Throughout the 30 years of its entire lifespan, it was always clear why the original Doom was not only a phenomenal game in its own right, but why it is now considered a bona fide classic to this day. There were aspects about it that future games would manage to refine and execute better, but even with that in mind, the game was still fast-paced, action-filled, immensely satisfying, rewarding for those who took the time to really look around for secrets, and it created a type of game that not too many others could properly replicate, in terms of both quality and feel. It also helped that the game was immensely successful, and is now considered to be the father of FPS games to come out from that point onward, so naturally, given the game’s immense success, a sequel was developed right away to continue this game’s legacy and to refine a lot of the elements present within the game. This game would come out not too long after the original, and it would be known as Doom II: Hell on Earth.
Making a sequel to the original Doom and releasing it so soon was kind of a risk for id Software, when you think about it. The original game already had plenty of things that people absolutely loved, and plenty of different reasons to play it over and over again, whether it be through playing through single-player mode to see what secrets you missed, or even through multiplayer mode with your friends. So, how the hell (Ha Haaaaaaaa) were they going to top the original game in such a short time? Well, that, my friends, was simple: by making Doom again, but better. This development choice would pay off for them, not only going on to also sell very well, but it would also receive just as much praise as the original game, if not more. In my opinion, it absolutely deserves that recognition and success it got, because I not only think this game is better than the original Doom in just about every way, but I also consider to be fantastic, providing yet another round of non-stop, blood-pumping action with just enough change to make it wonderful to revisit time and time again.
The story picks up right from where the original game left off, where after defeating the Spider Mastermind from the previous games, Doomguy finds his way back to Earth, where he finds that it has been completely overrun by demons, slaughtering innocent lives and taking over the planet as their own, so naturally, it is up to him to single-handedly take them all down and stop this demonic invasion once and for all, which is a simple enough set-up that both feels satisfactory enough for a natural continuation, while also being just enough to get the player right into the meat of things. The graphics are……. literally the exact same as the previous game, but hey, that’s fine, as the game still looks great either way, the music is also just as wonderful, having plenty more kick-ass tunes to jam out to while shoving the barrel of your gun in some poor demon’s face and blowing it clean off, the control is… also the exact same, so nothing more to touch on there, and the gameplay is very similar to the original game, to the point where you could call it a direct copy with nothing else going on, but there is more to it then you realize.
The game is still a first-person shooter, where you take control of Doomguy once again, go through many different levels, now all bunched together rather then being split up into multiple episodes (which is a better choice, if you ask me), take down any demonic scumbag that stands in your way as you find your way through these facilities and hellish landscapes, gather plenty of different health and ammo pickups, power ups, and additional weapons to make your slaughter all the sweeter, and take on plenty of big and bad forces of hell that will fuck you up if you aren’t ready and quick on your feet. In many ways, it is almost identical to that of the original Doom, which is a good thing, considering that this style of gameplay was already fun enough to begin with, so you can jump in right away and have a blast, but underneath the similar coat of paint, there is a little more going on here.
When I say this game is identical to the original Doom, I mean that in almost every way possible. The graphics, gameplay, general feel, and means of progression are the exact same, which may make you question why this was made as a sequel in the first place, instead of say, an expansion of the previous game. However, when you look deeper into it, you’ll then notice some key differences that make it stand out. If I were to describe the game in one sentence, I would say it is “Doom for Super Players” (but not that kind of super), as while it may be incredibly similar, the gameplay is much faster, more difficult, more reactionary in plenty of scenarios, and all the more invigorating. Even from the first couple of levels, you notice a lot more going on in them then the first batch of levels in the original game, which does make this feel more like a natural progression for the Doom series, for if you have played the original game, you should be experienced enough to handle whatever this game can throw at you.
What also helps with this is that, while most of the game remains relatively the same, there were some key elements that do spice things up. There are new enemies to be found here, each packing their own new means of challenging the player, and not only do they have great designs, but they can be pretty tough to take down if you aren’t careful, forcing you to learn different ways to approach a foe, and thus, improving your skills as a player as a result. In addition, there are new goodies that can be found throughout the levels, such as the Megasphere, which fills up both your health and armor all the way to 200, which is pretty damn helpful, and the Super Shotgun, a new weapon that is pretty much just a better version of the shotgun. That may make you question why they even bothered to make this weapon in the first place, but if you do bother questioning that at all, I will kindly ask you to get the fuck out of here and rethink everything, because the Super Shotgun is AWESOME. Sure, it may use more ammo then its counterpart, but it does more damage, covers a wider range of fire, and can kill multiple targets if used effectively, not only making the original shotgun obsolete in just about every way, but also becoming my new go-to weapon for any situation in this game.
Not only that, but the levels themselves also just FEEL different, still keeping the same general flow of progression familiar for those experienced with the original Doom, while also giving you more to do. You could focus on the goal at hand and just try to find your way to the exit so you can get a move on, but you can also look around in various places that don’t necessarily help you reach the end quicker, but they can reward you handsomely if you go out of your way, encouraging exploration more than ever before. Not to mention, this game still does have plenty of secrets for you to find, and just like with the original game, they can be quite hard to find, so those who enjoy looking for secrets and other means of reaching that glorious 100% mark, Doom II has plenty of that for you in spades.
However, at the end of the day, if you are not a huge fan of what the original Doom gave you, then you definitely won’t be able to get into this title, as it is essentially just Doom 1, but with more stuff. Yeah, it does have new features that can be fun to mess around with, but it has you doing the exact same stuff that you did in the last game with no major changes to be seen, which can definitely turn people away who weren’t able to get into this type of gameplay in the first place. Thankfully though, that is really the only complaint that I can think of for this title, because for those of us who are big fans of this game, it still manages to provide plenty for us to do, see, and kill all the same, and there is nothing more that a Doom Slayer like myself could ask for.
Overall, despite a huge lack of change, Doom II surpasses the original almost flawlessly, and it is a fantastic game as a whole, being even more fun, fast, satisfying, and gruesome as ever, while refining everything about the original game to the point where it could be hard to go back to after this… even though plenty will still go back to it. I highly recommend it for those who were big fans of the original game, as well as those of you who are into classic FPS games in general, because if you somehow haven’t played this game at this point, then… what the HELL are you waiting for?...... alright, you know what, I think that is one too many hell puns for a Doom review. Don’t wanna make reading this feel like you are actually being tortured in Hell, because trust me, there is already plenty about real life that could do that instead.
Game #496
Making a sequel to the original Doom and releasing it so soon was kind of a risk for id Software, when you think about it. The original game already had plenty of things that people absolutely loved, and plenty of different reasons to play it over and over again, whether it be through playing through single-player mode to see what secrets you missed, or even through multiplayer mode with your friends. So, how the hell (Ha Haaaaaaaa) were they going to top the original game in such a short time? Well, that, my friends, was simple: by making Doom again, but better. This development choice would pay off for them, not only going on to also sell very well, but it would also receive just as much praise as the original game, if not more. In my opinion, it absolutely deserves that recognition and success it got, because I not only think this game is better than the original Doom in just about every way, but I also consider to be fantastic, providing yet another round of non-stop, blood-pumping action with just enough change to make it wonderful to revisit time and time again.
The story picks up right from where the original game left off, where after defeating the Spider Mastermind from the previous games, Doomguy finds his way back to Earth, where he finds that it has been completely overrun by demons, slaughtering innocent lives and taking over the planet as their own, so naturally, it is up to him to single-handedly take them all down and stop this demonic invasion once and for all, which is a simple enough set-up that both feels satisfactory enough for a natural continuation, while also being just enough to get the player right into the meat of things. The graphics are……. literally the exact same as the previous game, but hey, that’s fine, as the game still looks great either way, the music is also just as wonderful, having plenty more kick-ass tunes to jam out to while shoving the barrel of your gun in some poor demon’s face and blowing it clean off, the control is… also the exact same, so nothing more to touch on there, and the gameplay is very similar to the original game, to the point where you could call it a direct copy with nothing else going on, but there is more to it then you realize.
The game is still a first-person shooter, where you take control of Doomguy once again, go through many different levels, now all bunched together rather then being split up into multiple episodes (which is a better choice, if you ask me), take down any demonic scumbag that stands in your way as you find your way through these facilities and hellish landscapes, gather plenty of different health and ammo pickups, power ups, and additional weapons to make your slaughter all the sweeter, and take on plenty of big and bad forces of hell that will fuck you up if you aren’t ready and quick on your feet. In many ways, it is almost identical to that of the original Doom, which is a good thing, considering that this style of gameplay was already fun enough to begin with, so you can jump in right away and have a blast, but underneath the similar coat of paint, there is a little more going on here.
When I say this game is identical to the original Doom, I mean that in almost every way possible. The graphics, gameplay, general feel, and means of progression are the exact same, which may make you question why this was made as a sequel in the first place, instead of say, an expansion of the previous game. However, when you look deeper into it, you’ll then notice some key differences that make it stand out. If I were to describe the game in one sentence, I would say it is “Doom for Super Players” (but not that kind of super), as while it may be incredibly similar, the gameplay is much faster, more difficult, more reactionary in plenty of scenarios, and all the more invigorating. Even from the first couple of levels, you notice a lot more going on in them then the first batch of levels in the original game, which does make this feel more like a natural progression for the Doom series, for if you have played the original game, you should be experienced enough to handle whatever this game can throw at you.
What also helps with this is that, while most of the game remains relatively the same, there were some key elements that do spice things up. There are new enemies to be found here, each packing their own new means of challenging the player, and not only do they have great designs, but they can be pretty tough to take down if you aren’t careful, forcing you to learn different ways to approach a foe, and thus, improving your skills as a player as a result. In addition, there are new goodies that can be found throughout the levels, such as the Megasphere, which fills up both your health and armor all the way to 200, which is pretty damn helpful, and the Super Shotgun, a new weapon that is pretty much just a better version of the shotgun. That may make you question why they even bothered to make this weapon in the first place, but if you do bother questioning that at all, I will kindly ask you to get the fuck out of here and rethink everything, because the Super Shotgun is AWESOME. Sure, it may use more ammo then its counterpart, but it does more damage, covers a wider range of fire, and can kill multiple targets if used effectively, not only making the original shotgun obsolete in just about every way, but also becoming my new go-to weapon for any situation in this game.
Not only that, but the levels themselves also just FEEL different, still keeping the same general flow of progression familiar for those experienced with the original Doom, while also giving you more to do. You could focus on the goal at hand and just try to find your way to the exit so you can get a move on, but you can also look around in various places that don’t necessarily help you reach the end quicker, but they can reward you handsomely if you go out of your way, encouraging exploration more than ever before. Not to mention, this game still does have plenty of secrets for you to find, and just like with the original game, they can be quite hard to find, so those who enjoy looking for secrets and other means of reaching that glorious 100% mark, Doom II has plenty of that for you in spades.
However, at the end of the day, if you are not a huge fan of what the original Doom gave you, then you definitely won’t be able to get into this title, as it is essentially just Doom 1, but with more stuff. Yeah, it does have new features that can be fun to mess around with, but it has you doing the exact same stuff that you did in the last game with no major changes to be seen, which can definitely turn people away who weren’t able to get into this type of gameplay in the first place. Thankfully though, that is really the only complaint that I can think of for this title, because for those of us who are big fans of this game, it still manages to provide plenty for us to do, see, and kill all the same, and there is nothing more that a Doom Slayer like myself could ask for.
