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galileo31dos01

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File Reviews posted by galileo31dos01

  1. Maskim Xul

       1534

    First review woo!! anyway...

     

     

    Done with these settings:

     

    - GLBoom+ 2.5.1.4. complevel 9.

    - Ultra-Violence.

    - Continuous, basically.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    Maskim Xul is a masterpiece of a wad, designed for an experience beyond the classic shooter-action style, with its extraordinary puzzle-oriented gameplay. It has a huge emphasis on creepy atmosphere to consistently accompany the adventure and give it a sense of horror/realism, even though it's all mere fictional. In Doom, I could think of "horror" as the most organic theme in the original game, which is flesh. This is where the author expects us to dive in, literally speaking. The player has to escape a techbase, traverse a massive maze of demonic libraries in hope to survive the guardians, immerse into the stomach of something to finally find the source of evil, and defeat it. What makes this wad live for its theme, or at least incredibly creepy, is all the extensive detailing and custom stuff, such as dynamic scenery in the form of pools of flesh, objects you have to interact with like a bell, and floating symbols indicating something special, as well as ingenious ways to darken areas to simulate the transition of one place to another. Besides, multiple sound effects, a great addition to the gameplay. My favourite was the constant sound of flesh stirring, which added a component in combat, making it trickier to keep track of monsters spawning. Of course, not to forget a set of amazing midis, perfect for the mood. 

     

    But the wad is not only spooky visuals and dark voices, there's plenty of action to face assuming you're in the mood to take it step by step. It includes the kind of maps that eases you into the core of the gameplay, by introducing the player into an apparently deserted area to encourage exploration, in order to find out the initial task, which gives a general idea of the mapper's design intentions, then the first encounters as warm ups, and continues to open to more and more missions. While the wad has only four maps, each differs from the other in aspects like progression and length, among difficulty. Progression can be described as a tad between vague linearity and faux non-linearity, particularly in the second map, since it's a massive key-hunt full of setpieces in a specific sequence, only requiring heavy exploration instead or room after room. The first and third map are a bit more straightforward, however. The first map is monsterless but not harmless, it's an atypical stunts map where your only enemies are turrets and laser beans, an innovating idea. It's the second map where you meet the new forces of evil, a whole roster of enemies including some of the stock monsters, a few reskinned and modified ones like the cacolich (not as cute as the cacodemon), variations of hell nobles and lost souls, magicians or disciples who might be fragile but own powerful attacks, and more. They aren't hard to figure out if you take your time, I'd say it didn't took much to understand their behavior since their usage is limited to the best, or that's what it seemed to me. The only enemies that were sometimes hard to distinguish were each of the disciples at first sight in darker areas. There're also a few new weapons and pickups: double pistols are always a welcome change; the rocket launcher is now the "Hand of Afrit", it throws mana which deals more damage and feels quite satisfying to steal one from a disciple; jackbombs are hilarious, while powerful they're tricky to use effectively, thus I didn't spend them often enough; finally, the Grimoire is an usual replacement, it's not charged by the typical way, and it's not favorable to abuse of its power, honestly clever design. I should mention that this wad was designed for continuous and balanced in case one chooses to pistol start, the balance seemed to be fine, never felt any starvation. For pickups, keycards are now crystals, the night googles are a torch, and I loved the new Roulette Sphere, an item that will give a random power depending on when you touch it. On another side, combat scenarios include generally incidental ambushes via teleportation, and several set piece battles usually in the context of mini-boss, like the introduction of the lord of heresy, or else in traps involving interesting tricks like surprise jackbombs and explosive skulls together. As I mentioned way above, Maskim Xul comes with ingenious puzzles, of all of them I have to praise the labyrinths of libraries and skull switches, with solutions that require your mind rather than your eyes. None of the puzzles will put in an urge to find cryptic switches, that's left to secrets. 

     

    Talking about secrets, in maps like these I'm always glad to explore for high number of hidden goodies. They do require a good eye to catch the hint, you may want to find the super secret fight, it's amazing by the way. I'm not going to talk about the final boss, there're already enough spoilers in this review so far, I'll only say the setup could be a little bit more devilish on ultra-violence, but otherwise an impressive memorable finale. 

     

    Overall, this is a piece of uniqueness in the community no one should overlook. I'm hoping someday Obsidian finds time and motivation to deliver another product of this kind, since I'm not aware of many other pwads in Boom format that make extensive use of dehacked in a consistent theme. My rate is going to be a straight 10/10, and I don't care. 


  2. Done with these settings:

     

    - PRBoom+ 2.5.1.4. complevel 9.

    - Hurt Me Plenty.

    - Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    An amazing megawad I truly recommend for experienced players. This is a hard mapset that develops a style which I'll surely recognize from now on in other maps made by the same author, Skillsaw. I liked this style, takes some time to familiarize, in fact, the first 5 or 6 maps were some of the hardest ones (except map 02). One just doesn't expect to find a cyber as the first enemy in the entire wad lol. There are also what I've read are called "guest" maps, showing some contrasts between Skillsaw's maps. For instance, Joshy's maps are recognizable at first sight, and at first deaths.

     

    Anyway, visuals are on point, and midis very fitting. My favourite set of textures are in the second episode, a lot of violet/indigo, not common in Doom. And also in map 24, incredible. One thing that I highly appreciated is that almost all maps provide you ways to return to previous areas, in case a secret is still missing or whatever the case. One thing that I highly appreciated is that almost all maps provide you ways to return to previous areas, in case a secret is still missing or whatever the case. 

     

    Two new monsters: Trooper in black (or plasma trooper), fast deadly enemies but weak and easy to kill; Alien Drone, I loved this one, especially their sounds that come from the Iron Lich.

     

    My favourite maps are 10, 15, 31, 32, 17, 22, 24, 25, 29, and of course 30, those scientists lol. The other maps vary from good to very good.

     

    Overall, I'll give this a 9/10   

  3. Stardate 20X6

       338

    Done with these settings:

     

    - GLBoom+ 2.5.1.4. complevel 9.

    - Hurt Me Plenty

    - Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset. 

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    Beautiful demanding set of fabulous maps. First time I got my hands into something made by this author, and I'm not disappointed at all. A colour scheme consisting of shades of brown/grey and primarily purple inclined to magenta, which replaces all greens if I'm not mistaken. There's a lot to experience in terms of design, part is because of the colour selection, both contrast perfectly with each other in many ways, all positively: aesthetically pleasing to the eye, no overdose of the strongest shades nor monochromatic rooms; giving new visuals or at least the feeling of wandering in an unique world, outside of hell or the tech-bases we all know; the level of detailing, the complexity of the terrain you step, all outstanding; easy to recognize the texturing and environment the player's in, which is closely connected to the extensive variety of geometry that can be seen and felt (physically, above all). In gameplay, this combination seemed optimal to me, as it gave each section a bit more personality. A bunch of atmospheric midis to emphasize the spaceship theme of the wad, casually fitting even in the most punchy situations, can't say anything negative of them to be honest. 

