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junegloom3d · 5 months

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SIGIL II

Doom is 30 years old as of yesterday, and to celebrate the anniversary John Romero dropped an entire new episode on us, a rip-roaring sequel to his 2019 classic SIGIL. SIGIL II feels quite a bit looser than its predecessor, but that's not a bad thing. It's picked up a bit of a Doom Eternal vibe, which I appreciate, but is still noticeably John Romero in style.

Note that version 1.0 was played, and if Romero happens to provide updates as he did with the original episode, some parts of this may be outdated.

Main review here.

E6M1: Cursed Darkness

SIGIL II starts off with a bang, a high-octane mess of lava under a blue night sky reminiscent of Clan B0S' infamous Sacrament mod, with a cool cage trap and a surprise Cybie on UV to keep us on our toes. Clever players will find the big SIGIL II logo lava chamber; cleverer players will find it's a lot easier to do the final room once you've raised all the pathways.

E6M2: Violent Hatred

Classic Romero. This one feels the most like a map from the first SIGIL; it's a delightful box of poison chocolates that gradually opens up to reveal angry waves of monsters. The outside is optional, but it may be worth it for the goodies -- just mind the Cyberdemon on Ultraviolence.

E6M3: Twilight Desolation

A stark "Inferno" vibe dominates this somewhat open-ended map with the use of some techy textures. If you're quick, you can get the plasma rifle, which should help with the swarms of lost souls. The secret exit is a reuse of Sandy Petersen's trick with the rocket knockback from E3M6, only this time you don't have the benefit of invulnerability.

E6M9: Shattered Homecoming

Romero hits us with a surprise techbase nightmare; the signs indicating what each sector was intended for are a nice touch. I really like the collapsed command room in the northwest, but the "training field" will provide the most hectic firefight as you assault a fortress full of zombies and imps with cacodemon support. Great level.

E6M4: Fragments of Sanity

This one gave me real strong Doom Eternal vibes -- perhaps it was the broken room, perhaps it was the mix of colors. Whatever the case, it's a solid level, a ruined techbase slowly breaking apart and sinking into a lake of fire. The crusher trap will infuriate you -- I wouldn't be surprised if Romero were to revise that section in later versions. (I seem to recall him having to do something similar with E5M4.)

E6M5: Wrathful Reckoning

Techbase, but the grody, industrial techbase of "Nuclear Plant" or "Toxin Refinery." The big toxic disposal chamber beyond the blue door will have you dealing with harassment from all corners, but the cybie in the south end (at least on higher difficulties) will stop your progression dead until you've managed to take him out.

E6M6: Vengeance Unleashed

Welcome back to Regular Hell. This one plays out similarly to "Paths of Wretchedness" from the first SIGIL, with each path having its own conceit, but it's a much more sprawling affair. The maze to the west is terrifying with a cyberdemon in it, Romero explicitly citing it as a callback to a similar one in the previous episode. Really fun map.

E6M7: Descent Into Terror

Romero's magnum opus for this set, "Descent Into Terror" is marked by some really cool visuals (the shining red rock canyon really stuck with me) and a terrifying sense of verticality. It feels significantly more epic than usual for Romero, and will take you quite some time to complete. The community will love this one.

E6M8: Abyss of Despair

Compared to E6M7, "Abyss of Despair" is pretty low-key as a finisher. You'll have a short jaunt into some caves, before you unlock the big teleporter to the boss arena. Romero clearly took to heart the criticism of how underwhelming the big finish of SIGIL was, but SIGIL II's grand finale doesn't really excite much either: a big room with a spidey and some cyberdemons, each one having to be killed to progress on the narrow catwalk they occupy. The spiderdemon has had her health tripled in DEHACKED to make her more of a threat, but all it does is make the fight more boring. Honestly, the lone baron that emerges out of the exit was more theatrical.

