Review: “Outpost Redux” (WAD For “Doom II”/”Final Doom”/ Skulltag)

Well, since my planned review of “Doom 3” (2004) seems to be dead in the water, I thought that I’d take a look at another “Doom II”/”Final Doom” WAD.

After clicking the “Random File” button on the /idgames Archive a few times, I eventually stumbled across a WAD from 2009 called “Outpost Redux” by Captain Toenail. It was a co-op WAD but, foolishly, I decided to try playing it on single-player.

Annoyingly, this WAD doesn’t work with GZDoom. Instead, you have to use Skulltag in order to play it. Yes, it seems to be reasonably similar to GZDoom but, despite the latest version being from 2010, I still had to keep vsync turned off to get the game to run at a playable speed. Yes, I’m using Intel HD 2500 integrated graphics, but – again – this is a source port from 2010…

Anyway, let’s take a look at “Outpost Redux”:

This is a two-level WAD which also includes new monsters, weapons, music etc… too. It has been a while since I last played one of these types of late 2000s/early-mid 2010s WADs and it certainly brought back some memories 🙂 Whilst it isn’t quite a “slaughter map”, it is an intense and challenging experience – with tons of custom stuff – that has clearly been designed more for co-op than single player.

The layout of the first level is relatively simple, but you’ll constantly be fighting groups of monsters most of the time. The level has a cool sci-fi theme and the custom stuff helps to keep things interesting too, although don’t expect an easy ride. Whilst you’re given enough weapons to defend yourself, I couldn’t find a rocket launcher or BFG anywhere.

And, yes, this is only the easy beginning of the level. It’s challenging, but it also isn’t really a “slaughter map” type level either.

Even so, this adds a bit of extra challenge to the level and keeps it fun. On a side-note, if you’re playing single-player, then make sure that you enable jumping because there is no other way to get to the blue key quickly enough on your own.

The second level begins with a message pointing out that it is unfinished. And I can believe it. Whilst the level itself – a large hellish boss arena – looks seriously cool, the custom boss is grossly unfair in single-player.

Though, to be fair, the game actually warns you about this. And, yes, those silver missiles will literally follow you and can’t really be out-run for very long. You also can’t take more than one or two hits from them too…

Yes, it’s cool that its a version of the Cyberdemon who can actually fire both of his rocket launchers – however, every second or third shot will be homing missles that can easily one-shot you unless you are hiding behind one pillar on the opposite side of the map to the boss’ starting location. It’s probably possible to carefully duck out and chip away at him with the plasma cannon but, after numerous attempts at this, I gave up in frustration. This boss needs rebalancing!

Still, the first level is good. It’s the sort of intense thrilling “non-stop action” level where you’ll need to think about strategy but can also relax a bit too. As if in recognition of its difficulty, some monsters now drop healing items – including both stimpacks and “demon hearts”. Not to mention that, unusually for a “Doom II” WAD, the doors actually open horizontally too! Yes, it isn’t a big thing but – if you’ve ever played old-school “Doom” – then it will still astonish and amaze you.

The new monsters in the first level are cool too – not only are there zombies who carry most of the game’s other weapons (eg: Super Shotgun, plasma cannon and rocket launcher) but there are orange Cacodemons, a very powerful “Belphegor” monster, a Hell Knight who can turn invisible, some “Floating death cubes” and a couple of extra varieties of pinky demon (such as a fast-moving green one) too. Not only do these monsters add extra challenge and variety, but there’s also something quintessentially late 2000s/early-mid 2010s about them too 🙂

Yes, if you’ve played WADs from around the time of this one, you’ve probably seen a few of the new monsters already. Even so, this just adds extra nostalgia to the level 🙂

The custom textures are cool, but unobtrusive and another interesting change is that the plasma cannon projectiles are a slightly different shade of blue. The custom music is from the classic “Timesplitters” games and will instantly evoke at least a faint amount of nostalgia in anyone who grew up during the PS2 era.

All in all, whilst this WAD is probably better in co-op, the first level of it is still a very enjoyable – if rather difficult – single-player level too. Don’t bother with the second level though.

If I had to give it a rating out of five, I’d give the first level a four and the second level a two. So, it averages out to three.

Review: “The Hellish Crypt 2 (Return Of The Crypt)” [WAD For “Doom II”/”Final Doom”]

Well, although I’ve been distracted from “Doom II”/”Final Doom” WADs by my art practice, I wanted to make sure that at least one WAD review showed up here this month. And, rather than looking for large modern WADs, I went onto the /idgames Archive  and clicked the “Random File” button a couple of times until it belched out a smaller old WAD from 1998 called “The Hellish Crypt 2 (Return Of The Crypt)” by Derrick Allen.

As usual, I used version 4.8.2 of the GZDoom source port whilst playing this WAD. However, given its age, it’ll probably even run on the original DOS/ Win 95 versions of “Doom II” and/or “Final Doom” too.

Anyway, let’s take a look at “The Hellish Crypt 2 (Return Of The Crypt)”. I should probably warn you that this WAD contains FLICKERING LIGHTS.

“The Hellish Crypt 2 (Return Of The Crypt)” is a short-medium length single-level WAD which also includes a new sound effect or two. One of the first things that I will say about this level is that it is a mixture of fun moments and frustrating design. There are some brilliant moments, and some annoying ones too. Still, I don’t entirely regret playing it.

The level starts out strongly, plonking you into a large hall with ominous flickering lights. You find a doorway that leads down to a narrow corridor. You are only armed with a pistol. As you reach one end of the corridor, you see an open door and an imp advancing towards you in the distance. You move in slightly closer and start fighting, but there are other imps behind him and you only have a weak pistol. You move to retreat, but a door has locked behind you! Seriously, this opening segment is brilliantly tense and thrilling 🙂

Seriously, this early segment is really brilliant. Literally like the classic “Scary, dark and fast” quote from the designers of the original games 🙂

And there are some other great moments here too, like getting a BFG 9000 mere moments before facing a hell knight, revenant and arch-vile in a relatively small space. This is wonderfully cathartic 🙂 There’s also a really cool gloomy maze with a poisonous floor, lit only by the green hue of your biohazard suit’s visor.