Overall, despite a huge lack of change, Doom II surpasses the original almost flawlessly, and it is a fantastic game as a whole, being even more fun, fast, satisfying, and gruesome as ever, while refining everything about the original game to the point where it could be hard to go back to after this… even though plenty will still go back to it. I highly recommend it for those who were big fans of the original game, as well as those of you who are into classic FPS games in general, because if you somehow haven’t played this game at this point, then… what the HELL are you waiting for?...... alright, you know what, I think that is one too many hell puns for a Doom review. Don’t wanna make reading this feel like you are actually being tortured in Hell, because trust me, there is already plenty about real life that could do that instead.
Game #496
ENTRYWAY
thirty second par
but how could anybody
want to leave so soon
initially my plan was to write a series of 32 haikus, one for each level, with the intention of succinctly boiling things down into a heartfelt gesture. the problem there's that doom II's anything but succinct; it's a towering, monolithic game that bears down on you at all times. breathless formatting, increased enemy numbers, more byzantine, avant garde mapping, chaotic texturing, new enemies, and a one-of-a-kind fan community that's opened up an endless limitless world of More Doom and turned it into something you could spend a lifetime emerged in without seeing everything worthwhile or learning all its finest details. to try to sum things up poetically is a fool's errand; doom II can't be boiled down into 544 syllables, least of all by me
REFUELING BASE
this from the man who
put 95 spawns into
quake episode 4
a narrative has developed that suggests doom II's second half is something irredeemable — not just underwhelming, but outright bad — and it's a load of shit. if you don't like TENEMENTS or COURTYARD that's an indictment of your taste, not the quality of the mapping present here. the way sandy in particular maps with such expressive, inventive, and experimental brushstrokes is something we should relish and appreciate; doom and quake wouldn't be what they are without his contributions, and he's one of the genre's most important level designers hands down
that the game feels like a fever dream is largely a result of his 17(!!!!) maps and their wild refusal to adhere to conventional logic or standard. people out here begging and crying for euclidian techbases when my man barfed textures in a pile and turned it into something as good as TRICKS AND TRAPS. "SUBURBS ISNT REALISTIC" you scream into your pillow while I smile big with my cute dimples showing cos I'm enjoying a really fun map. "CHASM IS BAD" you shriek so loud you get evicted while I enjoy some first person platforming and reminisce about turok dinosaur hunter being the best game on the N64. no one, and I mean No One advanced the space for creation here more substantially. fuck verisimilitude, let's dance
SUBURBS
welcome all neighbors
to our annual cookout
bring your own bodies
they could've called it perfect doom: an evolutionary step that marked its final form and near-complete status as a standardized toolset. they could've dropped the number and signaled it as just being a big ass messy sloppy cuhrazy megawad and called it a day and 99% of the shit talk would be stopped in its erroneous tracks. really, I don't even think there's a good argument that doom's better unless you're looking at it as some hermetically pure retail project rather than a couplet of frameworks or stepping stones to greater ideas. hindsight is 50/50, but we're graced with enough distance now to know that any assessment of the material should be done while understanding what it wrought; that none of this exists in that Big Box Vacuum and never really did — shareware being the first and last exposure many, many people had in the first place, and doom always being a game that's chopped n screwed in as many ways as possible. doom is ragged and raw; it's tendrils, it's wild kudzu and overgrowth and every idea every middle schooler ever jotted in a notebook. to appraise this in a sanitized quarantine is geek shit I simply can't abide by. this is an immaculate vessel that had the good grace to show up with 32 mostly sick maps
THE FACTORY
fifty indie games
that look exactly like this
steam early access
if any game exists as some kind of broad communal accomplishment, it's probably doom. opening with an open source branch to the community, and closing long after we're buried in our technograves. ads for lotions interrupt our epitaphs while someone named grizzlyguzzler releases the cacoward winning "scronky bonky II" and sets neo doomworld ablaze with passionate discussion. Did You See The Part Where. I Can't Believe That. How Did They Even...
billionaires in bad suits pump sicko dollars into metaverses and games-within-games-within-games; some eternal platform-slash-cenotaph is conjured by the world's most killable humans; disfigured 3D models waggle and wave in cyberspace trying desperately to create something as remotely meaningful, intravenously sucking on your wallet to please money perverts before being sent to the scrap heap
good luck
DEAD SIMPLE
perfect little map
the homages will go on
past our life and death
thirty second par
but how could anybody
want to leave so soon
initially my plan was to write a series of 32 haikus, one for each level, with the intention of succinctly boiling things down into a heartfelt gesture. the problem there's that doom II's anything but succinct; it's a towering, monolithic game that bears down on you at all times. breathless formatting, increased enemy numbers, more byzantine, avant garde mapping, chaotic texturing, new enemies, and a one-of-a-kind fan community that's opened up an endless limitless world of More Doom and turned it into something you could spend a lifetime emerged in without seeing everything worthwhile or learning all its finest details. to try to sum things up poetically is a fool's errand; doom II can't be boiled down into 544 syllables, least of all by me
REFUELING BASE
this from the man who
put 95 spawns into
quake episode 4
a narrative has developed that suggests doom II's second half is something irredeemable — not just underwhelming, but outright bad — and it's a load of shit. if you don't like TENEMENTS or COURTYARD that's an indictment of your taste, not the quality of the mapping present here. the way sandy in particular maps with such expressive, inventive, and experimental brushstrokes is something we should relish and appreciate; doom and quake wouldn't be what they are without his contributions, and he's one of the genre's most important level designers hands down
that the game feels like a fever dream is largely a result of his 17(!!!!) maps and their wild refusal to adhere to conventional logic or standard. people out here begging and crying for euclidian techbases when my man barfed textures in a pile and turned it into something as good as TRICKS AND TRAPS. "SUBURBS ISNT REALISTIC" you scream into your pillow while I smile big with my cute dimples showing cos I'm enjoying a really fun map. "CHASM IS BAD" you shriek so loud you get evicted while I enjoy some first person platforming and reminisce about turok dinosaur hunter being the best game on the N64. no one, and I mean No One advanced the space for creation here more substantially. fuck verisimilitude, let's dance
SUBURBS
welcome all neighbors
to our annual cookout
bring your own bodies
they could've called it perfect doom: an evolutionary step that marked its final form and near-complete status as a standardized toolset. they could've dropped the number and signaled it as just being a big ass messy sloppy cuhrazy megawad and called it a day and 99% of the shit talk would be stopped in its erroneous tracks. really, I don't even think there's a good argument that doom's better unless you're looking at it as some hermetically pure retail project rather than a couplet of frameworks or stepping stones to greater ideas. hindsight is 50/50, but we're graced with enough distance now to know that any assessment of the material should be done while understanding what it wrought; that none of this exists in that Big Box Vacuum and never really did — shareware being the first and last exposure many, many people had in the first place, and doom always being a game that's chopped n screwed in as many ways as possible. doom is ragged and raw; it's tendrils, it's wild kudzu and overgrowth and every idea every middle schooler ever jotted in a notebook. to appraise this in a sanitized quarantine is geek shit I simply can't abide by. this is an immaculate vessel that had the good grace to show up with 32 mostly sick maps
THE FACTORY
fifty indie games
that look exactly like this
steam early access
if any game exists as some kind of broad communal accomplishment, it's probably doom. opening with an open source branch to the community, and closing long after we're buried in our technograves. ads for lotions interrupt our epitaphs while someone named grizzlyguzzler releases the cacoward winning "scronky bonky II" and sets neo doomworld ablaze with passionate discussion. Did You See The Part Where. I Can't Believe That. How Did They Even...
billionaires in bad suits pump sicko dollars into metaverses and games-within-games-within-games; some eternal platform-slash-cenotaph is conjured by the world's most killable humans; disfigured 3D models waggle and wave in cyberspace trying desperately to create something as remotely meaningful, intravenously sucking on your wallet to please money perverts before being sent to the scrap heap
good luck
DEAD SIMPLE
perfect little map
the homages will go on
past our life and death
As a wise man once said, if it ain’t broke don’t fix it…just lightly modify it to your taste. Doom was an extremely popular game that basically invented the first person shooter. So of course a year later there was gonna be a sequel. But would this sequel live up to the original?
Definitely
You play as doomguy yet again on his mission to defeat the same demons you fought in the first game. Your mission is to save earth and destroy hell once and for all. The plot is pretty standard just like its predecessor but it works for what the game is going for. It’s also set in a continuous sequence of linked levels unlike the first game where you have three different chapters. Now onto the gameplay…
The gameplay is similar to the first game. There aren’t many graphical improvements or anything but there are a few added additions. For starters, the levels are much bigger and a lot more ambitious than the previous game. There are some new enemies and with them comes a new weapons. The new enemies can be pretty tough and overall they are really cool additions. The new weapon is the super shotgun and oh man, is it super. You can now shoot two barrels at once and it works excellently against the tougher enemies. You also have a new power up known as the megasphere which improves your health and armour to the maximum of 200%. Overall the game has some neat additions that do make it stand out to the original doom and it works really well.
So…is doom II a good sequel? It sure is. Coming from the original doom it’s quite the improvement. The new levels are very ambitious and the new additions are fun to use. The gunplay is still as fast and fun as it always was with that gripping level of brutality. The music is also as hardcore as ever. Like come on, you can’t have doom without metal music (we don’t talk about the ps1 port even though it works kinda well).
Great sequel, ambitious levels, cool additions, still fun gunplay, music will always be hardcore, fan made levels are kinda ambitious
Definitely
You play as doomguy yet again on his mission to defeat the same demons you fought in the first game. Your mission is to save earth and destroy hell once and for all. The plot is pretty standard just like its predecessor but it works for what the game is going for. It’s also set in a continuous sequence of linked levels unlike the first game where you have three different chapters. Now onto the gameplay…
The gameplay is similar to the first game. There aren’t many graphical improvements or anything but there are a few added additions. For starters, the levels are much bigger and a lot more ambitious than the previous game. There are some new enemies and with them comes a new weapons. The new enemies can be pretty tough and overall they are really cool additions. The new weapon is the super shotgun and oh man, is it super. You can now shoot two barrels at once and it works excellently against the tougher enemies. You also have a new power up known as the megasphere which improves your health and armour to the maximum of 200%. Overall the game has some neat additions that do make it stand out to the original doom and it works really well.
So…is doom II a good sequel? It sure is. Coming from the original doom it’s quite the improvement. The new levels are very ambitious and the new additions are fun to use. The gunplay is still as fast and fun as it always was with that gripping level of brutality. The music is also as hardcore as ever. Like come on, you can’t have doom without metal music (we don’t talk about the ps1 port even though it works kinda well).
Great sequel, ambitious levels, cool additions, still fun gunplay, music will always be hardcore, fan made levels are kinda ambitious
Maliciously designed to kill you.
It's banking on you to beat it out of spite. "Oh you just teleported chaingunners behind me after picking up this inconspicuous gun? Well now I'm ready next time, asshole!" It really wants to make you hate these demons with a burning passion. If Doom II was built any easier or laxer then these enemies wouldn't be much of a threat alone, and therefore less memorable. The level design accentuates the demons as scheming yet merciless. This isn't some honorable battle between warriors, this is a hunt for flesh. And there can only be one winner here.
More than many action games is Doom II a test on your memory, reactivity, and resource management. This game is straight up unfair, so you need to keep in mind what gun your currently holding before triggering the trap that killed you earlier. Demons have various levels of health, damage, and mobility; thus misusing and wasting your more powerful weapons will leave you vulnerable for when you really need that rocket launcher or B.F.G. against that Archvile. Sound cues are vital to knowing if a enemy has spotted you, or if a off-screen projectile is flying towards you. The player at least has the newly added super shotgun, though while a extremely powerful gun with good ammo efficiency, can be easy to over rely on. Definitely had times where the intervals between reloading the shotgun got me killed, when I should've attacked more from a distance with the chaingun or stunlocked with the plasma rifle.