Final thoughts

SIGIL II is a great mapset. It's an evolution of style for Romero, but in some ways it feels like a bit of a retread, catering more to community tastes. While aesthetically it remains very pleasing, it doesn't really seem to bring much new to the table. And that's okay -- there's plenty of maps out there that fall back on tried-and-true design tropes. But it does feel like Romero wanted to coast on the original episode's success while working on his new Doom II megawad. It's still very much worth your time, just don't expect much new compared to its predecessor.

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junegloom3d · 5 months

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SIGIL

While SIGIL isn't John Romero's first release for Doom since leaving id Software in 1996, it's definitely his first big one, a 9-map set for Ultimate Doom that proposes an additional fifth episode, trapping Doomguy in Hell before he can make it back to Earth. It's a mean piece of work, a perfect example of how you don't need to stuff your levels full of monsters to kick the player's ass.

Full review here.

E5M1: Baphomet's Demesne

Romero sets the tone with this visually striking opener. You start off already under ambush, and first-timers are likely to hit the eye symbol in the ensuing shootout, but if you can grasp the basic conceit, you'll be able to navigate the narrow paths over the walkway. Just mind you watch the lost souls ambushing you. Secrets are really easy to find, and you'll need them.

E5M2: Sheol

This one comes off a little Doom 64, but you won't see me complaining. The concept of a little Hellish outpost in a sea of lava is not new, but Romero makes it feel especially cramped. I like the maze ambush, especially if you're smart enough to not grab the supercharge right away.

E5M3: Cages of the Damned

This might be my favorite of the episode? It starts off simple and cramped, but after exploring a bit the walls fall away to reveal the level's namesake, and you're under assault from at least two directions depending on how thorough you were clearing out the blood tunnel or the central cage. I like how it loops in on itself.

E5M4: Paths of Wretchedness

This one definitely feels like Doom 64 with the branching paths that you have to explore in turn to find the keys to unlock a gate at the far end. Each one feels like a mini-level in itself, with its own conceit. The crusher machine at the end of the right-hand path is one of the most visually striking elements in the episode, but the sinking stones across the lava river require quick thinking.

E5M5: Abaddon's Void

Like E5M2's meaner cousin (though both show a very Sandy Petersen influence.) It's a dark, moody piece, with at least one cyberdemon (two on UV, because fuck you that's why) hanging out at each end of the island chain. You'll be able to telefrag the both of them eventually, but until then you'll be under threat as you navigate the narrow paths around the outer buildings.

E5M6: Unspeakable Persecution

A tight cave complex that starts off relatively simple on the one side, but the other side features a deadly game of cat and mouse on higher difficulties as you try to navigate the teleporter maze on the walls of the regular maze. You will also at long last get the plasma rifle, and if you're savvy, the BFG. Very cool level.

E5M9: Realm of Iblis

This is a weird one. Romero typically shies away from anything too techy (crusher maze in E5M4 not withstanding) but this one has just outright some kind of... tech thing in the middle of a smouldering pit. It's a small part of the level overall though. Quake-like crushing columns will block your way here and there, but the real threat is the big bastard ruling over the underground keep.

E5M7: Nightmare Underworld

The penultimate level is a sprawling journey through a twisted canyon complex, absolutely chock-a-block with zombies. The cacodemon pit is a cool feature, but this otherwise is not my favorite level -- too cramped and generally doesn't feel like the other maps.

E5M8: Halls of Perdition

(Getting that screenshot was a real pain.) The final level is a return to form, one of the most visually striking levels in the entire episode with its emphasis on red and black. The lost souls outside the fence are there to distract you from the lost souls inside the fence (and their cheery buddies too.) The dark maze on the ground floor is fantastic, but the finale feels less epic than it could have been -- you don't have a lot of room to maneuver, nor any cover, so if you're caught off guard you probably won't be getting out unscathed.