Ironically, the first time I encountered this segment, I’d stowed the BFG away in the inventory because “I might need it later” and had almost forgotten about it in seconds. After getting defeated by these monsters, I remembered that I had it and it was so satisfying…

There are neat details, like an optional switch which seems to plunge an early part of the level into darkness, as well as some other really cool gloomy corridors elsewhere in the level too. As for the new sound effects, the only one I really noticed was for the chaingun – which makes it sound a bit deeper and more thunderous in a really cool way 🙂

The weapon progression in the early parts of the level is excellent too, where you’ll sometimes find yourself down to just a few bullets before suddenly spotting another weapon behind a group of monsters – a bit like that Monty Python “A blessing from the Lord!” meme. Seriously, when it wants to be, this level can be a really cool and fun one that works within the limitations of the original engine in clever and suspenseful ways.

Oooh, and I totally forgot to mention the random barrel-filled room where you can blow up a Hell Knight. It’s literally just a “Because it’s cool, that’s why!” moment and I love it. Seriously, the 1990s were so cool.

However, for all of the amazing lighting design and fun moments, there are definitely some moments of bad, frustrating design here too. The most notable one being that the designer thought it would be “fun” to hide critically important keys and doors in secret areas. I got “stuck” for at least four or five minutes relatively early in the level, literally just walking around in circles, before I randomly started checking some of the walls for secrets and found a well-hidden red key.

And that’s hardly the only example. After opening all of the red doors in the early parts of the level and finding no way to progress, I wondered if the level was unfinished. So, I used the “IDDT” cheat and looked at the map. Nope, the rest of the level is hidden twice – literally a secret within a secret – in a part of the level that you wouldn’t expect to return to again. Seriously, I’m sure it was very funny when the level was being designed but it was more annoying than anything else. The whole point of secrets is that they are optional!

Plus, it might just have been the source port I was using, but there was also this weird lighting glitch on the weapon sprites whenever I used them in at least one of the gloomy parts of the level.

Not only that, remember the brilliantly suspenseful weapon progression I mentioned earlier? That only really applies to the earlier parts of the level. By the mid-late parts of the level, you are given so many weapons and health power-ups that you might as well be playing with cheat codes enabled. Seriously, it is a really weird difficulty curve!

As for length, this is a short-medium length level. It took me about 20-30 minutes to complete it, including getting completely “stuck” once or twice.

All in all, this level is a mixture of good and bad. When it is good, it is really good and brilliantly fun. However, expect some annoying, frustrating moments of bad level design alongside this too. Still, the good parts meant that I didn’t entirely regret playing this one.

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would get three and a half.

Review: “Ashes: Afterglow” (Free Computer Game/ Mod For “Doom II” & “Final Doom”)

Whew! I’ve just completed “Ashes: Afterglow” (2021), the Cacoward-winning sequel to “Ashes 2063” (2018-2021?).

This game can either be downloaded as a free stand-alone game (using “Freedoom Phase 2” as the IWAD) or, like I did, it can be played as a mod for “Doom II” (1994) or “Final Doom” (1996) using the GZDoom source port.

Given that this game is a direct sequel to “Ashes 2063” – the tutorial level picks up where that game left off – and it sort of expects you to know parts of that game’s story, I’d strongly recommend playing the two “Ashes” games in the correct order.

Anyway, let’s take a look at “Ashes: Afterglow”. This game contains some FLICKERING IMAGES.

And you literally hear a motorbike engine revving whilst the game loads too 🙂

Aside from the tutorial level, the rest of the game takes place a couple of weeks after the events of “Ashes 2063”.

The Scavenger has recovered from his injuries, after being rescued by another scavenger, but finds that his welcome is wearing out at Michonne station following an increase in mutant attacks after he was brought there.

It’s a 1980s-style post-apocalyptic future. Of course there are mutants!

After helping out a few people and finding the parts needed to repair his motorbike, he decides to head north. However, it seems like there is trouble brewing amongst the local mutant population….

One of the first things that I will say about this game is that it took a while for it to grow on me. Yes, it is an incredible artistic achievement – a much larger, cooler-looking, slower-paced and more complex game than “Ashes 2063” – but expect some moments of frustration. Even so, when this game is good, it is really good! And it is really good quite a lot of the time. Seriously, there are actual major commercial “AAA” games with less depth, fewer epic moments and less atmosphere than this stand-alone “Doom II” mod. It’s a masterpiece, despite some frustrating elements.

Seriously, it may be less streamlined than “Ashes 2063”, but there are so many cool moments and areas, like this abandoned arcade.

One major change from “Ashes 2063” is this game’s structure, pacing and level design. This game is a lot larger and more “open world”. Because of this, it’s a lot slower-paced than “Ashes 2063”. During at least two points in the game, there are large hub worlds with multiple levels you can visit and return from.

One of them, the “Flooded District” is practically a detailed maze-like city in its own right. It looks seriously cool, you keep discovering new parts of it and it’s very atmospheric. Still, expect a lot of tedious “back and forth” in some parts of this game and extensive searching for items. At one point, I even had to use the “noclip” cheat to speed up the backtracking.

This is a map of the “Flooded District”. It is basically a giant hub world… linked to another hub world. It’s a really cool level but, if you want to backtrack from one side to the other in less than ten minutes, then “noclip” is your friend..

And, yes, I’m not ashamed to admit that there were a few occasions when I had to use cheat codes and/or walkthroughs. Even on “normal”, this is a dense, complex, tough-as-nails game which – whilst reasonably fair a lot of the time – can confuse and overwhelm you sometimes. Again, it’s a really good game a lot of the time, but there are a few bits where you’ll get totally “stuck”, be unsure where you’re even supposed to go or what you’re even supposed to do.

Still, these are about my only criticisms of the game. The good outweighs the bad here, by quite a lot. As well as almost having the scale and narrative depth of a “Fallout” game, there are just so many cool moments and segments in this game 🙂 Whether it is the almost “Aliens” (1986)-like feeling you’ll get from parts of the amazing “Botanical Gardens” level. Whether it is riding an armoured mutant creature around a desert.

Seriously, this level is just… WOW! Not to mention that, as a cherry on top, the gardens are also named after J. G. Ballard too 🙂 Seriously, I can’t think of a better reference 🙂

Whether it is fighting mutants in a cool purple neon-lit laser tag arena. Whether it is a few well-placed horror elements. Whether it is some cool moments of Dario Argento-esque solid red/green/blue lighting.