     

    I found the gameplay to be strong and consistent, most of the time. The offerings are varied but the overall style is what I'd characterize it as an "arcade game". To be more clear, the action/progression is setpiece-centric, non-linear, and sometimes multitask-based. The player isn't instantly thrown in the heat of the battle, but they're asked to make decisions and plans in order to claim your resources and thus, victory. These decisions include not only what to do but where to start and how to stay steady, something that usually differs from the incidental, mostly frontal combat style. A mistake won't necessary cost your entire life, though, depending on the difficulty the person chooses (HMP can still be highly demanding for less experienced players, and forget about UV on a blind first try), this sort of gameplay can be perfectly studied at the moment of playing them, one can anticipate and prepare themselves more or less for what's going to happen. Some clues are sheer silence, creating suspense, and checking the automap regularly, whatever suits you. So, in basic words, traps with lock-ins and some incidental surprises, composed of a variety of monsters in determined places in order to be efficient if the player is caught off-guard. They generally have one more than solution, the usual is some sort of gimmicky infighting scenario involving an enemy or various to call the attention of others, since in some cases they appear in idle state on purpose, this while you need to keep an eye at everything, grab the ammo and health if necessary, plus the way out via switches that might unleash more opposition... ergo the multitask I mentioned above. Monster count can be low or high depending on the composition, the slaughter ingredient is regularly present, but the "cherry of the cake" is usually kept for the finale or near it. Progression being non-linear means that, after a chill or hot start, the maps open up and you can choose where to go, as far as available. Mobility and stability is also important, the environment can become an extra enemy too (curvy shapes that can provoke elastic collisions, combat on stairs which means bumpy floors, platforming on thin pillars while turrets attack, darkness and spectres, etc), which in this kind of wad I found to add more seriousness and fun, that is excepting the platforming, in map 06, just, no... not for me.

     

    Secret-wise, standouts are the secret arenas that reward the player with, combat first and then cool pickups, or viceversa in case of new weaponry. A thing is for sure, once I figured out the most used hint from earlier maps, they were all much easier to find later, that is with extra help of the automap, but this is one of my favourite ways to hint a secret so all cool. For favourite maps, I can pick maps 05 and 07. Only one I didn't enjoy myself much was map 06, I have yet to replay it to find something else to do in that finale. The other maps were really fun too, with 31 being a funny kind of "joke" bonus map.

     

    Overall, fun is guaranteed, anyone who hasn't tried this before should stop by and take a look. Pick skill 2 or 3, if you feel intimidated by the description file, this is fabulous Doom after all, nothing invented to be mad at (; . My rate is 9/10.


  4. Done on HMP/continuous/saves

     

    Very good megawad. Very cool textures, music and atmosphere. I liked the concept of dividing the pwad into 6 episodes, with each episode in a different ambient. Also starting every episode with only the pistol and the weak fist really made me improve my skills, such as using the berserk for revenants and others.

     

    Gameplay is more or less like its prequel, the 1-9 maps are rather easy, the 10-20 increase difficulty, and 21-30 varies in massacre and slaughter. I started to die repeatedly from map 23, and a few maps became really tedious and exhausting, mainly because of monster placement (specifically map 27, ugh...). The new enemies are the afrit, which is a cool flying baron but really dangerous, a boss-tier killer, maybe too much health. And the evil marine, I hated these ones, too speedy, annoying as f... 

     

    In general, secrets were nice. I couldn't for the life of me figure the 12-second secret exit to map 32, no matter what I did I was always late by one or two seconds, definitely something I disliked. 

     

    So overall I'll give this a 8/10 

  5. Going Down

       1983

    Done with these settings:

     

    - GLBoom+ 2.5.1.4. complevel 9.

    - Hurt Me Plenty.

    - Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    A fantastic megawad full of action and surprises. I found the concept to be quite interesting, going down in an elevator that closes after you leave it and you'll have to find the key to reopen it, something you don't see in many (if any) wads, which makes it very original. Visually, it gets better throughout the wad, there's a variety of themes used to reflect a progression that flowed quite nice playing in continuous at least. Some maps feature lovely details like a science laboratory (kind of) in map 23, or a sort of bog in map 25.  

     

    Maps are relatively short and small, mostly the same height variation. So the main concept in terms of gameplay is tightness, most of the encounters are delivered in claustrophobic situations that, for me personally are really hairy. I liked it anyway, every single type of monster is used to be an actual threat if you're not quick enough. I tell you, I got hit by hell knights more than ever. It also has some slaughter and slaughtery, crowd control for another term, a few of these are probably the least hard of the mapset since you're provided with a lot of resources to forgive several mistakes, such as invulnerability spheres, but equal fun. In some maps, you'll barely have time to rest, which means every linedef is a monster trap, pressing a switch will reveal teleport ambushes in many parts of the map, or pressing a switch and the whole maps transforms into hell madness, or hordes to fight on bumpy stairs. I managed myself quite well and almost never felt overwhelmed aside from a few maps where I had to repeat the traps several times because of teleporting randomness at random times (I see you map 17). I liked the reveal of the custom final boss, which is not particularly "original" per se, but at least it wasn't one of the regular big guys.

     

    Secrets are all easy to find, and some of the maps feature non-secret ways of progression. There is only one secret I didn't understand the purpose, which is in map 14 IIRC, it's mandatory because it's just on the way, impossible to skip. Music is quite good, in fact I still remember the melodies and I usually forget about them right after playing a wad. 

     

    My favourite maps are, a lot: 05, 08, 13, 32, 19, 21, 23, 25 (excellent Keen replacement hunt), 26, 28, 29 (the final boss). The other maps are good too. The only map I could not enjoy was 30, it starts so quiet and suddenly icon of sin wakes up and well, I don't like IoS maps, at least this one was short and you don't fight it, instead an endless row of enemies that teleport and get on your way, and telefrag you where your ammo is located, ugh. I would have preferred a silent closure, or more cells...

     

    Regardless of the ending map, which seriously ruined my excitement, I recommend this mapset for anyone willing to fight their fear of confinement. My personal advice is to play it with pistol starts (or even in continuous, but follow the course of the map, don't break the gimmicks or abuse of your carryovers). I'll give this a 9/10.


  6. Done with these settings:

     

    - Crispy Doom 4.2

    - Hurt Me Plenty.

    - Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    This is a very nice megawad dating from last 90s. It consists of moderately short maps, starting with simple compact tech/rocky layouts, extending to bigger open areas, from a forest to hellish environments as far as progression goes. In combination with standard Doom aesthetics there's a set of new good-looking and odd textures, some of them stood out to me like the suffering baron of hell, grey skulls in the icy map, the rotating spawn cube, the vines in the forest map, and the sleeping babies, that one was creepy. I must add, that lava texture is gorgeous, and the way it was used not only on the floor but behind enemies in darkness, very neat imo. There are some special effects, in earlier maps you can hear former humans dying behind walls, I guess that simulates other marines dying in combat, it basically tells the story while you're playing, really cool. And, custom sounds, for your marine and monsters, the imp's new sound was obnoxious, I liked the zombies new low voices though. Honestly, visuals and also music are the standouts, not that combat is bad but that depends on your expectations if you have never heard of this wad before.

     

    And well, this is a megawad for relaxing combat, consistent difficulty and moderate progression. I'd say it's on par with Icarus and Evilution, probably similar to other wads of the same style, in terms of monster placement. Sounds easy? Well it is, technically, maybe much easier, but it all depends on your skills. There's not a lack of challenge, but there aren't any gotcha! moments if you exclude a few surprise archviles or some sneaky shotgunners. You usually get your weapons and ammo early, health and armor supplies aplenty, it really isn't tricky to maintain yourself far from death. Plus, monster count rarely exceeds 100, with them being mostly low-tiers. Don't be surprised if you find a BFG and don't have anything worth to use it lol. 

     

    When it comes to secrets, usually they are behind walls with a different or misaligned texture. They are generally very easy to spot and the rewards can be too very high. 

     

    Not sure which are my favourite maps, but the ones from map 10 are what I liked the most. Well map 10 is a case of nice spooky atmosphere but a feel of loneliness, because it's dark and big yet almost no monsters. The IoS map, with the boss called TCHERNOBOG, was surprisingly entertaining somehow, even if it was a bit anticlimatic before I got to his heart. 

     

    So, as an easy set, I like how it played. Probably not appealing to skilled players looking for extreme carnage or multiple traps, but if you are new to Doom and/or love vanilla gameplay, this is a candidate not to ignore. For what it provides, I consider it a success, personally talking, and so my rate is 9/10.

  7. Oscillation

       773

    (posting this to show viewers this is good shit)

     

    Done with these settings:

     

    - GLBoom+ 2.5.1.4. complevel 9.

    - Hurt Me Plenty.

    - Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    Really fun maps! Aesthetically they are all very pleasant, I liked the detailing put in every map, particularly the "mushrooms" in map 03, and also the pitch black void as background, adding a feeling of mystery. Good usage a lot of circle stairs which is cool, and I liked other stuff like barrels and pots. 

     

    In terms of monster placement and traps, all good, I like this style, sometimes the player is locked in temporary or via switch-hunting, and sometimes they don't, and I liked this variety. Each type of enemy is used to be real dangerous, and I appreciated it didn't border on revs and archies insanity. Slaughter is present in the last maps, but in general they are more about crowd control and massive infighting. Some cool set pieces: a cyber-trio ring; enemies coming out from waterfalls; archviles used in creative ways such as a ring of snipers that raise each one temporary, or locking them to prevent them instantly killing you; controlling nobles with the rockets; a ring with spiders and revenants; and many more.  

     

    Some gorgeous midis, Death Bells is present yay!. Secret wise, some very useful ones. I liked that there are computer maps in some of the levels, it's not very common in modern wads so I really appreciate that. 

     

    Overall, very recommendable, I'll give this a 9,5/10.


  8. Done with these settings:

     

    - Crispy Doom 4.2

    - Hurt Me Plenty.

    - Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    An impressive wad over here. It's a long episode consisting of huge, absolutely non-linear maps. The texturing is not just alpha Doom but also a whole new bunch of amazing editions to add more character to the wad. Honestly, with these textures and detailing the visuals are top-notch, since the layouts are very complex and cramped it's more enjoyable to explore and it never feels repetitive (the music is great too). In addition, the author added a set of stuff to interact in similar ways you would treat monsters: the explosive pillar to block the way, hard to distinguish from the regular pillar at first glance, just shoot at one if you see a hole behind it (don't be like me and punch one...); non-toxic barrels, these ones are abundant, generally an obstacle and they are actually funny to punch; destructive boxes that may or may not contain goodies; another sort of pillar, it has an energy cell pack for decoration, and it's susceptible to splash damage; and last but not least, electric grey floors, actually they are just highly damaging and there's usually a "Voltage" sign on a wall, plus you can turn electricity off. Incidentally many of these objects interact together in secrets, such as a hidden box blocked by a destructive pillar, so be aware of them.

     

    The combat element is mostly incidental, including several ambush set-ups and claustrophobic traps. Casually, you'll rarely find packs of the same type of monster, as they are generally mixed tropes of zombies, imps, pinkies and cacodemons. There are a couple of new enemies from the hitscan class, a brain-bot and a static gun, the first one is particularly dangerous given it's flying ability, I found myself dead a few times as they are small and fast too. The second one should probably have less health imo, as it doesn't portray a significant threat aside from specific mixed ambushes. Neither of them have an excellent autoaim though, still watch out, their roaming sound is very loud and can be heard from miles away, seriously. There is another enemy that serves as a boss, but I'm not spoiling it, just going to say cool!... It takes some time to find any weapons, yep the maps can be heavily pistol oriented meanwhile, luckily this weapon was upgraded (sped up) and it's not boring to use it for a few minutes, not that there are so many barons around, because they are pretty scarce in general. The chaingun has now a bit of recoil, making the tap-tap usage less simple, well I tend to snipe with the shotgun too but that's just me. The bullets stock was expanded to a limit of 450, which is good since you'll be spamming bullets aplenty, and there's a new bonus item that counts as 4 bonus armors. Yeah, I support these additions. About progression, like I said the maps are massive and non-linear, you'll frequently find yourself opening new areas that lead to other areas that also lead to another area that is connected with a previous section where a new portion has been opened, and so on, that's my sum up of the maps lol. An advice would be to always use the automap as a guide, as it can be easy to get lost or not be sure what a switch did. In my experience it was the positive kind of "lost", because the maps are so complex that I always felt the need to keep exploring for more stuff. Eventually, you'll find the exit and realize you spent an hour in the map, that is also thanks to the high amount of secrets that will remind you you're playing a 90's oriented Doom 1 wad. Talking about secrets, they cover no less than 1/4 of each map, generally above 7 per level, and they are not so easy to find. However, if you're a bit like me, you'll stay to find them all legally, plus it feels more satisfactory, I felt like playing Doom 1 again, so there's a high nostalgic factor here.

     

    I don't have favourite maps because I really liked them all in the same way. I am going to point out one thing about map 07, there's a part where you have to step on a bloody pool with health bonuses to trigger a trap, the entrance will slowly close, but it is possible to leave before that wall closes entirely, which will trap yourself in the dark corridor. Of course I found it out by accident. 