Final thoughts

"The Shores of Hell" remains my favorite of the official episodes, but if we're ever considering SIGIL an official fifth episode then that would be a very close second. It's a great showcase of how Romero has evolved as a game designer in his 20+ years away, and the dueling soundtracks provide a very different vibe depending on which one you pick. Great stuff.

#doom #doom mod #doom wad #classic fps #john romero

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junegloom3d · 5 months

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The Ultimate Doom: Thy Flesh Consumed

When Doom was eventually brought to the retail market, GT Interactive pushed for a fourth episode as an added incentive. This fourth episode, "Thy Flesh Consumed," brings a version of hell that is visually quite distinct from Sandy Petersen and Tom Hall's mad vision of fire and brimstone. As a mapset it's not really high on my list of favorites; nor is it as a theme. But it's an interesting piece of history, one that I go into detail here.

E4M1: Hell Beneath (American McGee)

American McGee starts you off with this extremely tight little crypt of sorts. On Ultraviolence you can expect health to be at a premium with a mere nine health bonuses. He does you the solid of giving you an armor once you've cleared the initial swarm of shotgunners and imps, but the ambush in the Nine Inch Nails-themed blue key room will have you running for your life.

E4M2: Perfect Hatred (John Romero)

It's all about pain, you bastard. Romero returns to Doom mapping with this nightmare of a level that starts off with a bang as a horde of enemies, including cacodemons, start throwing fire your way. You can use the shotgun guys stationed obliviously in front of you to help soften them up a bit, and bringing the rocket launcher from the last level will certainly level the playing field a bit, but your biggest problem isn't the trapped cyberdemon lording over the exit, it's dealing with the mess of Barons who gradually take over the level. If you know where the good shit is buried -- like the plasma rifle in the side room -- it'll help you get your footing. It's just a matter of reaching it.

E4M9: Fear (Tim Willits)

Tim Willits gives us the episode's lone techbase, a stark little series of courtyards and rooms that with the orange sky remind me of Willits' earlier map "Attack" from Doom II: The Master Levels. It's actually pretty easy to miss this level if you don't know how to deal with the cyberdemon in "Perfect Hatred," but if you do manage to find it, you get a map that surprisingly isn't gimmicky at all (except perhaps for being a techbase in a predominantly Hell-themed episode.) It starts you off with a bang, but if you can silence the wandering zombies and their friends you'll have a little more room to run around.

E4M3: Sever The Wicked (Shawn Green)

Shawn Green offers a freewheeling horror show that has smart players running for the bunker in sight of the start, but it's a borderline zombie apocalypse with hordes of shotgunners, supplemented by imps, Barons, and, inexplicably, a single cacodemon on UV but six on Hurt Me Plenty. This is probably where the tide begins to turn in your favor as you're granted the opportunity to really load up on ammunition, especially for your rocket launcher, but the tight corners make actually using it a somewhat dicey proposition. Nobody's saying you can't blow up everyone outside, though!

E4M4: Unruly Evil (American McGee)

McGee returns with another little complex reminiscent of some of his work for Doom II; this one is significantly easier than "Hell Beneath" if you're playing continuous, and even from pistol start it's not too bad. It makes use of a slight variance in texture choices compared to the rest of the episode, which I think makes it stand out a little and reminds me, just a little bit, of Quake.

E4M5: They Will Repent (Theresa Chasar and Tim Willits)

Tim Willits usually gets top billing for this map but the level geometry is actually his sister Theresa's design; Willits did the texturing and thing placements. It's a small-to-medium-sized little complex of green marble and blood rivers. Lots of height variation and open windows make for dangerous situations, but if you follow the stream of blood from the fountain at the beginning it will (eventually) get you to where you need to go.

E4M6: Against Thee Wickedly (John Romero)

Like "Unruly Evil" was for McGee, Romero's second outing for this episode isn't nearly as punishing, but it's still a difficult map, consisting of a smouldering lava pit beneath a sunken castle. The teleporter at the center is a pain to use, but it's your only reliable way of getting around until you can raise the walkways -- but doing that invites the cyberdemon to preside over the chamber, and unless you can find the invulnerability he is one tough nut to crack.

