I have a few choice words, I'd like to say to zorah right now after getting my ass repeatedly kicked in level 4 but he did warn me in the text file so i have nobody to blame but myself. so, i'll go with one choice word for the entire four map set ----- brilliant! Actually, I'll add a few more  it was maniacal in every sense of the word - absolute genius - from the design, to the way he continuosly made sure that you were not going to be lacking for badasses to tangle with - unbelievably awesome set of maps to play - maybe some of the best i've ever played. this was zorah at his absolute masochistic best! on to the review!

Difficulty: 10

zorah gives a heads up in the text file that comes with this set - "normal" is the equivalent of Uv in Doom 2 and the difficulty setting i chose - hardcore was absolutely that and more. i was actually lulled into a sense of security in map one - ya, it was hard but i managed to get through it pretty much ok and in fair shape. level 2 featured a real need for a chainsaw which never materialized unfortunately. level 3 is where it really started to get interesting. titled "the wasted dump, i started to get nervous when i ran across some ammo for the plasma gun. the way these maps were  playing out i just knew that it was going to be necessary at some  point (boy, was i right). i'll tell you this - do not waste your good ammo  on creatures you can kill with a lesser weapon - you are going to need that ammo. one thing i learned very quickly was that if you were going for something big - a key, a switch to move the map along, whatever - you are going to get attacked - and attacked again just when you thought it was going to be all quiet on the western  front - then you'll probably get hit again - there are no easy outs in these maps. map 4 was where it all came together though - all the training in the first 3 levels was all for this - trapped in an arena with you the main course for an ever increasingly difficult set of battles that pits you against increasingly difficulty competition with apparently little or no place to hide. you've been warned. i actually cheered when i finally took out the annihilator at the end of the map - it was that difficult and that satisfying!

Design: 10

honestly, you're going to have to put up a really good argument for why this isn't in consideration as one of the best maps of all time in the doom community. zorah, who has always been a really good mapper anyway, brought it to an entirely new level with doom gaiden. he used the zdoom engine but didn't go for all those funky things that it can do - he did it in an understated way that took advantage of some of it's features that can really bring a map  orset of maps alive. map3 was a bit long for my taste but there was absolutely  nothing wrong in the design - gorgeous and  deadly. and cruel - if that word can be used to describe the design of a map - it fits here. the arena of map 4 was amazing in it's simplicity and it's sheer masochistic intensity. loved it - every intense, swear inducing moment of it!

Playability: 10

I don't often find myself in the position of giving someone a set of scores like this but zorah deserves them all - these maps were absolutely amazing to  play - addictive if you will. as frustrated as i got at times, i wanted to press on - and press on some more. i had to force myself to shut the game down at midnight last night - thanks goodness i did, considering i had no idea there would still be that much to level 3 at the time. this is a set of maps you are going to want to return to - why? because they are that good! take notes - this  is  how doom is done in 2014!

Overall (Not an Average): 10

really - what more can i say - i could gush over this set of maps all night but i'm sure  what you really want to do is get down to some gameplay of your own. if you're still on the fence - hardto  imagine - check out the in game video from each of the maps below!