     

    Overall, totally recommended to die-hard fans of Doom 1 mapsets. Just use a limit-removing compatible port, like Crispy Doom, and immerse yourself into the complexity these maps are, take your time. I hope the author find some time to deliver the complete megawad, because I'd play more sets like this. My rate is 10/10. 


  9. Done with these settings:

     

    - ZDoom 2.8.1. plus a DECORATE that twists some RNG values.

    - Thou Art a Smite-Meister (skill 4)

    - Continuous combined with a wand start mindset.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    Super fun episode as expected. This is the second Heretic pwad I've played, and I truly enjoyed it from start to end. The visual side is absolutely great, it's notable that the authors designed their maps to fit the new textures in the best way possible, and make each section distinguishable and memorable. Dynamic use of lights to add difficulty in traps, slippery snow that messes up with your dodging, lite platforming on lava not inescapable, varied geometry that aren't just corridors and rectangles, are among other things what the wad offers in terms of details and layout. Besides, custom music, and very enjoyable ones, particularly E1M5's midi which fits perfectly with the start of the map. 

     

    While the maps don't have any special sort of connection with each other, thematically speaking, they do offer a cohesive style of combat that isn't seen in the iwad. It's very trap based, but also has a lot of incidental combat that can easily overwhelm a careless player. The enemy placement isn't just there for cleanup, despite the differences of RNG with Doom monsters, on wand starts you have to cross through the crossfire to find your weapons, which can be tricky here since the more you advance, more enemies will teleport in and cannot be simply ignored forever. TROP also comes with its own puzzles courtesy of an author who I read is a fan of them (Obsidian ahem...), his E1M9 is what I would consider the "infamous" map of the set, as it requires an unusual approach to reach the exit, plus some quite interesting hazards like automatic exploding pods. The rest of the maps don't have any cryptic clues for progression, they can be linear or non-linear, but since their general size is big (except E2M1 which is clearly a speedmap), exploration is an important feature. What else?... oh yeah, crushers, good old crushers just when you didn't expect them! Hopefully all of these things will catch your attention in a positive way, as much as they did to me. 

     

    Secret-wise, I'd actually recommend to find them as some will contain a powerful weapon, so the gameplay won't be crossbows-only. They aren't so hard to find, given the new textures it just takes some careful observation. There is one unreachable secret in E1M5, a hidden switch that doesn't work will prevent you to grab a visible item from another room. I also found some HOMs here and there, but nothing that affects the gameplay. No favourite maps, because I enjoyed them all pretty much the same. 

     

    Overall, no gripes, no dislikes, the mapset is a must-play even if you're only keen to Doom. My rate is 9/10.

  10. Valiant

       1294

    Done with these settings:

     

    - GLBoom+ 2.5.1.4. complevel 11.

    - Hurt Me Plenty.

    - Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    Top quality megawad here. Lots of incredible visuals and details, each episode has a different theme, designed with really nice custom textures. You get mountain bases, dark castles, hellish environments, huge underground caves, lunar bases, and a few secret surprises. And there's a fun adventure factor in every episode, the author not only put work into fast-paced gameplay but also exploratory settings. For example, almost all of the maps in further episodes are open spaces with platforming and walkways descending into damaging liquids, and lots of optional caves to find goodies. In addition, tight scenarios are dark and spooky, creating a real sense of suspense on what's coming. Music is really good, some of the tracks are also in Ancient Aliens. Favourite tracks are 06, 11, 22 and 27


    So, like I said before, the maps are all fast-paced. Right from the beginning, you are demanded to move and find appropriate tools to get started. Nothing is overwhelming, but the usage of monsters is really well thought. Skillsaw seems to have a fetish for snipers in the form of "dead simple" enemies, because they are mostly used to harass you from different distances if you're not fast. Apart from that, he mixed incidental combat with multiple traps. From a viles+crushers maze, to a mancubus you have to guard, to a ghost town (yes, stealth monsters), or even a secret full filled with explosive zombies you'll probably panic and laugh out loud like I did. 

     

    The new monsters have their ups and downs. From the get-go, imps and demons suffered a few transformations. Upgrade pinkies are fine, creepy, bite quicker. You don't want to use the chainsaw against them, which is my only dislike because I'm fond of that weapon. On the other side, the new imps are annoying... nothing else to say. Lost souls look cool. Then, spiders have red eyes, and the smaller ones can spawn arachnorbs (mostly a cinematic effect, only problematic when telefragging the spiders), which are my favourite enemies of the set, nasty but fragile, and funny. Kamikaze troopers are like explosive balloons of meat, hilarious enemies, I simply could not get mad at them for killing me. Pyro Knights are my third favourite, I recall one instance where a cyberdemon hit a pack and they scratched him to death in a matter of seconds. Super Mancubi don't add something special, they look cool though. Cybruisers are a fair replacement for the cyber/baron in the way they were used, and also look good, but just that, and poor SMMs were deprived of their boss privileges (immunity to splash damage and loud sounds). Diabolist is a great boss, although I feel like there should have been a texture showing the monster, like in Doom there's an IoS texture. 

     

    As for weapons, well the pistol may shoot faster but it still aims like crap at any range. I did used it a lot more than the regular pistol. The minigun is awesome, and the idea that chaingunners don't drop them is good, makes it a higher valuable weapon. 

     

    Secret wise, there is a wide variety. Hidden switches, a passage behind a waterfall, a teleport on liquid floors, those are the most common. I like that some of them provide an intense fight before you get your gifts. There's a secret easter egg I found via IDDT (of course, behind a generic wall), it has a really cool effect with the music and if you have played other Skillsaw's mapsets, you'll recognize it. 

     

    Favourite maps: 06, 07, 10, 18, 22, 24, 27, 29. The rest are nice too.

     

    Overall, yeah it's obvious that this mapset has a high value for speedrunning, but if you're a slow motion player like me, you'll still love this, just don't forget to always charge your minigun first! My rate is 9/10.


  11. Done on UV/continuous/saves

     

    Yes, continuous, so what?. A great mapset that practically requires foreknowledge and/or iddqd runs to see what's out there. Playing blind will make players suffer from frustration and annoyance, unless you really dig into intense slaughter wads. So, regardless of iddqd-ing before actually playing, I think it goes fair all the time IMO. As far as I remember I didn't have anger issues aside from a few specific situations, like the dark blood-erage in map 05. Patience is also required, but the adrenaline you feel playing these maps is, wow. 

     

    Visuals and music are excellent. Gothic is really awesome in Doom, and some effects like the underwater cave in map 13 are what added pluses to the maps. There are a few HOMs in some maps and nodebuilder (as they call) issues in map 09. Map 31 looks awesome.

     

    Secrets, well aside from some invul spheres that may or may not feel obligatory, are in general fine. And the music sounds great, adds a sense of excitement when tackling hordes of everything. 

     

    My favourite maps, umm maps 03 and 13, also 08, 09, 10 and 15 for having a lot of fun. Map 05 is the only one I didn't quite enjoy, as far as I remember, though it's not a bad map. 

