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I think it is a great megawad to improve skill of someone who just finished Doom II. Short and fun levels with great soundtrack.

A classic, one big milestone in Doom mapping. Small maps with very consistent fighting, with the final maps evolving into big challenges. Also, the soundtrack is just so awesome. One of my favorite megawads.

The Darkening episodes are an interesting look back at the turning point in the Doom community. Episode 1 represented a swan song for the classic era, while Episode 2 ushered in a brand new era of meticulously-detailed maps. Darkening E2 is certainly a huge step up from E1 in terms of visuals, and you'd be hard pressed to find a better-looking singleplayer map made prior to its release. However, this high detail comes at the price of the gameplay. It's obvious the team hit the wall with the vanilla engine, and the result are 12 extremely claustrophobic and tedious maps. The first 6 maps are a slog to play through, as the monster counts are low and the only challenge comes from the utter lack of health pickups. The episode picks up considerably in the 2nd half when maps are allowed to have greater opposition than just 3 Revenants, but the core loop never goes beyond the most basic, predictable ambushes and tedious switch hunts. Not helping matters is the soundtrack, which might just be the worst original MIDIs I've heard in any Doom WAD. There's a piano solo in the MAP09 track that's so horrible, I thought my MIDI player actually broke! The Darkening E2's importance in Doom modding history can't be overlooked, but there were far better levels in earlier WADs like "Icarus" and "Dystopia 3". In other words, Darkening E2 is exactly as good as you'd expect a product derivative of Quake II to be.

Doom 2 -- SP -- Boom A set of three maps with a high difficulty level, in particular some slaughter-style fights here and there. The first map ("Conflagration") is a short affair that's comparably easy throughout, but the ending is a shock that's almost sure to kill you the first time. "Marked by Shadows" and "Luminescence of Darkness" are longer and put more pressure on you throughout; they consist of large-scale battles interspersed by incidental encounters. The level design has you romping through abandoned Quake-textured plazas and buildings, in which details such as sacrificial altars hint at dark purposes, all of it ringed with towering cliffs. All these views are visually polished and lend a gloomy atmosphere to the proceedings, especially with the dark sky looming above you. Half of the credit for this atmosphere goes to Fanatic, who composed the WAD's excellent OGG soundtrack; his bleak tracks excite you into action and darken the mood all the same. Highly recommended — but be sure to bring your A game. [originally written Dec 2018 for The /newstuff Chronicles]

Officially recognized but boring wad of 9 levels with large-scale maps. Nothing similar with original E1. The number of enemies grows as you progress - combinations of 200+ / 400+ / 500+ opponents vary. Settings and other: * GzDoom. * Mod Complex Doom. * 9 levels, 1 of them secret. * Difficulty - "Ultra-Violence". * The exit to the secret level is on M3. You will need to find the blue key to open the door, which leads later to the secret exit. Before walk to another location, which opens with a secret red small switch. Pros: + M8. + Soundtrack. Contras: - Quite a standard set of mediocre maps. Nothing remarkable against the huge background of the mass of other wads. - Perhaps I missed something, but on the M8 one of the switches may not work and it will not be possible to enter the location in the south. So. Noclip. On the same map there is a strange separate square area with 2 mastermaydans in the west of the map.