Whether it is riding a motorbike below purple skies and letting rip at mutants with two giant cannons etc… This game can be seriously cool when it wants to be 🙂

There’s also red and blue lighting in a couple of other parts of the game too. It all makes sense in context, but I can’t help but see a Dario Argento reference here – and I love it 🙂

As well as all of the monsters and most of the weapons from “Ashes 2063”, there are a ton of new additions. As well as several new cannibal mutants, including one who shouts “I want my headcheese!” in a northern English accent – a dialogue line which never stops being both hilariously funny and deeply disturbing at the same time – there are new gang members (including blue-haired women with machine-guns), creepy plant-monsters and even some soldiers too.

There’s a weapon upgrade system, a double-barrelled shotgun, a cool nailgun (if you find the parts for it), a vintage M16 assault rifle and probably some other new weapons that I missed. Also, your lantern now needs sunlight to recharge too.

In the alternate timeline of the game, the apocalypse happened in 1989 – and the military weapons here actually seem to be historically accurate too.

In addition to this, there’s also a slightly heavier emphasis on narrative as well and – like in a “Fallout” game – there’s even one point where you have to choose which faction to side with. Seriously, I get the sense that there are paths and areas of this game that I missed on my first playthrough. There are also tons of people to talk to and, although the game’s story initially seems small-scale and unfocused, it eventually builds into something even more epic and dramatic than the one from the first “Ashes” game.

The “world” of this game is more detailed than it might initially appear too. Yes, there are a lot of deserts and ruins, but you can find tons of intriguing background details, old 1980s pop culture references and even a few Easter Eggs, such as a “Road Rash”-style mini game. Yes, it might look like a game from the 1990s, but – again – this first-person shooter game pretty much has the sort of detailed lore, world-building and atmosphere that you’d expect from a role-playing game. All paired with the sort of cool 1980s-inspired soundtrack that you’d expect from the series too.

I mentioned it earlier, but this entire 1980s-style “game within a game” is literally just an Easter Egg. There is that much effort and attention to detail in this game…

As for length, this is a long game! The original “Ashes 2063” is almost a demo in comparison to this game! I lost count of the time, but I probably sunk at least 15-20 hours into my first playthrough and I probably still missed a lot of stuff. It’s richer and more complex than some “AAA” games, and it’s literally just a “Doom II” mod made by a small amateur team. Again, this is an incredible artistic achievement!

All in all, this game grew on me a lot. Yes, I preferred the more streamlined and focused structure of “Ashes 2063” and I experienced some frustrating moments, but this game is still a masterpiece. It’s more than “just a mod”, it is basically a proper full game with a level of creativity, personality and detail that can really take you by surprise. I can easily see why this game was given a Cacoward 🙂 Despite some occasional flaws, it is still a masterpiece.

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would just about get a five.

Review: “Ashes 2063: Enriched” (Free Computer Game/ Stand-Alone Mod for “Doom II” or “Final Doom”)

Well, playing the demo of “Doom: The Golden Souls 3” recently reminded me that it has been a while since I last played any modern mods for “Doom II”/”Final Doom”. And, after browsing the “Cacowards” site, I found an interesting-looking one called “Ashes: Afterglow” (2021). But, although I’d planned to play this one, I realised that it was a sequel to another WAD called “Ashes 2063: Enriched” (2018-2021?). Since you could literally download both at the same time on ModDB, it seemed like a no-brainer to play them in order.

Interestingly, if you download both, they actually come in a stand-alone form too (using “Freedoom: Phase 2” as the IWAD). Personally, I found it easier to just extract the “.pk3” files and use them with GZDoom 4.8.2, but it’s cool that both games can essentially be run as stand-alone freeware games without the need to own either “Doom II” (1994) or “Final Doom” (1996).

So, let’s take a look at “Ashes 2063: Enriched”. I should probably add a FLICKERING IMAGES warning for the game itself though.

Set in the post-apocalyptic future of 2063, you play as a scavenger in the mutant and punk-filled wastelands of what was once the United States. After finding a broken old radio that you might be able to sell in one of the local settlements, you stumble across some other radio equipment broadcasting a mysterious series of numbers….

One of the first things that I will say about this game is that it is seriously cool 🙂 It’s this awesome 1980s-style sci-fi action thrill-ride, with cool synthesiser music, excellent animations and the sort of “fictional” world that is evocative of everything from “Fallout: New Vegas” (2010) to Ian Livingstone’s 1985 Fighting Fantasy gamebook “Freeway Fighter”. Despite running on GZDoom, it just feels like a Build Engine game from the 1990s too 🙂 The writing and atmosphere is stellar, you get to ride a motorbike and… Just play the damn thing already!

Imagine if “Fallout: New Vegas” was an old “2000AD “comic from the 1980s which had been adapted for the Build Engine during the 1990s…

Seriously, this game is so cool 🙂 As you’d expect from a “post-apocalyptic survival” type game, the enemies can be tough and you have to carefully manage your resources. However, on “normal” difficulty, the game actually feels fair with all of this. Yes, you’ll constantly be keeping an eye on the ammo counter and choosing your weapons carefully but it still feels like a thrilling retro FPS game rather than a survival horror game. It’s a bit more frantic, tough and/or suspenseful than, say, “Doom II” (1994) but in a really fun way 🙂

Not only that, it also has a defined and focused story – which even includes a couple of settlements that you can visit, talk to people and trade with. There’s an in-game currency system, but it’s only really useful in a small number of places. For the most part, you’ll have to… scavenge… for resources, just like the character you are supposed to be. There are also a couple of vehicle segments where you get to ride a motorbike. It handles like a brick, but it is still just inherently cool and fun regardless 🙂

Yes, you’re more manoeuvrable on foot – but riding a motorbike through a post-apocalyptic wasteland is just inherently cool regardless..

Plus, I just love the general world-building and aesthetic of the game too. As well as a story, literally all of the enemies look like they came from some kind of punk comic book from the 1980s in the best possible way. Many of the locations are, like in a Build Engine game, based on realistic places (eg: the ruins of a city, a subway station, a police station, an old military base etc…) and all look distinctive. There are also, like in a Build Engine game, a few well-placed pop culture references (to classic films like “The Terminator”, “Mad Max” etc…) too.