     

    Overall, it gives you what it promises, go and check it out if you are a fan of carnage. It's a 9/10 for me. 

  12. TNT: Revilution

       23316

    Done with these settings:

     

    - Crispy Doom 4.2

    - Ultra-Violence.

    - Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    Now this is a damn good sequel. An incredible amount of quality in every way you look at it. First of all, the visuals. This includes a ton of different textures, lots of red, green and brown for naturalistic environments. Thematically it's after the destruction of the demon-spitter in Evilution, thus it goes through different ambients that are more hellish/fleshy than the infested techbases we were used to. I'm a fan of spookiness in Doom, so this wad gave me a lot to experience in its abandoned computer stations, corrupted by the demons as if the recurrent text "Kill us" wasn't enough for me to feel tense. However, it is not as simple as it sounds to generalize the themes in Revilution, since every map is an individual case of different colours and geometry, and that nourishes variety in my opinion. What is also worth mentioning is the amazing music selection, like valkiriforce commented in his review, there're a few astounding covers from the Evilution soundtrack, as you'll notice right in the starting map, plus a whole bunch of atmospheric midis, just excellent works to accompany the playthrough.

     

    Reiterating, this was much more than I expected. Being a spiritual sequel to one of my favourite iwads, this didn't disappoint in any way. I'd think of Revilution is to Evilution what Plutonia 2 was to Plutonia Experiment. Why? Both share the atmosphere of their prequels, adapted to the current gameplay interpretations of their eras. This means that some of the most memorable concepts in Evilution are present here, in a trip to nostalgia and, most importantly, higher quality entertainment, but not exactly in an iwad fashion. So, with a lot of contributors, there's an extensive variety of scenarios to appreciate. Of the numerous remarkable experiences I had, one part is Dobu's approach to bring back the mysterious atmosphere, the silence and the surprise, and the eccentric geometry from the more natural maps like Quarry or Deepest Reaches, which Eternal took charge of making a charming remake for map 18. Back to Dobu, his map 16 is an excellent example of scavenging resources in dark caves, while you deal with exposure, claustrophobia, and clever puzzles. If you're playing with carryovers and freedom of choices, ignore them in this map, the gimmick is real fun. The tribute to Wormhole in map 12 is another standout, both the cinematic transition to an alternate dimension and what awaits you there, but also the secret hunt in the map, an exploration task I'll take any day. Phobus and Gaspe went on a similar style, the latter did a super dark corrupted underground base, with a few tight quarters that will make you sweat, while the first guy invested in a sort of abandoned facility that might not develop so much action, but you'll want to speed things up before it's too late. Another honorable mention goes to Steve D, his creations are probably going to stick in everyone's minds as purely mean-spirited maps. Maybe I wasn't expecting such demanding traps, with an emphasis on locking the player's way out with fat hitboxes, but satisfaction comes with success, guaranteed it'll take some serious effort. One prominent author is Jaws in Space, his style here is hard to describe in simple words, there's a bit of fast-paced run-and-gun, also some quick incidental combat a la old-school TNT including stronger beasts, generally short-medium sized linear maps with or without a task/gimmick, save his entry a la Dead Zone where progression might not be easy to figure for a while. Talking about tricky progression, that was the case of valkiriforce's map 31. I really liked his throwback to Pharaoh, although with many predictable circumstances if you remember the original map. What rubbed me wrong way was a hidden switch to grant access to one of the keys, which I needed a video to point me that switch. I guess that's another throwback, thankfully no missing keys. His other map somehow didn't fit with the rest of the maps, although still an enjoyable tutti frutti of themes. All of the other authors did an incredible job in their individual and/or dual contributions, that includes a love-letter to spiders courtesy of Purist, fun with elevators and height variety by Tourniquet, a quick punchy entryway by SFoZ911 that hides more than you'd expect, even a trip to Eradrop's vision of hell in a slaughter-esque fashion while you're being observed by statues of cows, and many more that you'll love to experience by yourself, because you should must. 

     

    Secret-wise, all my love to exploration and multiple worthy secrets in a same map, namely in Dobu's maps. The first map of the wad already anticipates what Revilution has in hands for you about secrets: hidden encounters, shortcuts to find tasty weaponry, telefrag chains that will answer all your doubts, etc. There's basically everything you don't want to miss if you're a fan of exploration. A small thing: in map 21, it is possible to nullify the secret tag that has four boxes of rockets in a red room behind bars, read this. Anyway, there aren't favourite maps this time, because I enjoyed them all a lot, some more than others though. Perhaps 12, 16, 17, I don't know, this is too hard lol. If one map needs a shoutout is 30, it's an unique piece of art, one of the best finales ever. 

     

    Overall, I suggest you add it to your list, there're no reasons of why you shouldn't pick this megawad to spend a weekend or play periodically. Even if not all maps may suit your wishes, or the word "TNT" holds you back, it's not a remake, this has way more to offer than empty big rooms or ripoffs. I guess what's missing is TNT Revisited? :P. My rate is going to be 9/10.

  13. Deus Vult II

       623

    Done on HMP/continuous/saves

     

    A nice, port? Is that how this sort of mapsets are called? Anyway... Fun wad. Amazing visuals and effects, I just loved every theme, from mounts to forest to egyptian to space base to church, my favourite being the mountains with trees around, plus the sky used blends perfectly with the environment. Linearity is present in some maps, in others, it's full of different ways to approach the main mission of the map, such as in map 21.

     

    Encounters in general vary on some slow sniping, grinding and slaughter. I would say the least used monster was the SMM, I think I saw her in just 3 or 4 maps, not even casually. On the other side, there are two new enemies, cleric (from Hexen), who shoots a volley of 3 fireballs and it's not hard to tackle, but you'll mostly see him in ambushes, and the flying baron (afrit) with less health than the one in Scythe 2, and weird sounds. There are also two new weapons, double pistols, which are way more efficient than the single pistol, and the magic gauntlets, very powerful, not useful against big (size talking) enemies. They look like the tomed gauntlets from Heretic btw. 

     

    Secrets, ok, many many easter eggs and weird textures and screens (you might cringe a lot), these lasts at least were optional but in order to get all secrets in every map, you'll inevitably see them. Midis, some of them can only be heard if using ZDoom. Since I used PrBoom+, most of them are iwad midis, which is fine. 

     

    There are also a lot of homage from different wads, most notably Alien Vendetta, specially in map 13, which is one of my favourite maps. Map 29 is Deus Vult I in one map, and it took me almost 8 to complete it, the most exhausting map I've ever played. It was fun though, the 30-secrets hunt was worthy. 

     

    Overall, a nice fun mapset, recommended mainly for visuals, 9/10.   

  14. Oceanside

       430

    Done with these settings:

     

    - GLBoom+ 2.5.1.4. complevel 9.

