The best WAD ever (for noobs)

[Gatling]

Various lists review dozens to hundreds of Doom WADs. If all flavors of Doom are available, from nectarine pecan caramel to mushroom kangaroo roast, the noobie is likely to get overwhelmed and, with no chocolate or strawberry available, will probably stick to vanilla. This is where I am. I missed out on Doom when it was first released, and only just now (2012) I got and played through Doom II hell on earth. I thought it was pretty good, but not great. There are many other games I find more fun. Considering that the reviewers I’ve found give plenty of perfect scores to user-made WADs, I’m guessing they would give Doom II a 7 out of 5. Many WADs have been made quite late and to be honest, the only reason I see why people would make Dooms WADs when newer engines are available, would be to create games that have full production values and a professional look that is extremely difficult to achieve in newer engines. So I’m pretty much just interested in WADs that supersede the original Doom, or maybe offer something different while being a quality product and more than a joke. The closest that I’ve found to a modest recommendation is the handful of games recognized by Compet-N: Hell Revealed, Requiem, Memento Mori, Memento Mori 2, Classic Episode, Alien Vendetta.

[darkreaver]

Well, I dunno. Yet another "list your favorites" thread?

except for the ones you mentioned:

Scythe 1 and 2
Speed of Doom

best of the best. Have fun.

[Malinku]

give Deus Vult (1 and 2) and sunder a try. They are really hard but are really nice looking map sets. (might not be what your looking for but o well)

also
http://www.doomworld.com/10years/
http://www.doomworld.com/cacowards/

[Deeforce]

Here we go again. Also look at this: Yaaahhoooo: 1 and 2.

[Phml]

Considering that the reviewers I’ve found give plenty of perfect scores to user-made WADs, I’m guessing they would give Doom II a 7 out of 5.

I'd give Doom 2 levels a 3 out of 5 at most. In videogaming it's generally safe to assume the official product trumps most if not all mods made for it, but Doom is the one exception to this rule with a vast quantity of quality mods around.

[cannonball]

For doom you could try these out
2002 A Doom odyssey
Death Tormention (1,2 or 3, they are all good but tend to improve in the later additions)
The Ultimate Needs more detail
DTWID
Base Ganymede, I'm playing that at the moment and it's very good

Doom 2
Vile Flesh, if you like big levels
Same with Eternal Doom

Probably put too many suggestions already, if you have final doom, there are 2 very good plutonia 'sequels' (Plutonia 2 and PRCP)

[Phobus]

Gatling said:

If all flavors of Doom... ...with no chocolate... ...available...

Heh

Not really what you're talking about, I know, but this did make me laugh.

[purist]

If there was a community vote on the single greatest PWAD of all time I'd vote Scythe but my money would be on Alien Vendetta winning out overall.

[Gatling]

darkreaver said:

Well, I dunno. Yet another "list your favorites" thread?

All those other threads seem buried deep within the forums, and all of them seem written for experienced WAD players, not noobs. That's why I labelled this thread 'wtf'

Phml said:

I'd give Doom 2 levels a 3 out of 5 at most. In videogaming it's generally safe to assume the official product trumps most if not all mods made for it, but Doom is the one exception to this rule with a vast quantity of quality mods around.

I think you mean add-ons, not mods. Doom WADs are essentially add-ons, extra levels. I don't know much about those so I trust you. I suppose that Doom has the one engine that most modders can approach like professional developers.

But videogames very often receive mods that really make the game much much better. These are the mods that don't touch level design and art assets. Instead they improve the engine, squash bugs, tweak game balance, enhance replayability, and so on (the stuff Doom did right in the official product).