Even small details, like the rust on one of the pistols or even the detailed reloading animations (eg: if the shotgun is empty, the main character will push a cartridge into the chamber before filling the tube etc..). This is a game with a distinctive artistic vision to it and it works really well. Yes, I spotted what could maybe have been a borrowed switch texture from “Blood” (1997), and the motorbike reminds me of “Duke Nukem 3D” (1996) too, but the game still felt very original and creative.

Oh, and I forgot to mention the lantern you can use in gloomy areas – it restricts you to using one-handed weapons but is still really useful. Plus, notice the rust on the pistol too? This is attention to detail!

The level design is really good too. Despite being set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland, “Ashes 2063: Enhanced” eschews open-world design in favour of a more focused set of traditional levels. Yes, at least one of these – where you travel between areas – is very large (and includes optional side areas) but most of the game feels a lot more like traditional “Doom” levels than the open world of “Fallout: New Vegas”.

There’s also optional stuff, such as side-quests and an expansion called “Dead Man Walking”, which I think that I missed out on because I was too focused on the main quest. Still, the fact that all of this extra stuff is there adds re-play value to the game (although I’m also eager to start playing the sequel too).

Not to mention that, in keeping with the game’s story, each level pretty much begins where the previous one ended. There are level end screens and narrative text between them, which can seem like a bit of an interruption, but the game still feels like one continuous quest.

Yes, the level ending screens break things up a bit, but this artwork is so cool!

The levels require you to explore but I think that I only got “stuck” once – in the military base. It took me a while to realise that I could actually interact with one of the computer screens there. Still, the level design here is old-school enough to require you to explore but focused enough that you won’t get “stuck” very often. Again, it’s excellent. Likewise, I also have to praise the excellent soundtrack too – lots of atmospheric synthesiser music, ominous ambient music etc… which genuinely makes it feel like you are playing some kind of late-night movie from the 1980s.

As for the monsters and weapons, they are excellent 🙂 Earlier, I mentioned that the monsters look like something from a 1980s punk comic – and I wasn’t exaggerating. As well as various types of outlaws, all of whom look like classic-style punks, there are also gnarly mutant creatures as well. The monster variety here is really good 🙂 Literally my only possible complaint is that the final boss battle can be “cheesed” very easily (since the viewing platform is sort of a safe area). Still, the final boss itself looks like one of the sci-fi mutants from the original “Total Recall” (1990) and even has quite a few dialogue lines too.

Yes, this viewing platform is basically a cheat code in all but name. Even so, the final boss has amazing visual design and actual voice-acting too 🙂 There’s also a cool “Dead Space” (2008)-style warning, scrawled on the wall in blood, before you encounter the boss too.

The weapons are great too – mostly thanks to how detailed and balanced they are. They all feel powerful and impactful, but aren’t over-powered either. There’s a mixture of “realistic” 20th century guns and slightly more creative post-apocalyptic weaponry (like one that launches balls of burning petrol, and a “Resident Evil 4”-style knife that you can swing at any time with just one button press).

The balancing is really good here too – for example, you have two pistols which each have a different ammo type. The revolver is slightly more powerful, but fires more slowly and needs reloading more often. The semi-auto pistol fires very quickly and holds a lot more bullets, but each individual shot is weaker and it shares ammo with the SMG too. The SMG is really powerful, but it can guzzle thirty-two bullets in less than two seconds if you don’t carefully fire it in short controlled bursts etc… Seriously, the weapon balancing here is really good. Not to mention the weapon sprites and reload animations too.

This post-apocalyptic sniper rifle is a completely optional item (if you’ve found enough “scrap”, an NPC in the subway station will sell it to you). Despite its very slow rate of fire, it’s powerful enough to one-shot most weaker monsters, even without the scope. This is also balanced out by the fact that, although you’re given some “slugs” for it when you get it, ammo pickups for it are scarce to non-existent. So, use it carefully…

As for length, it’s a medium-length game. I completed it in maybe 4-6 hours in total, albeit missing out on some side-stuff. It’s long enough to feel satisfying, but short enough that you won’t ever get bored. If it was a book, it would be in the shorter end of the “novel” category or the longer end of the “novella” category, if this makes sense.

All in all, this is a seriously cool game 🙂 Whether you play it as a stand-alone game or as a “Doom II” mod, it is well-worth playing. Yes, there are some mild flaws here and there, but I was having so much fun that I really didn’t care about them. It’s a thrilling, atmosphere 1980s-style post-apocalyptic sci-fi game that is just pure fun to play 🙂

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would get a very solid five. Play it!

Impressions: “Doom: The Golden Souls 3 Demo” (WAD for “Doom II”/”Final Doom”/GZDoom)

Well, it has been almost a month since my previous “Doom II”/”Final Doom” WAD review. As regular readers know, I prepare these articles and reviews a few months in advance – and the demo I’ll be looking at today will possibly be out of date by the time that this “impressions” article goes up.

Still, back in mid-late January, I suddenly found myself getting nostalgic for autumn 2018. Back then, I had finally entered the 2010s and got a second-hand Windows 10 computer to replace the retro Windows XP computers I’d previously been using. Anyway, one of the very first three games I played on it was “Doom: The Golden Souls 2“. And, well, this entire series reminds me of a time when this computer felt really futuristic too 🙂 The “Strawberry Fields” level from the second game also finally made me actually listen to The Beatles (still surprised I went about three decades without doing this...).

Anyway, whilst the third game hasn’t been released at the time of writing, there’s a demo version which has been out for quite a while. I think that I even played an earlier version of it at some point in the past, but didn’t write about it at the time.

As usual, I used version 4.8.2 of the GZDoom source port to play this demo. Interestingly, despite the serious-looking system requirements on the game’s page, I actually got it to run at a playable speed on my computer’s Intel HD 2500 integrated graphics. Yes, I used a fairly low resolution and there was also some brief stutter/slowdown in some parts of the “Ancient Japan” level, but it was still very playable.

Anyway, let’s take a quick look at “Doom: The Golden Souls 3 Demo”:

If you’re new to this series, “Doom: The Golden Souls” is a series of “Doom II”/”Final Doom” total conversion mods which aim to re-create the style and atmosphere of the old 1990s “Super Mario” games, but with more of a “Doom” flavour to them 🙂 This demo appears to contain a tutorial level, a small hub world called “Limbotropolis” and two large maps. Although I probably haven’t seen literally everything in it yet, I played it for a couple of hours at least.