    - Ultra-Violence.

    - Continuous and pistol starts.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so. 

     

    This is a very nice short set I played some days ago. Really neat visuals and atmosphere. Detailing is on the realistic side: lots of nice trees, gardens, specially in map 01 where you are at the author's ex-house, there's a nice trick with TVs to turn on, similar to Reverie's map 18, or the playground in map 02 which is really well done. Very good midis, I recognized the one in map 02, the others not *blushes* but they sound great in the set.

     

    Gameplay is about infested open spaces. You get a lot to grind, and/or you get a lot of help with grinding. The pressure you can feel is more connected to accidental mistakes you might make and some crowd control, but the set is quite forgiving in terms of resources. For instance, map 01 provides a big spacious slaughtery scene on the streets, where the major threat would be the two archviles. In map 02, you are gifted with all your weapons at the beginning plus several helpers to clean part of the mess for you until they explode. Map 03 is the toughest, since hitscanners are everywhere and the cacoswarm spreads easily, plus trees can interfere with your movement (this is actually the only "down" of the map). Finally, Map 04 is a lovely ending, with a funny immortal imp as a pet. So, all in all, monster placement is good, it makes you want to fight to bring peace to the neighborhood. It unfortunately lacks a spiderdemon somewhere, since all the other monsters are present at some point (including SS Nazis). Maybe there aren't huge spiders in the real Oceanside, who knows?...

     

    Secrets, only the BFG in map 01 was the hardest to find for me, the clue is really tiny. But in general, they are easy to find. 

     

    Overall, I quite liked it. Clearly there went a lot of heartfelt effort to make this set, and I felt that while playing it. Totally recommended. My rate would be 9,5/10. 

  15. kuchitsu

       118

    Done with these settings:

     

    - Crispy Doom 4.2

    - Ultra-Violence.

    - Continuous combined with pistol start mindset, and pistol starts.

    - No saves.

     

    Quick fun mapset. It's visually pleasing with some love for brown and green in city-esque structures, under a beautiful deep blue sky. Funny detailing too, which is appreciated for its old-school vibes, like many DoomCute trees, a boat from Alien Vendetta, a vending machine that gives free drinks, and more. Also, cool chill midis from the 90's era, or at least the majority.

     

    Gameplay is rather simple but freewheeling, meaning that these maps can be played at any pace you want, with your typical incidental enemies awaiting for your arrival, and they generally appear individually or in small packs without much pressure applied to the player. It doesn't mean it's going to be an easy ride. To compensate the low monster counts (not over 100), Memfis restricted resources to make players respect their opposition, such as health and ammo are tight in the first couple maps, armor debuts later. This is a good sign that continuous won't precisely make your life easier, until the middle maps, so any form of gameplay works fine. Progression is linear, but space is generally reused to avoid long backtrack, which is a plus. As said above, combat is on iwad-level, a few sneaky hitscanners here and there, some ambushes than surprised me like the labyrinth in map 05, just old-school fun a la classic Doom II or Requiem, or any quality wad from the era.

     

    There isn't much to say about secrets, although a couple will grant the player extra options to tackle monsters. I also don't have favourite maps, nor disliked ones, they're all lovely in the same way. Be aware that it's not possible to get 100% items in a couple maps due to some existing for decoration. 

     

    Overall, recommended to anyone looking for an excuse to play Doom at work, during breaks of course, or just a good half an hour at home. My rate is 9/10.


  16. With great Xaser, comes great xaserability, and I love a good xaserized Xaserland in Mt Xaserbus style. My rate is 5 Xasers/5 Xasers.

     

    ...........................

     

    (on a serious note: check this out if you like conceptual maps around push-forward pressure via damaging liquids attrition, exposure to high ground snipers, while scavenging for guns and protection and running desperately to find the next safe spot is gone, all in that xaserian gameplay quality oop another xaser pun couldn't resist)


  17. Done with these settings:

     

    - Crispy Doom 4.2

    - Hurt Me Plenty.

    - Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    Echoing what Spectre01 said, this is a fantastic set of classic Scythe maps. As short as it is, I had quite a lot of fun revisiting Alm's style. The maps are all beautifully designed with tech/space ambients, small layouts for short gameplay. You can also see at the end what could have been the theme of the next episode(s). The music selection is neat, with map 10 having my favourite one (I just love mysterious tracks c:).

     

    For combat and monster placement, it's obvious that the wad is unfinished, the two episodes are clearly early combat against low and mid-tiers, presenting a few instances of high-tiers, something that the other Scythe's did too. Not the whole bestiary shows up, there are even some surprises, which emphasizes the wad's absense of further episodes (Circle of Death crashes the moment you wake the arachnotrons up). It's still great quality though, provides easy to medium fights, some teleport traps and a few lock-ins in darkness. 

     

    Secret-wise, Alm used mostly the same kind of textures (or similar ones) to use as switches. It's not always intuitive as to which "specific texture" opens the secret, so I had to wall-hump a bit. Regardless, always generous rewards. 

     

    Can't pick favourite maps, as all play more or less the same, probably map 10 which was hilarious at first and then, the surprises. 

     

    Yeah, this needs more maps! But we get what we get, and I highly recommend it, at least to encourage Alm to make the megawad... uh, whatever XD. My rate is 10/10.


  18. Done with these settings:

     

    - GLBoom+ 2.5.1.4. complevel 9.

    - Hurt Me Plenty.

    - Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    After SoD and some other Joshy's random maps here and there, I thought "is this going to be overwhelming too?". The answer is, no. As a matter of fact, the brutal style is there, but the way each map develops their encounters, it's more forgiving than I expected. Of course, the mapset is hard, each map starts with monsters looking at you, where a first sound wakes up the horror. There's a variety of traps and encounters that I happened to like them all. Exceptions might be some fastpop big bads right in your face, or some random teleporting enemies to drain your health in a matter of milliseconds. Like every modern hard wad, archviles and revenants play a big role in very nasty ways. Cybers and Queen spiders were used well too, in general as the typical big thing to worry about in tight situations. I died more against spiders than their higher-HP counterpart, despite them being more frequent. All the other enemies are used in very demanding ways too. Then the two custom enemies, one is the afrit, a flying baron with a deadly attack, problematic in closed spaces, and the plasma marine, another bastard way more tolerable than the ones in Scythe 2, actually, somewhat lovely.

     

    Visuals are great, some custom textures here and there, but mostly Plutonia textures painted in beautiful palettes (red is omg). Snow-like levels look so good, and I like how the mapset starts in a hellish environment. Very good secrets, some at the first levels could have been done better, like a visible path after a fake wall, just so you can see what's inside before. Mixed feelings with all the obligatory strafejumping through distant platforms, map 11 start pissed me off a little bit. 