But even with the generous usage of quicksaves, this game can get exhausting for a new player. Sometimes you get tired of being made a fool of yourself when the game teleports you into a tiny room with four imps on every side, which then proceed to tear you to shreds. Literally no way to know that was going to happen. The more bullshit people will encounter, the less willing they'll be able to continue with your game. Of course that isn't a universal rule, but there's a fine line between "Fck you, let's try that again!" and "Fck you, I quit!" For better or worse, games just don't do this kind of evil, unscrupulous design anymore.
Like Doom Eternal, I had to take breaks in the middle of levels. But unlike Eternal, it was because I couldn't be bothered at points to drudge through yet another elevator that takes me right into a horde of chaingunners that eat away at my health before I can even see where they are. It's funny how some of the earliest demons, the chaingunners, I find to be more annoying then even the Pain Elementals or Archviles.
Though with that in mind, playing Doom II showed me why this game has remained popular to this day. The enemies with their particular and variable roles, and the weapons with their satisfying designs and function, makes for near-infinite mod level packs with fresh feeling gameplay. Whether you want to have the player cleave through hordes of fodder demons with the B.F.G., or starve them for ammo as they have to whittle down a towering Cyberdemon, modding Doom II levels will live on well-passed any live service game that shuts down (six months after release).
Don't know if I played a good version of Doom II though. I'll be honest when I look up stuff for classic Doom, I get pretty intimidated by the number of ports and re-releases of the game, plus all the hard-core fans mentioning which ports are better then others. I played the standalone release from Steam on my Steam Deck, not sure what people in the community would call that port. I just took the path of least resistance to play the game, so hopefully that version won't make a Doom fan too upset at me. Did come across a few bugs, namely to do with a elevator not triggering and I had to reload my save to get it working again. Also I don't know if this is just a normal Doom thing, but sometimes it can feel pretty stingy when auto-aim will work if you're trying to hit a demon from a large elevation difference. Hard to get into a precise location to hit them when they can attack with their hitscans from wherever they want off-screen. This version of Doom 2 at least had that reticle to light up red if the next shot will hit a target, but it still doesn't change the fact how awkward "aiming" can be in this game.
And lastly, why did 'Into Sandy's City' only play in one level when it's easily the best song in the entire game?
It's banking on you to beat it out of spite. "Oh you just teleported chaingunners behind me after picking up this inconspicuous gun? Well now I'm ready next time, asshole!" It really wants to make you hate these demons with a burning passion. If Doom II was built any easier or laxer then these enemies wouldn't be much of a threat alone, and therefore less memorable. The level design accentuates the demons as scheming yet merciless. This isn't some honorable battle between warriors, this is a hunt for flesh. And there can only be one winner here.
More than many action games is Doom II a test on your memory, reactivity, and resource management. This game is straight up unfair, so you need to keep in mind what gun your currently holding before triggering the trap that killed you earlier. Demons have various levels of health, damage, and mobility; thus misusing and wasting your more powerful weapons will leave you vulnerable for when you really need that rocket launcher or B.F.G. against that Archvile. Sound cues are vital to knowing if a enemy has spotted you, or if a off-screen projectile is flying towards you. The player at least has the newly added super shotgun, though while a extremely powerful gun with good ammo efficiency, can be easy to over rely on. Definitely had times where the intervals between reloading the shotgun got me killed, when I should've attacked more from a distance with the chaingun or stunlocked with the plasma rifle.
But even with the generous usage of quicksaves, this game can get exhausting for a new player. Sometimes you get tired of being made a fool of yourself when the game teleports you into a tiny room with four imps on every side, which then proceed to tear you to shreds. Literally no way to know that was going to happen. The more bullshit people will encounter, the less willing they'll be able to continue with your game. Of course that isn't a universal rule, but there's a fine line between "Fck you, let's try that again!" and "Fck you, I quit!" For better or worse, games just don't do this kind of evil, unscrupulous design anymore.
Like Doom Eternal, I had to take breaks in the middle of levels. But unlike Eternal, it was because I couldn't be bothered at points to drudge through yet another elevator that takes me right into a horde of chaingunners that eat away at my health before I can even see where they are. It's funny how some of the earliest demons, the chaingunners, I find to be more annoying then even the Pain Elementals or Archviles.
Though with that in mind, playing Doom II showed me why this game has remained popular to this day. The enemies with their particular and variable roles, and the weapons with their satisfying designs and function, makes for near-infinite mod level packs with fresh feeling gameplay. Whether you want to have the player cleave through hordes of fodder demons with the B.F.G., or starve them for ammo as they have to whittle down a towering Cyberdemon, modding Doom II levels will live on well-passed any live service game that shuts down (six months after release).
Don't know if I played a good version of Doom II though. I'll be honest when I look up stuff for classic Doom, I get pretty intimidated by the number of ports and re-releases of the game, plus all the hard-core fans mentioning which ports are better then others. I played the standalone release from Steam on my Steam Deck, not sure what people in the community would call that port. I just took the path of least resistance to play the game, so hopefully that version won't make a Doom fan too upset at me. Did come across a few bugs, namely to do with a elevator not triggering and I had to reload my save to get it working again. Also I don't know if this is just a normal Doom thing, but sometimes it can feel pretty stingy when auto-aim will work if you're trying to hit a demon from a large elevation difference. Hard to get into a precise location to hit them when they can attack with their hitscans from wherever they want off-screen. This version of Doom 2 at least had that reticle to light up red if the next shot will hit a target, but it still doesn't change the fact how awkward "aiming" can be in this game.
And lastly, why did 'Into Sandy's City' only play in one level when it's easily the best song in the entire game?
Sequels are often difficult to perfect.
You have an original concept that you've laid the foundation for. This foundation is often original, innovative, and refreshingly new.
When it comes to making a sequel then, constructing a game that lives up to these qualities is an uphill battle. Expectations are now set that were birthed from a new established standard, and those standards not only require to be met, but are expected to surpass them.
In my Crash Bandicoot 3 review, I talked about a specific type of sequel that developers attempt to fulfill this: more is better. On occasion, it is true that more can be better. Systems can be refined, tweaked, expanded upon, bringing about new and exciting ways to approach the original game's foundation.
Doom II does this approach, and it never quite makes the mark of surpassing the original.
Doom's original maps were quick and to the point, driving the combat forward. Ideas would be set up, played with, and onto the next. Every part of the buffalo was used.
Doom II lengthens and expands on these concepts, jam packing them into levels. These levels last up to 5-20 minutes, sometimes even longer if you became lost, compared to Doom's 5-10 minutes.
By the time I reached the middle of Act 3, I was becoming fatigued.
Not to say that the quality of these levels are poor - far from it. These levels bring about interesting ideas that warrant Doom II to exist and become qualified as a great sequel... It's just not as engaging as the first game.
Doom II puts much more emphasis on the setting than the original ever attempted. Doom's slow decline into hell was effective, but would often sacrifice any semblance of tangibility in it's environments in strong favor for tight level design.
Doom II takes Doom's original act progression but diversifies the environments, which in turn ends up constructing a more cohesive feeling. You're still traversing through dark metallic corridors with the occasional flesh walls and demonic infection spreading throughout until finally taking over completely, but they're expanded by including long stretches of terrain, a larger surplus of baddies, and more buildings and structures to enter into.
Because of this, it's easier to set yourself into this world. In the back of my head as I mowed down demons in droves, I reflected on the idea that these structures are of an earth brought into hell, and the effect that the chaos would have over it's populace. There was something more tangible to these areas that felt more lived in as a real place than previously before.
By it's nature of developing a sense of place, this means that level design isn't going to be as fundamentally solid in comparison to the original's. Coupled with the ideals to make a bigger and more expansive sequel, this causes the level design to feel like I'm meandering about, rather than running and gunning down levels.
I would say that despite it all, it's still astonishing for Doom II to accomplish a sense of atmosphere given this is a game released in 1994.
... That is, until I realized that 1994 is the very same year that Super Metroid, Earthbound, System Shock, Donkey Kong Country, and Marathon all released. Some of these games managed to do more with less, some even managed to do more with competing contemporary technology.
Despite that, Doom II mostly surpasses these games in terms of level design even still, (except Super Metroid), which is arguably the more important feat. On the same coin though, it's ultimately more of the same: Doom with extra levels.
For a sequel, you would expect an increase to the weapon sandbox. Doom II only has one new weapon, and that's the Super Shotgun.
And let me tell you, the inclusion of the Super Shotgun is the primary reason why I wanted to play Doom II immediately after it's prequel. It's damage output combined with it's meaty sound effect and animation really makes an impact on you, as well as any demon foolish enough to stand in your way. A gun this good is a worthy justification of a sequel. Sometimes less is more.
That being said, while the weapon pool doesn't need to be expanded further, I do wish there were more mechanics that played into the level design that transformed this formula into something more interesting.
But that's the thing, yeah? Doom II doesn't set out to expand a formula. It's goal is to make more Doom. And as I've learned, Doom is fucking awesome. But while Doom II is still awesome, it's attempt to achieve the "more is better" approach for a sequel just isn't as effective on me.
But that also doesn't mean that Doom II doesn't still fucking rule though.
You have an original concept that you've laid the foundation for. This foundation is often original, innovative, and refreshingly new.
When it comes to making a sequel then, constructing a game that lives up to these qualities is an uphill battle. Expectations are now set that were birthed from a new established standard, and those standards not only require to be met, but are expected to surpass them.
In my Crash Bandicoot 3 review, I talked about a specific type of sequel that developers attempt to fulfill this: more is better. On occasion, it is true that more can be better. Systems can be refined, tweaked, expanded upon, bringing about new and exciting ways to approach the original game's foundation.
Doom II does this approach, and it never quite makes the mark of surpassing the original.
Doom's original maps were quick and to the point, driving the combat forward. Ideas would be set up, played with, and onto the next. Every part of the buffalo was used.
Doom II lengthens and expands on these concepts, jam packing them into levels. These levels last up to 5-20 minutes, sometimes even longer if you became lost, compared to Doom's 5-10 minutes.
By the time I reached the middle of Act 3, I was becoming fatigued.
Not to say that the quality of these levels are poor - far from it. These levels bring about interesting ideas that warrant Doom II to exist and become qualified as a great sequel... It's just not as engaging as the first game.
Doom II puts much more emphasis on the setting than the original ever attempted. Doom's slow decline into hell was effective, but would often sacrifice any semblance of tangibility in it's environments in strong favor for tight level design.
Doom II takes Doom's original act progression but diversifies the environments, which in turn ends up constructing a more cohesive feeling. You're still traversing through dark metallic corridors with the occasional flesh walls and demonic infection spreading throughout until finally taking over completely, but they're expanded by including long stretches of terrain, a larger surplus of baddies, and more buildings and structures to enter into.
Because of this, it's easier to set yourself into this world. In the back of my head as I mowed down demons in droves, I reflected on the idea that these structures are of an earth brought into hell, and the effect that the chaos would have over it's populace. There was something more tangible to these areas that felt more lived in as a real place than previously before.
By it's nature of developing a sense of place, this means that level design isn't going to be as fundamentally solid in comparison to the original's. Coupled with the ideals to make a bigger and more expansive sequel, this causes the level design to feel like I'm meandering about, rather than running and gunning down levels.
I would say that despite it all, it's still astonishing for Doom II to accomplish a sense of atmosphere given this is a game released in 1994.
... That is, until I realized that 1994 is the very same year that Super Metroid, Earthbound, System Shock, Donkey Kong Country, and Marathon all released. Some of these games managed to do more with less, some even managed to do more with competing contemporary technology.