Seriously, the fact that this game actually has a demo is really cool – it reminds me a lot of the games magazine cover discs of my youth. Back then, virtually every game had a demo version and they were a really cool way to see and test out new games. But I’m getting side-tracked. This demo feels substantial enough to be fun, whilst also being short enough to build intrigue about what the finished game will be like.

Seriously, if this is just a demo, the final game is going to be so cool 🙂

“Limbotropolis” has places where you can buy stuff with the coins you can find in each level, characters you can talk to, hidden coins to find and the entrances to both levels.

The entrance to the first level can easily be missed, but it’s a purple door. The entrance to the second level requires you to find three “Golden Souls” in the first level. It reminded me a bit of a cool gothic version of the town in “Reelism 2” (2022) and it is always awesome when “Doom II”/”Final Doom” mods actually do stuff like this 🙂

Seriously, I love the gloomy lighting and the purple/yellow palette here. Since it’s a demo, you can only explore one “block” of the city, but there’s a burger restaurant to visit, lots of people to talk to, two level entrances, a vending machine and also some coins hidden on the rooftops too.

And, unlike a traditional “Doom” level, this is how this demo works. The two levels are sprawling, circular and non-linear things where the goal is to search for “Golden Souls”. This focus on exploration and “find the souls in any order you want” is really cool, but the levels can be a bit on the tricky side of things though. I mean, after getting completely stuck on the first one, I eventually had to resort to briefly using the “fly” cheat.

Still, occasional frustration aside, the gameplay is really cool. As you’d expect, there’s a heavier emphasis on things like first-person platforming, but this is (mostly) fun rather than frustrating thanks to some cool changes. As well as some cool traversal abilities, like the ability to double-jump/climb up walls and a “Half-Life” (1998) long-jump move, failure is more forgiving too. On “normal” difficulty, you’ll lose a bit of health if you fall into a pit but will just be teleported back to solid ground. I think that “hard” mode makes each pit deadly though.

Yes, there’s first-person platforming and, on “normal” difficulty, it isn’t frustrating most of the time. Seriously, this is a well-designed mod 🙂

There are a few new monsters – which will be familiar to fans of the previous two “Golden Souls” WADs – and about five new weapons (although I only found four).

These are fairly standard FPS game weapon types – melee, pistol, double-barrelled shotgun, assault rifle etc..- but with a wonderfully quirky art style, alternate firing modes (eg: like in previous “Golden Souls” games, you can actually fire the shotgun one barrel at a time) and modern-style reloading mechanics.

Yes, this is a bit “Call Of Duty”, but even the assault rifle has some quirky decals on it that make it fit into the general aesthetic of the mod a bit better 🙂

The pistol is also a retro-style ray-gun which fires cool-looking pink/purple lasers too 🙂 I think that the wonderfully weird music-themed rocket launcher from the previous games is possibly in this demo too- since you can buy ammo for it – but I couldn’t find it anywhere.

Most of all, like in other “Golden Souls” games, the main star of the show here is the excellent – and often whimsical – art design. Not only does Limbotropolis have a really cool “gothic 1990s France” look to it, but the first level is a serene-looking collection of clouds, caves and windmills, and the second level is this stunningly beautiful “ancient Japan” type level 🙂 Seriously, this is such a creative and cool-looking WAD 🙂

Plus, there’s also some visual variation within levels too. For example, it’s a bit hidden, but I stumbled across a really cool-looking plant-filled underground cave in the first level. The walls are covered with foliage and there’s this dramatic green mist in the air. It’s totally different from the rest of the level, but it works so well and is definitely a highlight of the level 🙂 I just absolutely love the general atmosphere and creativity of the “Golden Souls” series and this demo is no exception 🙂

It’s only a small segment of the level, and it’s a bit difficult to find (eg: climb up the overgrown tower), but this plant-cave is such a cool location 🙂

All in all, if your computer can run it, then this demo is well-worth playing. Yes, there are some frustrating moments, but it’s still a really fun continuation of an excellent series and is definitely one of the most creative parts of the “Doom II” modding scene at the moment 🙂

If I had to give this demo a rating out of five, it would get four and a half.

Review: “Living Quarters” (WAD for “Doom II”/”Final Doom”)

Well, although I’m playing “Amid Evil” (2019) at the moment, I wanted to make sure that at least one quick “Doom II”/”Final Doom” WAD review appeared here this month.

So, after clicking the “random file” button a few times on the /Idgames Archive, I stumbled across one from 1995 called “Living Quarters” by Jonathan Masseo.

I used version 4.8.2 of the GZDoom source port whilst playing this WAD but, given it’s age, it’ll probably run on even the original DOS version of “Doom II”.

So, let’s take a look at “Living Quarters”:

Repeat the magic words after me: “IDCLEV03”

This is a very short single-level WAD, with no custom stuff, which takes up the “level 3” slot in either “Doom II” or “Final Doom”. Even as far back as 1995, modders were doing the bizarre thing of placing their levels in slots other than one. Yes, I skipped straight to level three using the “IDCLEV03” cheat… and this actually improved the level!

Why? Because playing it from a “pistol start” actually added a bit of enjoyable challenge to what is basically a very short and basic level. It is literally just two rooms! There’s a large grey outdoor arena area – with some walls/enclosures – and a small locked building and that is it.

Oh, and some pillars surrounding the exit teleporter. More on those later…

The arena contains about four mid-level monsters – three Arachnotrons and a Baron – and a yellow skull key which allows you to access the building. If you played through the first two levels of “Doom II”, you’ll have the Super Shotgun and other weapons and this part of the level will be a pushover.

However, with just a pistol, it becomes a bit more of an enjoyable challenge – where you have to dodge and avoid the monsters. Even so, the fact that this part of the level gives you both a blue sphere and a green sphere means that it won’t be too difficult.

Again, play this level from a “pistol start” if you want an enjoyable challenge. Though, even with this pathetic weapon, the fact that the level gives you so many power-ups makes it more forgiving than you might think.

The building contains a few chaingun zombies and a Cacodemon. Again, if you’ve only got a pistol when you enter, then it is mildly challenging and reasonably fun… as you scrabble to defeat one of the zombies and grab their chaingun before the rest of them obliterate you. This building gives you the red skull key, some ammo and another blue sphere.