     

    My favourite maps are umm, I don't know, I really liked them all in the same level. Map 24 sticks in my mind as it does a great homage to the first three Joshy's SoD maps, with connections that, from my perspective, resemble maps 02 and 04 from Darkwave. Other maps also homage AV and Plutonia pwads of course (also other wads I haven't played yet, according to kmxexii). Map 25 is just amazing. Most slaughter maps are really stressful due to length, map 28 was the most exhausting of all. 

     

    So, an excellent wad to practice and improve your reflexes. It's not overwhelming, neither a walk in the park, all enjoyable in my opinion. I'll give this a solid 9/10

     

    EDIT: Goddamn I forgot to point out map 19 midi is awesome and the most memorable. Nice music!


  19. Done on HMP/continuous/saves.

     

    This wad is beyond greatness. Visuals are incredibly awesome, I love the palette used especially the liquids look really good. Music is so fitting and, even if it isn't very "Doom-ish", for this wad is perfect because it really made me feel immersed into the atmosphere of the game.

     

    Combat in general is medium, more or less like in Doom 2 and TNT, there are all levels of difficulty maps without exaggerating on monster placement. I didn't find any cheap traps or unfair situations, always fun stuff. 

     

    Secrets at first looked confusing to find but as progressing I could spot them better and they are all very rewarding. My only tiny complaint would be about the super-secret exit in map 31, I didn't see anything intuitive that could make me think there was a secret path there, you know where (I won't spoil). If there were any clues then I shut my mouth but I don't think there were any. 

     

    My favourite maps were 7, 19, 31 (despite what I said), and there're no disliked maps. Also the ending really blew my mind, neat as fuck.

     

    So yeah this is a top quality mapset in terms of visuals/music. Literally beautiful palettes. Right now this is 10/10.    

  20. EPIC

       291

    Done with these settings:

     

    - GLBoom+ 2.5.1.4. complevel 9.

    - Hurt Me Plenty.

    - Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    First of all, there are 5 maps not "one level", might be a mistake in the text file. Back to the review, this is a very nice adventure-like mapset. Apparently the author is a master in aesthetics, and this was a lovely introduction (for me) to what he's capable to do. The textures are really neat, you get to navigate into the ruins, in a desert which is also set as a war-zone, although there's vegetation and water too... anyway, I really liked the environment in this mapset, Eternal did not limit the player to indoors exploration only but also on the surroundings, parts of the maps that normally would be just for visuals, like in map 03 where you must find a key in between a lot of palms. Also, there are many parts with deep-water, an effect used really cool here. The music selection is nice too, well the midi in map 01 starts a bit too loud but gets better soon, the menu screen midi is my favourite so far. 

     

    Gameplay is more on the low pressure side, with incidental combat being the most present. The mapset is clearly meant to be played from a casual adventure/exploratory perspective, slow-paced, rather than full slaughtery. I think it's pretty consistent with the kind of monster placement throughout the levels, not suddenly turning into something out of place. Usually you'll find them hidden on corners prepared to attack the player in their moments of distraction, if not they will pop up in front of you or teleport in spacious rooms. It gradually gets harder but overall the level of threat is according to progression, and for example enemies like archviles or arachnotrons rarely make an appearance until the last map. Talking about progression, some of the maps are very big and moderately non-linear, with keys and switch-hunts, except you may never get lost unless you want to find all the secrets, and there are a lot! There's only one straightforward map which is set on a train working, creating an effect I don't know the name of, though it was funny how it left a caco corpse behind disappearing.

     

    In regards to the secrets, pay attention to the linedefs in the automap, and the gore-ish details Eternal put to tell you something. I personally liked the ones that you go underground and end up navigating tunnels on deep water. Without the secrets you'll be fine anyways.

     

    For favourite maps I'd pick 02 and 03, but I liked them all in more or less the same way.

     

    Overall, not sure if this was "epic" but I had a lot of fun, there's just something about exploration in Doom I can't help myself but to love it, and I truly recommend it to anyone that likes this theme as much as I do. If not, avoid it completely, or play for the visuals only. This is a 9/10 for me. 

  21. Moonblood

       7962

    Done with these settings:

     

    - GLBoom+ 2.5.1.4. complevel 9.

    - Hurt Me Plenty.

    - Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    A super solid mapset I had the pleasure to play. This one felt like a modern adaption to the old known Scythe, while bringing its own personal style: it is divided into episodes, difficulty progression is highly notable between them, but monster density remains on the low side. Visually remains on the classic side, starting with tech bases, always indoors, then slightly pushing the player into open spaces connected with caves and lava, and more fleshy/spooky environments nearly the end of the set. Personally, I really liked that purple sky in mid maps, an unusual color in the game. While the author kept it simple with texturing, there's a lot of work on atmosphere and connection between levels. More specifically, in most maps the starting place is the previous map's exit room. If not then you'll know where you'll going to be, again because of the theme's consistency, which I liked a lot. One thing to point out is the usage of darkness in at least one piece of every map, something that always gave a sense of insecurity, as monsters had an advantage I lacked, which was pretty cool and tense (map 25 last room is dark and brutal, one of the most memorable moments of the set imo).

     

    The combat and layout are the most consistent and interesting sides of this wad. Monster count might not be too high, but the author worked it out in way that little can still be brutal. The first and second episode are very low-key, with some surprises to introduce the player into what's coming. Third and fourth are more trap-based and also introduces serious (but simple) platforming/chasms. Last two episodes are what Moonblood as been anticipating so far, all of the previous but in a much brutal and unforgiving way, also including hectic starts. On par with this difficulty progression, there's monster progression, this means that each monster is introduced in an old-school iwad way, only barons appear much later than I expected. In terms of layout progression, non-linearity is what rules, excellently done btw. The maps will give you the opportunity to choose your way to find resources and deal with monsters. Despite playing on continuous, I payed attention to the weapons placement: it's not your usual classic megawad, there's place and time for each weapon to be the star of the map, usually provided near the starting spot, so the player has an idea of how's the map going to turn out. This kind of pace was really appreciated, since I enjoy variety. A final boss is included to give a conclusion to the story (quite a nice story, if you want to understand the author's view it's here), always nice to see custom endings that don't have an IoS, always nice. 

     

    Secret-wise, these are not just your typical misaligned texture, with usage of the automap and a good ear you can find them all, but they usually take an extra effort to find, more often related to audible clues. They don't give you much in general though, this is probably the only downside as sometimes I found single medikits and I didn't need them at all, but perhaps pistol starters might appreciate them more... My favourite maps are from the fifth and sixth episode, the secret maps too, since there were more open layouts and mixing of every monster/weapon. I think there was no map I disliked, well maybe map 26 which was quite good except for the many imps on ledges lol. 

     

    Overall, I dig this gameplay, very exciting, recommendable for anyone looking for classic adapted to nowadays perspective, if that makes sense. Uh just try it, Scythe and Jenesis fans can't miss this, my rate is 9/10. 