Despite that, Doom II mostly surpasses these games in terms of level design even still, (except Super Metroid), which is arguably the more important feat. On the same coin though, it's ultimately more of the same: Doom with extra levels.
For a sequel, you would expect an increase to the weapon sandbox. Doom II only has one new weapon, and that's the Super Shotgun.
And let me tell you, the inclusion of the Super Shotgun is the primary reason why I wanted to play Doom II immediately after it's prequel. It's damage output combined with it's meaty sound effect and animation really makes an impact on you, as well as any demon foolish enough to stand in your way. A gun this good is a worthy justification of a sequel. Sometimes less is more.
That being said, while the weapon pool doesn't need to be expanded further, I do wish there were more mechanics that played into the level design that transformed this formula into something more interesting.
But that's the thing, yeah? Doom II doesn't set out to expand a formula. It's goal is to make more Doom. And as I've learned, Doom is fucking awesome. But while Doom II is still awesome, it's attempt to achieve the "more is better" approach for a sequel just isn't as effective on me.
But that also doesn't mean that Doom II doesn't still fucking rule though.
Pain is mandatory
What is a Doom II on Ultra Violence? A misserable lttle pile of go fuck yourself. A huge amount of issues regarding the pacing of the whole experience sadly make this sequel fall short of surpassing the original game. Sure, the new enemies are pretty good for the most part (I will find whoever thought of adding the Pain Elemental, and I shall teach them) and the super shotgun is probably the most iconic weapon in gaming at this point, but the whole experience gets bogged down by downright mean level design. I began theorizing with a friend that they did it this way so you would just skip the single player campaign and go play deathmatch since that was all the rage at the time. The small pockets of pure fun are incredible, blasting through scores and scores of baddies and meanies with a finelly tuned arsenal of deathfuck, but the puzzle and fucking platforming sections just tank the experience to a whole new degree of unfun.
There was a whole lot of hurting in this one fellas, mostly from Petersen's level design. You heard about traps and hidden switches? Now get ready for THE AGONY CONTRAPTION. You could fill a small nation with the amount of cacodemons present in his levels (my personal theory is that he is such a TTRPG nerd he just adds them because it reminds him of DnD).
Shoutout to the music tho. I found myself stopping to just hear it after every carnage. Yeah we all know it's mostly juststolen heavily inspired by the metal they were listening at the office at the time, but the ambient tracks and original stuff knocks it off the park.
On to build engine games, starting with Duked Nuked DDD. I won't play them on the hardest difficulty since from my experience the level of fun just goes to the shitter with them, while in Doom it's a somewhat achievable punishment for trying to have fun.
What is a Doom II on Ultra Violence? A misserable lttle pile of go fuck yourself. A huge amount of issues regarding the pacing of the whole experience sadly make this sequel fall short of surpassing the original game. Sure, the new enemies are pretty good for the most part (I will find whoever thought of adding the Pain Elemental, and I shall teach them) and the super shotgun is probably the most iconic weapon in gaming at this point, but the whole experience gets bogged down by downright mean level design. I began theorizing with a friend that they did it this way so you would just skip the single player campaign and go play deathmatch since that was all the rage at the time. The small pockets of pure fun are incredible, blasting through scores and scores of baddies and meanies with a finelly tuned arsenal of deathfuck, but the puzzle and fucking platforming sections just tank the experience to a whole new degree of unfun.
There was a whole lot of hurting in this one fellas, mostly from Petersen's level design. You heard about traps and hidden switches? Now get ready for THE AGONY CONTRAPTION. You could fill a small nation with the amount of cacodemons present in his levels (my personal theory is that he is such a TTRPG nerd he just adds them because it reminds him of DnD).
Shoutout to the music tho. I found myself stopping to just hear it after every carnage. Yeah we all know it's mostly just
On to build engine games, starting with Duked Nuked DDD. I won't play them on the hardest difficulty since from my experience the level of fun just goes to the shitter with them, while in Doom it's a somewhat achievable punishment for trying to have fun.
After playing through and having an absolute blast with the original Doom back in September, I became a lot more excited to catch up on playing more of the boomer shooters that came after it during the 1990s, with its direct sequel being first up for me. Even with the amount of time that it took for me to test out different official and unofficial ports of Doom before settling on the DOS version, I still beat the game within a week, but it took me over two months to beat Doom II, and that's because this game is way, way less fun than its predecessor. Although it looks and feels like that 1993 landmark title, Doom II makes enough wrong decisions for me to consider it a direct downgrade from the original game, as it felt like a chore to get through very early on and only got worse from there.
Putting the fantastic gameplay, charming 2.5D visuals, and blood-pumping music aside, one of the main elements of Doom that makes it such a consistent and engaging experience is its carefully constructed levels and enemy placements, and I'm of the opinion that the design philosophy of Doom II completely misunderstands this. Rather than putting just enough enemies to make encounters tense while also giving you enough space to maneuver around them and strategize your approach, Doom II instead opts for filling every single room with as many enemies as humanly possible and pretending that this counts as "challenge" (a design choice that you'd be very familiar with if you've played one of those awful Super Mario Maker levels that do the exact same thing), and this choice alone turns Doom II into a repetitive, annoying shadow of the game that preceded it. The levels either consist of confusing mazes, cryptic puzzles, unnecessary gimmicks, awful platforming in a game that doesn't even have a jump button, or a combination of the four, and while I pretty much never got lost in the original Doom due to how the different paths in each level were designed to loop back to a central room or overlap with each other, these levels literally have arrows pointing to where I should go, and that's rarely ever a good sign. A lot of the game's new enemies were straight-up unfun to fight, with their high damage, frequent spawns, and finicky ways of actually fighting them making me groan whenever I came across one, especially if it was an Arch-vile or a Pain Elemental. Even the music in Doom II was lamer this time around, as the metal and ambient tracks were swapped out for boring loops that I got sick of very quickly.
Visually, Doom II has the exact same look and feel of the first game, and while I still find the blend of 2D sprites and 3D environments endearing, it doesn't work as well here as it did before. Since the original Doom starts out in Mars before you rip and tear your way through Hell, it made sense for the environments to go from mechanical and futuristic to fleshy and pulsating, but because the theme for Doom II is that the armies of Hell have invaded Earth, the game just ended up looking like a mishmash of entirely reused assets with nothing all that visually distinct when compared to the first game. The only new addition to Doom II that I genuinely liked was that of the iconic super shotgun, as it was immensely satisfying to use with every shot and ended up being my weapon of choice for almost my entire playthrough. Despite this, Doom II was a very disappointing and tedious boomer shooter that fundamentally misses the mark on what made Doom fun in the first place, and while I am still looking forward to playing Doom 64, I'm going to be a bit more cautious after being burned by this game.
Putting the fantastic gameplay, charming 2.5D visuals, and blood-pumping music aside, one of the main elements of Doom that makes it such a consistent and engaging experience is its carefully constructed levels and enemy placements, and I'm of the opinion that the design philosophy of Doom II completely misunderstands this. Rather than putting just enough enemies to make encounters tense while also giving you enough space to maneuver around them and strategize your approach, Doom II instead opts for filling every single room with as many enemies as humanly possible and pretending that this counts as "challenge" (a design choice that you'd be very familiar with if you've played one of those awful Super Mario Maker levels that do the exact same thing), and this choice alone turns Doom II into a repetitive, annoying shadow of the game that preceded it. The levels either consist of confusing mazes, cryptic puzzles, unnecessary gimmicks, awful platforming in a game that doesn't even have a jump button, or a combination of the four, and while I pretty much never got lost in the original Doom due to how the different paths in each level were designed to loop back to a central room or overlap with each other, these levels literally have arrows pointing to where I should go, and that's rarely ever a good sign. A lot of the game's new enemies were straight-up unfun to fight, with their high damage, frequent spawns, and finicky ways of actually fighting them making me groan whenever I came across one, especially if it was an Arch-vile or a Pain Elemental. Even the music in Doom II was lamer this time around, as the metal and ambient tracks were swapped out for boring loops that I got sick of very quickly.
Visually, Doom II has the exact same look and feel of the first game, and while I still find the blend of 2D sprites and 3D environments endearing, it doesn't work as well here as it did before. Since the original Doom starts out in Mars before you rip and tear your way through Hell, it made sense for the environments to go from mechanical and futuristic to fleshy and pulsating, but because the theme for Doom II is that the armies of Hell have invaded Earth, the game just ended up looking like a mishmash of entirely reused assets with nothing all that visually distinct when compared to the first game. The only new addition to Doom II that I genuinely liked was that of the iconic super shotgun, as it was immensely satisfying to use with every shot and ended up being my weapon of choice for almost my entire playthrough. Despite this, Doom II was a very disappointing and tedious boomer shooter that fundamentally misses the mark on what made Doom fun in the first place, and while I am still looking forward to playing Doom 64, I'm going to be a bit more cautious after being burned by this game.
worse design but with it you will play milions of mods so who cares
best shotgun ever
best shotgun ever
Supershotgun
best understood as an expanded ruleset for future mappers to use in creating some of the finest fps gameplay ever seen by humans.
actual banger maps in DOOM2.WAD are few and far between (map29 the living end is probably my favourite), yet it wouldn't be hard to list at least 10 userwads jam-packed with incredible fights and environments. this is why i get frustrated when people don't talk about wads
actual banger maps in DOOM2.WAD are few and far between (map29 the living end is probably my favourite), yet it wouldn't be hard to list at least 10 userwads jam-packed with incredible fights and environments. this is why i get frustrated when people don't talk about wads
curtia mais antes de rejogar, level design é uma tosqueira só, se salva só os primeiros níveis, horas rodando pra descobrir como terminar a fase, parece até final de souls-like e o boss final é uma parede vsf, o do 1 já era ruim e o desse é pior, de resto a gameplay é um pouco mais rápida e tem a super shotgun
A step down from the previous game in terms of level design, with some pretty low points, but the additions made the enemy roster allowed for some of the best FPS gameplay of all time
Coming straight off the original has only made me detest my time with DOOM II more. Whilst the super shotgun is a blast (quite literally) and the core of doom still shines through the hefty layers of muck, the level design in this entry is disturbingly confused and maze-like. In other words, it's rather hellish.
imagine doom 1 if it had dogshit level design. i feel no need to waste time writing a proper review of this because i wasted enough time playing it.
Jumping into this immediately after beating Ultimate Doom makes me realise how vastly important having enjoyable level design is in a game like this.
I really shouldn’t get Doom II
I really should be bothered, stressed, and highly frustrated by it.
It has some levels that should drive to pure rage, stuff that in any other context I should theoretically complain about.
And yet
I get it
I’ve spoken many times of the importance of Doom both as a space for community and player expression and the pivotal impact it had on the PC scene, and it still feel like I’ve only said understatements. A game that holds up so amazingly well decades later, with some of the most fascinating and fun levels ever put together, and with three episodes that each try to tackle not only different visuals and themes, but also each focuses on a completely different gameplay idea. All this to say that, yeah, I really like the funny killing demon game.
I think suffices to say that Doom II had some mad big shoes to fill, both now for new players like me and especially back then, and I gotta be completely serious here and say: I really didn’t think it could ever do it. Doom was and, in a way, still is an incredibly unique way so tightly designed, so puzzle-like like on its maze-like lay-outs, so calculated with how it decides when to throw curve-balls at you and pull-off novel enemy positioning; Episode 3,Inferno, felt like the final frontier in that regard, the ultimate exploration of the whack-ass and unexpected ideas you could pull off with Doom’s base, at least back then. And if ‘95’s E4 introduced in The Ultimate Doom is anything to go by, perhaps it’s a better idea to leave things as they are to not repeat a formula until it gets stale or expand it to extremes where it just breaks apart.