Cacoaward winner megawad for Doom 2 by Paul Corfiatis and Kristian Aro. It is boom compatible with some Zdoom exclusive bonus levels. I played it on GZDOOM on Hurt Me Plenty difficulty using the Freedoom2 Iwad. The map set is divided into 5 thematic episodes. The player is allowed to keep his inventory. The episodes consist of: - Earthbase: consisting of UD-esque levels. - Brick: inspired by real life structures such as schools, alleys, warehouses and so forth. - Plutonia: brown hellish fortresses full of ambushes and tricky fights. - Plutonia / Hexen: a very gothic feeling episode, expect manors, mines and similar fortifications. - Hell: self explanatory. The map quality and complexity increase on each episode. The first episode feels as if it was out of the authors Ultimate Doom megawads; however, the map slowly introduces more vast environments and tricky sections. Overall, I feel like this map set gets its personality around the Plutonia episode and reaches its highest point on the hell levels which are both gorgeous and a blast to play. Difficulty wise this is similar to Doom 2. Most levels focus on linear action sequences with some nasty traps every now and then. The designers have made sure to include secrets to ease some of the harder fights, so exploration savy players will have an easier time with some of these encounters. There is a difficulty spike on the last chapter, but this is more or less expected and it never becomes frustrating. The soundtrack is completely new and it was composed by Corfiatis, overall it is pretty good quality and sounds great if using an external sound font. I like *2002 A Doom Odyssey* soundtrack more, but it may due to familiarity. Similar to their previous collaboration, *2002 A Doom Odyssey*, the maps follow a basic formula from which they rarely deviate. Many of them are built around a hub section in which the player faces several challenges to unlock the next color section of the map. The big difference between both wads, is that this one tends to be a much more symmetrical. Many of the challenge sections tend to be variation of a single theme, in which the player will have the same fight for each of the keys. This hurts the experience a little bit, as the maps feel repetitive. It is not a bad wad, it is full of nice architecture and a classic 90s feel. The repetitive nature drops the score as it can get occasionally boring when you reach a new hub, with similar wings over and over again. The hell episode is amazingly good and well worth the boring early middle section. which i thinks brings the megawad quality up a notch 4/5 Best Maps: - MAP05: Pumping Station 083A: cool looking crate level full of small nooks and crannies to explore. - MAP14: The Wasted Dens: one of the most expansive level of the WAD, the player explore a non linear brown base on a water canal. Some nasty ambushes and lots of exploration. - MAP16: Undervilla: a creepy manor with some Doom cute touches. Really atmospheric. - MAP19: Cryosleep: action packed level set in a ice cave system, some cool fights against almost invisible specters. The player receives ton of rocket launcher ammo to clear up the valleys outside the cave system. - MAP25: Vulcana: a level base inside a volcano, amazing architecture, and oppressive atmosphere makes the player feel as if he was exploring a place not meant to be. One of the best and hardest levels in the wad, full of nasty surprises and an awkward Cyberdemon fight. Worst Maps: - MAP06: Covert Operations Facility: an infamous map made of 4 similar rooms and an small underground section. Very repetitive. - MAP09: The School: the player is tasked to clear an school that has been invaded by demons, starts of very good but looses steam due to the repetitive encounters and the similarity between both wings of the installation.

After clearing out DTWiD you already know I had to cap it off by going after it's lil bro, D2TWiD. To sum it up: this is a solid 7/10, it's an alright megawad that improves upon DTWiD. Less mazey and confusing, more open areas ripe for exploring and a good sense of progression. I never felt like I got lost a lot or levels tended to drag on and overstay their welcome. Coupled with the fact that I paired it up w/ Mid the way id did (honestly for those who haven't checked it out I highly recommend it) b/c it lacks a proper midi soundtrack, it was a fun time. Just like I said about DTWiD, this won't go on my "must play" recommendation list b/c it didn't really blow my mind, but it was nice little time killer. It's essentially, "hey you liked DOOM II's maps? Well here's some more of where that came from" and I feel like it got the job done right. Map 28 sucked tho, did not like that map. Regardless, the whole megawad is neat if you're curious about playing it :).

Icarus was one of my favorite wads growing up, and once I came back to Doom in my man-child years I was excited to replay it. While there is a lot I still like about it, I just don't feel like the gameplay has held up. +'s: Cool space aesthetic, GREAT music, some really fun/challenging maps -'s: Plenty of boring maps in gameplay and aesthetics, some maps which can be quite confusing (Donnybrook comes to mind), and most maps are not that hard even on UV There are some banger levels in here though. Map 1 is an all-time favorite of mine, great feeling of breaking into a spaceship and taking off, great gameplay. Feeding Frenzy and War Temple are also great levels and worth playing if nothing else. BUT with so many levels to choose from, any megawad that doesn't feel challenging or well-paced feels like a slog to me. If you haven't played Icarus, I would recommend checking out a few choice levels and skipping the rest (and listen to the soundtrack!)