E4M7: And Hell Followed (John Anderson)

We meet again, Dr. Sleep. The late great John Anderson's lone contribution to "Thy Flesh Consumed" feels a bit like a subverted techbase, with straight hallways and stairs, electric lighting and just outright techy stuff towards the end. He likes imp ambushes, from the wooden colonnades to the west and the pitch-black supercharge room to the east, but it'll be the courtyard to the north that provides the biggest challenge, packed full of assholes as it is.

E4M8: Unto The Cruel (Shawn Green)

Shawn Green gives us a boss level that actually is just a regular level in its own right. Your job is to raise the bridge and doorway to the final arena, and doing that requires finding the red and yellow keys. Red is easy enough, but yellow requires a jaunt into a ruined garden with snipers on the walkway. Don't try to run across the pillars nearby -- you can simply lower them instead. The final encounter has a Spiderdemon assisted by a mess of trash mobs and a few barons, but if you can get into the upper rooms beyond you'll have some much-needed cover.

Final thoughts

"Thy Flesh Consumed" is an alright mapset for what it is. Individually any one of these maps is perfectly fine, if nothing special, save for Romero's nasty pit fetish. But combined as an episode they make for something of a mixed bag, thematically and gameplay-wise, with the opening two levels especially a one-two kick in the groin that makes a bad first impression. It's more interesting to me as a historical curiosity than as an episode, but it's nice to note that after a year and a half of making maps, there's a level of detail that simply wasn't there in the base game (or in Doom II, for that matter.)

#doom #classic fps #ultimate doom #video games

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junegloom3d · 5 months

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DOOM

Doom is one of the greatest games ever made, a whirling dervish of heavy metal, sci-fi horror and ultraviolence. The original release, sold by mail order from the offices of id Software, featured three episodes of nine levels each (always with one level being a secret, usually with its own gimmick.) That's twenty-seven levels of mayhem from id Software's mappers: John Romero, Tom Hall and Sandy Petersen.

The full review of the game is available on my Medium account.

Episode One: Knee Deep in the Dead

Back in the day, many PC games were sold on the shareware model, in which an often generous portion of the game was distributed for free or relatively cheap. Many games, such as Doom, were thus divided into thematically distinct episodes, with the first episode intended as an extended teaser. "Knee Deep in the Dead" is almost entirely John Romero's show, with a tightly managed design ethos that allowed for a consistent experience. Maps with contributions by the other two, or in the case of E1M8, done entirely without Romero, stick out like sore thumbs from Romero's particular flow.

E1M1: Hanger (John Romero)

The coveted E1M1 slot is the most important level in a game like Doom. It's the level you use to sell the game, the first impression; if your first level isn't fun, how can players be expected to keep playing? This isn't anime. "Hangar" is short and sweet, a linear little teaser for what's next, with a courtyard you can access if you know where to look.

E1M2: Nuclear Plant (John Romero)

Romero's freewheeling design ethos is most apparent here, a much larger offering divided into two wings. The east wing is where most of the shotgunners are, if you can find a way out into the yard. The west wing is much larger, though the bulk of it is an entirely optional maze of computer panels and strobing lights that hide a large hunting party of zombies and imps.

E1M3: Toxin Refinery (John Romero)

On a superficial level it's the same conceit as "Nuclear Plant," with two separate wings to explore. But when you actually play it you'll see the sheer genius of it with its varied setpieces and tantalizing secrets. Being able to open the secret path across the pit from the starting point is supremely satisfying.

E1M9: Military Base (John Romero)

One of the odder offerings from Romero, "Military Base" is a set of about ten plain, boxy rooms in a grid pattern. The central cage full of imps will keep you busy while you mow down the zombie hordes, but the biggest threat is the horde of monsters teleporting in when you pick up the rocket launcher.