Thing is, Doom II didn’t even came out in 95, hell, it didn’t release after Ultimate Doom. 1994, more specifically September of 1994, not even a full year after the original’s release, so little time that with the tools at their disposal and without as much as a Q&A department, the team had to test the maps manually, something which they didn’t even could really do properly; so little time that basically the entirety of the original’s base was reused, which led to some funky stuff like only one new weapon being added and one of the newly introduced enemies clearly being a recolored Hell Baron; so little time that the mere idea of wanting to make even more maps that those of the previous release should have spelled absolute disaster. Because, how in the living fuck do you pull it together? How could you expect to produce something that doesn’t feel more that a cobbled together expansion with such a time constraint? How do you make more Doom?
Doom II’s answer to that question is straightforward: you don’t
This not to say the game doesn’t pick up from where it left off, both in that it continues just after the rather disturbing ending of the original, and that everything you can do is lifted straight up from that original adventure; the game’s gonna look at you funny if you play this as your first rodeo, ‘cause it’s not gonna pull any punches, but if you did play the original, the buckle up my friend, hell is loose and it has brought a surprise or two with it.
Things already feel different from the very start, even in the small room of Entryway and the cramped passage-ways of Underhalls, something clearly has changed; you face the same enemies, your arsenal is formed by the same arms you got to meet in your first go around, and yet, the design feels tighter, everything feels faster; you dart around enemies, evading zombies and demons at every turn, they surprise you in unexpected ways, it demands speed of you. The original Doom was never a slower game by any stretch of the imagination, but it was more patience focused, more strategy based, and many of the situations that it created revolved around waiting and taking you’re your best shot or calmly thinking where to go after grabbing a key. In Hell of Earth I can count with the fingers of only one of my hands the moments I let go of the run button, and I say this as the highest form of compliment possible.
And it only keeps going: the super shotgun finally gets introduced, a weapon so good that the only complain I have with it is that it kind of makes the original shotgun obsolete; a fantastic closed range powerhouse that it feels like the developers where whispering ‘’now you gotta go IN’’ as they hand it to you; you also get your arsenal at a much steady and faster pace that in Doom, which is surprising considering that this time the Episode format is completely ditched: the levels go after one another, and unless you die or decide to reset, pistol-starting is now an option rather an obligation, and even then, if you do decide to do it, you can potentially regain most of your weapons even before being half-way done with a level; I myself accidentally pistol-started at Barrels of fun and I’ve never been so glad about a miss click in my life, it was so incredibly fun and exciting and tense even more that it would have been otherwise. Doom II also feels far less stingy with its ammo, in the past you may have switch an arm into another because you just couldn’t use it anymore, now it’s more a matter of ‘’ok, how do I deal with this bunch of fuckers?’’; battles start through ambushes, traps or encounters, and you need to quickly analyze the situation if you want to get through alive in less than a second… and that’s more than enough. Doom II may be cheecky with its enemy placement, but its never unfair, it always gives you enough time to either take cover or to think about what’s the better tool for a certain enemy or group: the rocket launcher may be the best option to geal with that group of Imps, but that Chain-gunner can eat through health in a matter of seconds, why not use the super shot gun on him first and on tap him while you dart around the fire-balls? That’s only a taste of the type of situations of Doom II puts you through, combats that should feel stressful and frustrating, but instead feel exciting and in occasions made me feel an adrenaline like no other; I swear I audibly gasped when I say that amount of enemies at the Suburbs, and I smiled and celebrated as I emerged victorious after dealing with them in a way not even I thought I could.
Levels only get more creative and expansive as they go, The Crusher (aptly named after its main attraction) shows how the rest of the game will play around verticality to create more interesting battles and explorations, as well as introduce unconventional ideas that you might not have expected to see in the previous entry, and that changes your mindset in a way you may not notice at first, but that will certainly will make you be on the look-out. Things that once would have been secrets now are required to be found to progress, it asks of you to be creative, to think outside the box and do what you never would have even conceived of doing. In one of the levels I was trapped, not knowing what to do, but then I noticed a wall with a texture that was extremely different from the rest. I thought that ‘’There’s no fucking way’’. I shoot it. The path opens. Time at time again, places like The Citadelor The Spirit World expect you a level of attention and imagination that the game lends itself to receive, an imagination you have and use to beat even the most seemingly confusing puzzles and mazes; you’ll need to check the map, you’ll need to run, you’ll need to brave, it’s through that that game will reward you, maybe with a Megacharge, maybe with the BFG, maybe with a secret level, who knows! I certainly can’t say for sure ‘cause I feel like I’ve left a ton to even be discovered!
And yeah, I didn’t meant to not use the world ‘’paces’’, more than ever in any of the Doom Episodes, the Hell on Earth maps feel like real parts of a world: expansive and open world urban locations overrun by demons, cultist temples created to stop your advances, old bastions taken and repurposes by the legions of hell to fight against you; even the more ‘’gamey’’ of levels, like Tricks and Traps! or Gotcha!, are excusable because they so fun and even funny that I cannot be mad at them, and as for the rest, they really sell you the idea that you are traversing and meeting your objectives little by little; the narrative has as much presence as the original game, but it has a much greater impact ‘cause not only the stakes are even higher, it also feels like you are progressing through a real story, and that this is a true war against the enemies that face you, new and old.
The game also realized the full potential of its older cast, like how both the Cyberdemon and Spider-Mastermind act much better as level obstacles to evade than actual bosses, and the new faces that arrive are simply incredible; I’ve genuinely never loved and hated an enemy in a videogame equally as I do the Arch-vile, seeing him generated dread in my body, but also made me smile at the opportunity to face such an interesting and unique enemy. The Pain Elementals, Hell Knights an Revenants are all incredible new comer that pile up on the ‘’NEVER STOP MOVING FOR THE LOVE OF GOD’’ mentality, and they are all incredibly memorable, especially the Mancubi, I already loved them in the new games, but hearing them scream their own name as they shoot double projectiles was so fucking memorable. And that final boss.. GOD, finally a Doom boss that requires EVERYTHING you learnt; ammo management, dealing with individual threads, resource usage and even aim, such a fantastic send off that isn’t just a ‘’spam BFG to win fest’’, this is simply outstanding, so fun, so imperfect in the best way imaginable.
If Doom was already a passion project, then Doom II is that even more deranged, more reckless, more… itself. Sandy, Romero and the team knew they could do a true glory fest, and they went even beyond that. Doom II is so experimental, so unique, so unquestionably goofy that I can’t stop gushing about it. It’s more than a blast to beginning to end, it’s a challenge that wants to have as much as fun as you do playing it, and tries out new stuff at each turn, and even those times it doesn’t stick, it keeps being memorable in the best way imaginable.
It's OG Doom at its most savage, at its most free and wild, and its most fun and creative, and I for one have fallen in love with it, and now I can totally see why so many others did too, why so many others keep its memory and spirit alive through .wads and crazy ideas through this one moreso than any other. It’s a game in a way made for itself, but also for everyone that loves Doom, for everyone that loves shooters, for everyone that loves untamed creativeness.
What a fucking magnificent way to start the year, an experience that goes beyond the sum of its parts, and adventure that builds something that evolves and subverts what it once was, the opposite of Hell on Earth.
Rebuilding Earth ought to be a lot more fun than ruining it was
I really should be bothered, stressed, and highly frustrated by it.
It has some levels that should drive to pure rage, stuff that in any other context I should theoretically complain about.
And yet
I get it
I’ve spoken many times of the importance of Doom both as a space for community and player expression and the pivotal impact it had on the PC scene, and it still feel like I’ve only said understatements. A game that holds up so amazingly well decades later, with some of the most fascinating and fun levels ever put together, and with three episodes that each try to tackle not only different visuals and themes, but also each focuses on a completely different gameplay idea. All this to say that, yeah, I really like the funny killing demon game.
I think suffices to say that Doom II had some mad big shoes to fill, both now for new players like me and especially back then, and I gotta be completely serious here and say: I really didn’t think it could ever do it. Doom was and, in a way, still is an incredibly unique way so tightly designed, so puzzle-like like on its maze-like lay-outs, so calculated with how it decides when to throw curve-balls at you and pull-off novel enemy positioning; Episode 3,Inferno, felt like the final frontier in that regard, the ultimate exploration of the whack-ass and unexpected ideas you could pull off with Doom’s base, at least back then. And if ‘95’s E4 introduced in The Ultimate Doom is anything to go by, perhaps it’s a better idea to leave things as they are to not repeat a formula until it gets stale or expand it to extremes where it just breaks apart.
Thing is, Doom II didn’t even came out in 95, hell, it didn’t release after Ultimate Doom. 1994, more specifically September of 1994, not even a full year after the original’s release, so little time that with the tools at their disposal and without as much as a Q&A department, the team had to test the maps manually, something which they didn’t even could really do properly; so little time that basically the entirety of the original’s base was reused, which led to some funky stuff like only one new weapon being added and one of the newly introduced enemies clearly being a recolored Hell Baron; so little time that the mere idea of wanting to make even more maps that those of the previous release should have spelled absolute disaster. Because, how in the living fuck do you pull it together? How could you expect to produce something that doesn’t feel more that a cobbled together expansion with such a time constraint? How do you make more Doom?
Doom II’s answer to that question is straightforward: you don’t
This not to say the game doesn’t pick up from where it left off, both in that it continues just after the rather disturbing ending of the original, and that everything you can do is lifted straight up from that original adventure; the game’s gonna look at you funny if you play this as your first rodeo, ‘cause it’s not gonna pull any punches, but if you did play the original, the buckle up my friend, hell is loose and it has brought a surprise or two with it.
Things already feel different from the very start, even in the small room of Entryway and the cramped passage-ways of Underhalls, something clearly has changed; you face the same enemies, your arsenal is formed by the same arms you got to meet in your first go around, and yet, the design feels tighter, everything feels faster; you dart around enemies, evading zombies and demons at every turn, they surprise you in unexpected ways, it demands speed of you. The original Doom was never a slower game by any stretch of the imagination, but it was more patience focused, more strategy based, and many of the situations that it created revolved around waiting and taking you’re your best shot or calmly thinking where to go after grabbing a key. In Hell of Earth I can count with the fingers of only one of my hands the moments I let go of the run button, and I say this as the highest form of compliment possible.
And it only keeps going: the super shotgun finally gets introduced, a weapon so good that the only complain I have with it is that it kind of makes the original shotgun obsolete; a fantastic closed range powerhouse that it feels like the developers where whispering ‘’now you gotta go IN’’ as they hand it to you; you also get your arsenal at a much steady and faster pace that in Doom, which is surprising considering that this time the Episode format is completely ditched: the levels go after one another, and unless you die or decide to reset, pistol-starting is now an option rather an obligation, and even then, if you do decide to do it, you can potentially regain most of your weapons even before being half-way done with a level; I myself accidentally pistol-started at Barrels of fun and I’ve never been so glad about a miss click in my life, it was so incredibly fun and exciting and tense even more that it would have been otherwise. Doom II also feels far less stingy with its ammo, in the past you may have switch an arm into another because you just couldn’t use it anymore, now it’s more a matter of ‘’ok, how do I deal with this bunch of fuckers?’’; battles start through ambushes, traps or encounters, and you need to quickly analyze the situation if you want to get through alive in less than a second… and that’s more than enough. Doom II may be cheecky with its enemy placement, but its never unfair, it always gives you enough time to either take cover or to think about what’s the better tool for a certain enemy or group: the rocket launcher may be the best option to geal with that group of Imps, but that Chain-gunner can eat through health in a matter of seconds, why not use the super shot gun on him first and on tap him while you dart around the fire-balls? That’s only a taste of the type of situations of Doom II puts you through, combats that should feel stressful and frustrating, but instead feel exciting and in occasions made me feel an adrenaline like no other; I swear I audibly gasped when I say that amount of enemies at the Suburbs, and I smiled and celebrated as I emerged victorious after dealing with them in a way not even I thought I could.