ETERNAL DooM is not a megawad, its an experience that had to be lived to be fully undertanded. This is the megawad of the 90's for me in terms of exploration and atonishing sightseeing og the marvelous structures around. This megawad its one of the few that awakes in me a sense of wonder like no other. And to make things better, i played the incredible dehacked patch that @NightFright made, that adds maps names and new text screens with a custom story. This is the ultimate way to play this outstanding work. Now to the flaws: the first two levels are what really define if you would play this megawad or not. The first maps is corridor after corridor, with a little puzzle for the keys to enable the exit, after that, the second map is something completely different, with a very big puzzle map that will catch everybody unprepared. If you can reach map three, your surely are at it now, and after that, is a big alley up, a pretty big mountain ahead full of wonders. Thanks team Eternal and TNT for this amazing work of art. This possibly is the best megawad i played soo far and the one that i most liked. It has almost everything, new textures and graphics, new way of thinking maps, extremelly clever puzzles, a lot of exploration and a full experience. What it lacks? Maybe a proper graphic for the end boss, a proper BOSSBACK also, and some new monsters would be cool, but for a megawad from 1997, this is almost perfect. And the soundtrack! God, thats a marvelous soundtrack!

The original "Eternal Doom," which makes up the first 12 maps of this Megawad, is an absolute must-play masterpiece. The levels are huge, yet finding one's way about them is an enjoyable task rather than a maddening chore. Hexen and Heretic both have beautiful textures, and the maps use them to great advantage to create sprawling medieval architecture and display some of the best environmental story-telling present in any wad I've ever played. However, that praise does not carry on to Eternal Doom's two expansions, dubbed, "Eternal Doom II" and "Eternal Doom III," created by TeamTNT, which make up maps 13-32 and are, at best, an incredibly mixed bag and worst--well--painful. Beautiful architecture and intuitive layouts are traded out for strange abstract maps with misaligned textures and an overall quality that feels better suited for something like "D!Zone." Most of the maps aren't awful by any means (Actually a few of them are--Map 14 comes to mind), but it almost feels unfair to put any set of maps after one of the greatest 12-level episodes of all time. It should be said that the weakest the Megawad gets is "Eternal Doom II," as part III as a whole finishes strong, aside from a bloated copy-cat of map 12 that stands in the map 30 slot. The soundtrack, composed by Rich Nagel, is the most consistent bar of quality throughout the wad, and almost--ALMOST--makes the more mediocre sections of the map-set bearable, providing an incredible score with returning themes and varying styles. On the whole, Eternal Doom I is easy to recommend, and to the most diehard fans of the wad's esthetics, may just buy enough good will for those who wish to journey forth for rest of the megawad's offerings.

Much better than most of the cover albums out there, with some interesting creative tweaks to the soundtrack. Most good, some not so much (I'm looking at you, D_ULTIMA); The good far outweighs the bad in this case. I'd say this is a must-have for Doom music enthusiasts.

It is what it says it is Nine Inch Nails music replacement for Doom 1. Tired of listening to the Doom 1 soundtrack? Get tired of listening to Nine Inch Nails! These are some good .midi renditions.These tracks are recognizable, enjoyable, fun and ooze that 90s .midi charm. With the exception of Hurt, that could have started sooner. While the game covers 27 songs, its missing songs for the three hidden missions and and a title track replacement. There's a narrow margin to improve things, but its well worth a listen on your next play through of Doom 1.

Excellent wad. The visuals of course are very unique & colorful. And they're not just purple - there's so many vibrant colors. Purple, red, yellow, and green pulse and glow in contrast to the dark black metal architecture. But beyond the visuals, the level design is great. It's very interconnected and full of neat surprises, and progression is intuitive and rewarding. It reskins the classic Doom weapons, and all the sprites look great and are aesthetically cohesive. It also includes an MP3 synthwave soundtrack, which is very fitting to the neon colors and fast-paced gameplay, although I disliked that one of the tracks had vocals.

I really liked the free alternative to TNT: Evilution. Icarus: Alien Vanguard is a totally different monster but somehow similar, made by the same monster team. This lacked a proper dehacked patch with custom text, but @NightFright made a neat fix for that, telling a compelling story that is really entertaining to play. The maps are amazing. The best maps here are far better than Evilution's best maps. The bad ones here, are just bad Doom 2 level maps, so there is little to be really bad all in all. But, Icarus had the same little ill as Evilution had, last ten maps completely drags the experience. At least, this maps are better than the ten last from Evilution. Team TNT has shown that not only are good mappers, they also are good storytellers and that, in a game like Doom, is something to be proud of. And they achive this even working non stop to release this before Evilution hit the streets, so, even if some maps feel a little rushed, they are great! The soundtrack is a key element here. Bringing an awesome personallity to this outstanding mapset full of neat ideas. Thanks team TNT for this amazing megawad.