  22. Counterattack

       4344

    Done with these settings:

     

    - GLBoom+ 2.5.1.4, complevel 9.

    - Ultra-Violence.

    - Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset. Actual pistol start in map 31.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    An excellent creation. This is undeniably a great example of inventive grand-scale layout design, where the author brought us extensive geometry variation and clean architecture with only stock textures, something different from the traditional 90's scheme most known from older releases, not precisely a better or proper usage of them, instead innovating and also inspiring in my opinion. The detailing is a big plus, not only to keep the player out of any sort of interference with movement, but also to add an extra ingredient that makes encounters more tactical and engaging, such as when darkness controls the area, and not to forget those astonishing fitting skies, seriously that dark blue one in map 01 is beautiful to contemplate. Of course, fitting music too, more on the environmental side though. 

     

    What accompanies the impressive art these maps are is the style of progression, in every context possible. These are non-linear above all, which means that rooms and setpieces are generally interconnected via multiple accessible openings and/or pathways, where you can get your resources at many different points of the maps. Mandatory keys can be found in no particular order too. What I liked the most, in this specific context, is how getting lost was never a real problem, since the maps encourage the player to explore every sector for important things and somehow arrange their own route, something I personally enjoy a lot, and it was easy to get back on track. I'm sure this might call someone's attention: there are no cryptic switch hunts here. On another side, in the context of monster placement and combat, there's a mix of everything, whether you get incidental ambushes, small number of roamers, lock-in traps in darkness, heavily populated arenas in a slaughter(y) tone, crowd controlling, fun with barrels, all combined with the theme of the maps make for very interesting key and filler-ish encounters. Of course, you are busy at least 80% of the time, that depends on how you approach each map, but a very important touch is the freedom of choices, like instead of jumping off a ledge to explore a sewer that could sandwich me between spectres and archviles, I could take a nearby lift and find some other powerful resources and combat in the middle, to eventually approach the sewer from another entrance, without trivializing the fight that much. There are a few surprises in some of the maps, in the form of custom enemies, one is the turret, which shoots plasma cells in a faster rate than the arachnotron. Although I wasn't a fan of it at first, mainly because it was too hard for me to not get hit even with circlestrafe, its best usage came later, when it functioned as a proper turret. I won't spoil the biggest ones though, all I'll say is that those new creatures are no joke, seriously, take them with respect, specially the secret one, don't be fooled by its aspect. 

     

    Secret-wise, hidden arenas are always welcome, secret passages that give you an advantage over certain places (such as to give sneaky archviles a taste of their own medicine) are always welcome too, chains of secrets of course too. While most of them are pretty easy to find, some required an expert eye to spot the hint, that I lacked, or to understand a certain gimmick, like shooting switches that reveal for one second, which took me 230 bullets to finally trigger the secret ffs... But in general, multiple secrets in non-linear maps are always welcome. My favourite has to be 04, but to be honest all the maps were really fun.

     

    Overall, I obviously recommend this to anyone, it has a great replay value, that's a success. I hope one day Mechadon manages to complete Vela Pax and Supplice, those look tempting too. My rate is 9/10. 

  23. Unholy Realms

       1759

    Done with these settings:

     

    - Crispy Doom 4.2

    - Hurt Me Plenty.

    - Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset.

    - Saves every 10 minutes or so.

     

    A megawad with a lot of hot stuff in it. Aesthetics are nice, thematically as usual, starting with a bit of tech/factory/sewers, then getting deep into hell. Not much to say, the first episode has some mishmashes of colours that sometimes look weird, reminded me of JPCP (like that marble texture with blue triangles, here they come in yellow, red and green), while the second and third episodes look more serious, including Plutonia and gothic textures. There are a bunch of nice tracks to hear, though I spent more time hearing monsters everywhere than the music lol. 

     

    Action is reminiscent to Scythe. Also Vanguard (according to kmxexii) but I've only played the first one. In addition, there are a few notable guest maps, which contrast from Knox's style. So, basically maps are challenging and demanding. I really like how many of them are constructed like big arenas with lots of buildings, where action is inside and outside, makes good use of environment. Monster placement is well thought in general. Some maps have hectic starts, being surrounded by crossfire while looking for weapons (for pistol starts), followed by teleport ambushes, and some maps include different setpieces in tight rooms. There is an abundance of instapop traps, requiring a bit of foreknowledge to come out alive, though I don't recall any bullshit moments. Only map where I wasn't able to kill everything by myself was map 21, a secret is considerably mandatory to do that and I never found it. In other maps, a few monsters fail to teleport out of their rooms, or simply never wake up, making 100 percents impossible (map 23 is the worst case). 

     

    Secrets are mostly easy to find, with a few requiring to guess what a switch did or what triggers a tall pillar to lower (I see you map 26). It actually caught my attention that many maps have lots of secrets, since almost all of them short and arena-style. The exception is map 29, that has none, well it's a Joshy map so it's no big deal.

     

    Oh yes, favourite maps, let's see: 02, 17, 19, 22 and 29. It's hard to pick favourites since I, more or less, liked them all in the same way. Only map I didn't like was 30, not only because it's IoS but progression is highly obscure (unlike any other map in the set), and it has a 3-times lift, fortunately it's slower so a safe rocket is always guaranteed.

     

    Pretty satisfied with the mapset, recommended to anyone who liked Scythe and has a fetish for instapops (not that I have one...). My rate is 8/10.  

  24. Alien Vendetta

       3472

    Done on HMP/continuous/saves

     

    Good old wad. It has it's beautiful scenarios with very neat detailing, for example in map 20, which is purely egyptian. Most maps are linear, some too linear, and others annoyingly too linear. I generally don't mind backtracking for, ammo for example, but I found some maps with odd pickup placement, where a lot of handful ammo is in the first areas, and I had to backtrack several times. Map 27 comes to my mind, imagine myself returning from the end to the start point more than once to look up for ammo.  

     

    Monster placement is, in the majority, ok. There are some cheap traps specifically with archviles and no cover. In maps 08 and 20 I died in the same kind of traps, an archie appearing in front of me in a corridor without escape. Due to this I had to keep my continuous BFG all the time. Apart from that, some really brutal scenarios, and high number of infighting circumstances, this is what I liked the most.

     

    Midis are cool, some Doom and Heretic tracks, as well as others. Secrets are not very interesting in this was to be honest, some of them don't give you any clue to find them. 

     

    My favourite maps are 06, 12, 18, and 24. Unfortunately, map 30 is the only one I completely disliked and didn't even bother to complete it legally. 

     

    But overall I still had fun, I do think it's a little overrated, by reading general thoughts by people I sometimes don't understand what they see in this wad as legendary or epic. On another side, finding other wads inspired by this one is good and tells how much it impacted on mappers, so that's a good thing. I'll give this a 7/10 

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