You’ll notice that, by this point, the Doomguy has only picked up two skull keys. Yet, the level looks like it needs all three. It doesn’t. The blue pillars needed to access the exit teleporter can actually be unlocked with the yellow key. This is either terrible, lazy design or a masterpiece of cynical humour – since I actually spent a little while looking for the blue key before just trying to lift the pillars. Again, this is either a brilliant practical joke or a fairly serious design oversight… or possibly both.

As you can see, the “blue” pillars are actually opened with the yellow key. I imagine that this would have… amused… players in 1995 a lot more, given that colour-coding for doors on the map was something added in modern source ports. With the original auto-map in “Doom II”, I imagine that this would have been less obvious…

And that’s about it. The level is fairly basic and short, but I’ll cut it some slack because it’s from 1995 – when modding tools were probably less advanced. Not to mention that, from the description on the site, the designer was clearly still learning how to make levels when he made this one. Even so, I’ve played better “old” levels than this one though. Still, if you skip straight to the level and/or play it from a “pistol start” then it adds a bit of enjoyable challenge to it and makes it mildly fun.

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it might just barely get a three. What can I say? I write these reviews a few months in advance and it’s the festive season right now, so I’m feeling charitable.

Re-Play Review: “Freedoom: Phase 2” (Freeware Computer Game)

Well, although I reviewed a much older version of “Freedoom” way back in 2014, I thought that I’d take a look at “Freedoom: Phase 2” (2001-19) today. This is a completely freeware (Like genuinely free. No micro-transactions in sight 🙂 ) first-person shooter game designed to be a free content alternative to the classic shooter game “Doom II: Hell On Earth” (1994).

Whilst ID Software released the underlying source code for the classic “Doom” games under an open licence, everything else about the games (eg: levels, graphics, sounds etc…) remains copyrighted and commercial. As such, “Freedoom” was created! This is a project to create completely free, open-source replacements for all of the copyrighted elements. To create free versions of the first two “Doom” games.

In order to play either “Freedoom: Phase 1” or, the game I’ll be looking at today, “Freedoom: Phase 2” – you will also need to download a free “source port”. If you’ve got even a vaguely modern computer, then go for GZDoom (like I did) or, if you’re running a really old machine or just want a more authentic 1990s experience, go for Crispy Doom instead.

Once you’ve downloaded “Freedoom” as well as your source port, just copy the “freedoom1.wad” and/or “freedoom2.wad” files into the same folder as the source port and then start up the source port.

So, let’s take a look at “Freedoom: Phase 2”. I should probably also add a FLICKERING LIGHTS warning for this game too.

One of the first things that I will say about this game is that it’s a really solid retro-style FPS game that fans of the classic “Doom” games will love 🙂

Yes, it isn’t perfect – I experienced a couple of crashes and there are some difficulty spikes in the later levels – but it is still an incredibly fun and fairly well-designed game. It’s the sort of game you can mindlessly enjoy for five minutes or seriously sink a couple of hours into at a time.

Woo hoo! 1990s style sci-fi/action/horror fun 🙂

As you might expect from a free content replacement for “Doom II” (1994), the gameplay is very similar. You shoot monsters, find keys and very occasionally solve basic puzzles. It is a retro-style game where you have no regenerating health, where you can save literally anywhere and where you can carry about eight weapons. It is timelessly fun 🙂 And, if you’re familiar with the classic “Doom” games, then literally all of the rules are basically the same too.

The new graphics are also reasonably decent too. Whilst some of the monsters have a “cyborg” visual style, the demonic monsters of the “Doom” games have mostly been replaced with insectoid aliens that look genuinely creepy. For example, the classic “Pinky demon” is now a gigantic nightmarish worm-creature. The imps are now weird cobra/centipede creatures etc… For the most part, these new graphics look really cool. Literally my only criticism is that the fearsome Cyberdemon has been replaced with a hilariously goofy-looking “Assault Tripod”. Still, this is a cool-looking game.

LOL! The “Assault Tripod”, the most fearsome of all alien warriors!

All of the environmental textures are evocative of classic “Doom” whilst also being different enough to make this game look unique.

The replacement graphics for the weapons look a lot cooler too – they sort of have a slightly “chunkier” and more futuristic look to them, with the best one – in visual terms – being the replacement for the basic shotgun (imagine the shotgun from “Duke Nukem 3D” but slightly more angular and retro-futuristic).

Seriously, this retro-futuristic shotgun has some seriously cool animation/sprite-work. Again, it’s like the one from “Duke Nukem 3D”, but more badass.

Of course, you’ll probably just be using the Super Shotgun most of the time. Literally my only complaint with the weapons is that the BFG 9…. Ooops! I mean the “SKAG 1337” is practically a secret item until you get to the penultimate level.

Woo hoo! It’s a big… uh… freakin’ gun! Just a shame that, unless you seriously go secret-hunting, the game doesn’t give you it until the penultimate level.

In short, it looks like a “Doom” game from a parallel universe. It’s similar enough that you can tell what everything is at a glance, but it’s different enough to be its own thing at the same time. This really has to be experienced to be fully understood, but it’s really cool 🙂

As for the new levels, they are excellent almost all of the time 🙂 Whilst several of the levels reference parts of classic “Doom II” levels, they’re different enough to remain intriguing and fresh. Virtually all of the levels are the kind of solid, fun levels that you’d expect to see in a classic 1990s FPS game.

And, yes, there are Arch… Oops! “Necromancers” here too 🙂 My favourite monster 🙂

If you’re familiar with fan-made WADs for the classic “Doom” games, then this game will seem like a really good example. In fact, “Freedoom” was actually built to be compatible with at least some WADs for the classic “Doom” games (probably “vanilla” ones that don’t add any extra graphics etc…).

Some of the level designs are really cool and/or clever too, such as one level which is a loop you have to go around three times (with new monsters appearing every time). It’s classic enough to feel like a “Doom” game, but creative enough to feel fresh. One level also includes a teleporter maze too, which is kind of a neat touch.