Levels only get more creative and expansive as they go, The Crusher (aptly named after its main attraction) shows how the rest of the game will play around verticality to create more interesting battles and explorations, as well as introduce unconventional ideas that you might not have expected to see in the previous entry, and that changes your mindset in a way you may not notice at first, but that will certainly will make you be on the look-out. Things that once would have been secrets now are required to be found to progress, it asks of you to be creative, to think outside the box and do what you never would have even conceived of doing. In one of the levels I was trapped, not knowing what to do, but then I noticed a wall with a texture that was extremely different from the rest. I thought that ‘’There’s no fucking way’’. I shoot it. The path opens. Time at time again, places like The Citadelor The Spirit World expect you a level of attention and imagination that the game lends itself to receive, an imagination you have and use to beat even the most seemingly confusing puzzles and mazes; you’ll need to check the map, you’ll need to run, you’ll need to brave, it’s through that that game will reward you, maybe with a Megacharge, maybe with the BFG, maybe with a secret level, who knows! I certainly can’t say for sure ‘cause I feel like I’ve left a ton to even be discovered!
And yeah, I didn’t meant to not use the world ‘’paces’’, more than ever in any of the Doom Episodes, the Hell on Earth maps feel like real parts of a world: expansive and open world urban locations overrun by demons, cultist temples created to stop your advances, old bastions taken and repurposes by the legions of hell to fight against you; even the more ‘’gamey’’ of levels, like Tricks and Traps! or Gotcha!, are excusable because they so fun and even funny that I cannot be mad at them, and as for the rest, they really sell you the idea that you are traversing and meeting your objectives little by little; the narrative has as much presence as the original game, but it has a much greater impact ‘cause not only the stakes are even higher, it also feels like you are progressing through a real story, and that this is a true war against the enemies that face you, new and old.
The game also realized the full potential of its older cast, like how both the Cyberdemon and Spider-Mastermind act much better as level obstacles to evade than actual bosses, and the new faces that arrive are simply incredible; I’ve genuinely never loved and hated an enemy in a videogame equally as I do the Arch-vile, seeing him generated dread in my body, but also made me smile at the opportunity to face such an interesting and unique enemy. The Pain Elementals, Hell Knights an Revenants are all incredible new comer that pile up on the ‘’NEVER STOP MOVING FOR THE LOVE OF GOD’’ mentality, and they are all incredibly memorable, especially the Mancubi, I already loved them in the new games, but hearing them scream their own name as they shoot double projectiles was so fucking memorable. And that final boss.. GOD, finally a Doom boss that requires EVERYTHING you learnt; ammo management, dealing with individual threads, resource usage and even aim, such a fantastic send off that isn’t just a ‘’spam BFG to win fest’’, this is simply outstanding, so fun, so imperfect in the best way imaginable.
If Doom was already a passion project, then Doom II is that even more deranged, more reckless, more… itself. Sandy, Romero and the team knew they could do a true glory fest, and they went even beyond that. Doom II is so experimental, so unique, so unquestionably goofy that I can’t stop gushing about it. It’s more than a blast to beginning to end, it’s a challenge that wants to have as much as fun as you do playing it, and tries out new stuff at each turn, and even those times it doesn’t stick, it keeps being memorable in the best way imaginable.
It's OG Doom at its most savage, at its most free and wild, and its most fun and creative, and I for one have fallen in love with it, and now I can totally see why so many others did too, why so many others keep its memory and spirit alive through .wads and crazy ideas through this one moreso than any other. It’s a game in a way made for itself, but also for everyone that loves Doom, for everyone that loves shooters, for everyone that loves untamed creativeness.
What a fucking magnificent way to start the year, an experience that goes beyond the sum of its parts, and adventure that builds something that evolves and subverts what it once was, the opposite of Hell on Earth.
Rebuilding Earth ought to be a lot more fun than ruining it was
Despite being one of the most popular and influential games of all time, somehow, Doom 2 is still severely underrated.
Someone who agrees is Danbo, fellow Doom lover and developer of the shmup Blue Revolver. In his old article (https://blog.danbo.vg/post/50094276897/the-most-misunderstood-game-of-all-time) he explains:
"While Doom was no doubt the product of a bunch of nerds doing what they love, the game offers a more intelligent gameplay palette than just about any other pure FPS in the world...Doom perfection is achieved where the visceral meets the intelligent."
Everyone knows the obvious: the timeless joy of the Super Shotgun, the surreal demonic aesthetic, the beloved metal MIDIs that rip off Metallica and Slayer, and so on. But there's an iceberg of elements below the surface that oft go overlooked by those uninitiated in deeper Dooming ways. To bring up just a few examples:
The famous BFG is a brilliant, quirky weapon that operates like some bizarre hybrid of a delayed-fire rocket launcher and shotgun. The ball does a good chunk of damage, but the real firepower is in the spread of 40 invisible tracers that shoot out from you a bit after the ball explodes, in the direction you initially fired. You can fire at packs of enemies to spread out the damage for crowd control, or get right up next to something to put all the tracers on it for massive destruction (both incredibly useful and incredibly dangerous against Cyberdemons). You can fire the BFG at long range, do other things (run around, switch weapons), then move into position for the tracers as the ball makes impact. You can hide behind cover, shoot the ball into a wall, then quickly peek outside cover to forgo the ball damage in favor of safety. You can even shoot, realize that you're in a bad position, and retreat, wasting ammo but possibly saving your life.
Switching weapons is both critical to success and surprisingly slow, especially if you compare with Doom's modern entries. But this adds commitment, that deep shard of the action game's soul, in a way that ties into the ever-present ammo system. Say you pump two Super Shotgun blasts into a Revenant, and are confident that it's a hair away from death. You can switch to the Chaingun to fire a quick burst, which is highly ammo-efficient, but takes time and leaves you vulnerable. You can stick with the Super Shotgun, which trades ammo for safety and speed. You can even use the Rocket Launcher to put heavy damage on another foe while killing the first with splash damage, but this opens the door for the classic-yet-catastrophic rocket to your own face. id could have easily made the weapon switch speed near-instant, but whether by intention or happenstance, they didn't, and the game is better for it.
I could go on and on about all the nuances that add to the game, but there are two critical elements that set Doom apart from every other FPS. The first is its emphasis on space control. Take the humble Pinky, for instance: low health and it's bites are easily dodged, so not much threat, right? Well, put Doomguy in a room with fifty of them (Doom 2 MAP08: Tricks and Traps for instance) and the assessment rapidly changes. If you're not careful, you'll be surrounded on all sides, and while killing a few may be easy, others will quickly rush into the gaps to further constrict you. Controlling territory with movement and smart (or copious) use of ammo is critical to survival. Now imagine how much the situation would evolve with just a single Archvile added to the mix!
The other aspect, almost completely unique to Doom as far as I know, is monster infighting and its importance. Baiting one monster type to attack another will cause it to switch aggro and retaliate. Purposefully leaving some monsters alive to tear each other apart can save you tons of ammo, but also presents a huge risk, as the resulting fight is more chaotic and dangerous.
A great example is the slime pit in Alien Vendetta's MAP14: Overwhelming Odds. The whole pit is filled with Pinkies, and the only way to exit the pit is a lift opposite the switch you need to hit. But hitting the switch releases two Cyberdemons, who can easily kill you if you get trapped, but can also easily dispatch the Pinkies and save you lots of ammo. How many Pinkies do you kill to get to the lift safely, vs. how many do you leave alive for the Cyberdemons? A little later, you need to return to the pit to activate another switch, which releases a massive cloud of Cacodemons. Do you kill the Cyberdemons before hitting the switch, while the field is nice and clear, but go it alone against the Cacos? Or do you leave the Cyberdemons to thin out the horde, then risk fighting them with random Cacos floating around? Or maybe you only kill one Cyberdemon to split the difference? I've tried all of these strategies, and each has its own strengths, weaknesses, and gameplay flow.
It's truly astonishing to me how much id managed to get right so early on. The fundamentals here are rock-solid, and the blend of fast paced action, using enemies against each other, heavy resource management, and a thick coating of atmosphere for good measure prefigures Resident Evil 4 by a decade. All the dynamic layers of decision-making I yearn for in action games are here, weaving into each other in wonderful interplay. Split-second decisions and execution are, as always, a matter of life and death, but also affect your health and ammo, which leaks into the next encounters. Making too hasty of a retreat at the wrong time can cost you precious territory and create openings for monsters to stake out unfavorable positions, the consequences of which might not be felt until later in the fight. The overall route you devise for tackling a map can vastly change how the onslaught plays out, both in terms of what gear you have access to and what mix of monsters are active.
It should be an obvious conclusion by now that the map has a massive impact on gameplay, especially if you are pistol starting. (sidenote: you should absolutely pistol start levels, lower the difficulty if you have to) Placement of monsters, weapons, resources, and geometry will make or break the experience. and the true mapping virtuoso has a commanding sense of how to arrange these elements to create gripping scenarios that challenge, terrify, surprise, and delight.
Danbo again:
"It’s not artificial intelligence you fight when you’re locked in a room full of Barons of Hell and Revenants and voicelessly asked to pick a side in the resulting infighting (It’ll take more ammo to finish off the barons, but revenants are more likely to give you a nasty right hook or slap you with a rocket in the process) - it’s human intelligence."
Doom 1 and 2's base maps, given the time and constraints id was working under, are an admirable work and good bit of fun, and have undoubtedly served as a crucial creative jumping-off point for the community. But they weren't able to reveal the true brilliance of the game's design: it would be the Casali brothers' Plutonia Experiment, distributed commercially in Final Doom by id a couple years after Doom 2, that began to show off how careful arrangement could bring out the best (and most deadly) in each monster.
As Doomworld's Not Jabba puts it, in their epic history Roots of Doom Mapping (https://www.doomworld.com/25years/the-roots-of-doom-mapping/):
"The Casali brothers laid so much groundwork that all combat-oriented mapping has been a series of footnotes to Plutonia."
The Doom 2 enemies in particular are some of the best ever made, and in Plutonia we can see that each contribute something unique. Hell Knights are balanced bruisers who eat space, health, and ammo in equal measure. Revenants are fragile, but their fast movespeed and homing missiles demand nimble footwork. Chaingunners fall over to stiff breezes, but call forth lead torrents within their sightlines. Mancubi and Arachnotrons lay down blankets of fire, but can be easily dodged close up and are especially prone to starting infights. Pain Elementals are harmless if you stop their Lost Souls from spawning, but sponge up piles of ammo if you let them roam free for too long. Archviles exert their tyrannical rule through long range, delayed-hitscan fire attacks, and they brutally punish inaction by resurrecting nearby fallen foes.
Since the release of Final Doom, Doom's almost 30-year-old community has been steadily building on this foundation, its continued vitality attributable to a complex mix of historical circumstance, id's openness to fan modifications (a stance I am immensely greatful for, and has been highly influential in PC gaming at large), and love of Doom. I confess that I have only begun to dip my toes into the vast world of custom maps, but the tremendous fun I've had so far, as well as the glowing reception for projects like Scythe 2, Valiant, Ancient Aliens, and Sunlust, has me eager to dive deeper. This is a community that most games would kill for, and the fact that it's gone largely overlooked, even by many fellow lovers of game mechanics, can only be described as utterly criminal.
