? That can’t be right but now I’m having trouble remembering lol

[Cacodemon187]

I like E2M5 because of how much there is to explore. Same with E2M2.

[Unitron]

39 minutes ago, insertwackynamehere said:

There are zero hitscanners in E2M2? Is this true or are you exaggerating? That can’t be right but now I’m having trouble remembering lol

 

Yeah, it's true. I couldn't remember either, but I just played through the level and yeah, no hitscanners.

[Maximum Matt]

*cracks knuckles*

Deimos Anomaly is quite an underwhelming, grey-ass start, but has some interesting elements, not least the introduction of the caco and (on UV) the lost soul; the backtracking to the hidden teleporter to the plasma gun secret is on goddamn point; the big green platform with a ton of pinkys on it show how the stakes have risen; even has the ol' "teleport to a secret hallway with a bunch of bonuses" trick.  And did anyone notice the perspective glitch on the skylight after the first teleporter?

As one of the greatest Doom maps ever made, Containment Area takes on a different dimension when one tries to complete it with simply the berserk fist (introduced here).  Stuffed with secrets and optional areas, as well as decorative areas like the raising/lowering "machinery" cylinders and the blue damaging floor lights (that gets re-used in another map, giving a rare sense of continuity). The sequence of secrets in this area is tight.

Refinery betrays its roots as a pre-release beta map much more than its predecessor, as shown in the pointless square-ass room to your immediate right, and the supposedly scary mini 'maze' near the end, but has some notables, such as some bizarre secrets, introducing the concept of seeing the exit at the start, the baron as a regular badguy now, the classic "moving blocks of flesh" room, and the beyond-classic strobe light corridor behind the blue key door.  Also this is supposedly the ONLY instance the BROWALL texture was used, and in an area where you can barely see it.  Weird.

I must admit Deimos Lab still occasionally haunts my dreams.  A very strange map, augmented by the eerie music, it sometimes feels like two or three levels put together.  Exploring the slime rivers unleashes a swarm of demons, the freaky red-eye faces on the walls freak me out, going from the cool blue corridors to the eye-searing red crusher room is still shocking, the circular room slaught is quite satisfying, and the bunch of rooms and corridors on the north-east of the map feel VERY weird to me for some reason.  Classic

Command Center doesn't feel like a command center, it feels like a goddamn wood-ass scary building.  Again some very strange rooms and progression, got that demon wall that hurts you when you get too close, vines as a see-through barrier is an AWESOME concept, and of course the sequence to the plasma gun secret area is a pure classic.  However the path to the secret level is way to easy (I have read about people thinking that this is the regular exit).  The most E3 E2 level, if ya know what I mean.

Ah, the good ol' dark disorienting maze filled with monster closets.  Halls Of The Damned is filled with set-pieces like the hellish caco room right near the start (and what the hell is the deal with the entrance door? There's a corridor right behind it - it's like you came out of a medicine cabinet), the white, brightly lit, clinical-looking corridors providing stark contrast to the dark scary wood-ass zone beckoning you in; the north-west bunch of rooms is like a precursor to Tricks And Traps for its collection of unique encounters (especially the legendary fake exit room), and of course the classic three-key-doors-one-after-the-other thing.  

The Vats Of Spawning is a bigass sprawl, the most techbasey, but paradoxically quite hellish and scary in parts.  The crate room demon slaught is quite welcoming, the dark secret outside place near the "vats" is very atmospheric, the non-linearity and ability to see into different areas and access rooms from different angles is appreciated, and the blue carpet really ties the level together.  I just don't like that room with the little squares of slime on the edges, I mean what the hell is that supposed to be?

Tower Of Babel needs no introduction, and if you do then get the hell outta here.  This is where most kids were introduced to the concept of circle-strafing.  The size and the huge-ass green demon-face blocks make this joint suitably imposing, and who can say they never tried attacking the cyber through the little cracks between these and the main building because they were too chicken to face it in the open?

And Fortress Of Mystery is based on a very simple but fantastic premise: epic carnage.  

The end.

[DarkScythe13]

It's a really tough choice for me, since I really do appreciate Episode 2 as a whole. I would go with E2M4 as my favourite though. Of the original 3 episodes it's one of the few with a unique music track, and the music track really adds to the overall intrigue and mystery of the level itself. I love the idea of a lot of the rooms, from the first crusher room, to the nukage pathways, and with my favourite area personally being the large COMPBLUE halls. Theres a lot of variety in the map, yet it IMO it flows really nicely. Helps that the version I used to play opened with a demo of the map each time too.

 

As for the rest of the episode:

E2M1 - It's... okay. I don't dislike it. I look back and kind of appreciate the detail of the player going from the regular UAC installation setting, through to more of the hell-based green marble area. It introduces teleporters to the player in a reasonable way.

 

E2M2 - If not for E2M4, then this would have been my other favourite level. I love the crate maze. It's the perfect time to introduce berserk. Again another nice transition from the UAC storage area into the hellish central hub at the centre. I quite like the different secret and alternate paths also. The row of wooden crushers is rather iconic to me. The music is quite sinister and tense; perfect for the environment.

 

E2M3 - A bit of a mixed bag. I actually quite liked the tunnel near the key room (the one with the plasma rifle and lost souls). I dont mind the side room near the start, and the hellish room with differently timed elevators was interesting. But that's really about it. I didnt care overly about the dark maze and the rest doesnt feel all that memorable to me.

 

E2M5 - A really nice complex map with a nice emphasis on exploration and smaller rooms mixed with halls. The music from E1M7 (another large map) fits well in what may or may not have been a bit of a theme. It makes the map feel like a big deal in its position as in the middle of the episode. The perfect level to also stash a secret exit into. I particularly like the reddish area of the final (normal) exit area. I actually go out of my way to to clear out before going to the secret exit, and kind of wish there was a bit more of it. Something about the side tunnels in particular seem interesting, not to mention the divide between it and the wooden Zombieman room.

 

E2M6 - I like the idea of it being one of the few levels which can be done in any real order. I also feel that this level really has (IMO) the best 'dark' area of the game. The wooden 'maze' and how it sort of sits along the grey halls as kind of an extended area is cool. As a kid, I used to be wary and on guard when passing, hoping not to alert any of the enemies from inside it. The fake exit area is also pretty cool and not entirely an unfair trap, at least probably once youve learned from the first time. It's also a map that best showcases how Doom can sometimes be full of surprises; having the demons being alerted and roaming about, particularly making your way back toward the exit. It's music track lends really well to the atmosphere also.

 

E2M7 - A pretty nice penultimate level. It feels like a review of sorts, and a bit of a mish mash of ideas from previous Ep 2 levels (or maybe the others were inspired from this?). A nice reuse of a crate area (this time with Pinkie). My favourite area is actually the part around the Yellow Key door (the areas with blue carpet), and the use of the blue circle flat (I recall E2M2 had something similar). It's also one of the few later levels that I seemed to recall used all Keycards for the level.

 

E2M8 - Good for what it is. A boss arena. I kind of appreciate it and E3M8 for being relatively straight forward. And its intermission graphic being built is probably my favourite little 'feature'.

 

E2M9 - I hear this level is rather disliked by quite a lot of people. I suppose for a secret level, it's a bit harsh throwing you in the range of four vicious Barons, ready to catch you unawares, but aside from that, it also feels like the emphasis on using infighting was also a nice detail (the corpses in opposing rooms) I recall the original Doom novels referenced this. It's also an opportunity that gives the player access to most (if not) all the weapons, and a decent amount of ammo. A bit of a shame that there is no berserk though (or at least not that I recall). A nice short level otherwise.