Erick

Completed on GZDoom 3.6.0 on Ultra-Violence in a continuous playthrough. Solid set of levels that are visually great and just as great to play. The first episode is an excellent revision of the original Doom II levels with some added challenge, secrets that are more than just secret walls, and familiar areas given a fresh new look. In these levels you'll see the level themes are intact, so something like MAP07 would still have segments similar to its IWAD counterpart. However, what makes this episode so enjoyable is the creative layouts with new music and textures to help make each level feel new again. The new music for the first episode is also nice. The real highlight of this WAD are the Hell levels, which make up the last three levels of the WAD, not counting the actual last level which I won't spoil. The Hell levels are big, open, and are fairly difficult, showcasing the WAD's greatest strengths and makes you want to reach the end sooner or later. Being original levels themselves, their layouts standout the most in the WAD and the scale here is just amazing. MAP13 is probably my favorite level in the WAD, there are many traps, stunning atmosphere, and encounters that leave surprises at every corner. I would play the WAD again just to go to the Hell levels, they are that great to me. The WAD also has sound effects for weapons and monsters, some sounding more punchy and others just not that great. Personally I am okay with these, just not a big fan of them. Sprite changes to the monsters are mainly just recolors of the monsters, so Imps are more brown and Arachnotrons shoot red plasma instead. Again, not much of a gameplay changer, though you may or may not like them. Overall, Flashback to Hell is a great WAD with a solid first episode and even better Hell levels, so you get both a stellar revision of the first episode of Doom 2 and original Hell levels that open things up. Not all levels are great, MAP14 has a cruddy boss fight that seems to be done out of obligation more than anything. Other maps that fell a bit flat to me were MAP03, but otherwise, it's a good experience throughout.

A nice way to play Doom 2 and Final Doom in this time of year. Some textures and jingles are a bit unfitting, but otherwise, everything sets a good festive mood. I really like seeing the monsters wearing Christmas hats and some other bits, though a shame not all of them get any noticeable changes. Overall, it's pretty fun to go through the official IWADs with this compilation! A heads up, the D_DEAD MUS file (MAP10) is bugged and would just not loop, so once it plays the rest is silent.

There honestly isn't much to talk about this WAD, it is pretty much a WAD of abysmal quality and has many errors that makes up the entire level. It's just a single "hallway" with missing textures everywhere after the level start, you can pretty much go outside the map, and there just isn't much to it. No point in touching this nor talking about it, a lot has already been said about it and exaggerating about isn't helpful either.

Typical 1994 WAD, a pretty boxy and bland looking one at that. You'll see a lot of gray textures used and there is some hundreds of enemies to fight, so you could say there is a bit of "slaughter" to be had, just not very fun. Exit switch is found at a lift just to your right after leaving the first room. Being a WAD from shovelware CDs, I guess you can't really expect much.

A short 1994 WAD that is oddly cryptic but still pretty poor to go through. It looks dull, plays dull, and it's cramped to move around in. Not much else to say about it.

I'm not sure what is the Japanese theme supposed to be really. A castle? Some place for a samurai to learn how to use a Chainsaw instead of a sword? Regardless, the texturing is pretty poor, the level design reflects the year the map was made, and an Imp is outside the map so getting 100% kills is impossible without cheating. Not much to miss out on.