An all-around great resource for learning more is MtPain27's Dean of Doom Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/MtPain27), where he reviews both new and old WADs level-by-level. His love of Doom is infectious, and he gives a great sense for the age, breadth, and brilliance of the mapping scene. Skilled players like Decino (https://www.youtube.com/c/decino) can also help show off the deeper aspects of gameplay, as well as engine quirks to add to your knowledge repertoire.
There are certainly some problems with the game (random damage and berserk with the chainsaw come to mind) but these are negligible when juxtaposed with the whole. I am utterly awed and humbled by what has been created here, and I don't see anything comparable emerging again. This is the type of game you could spend your whole life exploring and mastering.
Simply put: One of the greatest games of all time.
Someone who agrees is Danbo, fellow Doom lover and developer of the shmup Blue Revolver. In his old article (https://blog.danbo.vg/post/50094276897/the-most-misunderstood-game-of-all-time) he explains:
"While Doom was no doubt the product of a bunch of nerds doing what they love, the game offers a more intelligent gameplay palette than just about any other pure FPS in the world...Doom perfection is achieved where the visceral meets the intelligent."
Everyone knows the obvious: the timeless joy of the Super Shotgun, the surreal demonic aesthetic, the beloved metal MIDIs that rip off Metallica and Slayer, and so on. But there's an iceberg of elements below the surface that oft go overlooked by those uninitiated in deeper Dooming ways. To bring up just a few examples:
The famous BFG is a brilliant, quirky weapon that operates like some bizarre hybrid of a delayed-fire rocket launcher and shotgun. The ball does a good chunk of damage, but the real firepower is in the spread of 40 invisible tracers that shoot out from you a bit after the ball explodes, in the direction you initially fired. You can fire at packs of enemies to spread out the damage for crowd control, or get right up next to something to put all the tracers on it for massive destruction (both incredibly useful and incredibly dangerous against Cyberdemons). You can fire the BFG at long range, do other things (run around, switch weapons), then move into position for the tracers as the ball makes impact. You can hide behind cover, shoot the ball into a wall, then quickly peek outside cover to forgo the ball damage in favor of safety. You can even shoot, realize that you're in a bad position, and retreat, wasting ammo but possibly saving your life.
Switching weapons is both critical to success and surprisingly slow, especially if you compare with Doom's modern entries. But this adds commitment, that deep shard of the action game's soul, in a way that ties into the ever-present ammo system. Say you pump two Super Shotgun blasts into a Revenant, and are confident that it's a hair away from death. You can switch to the Chaingun to fire a quick burst, which is highly ammo-efficient, but takes time and leaves you vulnerable. You can stick with the Super Shotgun, which trades ammo for safety and speed. You can even use the Rocket Launcher to put heavy damage on another foe while killing the first with splash damage, but this opens the door for the classic-yet-catastrophic rocket to your own face. id could have easily made the weapon switch speed near-instant, but whether by intention or happenstance, they didn't, and the game is better for it.
I could go on and on about all the nuances that add to the game, but there are two critical elements that set Doom apart from every other FPS. The first is its emphasis on space control. Take the humble Pinky, for instance: low health and it's bites are easily dodged, so not much threat, right? Well, put Doomguy in a room with fifty of them (Doom 2 MAP08: Tricks and Traps for instance) and the assessment rapidly changes. If you're not careful, you'll be surrounded on all sides, and while killing a few may be easy, others will quickly rush into the gaps to further constrict you. Controlling territory with movement and smart (or copious) use of ammo is critical to survival. Now imagine how much the situation would evolve with just a single Archvile added to the mix!
The other aspect, almost completely unique to Doom as far as I know, is monster infighting and its importance. Baiting one monster type to attack another will cause it to switch aggro and retaliate. Purposefully leaving some monsters alive to tear each other apart can save you tons of ammo, but also presents a huge risk, as the resulting fight is more chaotic and dangerous.
A great example is the slime pit in Alien Vendetta's MAP14: Overwhelming Odds. The whole pit is filled with Pinkies, and the only way to exit the pit is a lift opposite the switch you need to hit. But hitting the switch releases two Cyberdemons, who can easily kill you if you get trapped, but can also easily dispatch the Pinkies and save you lots of ammo. How many Pinkies do you kill to get to the lift safely, vs. how many do you leave alive for the Cyberdemons? A little later, you need to return to the pit to activate another switch, which releases a massive cloud of Cacodemons. Do you kill the Cyberdemons before hitting the switch, while the field is nice and clear, but go it alone against the Cacos? Or do you leave the Cyberdemons to thin out the horde, then risk fighting them with random Cacos floating around? Or maybe you only kill one Cyberdemon to split the difference? I've tried all of these strategies, and each has its own strengths, weaknesses, and gameplay flow.
It's truly astonishing to me how much id managed to get right so early on. The fundamentals here are rock-solid, and the blend of fast paced action, using enemies against each other, heavy resource management, and a thick coating of atmosphere for good measure prefigures Resident Evil 4 by a decade. All the dynamic layers of decision-making I yearn for in action games are here, weaving into each other in wonderful interplay. Split-second decisions and execution are, as always, a matter of life and death, but also affect your health and ammo, which leaks into the next encounters. Making too hasty of a retreat at the wrong time can cost you precious territory and create openings for monsters to stake out unfavorable positions, the consequences of which might not be felt until later in the fight. The overall route you devise for tackling a map can vastly change how the onslaught plays out, both in terms of what gear you have access to and what mix of monsters are active.
It should be an obvious conclusion by now that the map has a massive impact on gameplay, especially if you are pistol starting. (sidenote: you should absolutely pistol start levels, lower the difficulty if you have to) Placement of monsters, weapons, resources, and geometry will make or break the experience. and the true mapping virtuoso has a commanding sense of how to arrange these elements to create gripping scenarios that challenge, terrify, surprise, and delight.
Danbo again:
"It’s not artificial intelligence you fight when you’re locked in a room full of Barons of Hell and Revenants and voicelessly asked to pick a side in the resulting infighting (It’ll take more ammo to finish off the barons, but revenants are more likely to give you a nasty right hook or slap you with a rocket in the process) - it’s human intelligence."
Doom 1 and 2's base maps, given the time and constraints id was working under, are an admirable work and good bit of fun, and have undoubtedly served as a crucial creative jumping-off point for the community. But they weren't able to reveal the true brilliance of the game's design: it would be the Casali brothers' Plutonia Experiment, distributed commercially in Final Doom by id a couple years after Doom 2, that began to show off how careful arrangement could bring out the best (and most deadly) in each monster.
As Doomworld's Not Jabba puts it, in their epic history Roots of Doom Mapping (https://www.doomworld.com/25years/the-roots-of-doom-mapping/):
"The Casali brothers laid so much groundwork that all combat-oriented mapping has been a series of footnotes to Plutonia."
The Doom 2 enemies in particular are some of the best ever made, and in Plutonia we can see that each contribute something unique. Hell Knights are balanced bruisers who eat space, health, and ammo in equal measure. Revenants are fragile, but their fast movespeed and homing missiles demand nimble footwork. Chaingunners fall over to stiff breezes, but call forth lead torrents within their sightlines. Mancubi and Arachnotrons lay down blankets of fire, but can be easily dodged close up and are especially prone to starting infights. Pain Elementals are harmless if you stop their Lost Souls from spawning, but sponge up piles of ammo if you let them roam free for too long. Archviles exert their tyrannical rule through long range, delayed-hitscan fire attacks, and they brutally punish inaction by resurrecting nearby fallen foes.
Since the release of Final Doom, Doom's almost 30-year-old community has been steadily building on this foundation, its continued vitality attributable to a complex mix of historical circumstance, id's openness to fan modifications (a stance I am immensely greatful for, and has been highly influential in PC gaming at large), and love of Doom. I confess that I have only begun to dip my toes into the vast world of custom maps, but the tremendous fun I've had so far, as well as the glowing reception for projects like Scythe 2, Valiant, Ancient Aliens, and Sunlust, has me eager to dive deeper. This is a community that most games would kill for, and the fact that it's gone largely overlooked, even by many fellow lovers of game mechanics, can only be described as utterly criminal.
An all-around great resource for learning more is MtPain27's Dean of Doom Youtube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/MtPain27), where he reviews both new and old WADs level-by-level. His love of Doom is infectious, and he gives a great sense for the age, breadth, and brilliance of the mapping scene. Skilled players like Decino (https://www.youtube.com/c/decino) can also help show off the deeper aspects of gameplay, as well as engine quirks to add to your knowledge repertoire.
There are certainly some problems with the game (random damage and berserk with the chainsaw come to mind) but these are negligible when juxtaposed with the whole. I am utterly awed and humbled by what has been created here, and I don't see anything comparable emerging again. This is the type of game you could spend your whole life exploring and mastering.
Simply put: One of the greatest games of all time.
It's the original Doom, with an additional weapon, new enemies, and bigger maps! Unfortunately, it feels less like the superlative original trilogy and more like the Thy Flesh Consumed expansion in all its cheap janky glory. The levels have some interesting gimmicks to them, but they're often needlessly sprawling and obtuse, and don't compare favorably to the atmospheric homerun of the original thanks to their largely scattergun approach to design.
Part of this game's level design issues can be attributed to its level structure compared to the original, which had multiple episodes, each 8 levels long. 8 levels was a good length for each episode as you gradually increased the size of your arsenal and faced off against a big boss at the end, and then you would start off the next episode afresh - the beginning of episode 3 which pitted the player against a Cacodemon with nothing but a pistol made a strong impression on me. Doom 2, on the other hand, is made up of one unbroken episode 30 levels long, which leads to two issues. Firstly, you normally attain all the available weapons and ammo upgrades like five levels in, depriving you of the feeling of 'powering up' for the rest of the game. But more crucially, the lack of cadence and pacing created by this single overly-long episode leads to a general lack of direction, and there are so many filler levels that make it apparent that the developers seemed to be running low on ideas.
In the end, this is still Doom. It's still lots of fun, it's still competently designed, it still excels in capturing the feeling of flying by the seat of your pants and always being a mistake away from death - a feeling enhanced by the greater variety of threats and size of enemy formations, although as mentioned above it can sometimes get a bit cheap. But it's also an unfortunate reminder that bigger isn't always better.
Part of this game's level design issues can be attributed to its level structure compared to the original, which had multiple episodes, each 8 levels long. 8 levels was a good length for each episode as you gradually increased the size of your arsenal and faced off against a big boss at the end, and then you would start off the next episode afresh - the beginning of episode 3 which pitted the player against a Cacodemon with nothing but a pistol made a strong impression on me. Doom 2, on the other hand, is made up of one unbroken episode 30 levels long, which leads to two issues. Firstly, you normally attain all the available weapons and ammo upgrades like five levels in, depriving you of the feeling of 'powering up' for the rest of the game. But more crucially, the lack of cadence and pacing created by this single overly-long episode leads to a general lack of direction, and there are so many filler levels that make it apparent that the developers seemed to be running low on ideas.
In the end, this is still Doom. It's still lots of fun, it's still competently designed, it still excels in capturing the feeling of flying by the seat of your pants and always being a mistake away from death - a feeling enhanced by the greater variety of threats and size of enemy formations, although as mentioned above it can sometimes get a bit cheap. But it's also an unfortunate reminder that bigger isn't always better.
It's like Night in the Woods except instead of furries being annoying you get shot in the balls.