E1M4: Command Control (Tom Hall and John Romero)

If you looked up "techbase" in the dictionary you'd see this map. The basic framework from Tom Hall is clear in the sprawling maze of corridors and big rooms, full of zombies and other beasties to kill. The central pagoda is the most interesting setpiece, but I'm partial to the elevator that only goes up once and the maze in the southwest. Infamously this map had a chamber with computers arranged in a swastika pattern in tribute to Wolfenstein 3D; later versions of the map wisely rearranged this to a less controversial symbol. Romero would eventually go back and do a more completely Romero take on the level with Phobos Mission Control.

E1M5: Phobos Lab (John Romero)

This one feels curiously industrial compared to Romero's other levels, with its sprawling pit of toxic goo and the catwalk you have to raise up to get to the yellow key. The horde of zombies and imps that come after you in the west room will be an unwelcome surprise, and even after all these years I still sometimes get caught out by it.

E1M6: Central Processing (John Romero)

This and the following level are my favorites of the episode, the moment where Doom truly comes into its own with a sprawling, three-winged complex. What to highlight? Perhaps the massive ambush early on in the red key room? Or the maze of toxin storage chambers to the east? Perhaps the sheer wall of demons and spectres that are unleashed upon you in the penultimate encounter?

E1M7: Computer Station (John Romero)

The pièce de résistance of the episode is an enormous dark maze of computers and vast chambers of toxic goo, divided into distinct sections. In true survival horror fashion, you'll sometimes have to backtrack, only to bump into newly-unleashed monsters who were hiding in closets before heading off to look for you.

E1M8: Phobos Anomaly (Tom Hall and Sandy Petersen)

The only level in the entire episode without any contribution from Romero, "Phobos Anomaly" is as straightforward as it gets, and utterly, irrevocably Sandy Petersen. The big finale has you fighting not just two Barons of Hell but also a horde of spectres in a dark, star-shaped chamber. Survive and the walls fall away, revealing a sinister teleporter. Step onto it and face the famous final ambush. And if you crave a more complete John Romero experience, he would reclaim the E1M8 slot for himself years later with Tech Gone Bad.

Final thoughts

"Knee Deep in the Dead," as the shareware episode, is a great showcase of what Doom can offer. While the limited bestiary means you'll be fighting mostly hordes of zombies, the freewheeling level design and strong theming makes for a memorable first outing.

Episode two: The Shores of Hell

For all that everyone praises John Romero's level design, he disappears entirely after "Knee Deep," leaving Tom and Sandy to take over. Tom hardly has a single level to himself; his design philosophy was largely at odds with his fellows, and their fraying working relationship, in part driven by Tom's lack of enthusiasm for the project (Tom is a big kid at heart and preferred the softer, more humorous vibe of Commander Keen) eventually led to his ouster at id Software. Nevertheless, his influence is clear in many levels given his predilection for big, semi-realistic complexes.

E2M1: Deimos Anomaly (Tom Hall and Sandy Petersen)

"Shores" gets things started with a bang. Far less sedate an opener than "Hangar" ever was, it strikes a different tone with dark grey brick walls, hordes of zombies and imps, and sinister architecture like the inverse cross right around the corner from the start point that damages you as you pass through it. This is also the first level we really get to see teleporters in, jumping around the various parts of a disconnected map. If you're clever you'll find an early plasma rifle, but be warned that it's guarded on higher difficulties by what's likely to be your first cacodemon.

E2M2: Containment Area (Tom Hall and Sandy Petersen)

Years ago, the nerd culture site Old Man Murray had a running joke about the time it took from the start of a game to when you saw a crate or barrel since they were such common features. You can probably blame "Containment Area" for starting this trend with a sprawling crate maze full of imps, but storage wars are only part of the story. An optional armory has some goodies for you, but opening the supply closets means freeing the monsters within. It's a pretty fun Tom Hall joint, with Hell's corruption making itself felt in large parts of the map.