The difficulty curve of this game is interesting. Whilst some of the earlier and middle levels are similar in difficulty to “Doom II”, the later levels are somewhere in between the tougher difficulty of “Final Doom” (1996) and modern “experienced players only” fan-made levels. Seriously, the “lava arena” in level 27 will test the mettle of even the most experienced players – fighting hordes of monsters on catwalks and in narrow corridors whilst other creatures fly overhead and distant monsters fire projectiles at you. Save often, keep moving and keep the “fire” button pressed down!

About two or three of these later levels (levels 24, 27 and 29 spring to mind here) have some frustrating moments though. Don’t get me wrong, the visual design and challenging combat of these levels is really fun – however, they are the sort of tricky thing where you can easily end up getting “stuck”.

Seriously, this “final boss” level ISN’T the most difficult one in the game!

For example, in one part of level 24 (?), you need to press a switch in order to progress. This switch can only be reached by finding a small ledge – shrouded in darkness – in a room which you’ll expect that you won’t need to return to until you find the blue key. Level 27 requires you to find a switch hidden behind a pillar in a large arena at one point etc… These are only small criticisms and actual 1990s FPS games did much worse things (looking at you “HeXen”). Still, it can break up the “flow” of these levels a bit.

As for length, there are 32 medium-large levels here, although – like with “Doom II” – two of them are secret levels. Whilst I couldn’t find these “properly” during my playthrough, I took a look at both of them using the “level skip” cheat. Both are smaller, but more difficult, levels where running away/dodging is often the best option.

“Freedoom: Phase 2” is what used to be considered a full-length game. The amount of time it’ll take you to complete it will depend on your skill, but – as an experienced “Doom” player – I probably sunk at least 10-12 hours into it. And, as shown by the fact that I ended up re-playing it, it has a lot of re-play value because the gameplay is just inherently fun most of the time.

All in all, despite some mild criticisms, this is a really brilliant game 🙂 If you’re a gamer with no spare cash for games, or a classic “Doom” fan who wants a fun WAD to play, then I’d strongly recommend this game. It genuinely feels like an alternate version of “Doom II”/”Final Doom”, whilst also being its own thing and – a few frustrating moments aside – it was seriously fun to play 🙂

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would get at least four and a half.

Review: “The 4 Seats Of Judgment” (WAD for “Doom II”/”Final Doom”)

Although I’d planned to review “Freedoom: Phase 2”, I was only about a third of the way through it when I realised that it was almost a month since my previous WAD review and that I should probably review something “Doom II”-related here.

So, after clicking the “Random File” button on the /idgames Archive a few times, I stumbled across a WAD from 1998 called “The 4 Seats Of Judgment” by The Dark Lord. Foolishly, I didn’t read the description properly and mistook this deathmatch level for a single-player level. Yet, to be fair – thanks to the inclusion of monsters and an exit – it… sort of… works as one too.

As usual, I used version 4.8.2 of the GZDoom source port whilst playing this WAD. However, given it’s age, it might even work with the original DOS/Win 95 versions of “Doom II” and/or “Final Doom”.

So, let’s take a look at “The 4 Seats Of Judgment”:

This is, as mentioned earlier, a deathmatch level which also… sort of… works as a very short single-player level. It begins in a large atrium with lots of health in the middle and numerous tunnels extending outwards. These tunnels are entrances to a maze filled with monsters and weapons, as well as a semi-hidden “exit” switch to find.

If you play this level on single-player, like I did, then it has a hilariously bizarre difficulty curve. Because the weapons are hidden in the narrow, claustrophobic tunnels, you start the level with just a pistol and lots of low-mid level monsters attacking you. Playing strategically and picking your battles carefully is the key to beating this level on single-player.

Again, at the beginning, the level is surprisingly tough. Monsters block the tunnels and you only have fifty pistol bullets. So, it is best to ignore any monsters in the atrium and make a beeline for the emptiest-looking tunnel. Of course, once you get a little way into the tunnel maze, you’ll find a more powerful weapon and the level becomes significantly easier.

I suppose I should have spotted something was wrong when I ended up getting the plasma cannon before the super shotgun…

Likewise, whilst the maze might seem daunting and confusing at first, you’ll realise that it actually follows a fairly simple pattern once you’ve revealed enough of it on the auto-map screen.

It is literally a reverse difficulty curve, a level with a difficult beginning and an easier ending. But, again, it isn’t really meant to be played single-player. Still, although I don’t really play multiplayer games these days, I don’t know how well this level would work in deathmatch.

Leaving aside the monsters who obstruct the tunnels, I imagine that playing this level with a low number of players would quickly get frustrating as you keep searching for each other om the maze. Likewise, whilst the corners of the tunnels probably offer some cover, with little room to dodge, I imagine that any confrontation is just a simple case of “whoever has the largest gun wins“. Still, it is an unusual and creative idea for a level.

Again, the tunnels are claustrophobic enough that they can easily be blocked by monsters. There are also Pain Elementals and Spectres in this level too.

Plus, the level – especially the atrium – looks kind of cool too. Although it only uses the standard textures, there are thrones and a pillar/fountain type thing, which lend the level a slightly gothic atmosphere – in addition to the ominous gloomy tunnels too.

As for length, if you’re playing it on single-player, then you can probably beat the entire thing in about five minutes or so. It is a level that initially appears to be larger and more complex than it is. As for deathmatch, I would guess that it would certainly be an interesting or unusual level to play – especially if there are a larger number of players.

All in all, I should have read the description more carefully. Still, if played as a single-player level, then it’s a reasonably quirky short level with a strange difficulty curve and a lot of atmosphere. If nothing else, it certainly wasn’t boring.

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it might just get a four.

Review: “The Tomb Of Altheus” (WAD For “Doom II”/ “Final Doom”)

Well, although I’m busy with other games, I realised that it had been about a month since my previous “Doom II”/”Final Doom” WAD review. I’d originally planned to delay this month’s WAD review, but I had a little bit of extra time and decided to go for it.

After clicking the “Random File” button on the /idgames Archive a few times, I eventually stumbled across a “Doom II”/”Final Doom” WAD from 1997 called “The Tomb Of Altheus” by Thomas Drugg.

As usual, I used version 4.8.2 of the GZDoom source port whilst playing this WAD. However, given it’s age, it will probably work with pretty much any source port. In fact, it was almost certainly designed for the original DOS/Win 95 versions of “Doom II” and/or “Final Doom”.