It's Doom's insanely fun and revolutionary gameplay, this time with some new enemies and the Super Shotgun. Sadly they have to contest with level design that feels too big for its own good at points. Still a solid title that I don't regret my time with, but the level design unfortunately holds it back from me being able to say I truly love it.
Started off great off the back of Doom 1 Episode 4, but it slowly gets really boring. They basically took Doom and just went "what if we make every map massive and have 50 enemies in each room"
Might come back someday, maybe I got burnt out on Doom but I did not enjoy this
Might come back someday, maybe I got burnt out on Doom but I did not enjoy this
its like doom 1 but some of the levels are way better and some of them are the chasm
Doom II is a first-person shooter developed by id Software and released in 1994. It is the second game in the Doom series. The game has been released on a lot of platforms, but my favorite port is MS-Dos, the one for PC. It offers a more vivid gameplay in terms of colors and graphics. Because compared to other ports, a variety of color palettes were used in the gameplay. Then it was supported with the additional package Master Levels for Doom II. The additional package offers you 21 new levels and the sections are designed really well, but they didn't go further in terms of weapon variety, they have the same weapons, and they did a bad job in the music part.
Doom II takes players to Earth after an infernal invasion that began in the colonies of Mars. The player controls a soldier known as Doomguy and takes on missions to save Earth and humanity by fighting hordes of hell.
One of the revolutionary features of Doom 2 is its "non-linear" level structure, which is an innovation in the game's level design and towards the end of the game. In the original Doom, the player had to complete each level consecutively. However, in Doom 2, some levels have alternative exits and the player can explore these exits and take a different path. For example, at "Dead Simple" Level 7, the player can continue the game using the normal exit or jump to a higher level using an alternative exit. This non-linear level structure makes the game progression more flexible and allows players to explore and experience different experiences. gives the opportunity.
In the moddability part, which is my favorite feature, they kept it alive with the WAD file by staying true to the first game. In this way, the players can create their own levels by changing the original content of the game, add new enemies and weapons, make story modifications or completely change the game mechanics.
The game offers fast-paced gameplay just like the original Doom. The player battles hellish creatures filled with a variety of weapons and power-ups as they explore a series of complex levels. The game features new weapons and enemies, as well as familiar ones from the original game. Armed with a variety of weapons, players explore various levels as they try to take down the enemies. You need to move quickly and aim accurately to advance through maze-like levels filled with enemies. The gameplay of Doom 2 is an example that sets the standards for many contemporary games with an FPS angle. The game also features new weapons and enemies compared to the original Doom. New weapons include iconic weapons such as the Super Shotgun and the Double Barrel Shotgun, while the enemies include formidable and memorable enemies such as Cyberdemon, Hell Knights and Arch-vile. The game offers a tasteful challenge, although it will sometimes piss you off with its difficulty. It manages not to get bored with the chapters that are long. It has various enemies that are wonderfully designed. The gameplay is even more diversified with each enemy's own special weapons and attack style. The graphics of Doom 2 were quite impressive by the standards of the period. Sprite-based graphics, created using a 2.5-dimensional engine, reinforce the atmosphere and tension of the game. It really reflects the unique chaoitic hell atmosphere. You almost experience an adrenaline rush in this atmosphere with the music. The menacing sound effects of the enemies and the explosions of the guns bring the player into the action more. Heavy metal music composed by Bobby Prince adds energy and excitement to the game.
Doom II supports multiplayer deathmatch games over local network or modem. Players can compete with each other online or with other players on the same network. This mod is an important feature that increases the popularity of Doom II and ensures long-term playability. Moreover, when the mod community and multiplayer feature come together, a completely different experience can emerge.
Doom II takes players to Earth after an infernal invasion that began in the colonies of Mars. The player controls a soldier known as Doomguy and takes on missions to save Earth and humanity by fighting hordes of hell.
One of the revolutionary features of Doom 2 is its "non-linear" level structure, which is an innovation in the game's level design and towards the end of the game. In the original Doom, the player had to complete each level consecutively. However, in Doom 2, some levels have alternative exits and the player can explore these exits and take a different path. For example, at "Dead Simple" Level 7, the player can continue the game using the normal exit or jump to a higher level using an alternative exit. This non-linear level structure makes the game progression more flexible and allows players to explore and experience different experiences. gives the opportunity.
In the moddability part, which is my favorite feature, they kept it alive with the WAD file by staying true to the first game. In this way, the players can create their own levels by changing the original content of the game, add new enemies and weapons, make story modifications or completely change the game mechanics.
The game offers fast-paced gameplay just like the original Doom. The player battles hellish creatures filled with a variety of weapons and power-ups as they explore a series of complex levels. The game features new weapons and enemies, as well as familiar ones from the original game. Armed with a variety of weapons, players explore various levels as they try to take down the enemies. You need to move quickly and aim accurately to advance through maze-like levels filled with enemies. The gameplay of Doom 2 is an example that sets the standards for many contemporary games with an FPS angle. The game also features new weapons and enemies compared to the original Doom. New weapons include iconic weapons such as the Super Shotgun and the Double Barrel Shotgun, while the enemies include formidable and memorable enemies such as Cyberdemon, Hell Knights and Arch-vile. The game offers a tasteful challenge, although it will sometimes piss you off with its difficulty. It manages not to get bored with the chapters that are long. It has various enemies that are wonderfully designed. The gameplay is even more diversified with each enemy's own special weapons and attack style. The graphics of Doom 2 were quite impressive by the standards of the period. Sprite-based graphics, created using a 2.5-dimensional engine, reinforce the atmosphere and tension of the game. It really reflects the unique chaoitic hell atmosphere. You almost experience an adrenaline rush in this atmosphere with the music. The menacing sound effects of the enemies and the explosions of the guns bring the player into the action more. Heavy metal music composed by Bobby Prince adds energy and excitement to the game.
Doom II supports multiplayer deathmatch games over local network or modem. Players can compete with each other online or with other players on the same network. This mod is an important feature that increases the popularity of Doom II and ensures long-term playability. Moreover, when the mod community and multiplayer feature come together, a completely different experience can emerge.
The Icon of Sin? That’s what they call me when they see me pulling up into the pride parades
Unfortunately a bit of a downgrade here.
Doom II is of course just more Doom, but there's enough changes here to warrant a second game, I wouldn't really call this a "glorified expansion" though it is very samey. We've got new enemies, new weapons, a lot more verticality, and generally much larger levels. Despite these new additions, I think Doom 1 is a far superior game, and this mainly comes down to the level design.
Simply put, this game just doesn't have the same flow as 1. In 1 you're generally ripping through levels, just having a blast with the odd puzzle and level scouting that generally doesn't take that long. Doom II on the other hand is ridiculous with this stuff. There were like 5 or more puzzles in this game that were just straight up nonsense, the solution to progress on some of these is to just shoot at a random wall or something along those lines, it's just typical old game being cryptic stuff. It is seriously a flow killer to have to scour the map for 10-20 minutes, find literally no way to progress, then upon looking up a Youtube video the solution is something completely random that the player wouldn't naturally find. John Romero just had quite a bit too many annoying levels on this one for my liking.
As for enemies, they're a welcome edition, there is a MUCH larger enemy count though you the player are stronger, so it all evens out and feels like a fine next-step from Doom 1. Personally I would've liked to see more new weapons, the super shotgun doesn't provide enough variety from Doom 1.
I will also say I prefer the chapter setup from 1, it makes each portion of the game more memorable and stick out. Here all the levels are just put in continuously, sometimes broken up by a wall of text, it all just meshes together as samey. It's only towards the last 5 or so levels where the feeling of dread really ramps up that makes them stand out from the other levels.
I will also say, for a game that takes place on Earth, it definitely does not resemble anything human whatsoever lol.
Doom II is just a tad disappointing as I thought id learned from their level design issues in Wolfenstein 3D and mastered it in Doom 1, only to miss the mark again. With far worse level design, bloat, and not innovating on Doom much at all, I cannot see how anyone can say this is the superior game. Luckily the core Doom systems are still superb, and the aesthetics/music of the game is a joy, pretty much carrying the experience. I would recommend this game, but take your time with it and don't be afraid to look stuff up, chances are you'll need to at least once. Oh also, the Doom 1 soundtrack is far superior :)
Doom II is of course just more Doom, but there's enough changes here to warrant a second game, I wouldn't really call this a "glorified expansion" though it is very samey. We've got new enemies, new weapons, a lot more verticality, and generally much larger levels. Despite these new additions, I think Doom 1 is a far superior game, and this mainly comes down to the level design.
Simply put, this game just doesn't have the same flow as 1. In 1 you're generally ripping through levels, just having a blast with the odd puzzle and level scouting that generally doesn't take that long. Doom II on the other hand is ridiculous with this stuff. There were like 5 or more puzzles in this game that were just straight up nonsense, the solution to progress on some of these is to just shoot at a random wall or something along those lines, it's just typical old game being cryptic stuff. It is seriously a flow killer to have to scour the map for 10-20 minutes, find literally no way to progress, then upon looking up a Youtube video the solution is something completely random that the player wouldn't naturally find. John Romero just had quite a bit too many annoying levels on this one for my liking.
As for enemies, they're a welcome edition, there is a MUCH larger enemy count though you the player are stronger, so it all evens out and feels like a fine next-step from Doom 1. Personally I would've liked to see more new weapons, the super shotgun doesn't provide enough variety from Doom 1.
I will also say I prefer the chapter setup from 1, it makes each portion of the game more memorable and stick out. Here all the levels are just put in continuously, sometimes broken up by a wall of text, it all just meshes together as samey. It's only towards the last 5 or so levels where the feeling of dread really ramps up that makes them stand out from the other levels.
I will also say, for a game that takes place on Earth, it definitely does not resemble anything human whatsoever lol.
Doom II is just a tad disappointing as I thought id learned from their level design issues in Wolfenstein 3D and mastered it in Doom 1, only to miss the mark again. With far worse level design, bloat, and not innovating on Doom much at all, I cannot see how anyone can say this is the superior game. Luckily the core Doom systems are still superb, and the aesthetics/music of the game is a joy, pretty much carrying the experience. I would recommend this game, but take your time with it and don't be afraid to look stuff up, chances are you'll need to at least once. Oh also, the Doom 1 soundtrack is far superior :)
Pretty good game still, but the level design doesn't feel as tight as the original's. I prefer Doom 1's more closed and confined levels, personally, and I think it also had a better soundtrack.
I could see people preferring this over the first one, though. Maybe my opinion will change on a future playthrough, but I consider these two on-par and both absolutely worth it.
I could see people preferring this over the first one, though. Maybe my opinion will change on a future playthrough, but I consider these two on-par and both absolutely worth it.
ENG: Well this is going to be a quick review so listen up: the new weapons and enemies are GOOD, the now considerably larger levels are PASSABLE, and yes, if it weren't for the "Hell on Earth" subtitle absolutely no one would know that this DOOM takes place on earth.
ESP: Bueno esta va a ser una review rapida así que escuchen: las nuevas armas y enemigos están BIEN, los niveles, ahora considerablemente más grandes están PASABLES, y sí, sino fuera por el subtítulo "Hell on Earth" absolutamente nadie se enteraría que este DOOM tiene lugar en la tierra.
ESP: Bueno esta va a ser una review rapida así que escuchen: las nuevas armas y enemigos están BIEN, los niveles, ahora considerablemente más grandes están PASABLES, y sí, sino fuera por el subtítulo "Hell on Earth" absolutamente nadie se enteraría que este DOOM tiene lugar en la tierra.
fuck these maps
Doom es mi religión actual....................................
Dude, these levels are ass! They make me wanna strafe without looking!