E2M3: Refinery (Tom Hall and Sandy Petersen)

An odd level to say the least, this one feels like an intermission on your way to the next big thing. It's positively crawling with cacos, but in spite of that it's relatively flat and cramped without much room for them -- or you -- to maneuver. The big toxin chambers are pretty tricky with the narrow center walls making it tough to cross quickly. "Refinery" also marks the arrival of the Baron of Hell as an ordinary enemy; short of Cybie and the Spiderdemon, every enemy in the game is represented in this.

E2M4: Deimos Lab (Tom Hall and Sandy Petersen)

Doom has always been pretty spooky but the back half of "Shores" is where the game is arguably at its scariest, with a moody soundtrack and lots of tough monsters. Much of the early part of the map winds around a toxic river, but as you work your way deeper into the lab you get to see some more sinister chambers like the red-light room in the north west, or the vine-choked circular room with the staircase leading to a teleporter.

E2M5: Command Center (Sandy Petersen)

It's not a Tom Hall level, but it sure feels like one, an enormous complex of winding paths and dead ends. The Baron and caco fight in the central room doesn't give you a lot of room to maneuver; brave explorers will likely stumble upon the optional toxin vat in the northwest, but you'd have to make a trip down a long, poisonous hallway to get there. The secret level is really easy to find, it's just a matter of knowing what switch does what.

E2M9: Fortress Of Mystery (Sandy Petersen)

A pure gimmick map, consisting of two chambers, one with Barons and one with cacodemons. Savvy players will get these two groups to fight each other, and then pick off the survivors (usually the Barons.) Once they're all dead you can grab all the stuff and get out of there. The caco corpses and tortured Barons ought to tell you how they feel each other.

E2M6: Halls Of The Damned (Sandy Petersen)

Probably my favorite level of the episode, "Halls of the Damned" is an ominous complex of setpieces, each with their own vibe. Sandy employs his tabletop roots to the fullest with all sorts of DnD fuckery, from the disappearing floor in the courtyard to the fake exit that drops you into a nightmarish chamber of blood and guts to be jumped by an ambush squad of monsters. The dark, wooden maze full of monsters is like E1M4's imp-and-pinky warren on steroids.

E2M7: Spawning Vats (Tom Hall and Sandy Petersen)

Tom Hall's stamp of realism is most apparent in this level, with the sense that we're really exploring some sort of twisted, corrupted laboratory. It starts you off on the run with some demons on your tail, but the rest of the map is a sprawling survival horror show. The shiny chrome lab area in the south central will tease you with the yellow key, but first you'll have to deal with the horde of pinkies in the storage room. Great stuff -- it'd be my favorite if not for "Halls of the Damned."

E2M8: Tower Of Babel (Sandy Petersen)

An even more straightforward boss level than "Phobos Anomaly," "Tower of Babel" teases itself all throughout the episode as you can see it being built on the end-of-level screen. When you finally get to it, it can seem a bit underwhelming: a simple boss arena. And then you hear the roar of the Cyberdemon and the mechanical thumping of its hooves...

Final thoughts

People like to talk up "Knee Deep in the Dead" thanks to its tight design and their own fond memories of playing the shareware, but I think "The Shores of Hell" is a more complete picture of Doom in a nutshell. It's darker, scarier, and meaner; its disordered design ethos and wild mishmash of textures that don't always gel together speaks to the game's somewhat haphazard development, but also enhance the unreality of a human installation being subverted by a dimension of pain and fear.

Episode three: Inferno

Welcome to the Sandy Petersen show. While Tom Hall does have his contributions to this episode, the majority of the design is Sandy's, and it shows. It's weird, ugly, full of traps, and leaves you with a sense of being hunted. You're in the devil's domain now, kids. Saddle up.

