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Author(s):
Logan MTM
SP
doom2 (maps 1)
requires:
Legacy
Reviewer:
Sematary
Download the file!
The authors site
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Difficulty:
This is unquestionably an extremely difficult map. Right from the beginning, you
begin in a pitch black room which is disconcerting enough because you are unsure
of what your surroundings are, but then, as soon as you move, you materialize in
a small room and are under vicious attack by several spectre's and a Cacodemon.
It took me a couple of attempts just to get past this rather intrusive
beginning. After that, it got difficult. The author lays a bounty of tricks and
traps (many of which are fairly obvious but unavoidable nonetheless) and throws
some serious hardasses at you. Most of the way, ammunition was not in short
supply except for in one or two battles. I don't really mind that - it makes you
be more careful with your ammo and strategize more carefully (especially after
you get your ass kicked a couple of times). I was all good with this. I was even
good with being trapped in a room with about a dozen Mancubii (Is that right?)
and a couple of the baby spiders. I wiped them out with the plasma rifle and
life was good. I was even ok, after that, when I hit the next switch and not one
but TWO Archviles appeared and began to undo my hard work. No sweat. Use the ole
brainpan, duck and cover and kill them when you get the chance. I finally got
completely pissed off though and stopped playing the game when I found myself
trapped in that very same room with a Cyberdemon. First, it wasn't a very large
room but it was large enough. The big problem came in the form of pillars which
kept interrupting my circle strafing and allowing the Cyberdemon just enough
time to zero my sorry ass. After several frustrating attempts I went to God mode
just to get through it and get myself out of that hellish room. I guess my
circle strafing skills aren't quite what they used to be. Anyway, I figured I
HAD to be near the end, right? WRONG! I travelled back towards the beginning of
the map where I began and lo and behold I was met not only by a shitload of Imps
but a couple of HellKnights as well. That was when I finally went ballistic and
shut the game off. I mean, I'm up for a good fight and all but this was simply
sadistic. If you are a rookie - stay the hell away from this map. You don't
stand a chance. Of course, I play on UV, perhaps if you try it on wimpy, wimpy,
wimpy, you might have a chance.
Playability:
Honestly, I gave up. It just became sensory overload at the point that I
mentioned. I was truly enjoying the map. I really was. It is beautifully
designed (more on that in a moment) and the gameplay, while difficult, wasn't
overwhelmingly sickening in nature. The map is completely NOT linear and the
author always managed to bring more creatures to the fore as I travelled through
parts of the map I had visited before. I love that. It wasn't until the point
mentioned above under difficulty, that the map simply became frustrating and I
decided to call it quits. I could have finished. I probably could have even
defeated that stupid Cyberdemon with enough attempts but I'm not one of those
people who like to keep getting their ass kicked and trying over and over and
over to defeat something. If it's that hard then it probably shouldn't be!
Design:
I have to give the author VERY HIGH marks for the design portion of this map.
Not only was it visually enticing but the author had tons of hidden rooms and
tricks and traps that were fairly well concealed throughout. The map uses the
Legacy engine and therefore has some wonderfully rendered 3d work in it but only
to the point of being attractive. He didn't use the floor over floor effect in a
way that affected gameplay, simply as eye candy. This is an exquisitely designed
map and I know that much if not all of this is possible in Zdoom as well and I'd
really like to see more like this with well thought out battles and good design.
Excellent job!
Overall:
Positives:
I really liked the layout and the design of the
map. The author has an intricate sense of how to create a Doom2 map that is
visually appealing and also adds to the gameplay.
Negatives:
It just got ridiculous in the difficulty portion.
I'm sure that there are those who will play this and have better skills than I
and say "what the hell are you talking about?". I expect that. I expect that
more people are only average to slightly above average and will go - "wtf?"
Apparently the author has tremendous skills but
honestly, the Cyberdemon was simply too much. If he had used another (still
difficult) creature or had simply given the player some place where he could
have a chance at avoiding the beasts rockets while still being able to fire off
a few of his own, it would have been better.
Still...
It's a tremendous effort. Kudos. |
I don't really have alot of info on this. The wad is
called 101.wad (I don't understand the significance but that's ok). This
is a Legacy only wad that is well detailed and very difficult. There
will be more about that in the review.
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