So, let’s take a quick look at “The Tomb Of Altheus”:

“The Tomb Of Altheus” is a short-medium length single-level WAD which uses the game’s standard textures. It caught my attention because of its Ancient Egypt theme, with the level apparently being “Inspired by the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Sethos I (c. 1290 BC)“.

Although I don’t know enough about Ancient Egypt to comment on how accurate it is, the designer mentions in the Readme file that he used a bit of artistic licence. This makes sense – given that ancient tombs weren’t originally designed to double up as fun FPS game levels from 3287 years in the future.

Not only that, he also mentions that the limitations of the game engine prevented him from adding things like sloped floors too – which also makes sense, given that this level was made well before modern source ports allowed for all sorts of stuff that the original engine couldn’t do.

And, to be fair, this gloomy lighting is probably historically accurate. After all, I doubt that sealed ancient tombs bothered to place convenient torches on the walls in real life…

As for the level itself, it’s a reasonably solid 1990s-style FPS game level. The opening segments are reasonably linear, although there is a bit of key-hunting slightly later into the level.

Whilst both keys aren’t exactly “hidden”, they will require you to explore and search carefully to find them (especially the yellow one. Study the textures carefully!). Whilst this would be frustrating in a larger level, both parts involving keys take place in relatively small collections of rooms which means that you won’t have too many places to search.

The level itself also has a reasonably decent progression too – with the player mostly fighting groups of lower-level monsters in the earlier parts. There are a few well-placed encounters with mid-level monsters and, to my delight, there is also a fun Arch-vile battle near the end of the level. Experienced players will have little to no difficulty with this level, but it is still just about challenging enough to be fun.

Woo hoo! It’s an Arch-vile 🙂 Yes, there’s only one of them, but it’s always cool to see these in “Doom II”/”Final Doom” WADs.

The “Ancient Egypt” theme is mostly expressed through the cavernous tomb-like layout of the level – albeit with some pits, tech pillars, lava pools and teleporters – and the use of the earth/stone textures from the main game.

There’s also a cool skull design on the floor at one point too. For something built without any custom stuff, it does a reasonably good job. Yes, it isn’t the best “Ancient Egypt” WAD from the 1990s – that honour probably goes to “Osiris” (1996) – but it is still a reasonably decent effort.

Yes, the random skull on the floor is kind of goofy. Even so, it’s very “heavy metal” and, for a WAD from 1997, a rather cool artistic flourish too.

The level also contains a good mixture of claustrophobic corridors and larger arena-like areas, not to mention some fun moments where monsters appear in areas you have previously visited too.

In terms of length, it’s a short-medium level, which took me about 10-20 minutes to complete. It’s just about long enough to feel like a full level, but it felt mildly shorter than many “official” FPS game levels from the 1990s at the same time.

All in all, this is a reasonably solid level. It requires careful exploration/searching, but is small enough for this not to be frustrating. Experienced players will find it easy, but there’s enough challenge here to keep it fun regardless. And it’s always cool to see “Doom II”/”Final Doom” levels with an Ancient Egypt theme too.

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would get a four.

Review: “The Ship Level (yeah, I know. Its boring!)” [WAD for “Doom 2″/”Final Doom”/”GZDoom” etc…]

Well, although it’s only been about three weeks since my previous WAD review, I was in the mood for another one. And, after clicking the “Random File” button on the /idgames Archive, I eventually stumbled across a “Doom II”/”Final Doom” WAD from 2003 called “The Ship Level (yeah, I know. Its boring!)” by Paul D. Disney.

As usual, I used version 4.8.2 of the GZDoom source port to run this WAD. Though, given it’s age (It’s weird to think that 2003 was twenty years ago! I remember 2003…), it’ll probably run with pretty much any modern source port. Still, from the accompanying text file, you will need a source port of some kind. Then again, I don’t imagine there are many people still running “Doom II” or “Final Doom” on DOS or Windows 95 these days….

It also possibly won’t work with German versions of the game (or the censored “BFG Edition” version of the game) though, since it uses the “Wolfenstein 3D” enemies from the secret levels in “Doom II”.

Anyway, let’s take a look at “The Ship Level (yeah, I know. Its boring!)”. The level contains FLASHING LIGHTS in one later part, but they’re fairly slow.

Seriously, this happens less than a minute after you start the level. It is anything but boring…

“The Ship Level (yeah, I know. Its boring!)” is a short-medium length single-level “vanilla” WAD (eg: no custom stuff). Despite the cynical remarks in the title, it is anything but boring! The level takes influence from 1990s “Star Trek” and takes place on what seems to be a Starfleet vessel 🙂 And this is re-created surprisingly well with just the default textures.

Seriously, this level contains some really cool visual design. Each room looks distinctive and there are some cool effects too – like a damaged segment of the ship, stuff on the ceilings, a floating display of some kind, various railings etc… It’s weird to think that people were doing this sort of cool stuff with source ports twenty years ago. If you know anything about the limitations of the original Doom engine, then all of this stuff will still be at least mildly impressive two decades later.

Seriously, it’s subtle but this is really cool for a level from 2003…

There’s also a “warp core” too, although it can’t really be ejected…

In terms of the level design, it’s a fairly “traditional” type of level where you have to find three keys and push various switches. There’s a really good mixture of claustrophobic corridors and small arena-like rooms. It’s intricate enough to be compelling, but small enough to never get confusing and you won’t ever get “stuck” or lost for very long.

The level sticks to low and mid-level monsters, but adds challenge by throwing lots of zombies at you in the beginning and doing stuff like pitting you against a Cacodemon in a really cramped ventilation tunnel. Plus, the addition of the “Wolfenstein 3D” enemies also adds a bit of variety too. Experienced players won’t find it too difficult, but it’s still just about challenging enough to be fun and relaxing to play.

Again, it isn’t ultra-difficult, but it’s still just about challenging enough to be fun.

As for length, this is a short-medium length level. Despite being mildly out of practice with “Doom II”, I was able to blaze through the whole thing in about fifteen minutes or so. Again, the level is intricate enough to be interesting but small enough that you’ll never really get “stuck”. It feels like a larger level than it probably is, but in a good way.

All in all, this is a really solid and fun sci-fi themed level that still holds up really well even two decades later. If you’re a “Star Trek” fan or just want a fun way to spend fifteen or twenty minutes, then this level is well worth playing 🙂

If I had to give it a rating out of five, it would get a five.