The /newstuff Chronicles #127

Unfortunately this is a last minute job (due to real life situations), however I'll try my hardest to give you some decent reviews. Luckily for me, there's only seven new wads to go through (I refuse to touch re-released wads now), four of which are deathmatch. Yay for deathmatch! Still, go click on that (more) button now, or I shall do something very horrible to you, like uhh... make a negative review of a map that you made.

• Big Crappy Shit Megawad - Smoking Joe
  444kb - Doom2.exe - SP
  What better way to kick off a week, than with a joke megawad! If this was released before 1337.wad, it would of been the funniest thing ever. Unfortunately Smoking Joe, you're about 9 months too late.
• ma_desolate - Ed C.
  2877kb - ZDoom 2.0 b46 - DM
  Oh man, this map is definitely something I wanted to see in the ZDaemon contest. This level oozes out atmosphere, and can easily fit at least 6 players in it. The gameplay is very smooth, but it seems to have a fair amount of camping spots though. This is a E1-inspired map, and it definitely proves that it is with such incredible amount of work that was put into it. Even the lift near the chainsaw is great to look at. If you were looking for a good DM map this week, look no further, since this is the jackpot. The only problem I have with it is the MP3 in it, making it quite a big size for what it's worth.
  
  
• metaldm (untitled, gave it a name) - metal and boris_
  44kb - MIDI-supporting Port - DM
  I remember playing this when Lyfe first put up the GetSomeWhere.Net servers, when it was in knortdm.wad. This is map05 from the wad, and it's my second favourite out of the original wad. It's great for 1-on-1 or three players, possibly four. It has a great atmosphere, like some courtyard or something. The only thing I hate about this level is that it is lacking an exit, which is a bit of a worry for ports that do not have the fraglimit feature. Other than that, it's an outstanding level that deserves a lot of attention in the ZDaemon community, and also here.
  
  
• NBOD DM 3: Digital Science - Dennis "Exl" Meuwissen
  157kb - Legacy - DM
  This level displays my number one pet peeve in deathmatch maps - symmetrical maps. I loathe them really badly (see earlier /newstuffs for further details), but I guess I'll try to be fair this time around.
  
  In a nutshell, it sucks. The flowness of the level is very dull and somewhat borderline, and the texturing is so-so. The really annoying thing about this is that it has no music! Argh! You can't have a good deathmatch experience without some MIDI playing in the background. Without one, it just doesn't give you that weird adrenaline rush. Back to the map, it has some rather annoying ambient sounds (stolen from Star Wars, i think), and the useless amount of of 3D floors makes me go insane. There is a few decent detailed parts, but the intense amount of symmetry makes me cry. Another thing I hate about the map is those doors that lead underneath the main area. I have no 100% clue on how to open them. Deathmatch maps aren't about doors which require a bit of brain power to open, it's about slaughtering the hell out of your friends. Thumbs down, but that death sequence that you'll see in the level is quite a nice feature.
  
  
• Steeple Chase V1.1 - M.Eyre
  1216kb - Enhanced Heretic Port - SP
  This week's heretic wad is by far the best SP wad this week. It features a great dark and eerie type of atmosphere, although there wasn't many surprises that I really noticed, excluding the start of the level. Even though it was lagging quite a bit on my computer (which is a very low-end computer if you compare it to what is around today), it is a very interesting level. Since I was running on limited time, I wasn't able to go through the entire level, but this is definitely the winning wad this week. Download it now.
  
  
• The Duel - DarkWolf
  28kb - Legacy - SP
  Oh man, this has to be the best single level Legacy wad that I've ever seen. It has that strong Golden Axe-like gameplay flow in it, and it provides hours of fun by trying to gain the highest score possible. For those who haven't played Golden Axe, it was a side-scrolling beat 'em up game released on the Sega Genesis and other platforms. You control this guy, and you beat up angry dwarves and other mean bastards. Anyway, you're in a symmetrical arena, where enemies fly out of doors that are high enough to be inaccessible. You have to kill them all with limited ammo, and wait for the next wave to appear. You gain minor bonuses between waves, just so you don't end up using your fists against demons and whatnot. If it wasn't for Steeple, this would get the "SP wad of the week" award.
  
  
• Undying Revised - Daniel "Doomer34" Carroll
  23kb - Legacy - DM
  For those who played the original Undying, it's exactly the same thing, except it's been retextured and some more sectors have been added. Other than that, it's exactly what I said last time. Avoid it again.