E3M1: Hell Keep (Sandy Petersen)

We kick things off with the memorable moment of rising up from a field of -- is that supposed to be innards? tentacles? Whatever it is, it's unsettling. Imps wander the field, but it's the cacos just behind the front door that provide the real threat. Grabbing the shotgun and surviving the imp encounter beyond requires some fancy moves, but by that point you should have enough footing to deal with the rest of the level.

E3M2: Slough Of Despair (Sandy Petersen)

Sandy's penchant for idiosyncratic level design is at its most obvious here with a map in the shape of a grasping hand. There's a sense of a hellish wilderness in this blasted moonscape, with each of the "fingers" forming a cave with their own mysteries to discover. If you can take down the zombies and other threats lurking the rocky canyon maze, you'll be well on your way to arming yourself for the dangers ahead.

E3M3: Pandemonium (Tom Hall and Sandy Petersen)

What began as a control center in Doom's early alpha days (back when it was much more similar to System Shock) is now a lost techbase, with much of it not even having been converted, but it still maintains both its Tom Hall-esque sprawling layout and its Sandy Petersen-esque unsettling aesthetics. The optional area to the east has some nice goodies, though be warned that it's heavily guarded.

E3M4: House Of Pain (Sandy Petersen)

No, not the rappers. A complex of torture chambers and other horrors, crammed to the brim with monsters. On an aesthetic level I like the chamber full of tormented souls chained to pillars, observable through a window in the far west; more relevant to the player are the "lungs" and "stomach" rooms by the starting point to the north, the latter having a pair of crushers guarding items you may want.

E3M5: Unholy Cathedral (Sandy Petersen)

Ugh, I hate this level. While the appearance of flaming runes have implications about Hell's language and culture, the actual map is a teleporter nightmare that's difficult to navigate and full of high-level threats, especially the hot room to the northwest and the skull pit in the east from whence a horde of monsters arise, baying for your blood. Cool atmosphere if nothing else.

E3M6: Mt. Erebus (Sandy Petersen)

Hell finally opens up again with a level that would anticipate the sprawling open complexes of Doom II, but be ready to be beset by swarms of cacos flying in over the burning lake and other threats wandering the island. Most any building you break into will trigger a siege from the hordes who want it back, but it's the Y-shaped building in the northwest that induces the biggest response. Getting to the secret level requires a little planning, or at least some luck with straferunning.

E3M9: Warrens (Sandy Petersen)

Wait, isn't this just "Hell Keep?" It plays out exactly the same, though if you're playing continuous you should be significantly better armed than you were the first go-round. Find your way through and step into the teleporter... only for the walls to fall away and reveal the truth about this level, with an angry cyberdemon staring you in the face. It's a gimmick map, but it's a good gimmick.

E3M7: Gate To Limbo (Tom Hall and Sandy Petersen)

One last maze, awash in seas of toxic blood. For the size of the level, the relatively low monster count might seem like no big deal, until you realize just how much of the level is dangerous to stand in. More than anything though what stands out to me is the vibe, huge disconnected chambers with locked teleporter coffins, feeling a bit like some kind of hellish crypt complex.

E3M8: Dis (Sandy Petersen)

Along came a spider... "Dis" is a boss arena that doesn't give you much protection against the withering fire of the spiderdemon's hitscan attack. If you're feeling brave you can try to use the central pagoda as cover, but honestly if you have the BFG and you're quick you can just dance on up to her and squash her before she's had a chance to unload.

Final thoughts

Episode 3 is something of a mixed bag. Sandy's vision of Hell doesn't have a consistent theme; it's a mishmash of ideas and aesthetics, leaning towards a traditional fire-and-brimstone look as opposed to the more gothic, even medieval aesthetics as seen in the likes of Quake, Hellraiser, and even later Doom games. I suppose the heavy metal soundtrack plays a part in that. Regardless, it's still a fun ride with a lot of cool traps and weird shit to see.

#doom #classic fps #30 years of doom

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