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Shadows of Chronos

Game: Hexen Year: 2014 Port: Any (that supports Hexen) Specs: MAP01-MAP05 Gameplay Mods: None Author: Samuel Villareal aka “Kaiser” idgames | doomwiki | onemandoom 

Holy shit, a PWAD for Hexen! And it’s really fuckin’ good! Kaiser erases pretty much all of the complaints with Hexen’s level design through his own, taking you through a whirlwind of three very unique locales bookended by monster-infested fortresses on Chronos. The “Garden of Gaea” in particular is well-worth a look. If you’re not a fan of the dungeon crawl combat, I doubt Shadows of Chronos will make you a convert, but if you found the original’s design too confusing, you may want give this minisode a shot.

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.

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Gene-Tech: Before the Storm

Game: Doom / Doom II Year: 2014 Source Port: GZDoom Specs: MAP01 Gameplay Mods: All new weapons and monsters Author: Nigel Rowand aka “Enjay” zdoom forum thread | doomwiki | onemandoom 

Gene-Tech takes place on an isolated research colony on Mars, where the eponymous corporation has made unusual strides in the fields of biotechnology and cybernetics. Rumor has it that they’ve secured their gains via contact with an alien power, which is a big no-no according to the treaties concerning first contact situations. You’re sent in to see what, if anything, is going on. You’d think that the corporation would have balked when they got so much as a glimpse of the Strogg, but I guess that’s why you’re corporate headhunting.

Gene-Tech is basically a brand new 90s-era FPS, made for GZDoom. It’s only a single level, which is regrettable, but Enjay’s architecture isn’t really distinguished enough to sustain it for any longer. It borrows a lot of its weapons and gunplay from Quake II and is in fact something of a prequel. The action is reliant on lots of human guards wielding a variety of weapons which makes for some pretty hectic crossfires, balanced by several big Strogg slaughters where aliens arrive in torrents. Killing Strogg is so much more satisfying here than in Quake II, though. I think it’s the fact that they kick back and slide about ten feet when killed with the SSG.

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.

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Bloody Steel

Game: Doom II Year: 2014 Port: Boom-compatible (GLBoom or GZDoom preferred) Specs: MAP01-MAP10 Gameplay Mods: None Author: “ Big Memka ” idgames | doomwiki | onemandoom

A secret UAC facility hidden beneath a steel mill is jeopardized following the outbreak of a deadly plague that makes way for demonic occupation, which shouldn’t come as any surprise when the research being conducted is as usual matters of time and space. It’s up to you to defend the very fabric of reality from being rent asunder by demonic aims…

Bloody Steel’s realistic environments shine, with the bulk of it taking place in a dystopian industrial complex, followed by field trips to what look like 18th century France and 3rd century Rome. The gameplay is a mix of styles, from open-air free roaming to cover shooter, corridor shooter, Eternal Doom, slaughtermap, and all parts in between. Expect a healthy dose of claustrophobia, too, when battling stronger enemies in close quarters.

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.

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The Adventures of Square Episode 1: Cornered by Circles

Game: The Adventures of Square (standalone game) Year: 2014 Source Port: ZDoom Specs: E1A1-E1A10, TRAINING Gameplay Mods: All new everything!! Author: James Paddock aka “Jimmy” et al homepage | doomwiki | onemandoom 

Doctor Octagon has been kidnapped by the Circle Jerks and the cigar-chomping Square is out to rescue him. The two-dimensional hero must battle through a number of enemy strongholds in Shapeland before reaching the transfer point to his next destination - the moon.

The Adventures of Square is basically a brand new game in the ZDoom engine. You’ll see some similarities to Doom’s equipment and monsters, but only because when you’ve played so much Doom, you start noticing parallels everywhere. It’s got tons of wonderful colors, plenty of monster types, and lots of unique destinations. I was kind of expecting more cheesy BUILD jokes, but the only thing I was really promised was a glut of cheesy puns, so I guess we’re good. If this is only the first episode - “Squareware” - I’m waiting to see what other madness the mappers can fabricate. Note that this is pretty dang hard on the UV equivalent; those cannon balls have a way of sneaking up on you…

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.

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Back to Saturn X Episode 2: Tower in the Fountain of Sparks

Game: Doom II Year: 2014 Source Port: Any Specs: MAP01-MAP27, MAP31 Gameplay Mods: None Author: various idgames | doomwiki | onemandoom

Another year and a half, another BTSX episode. After escaping death by sea after bailing out of the Unsinkable Fats Domino, you wash ashore at the mysterious Shadow Port on Saturn X’s dark side, where the majority of the alien ruins lie. You are drawn inexorably toward the ominous Tower in the Fountain of Sparks; to what end, no mortal can say.

BTSX E1 was all techbase; this is mostly something else. If you got tired of the former, here’s your chance to gorge yourself on Doom’s more ruinous side, showcasing a boatload of brand new textures. The hub maps are full of dark wonder and sightseeing, a big improvement over the humdrum strolls of E1 (sorry Essel!), and the music is as gorgeous as it’s ever been, this time with a more… mysterious flair, if that makes any sense. I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.

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The Classic Episode

Game: Doom Year: 2000 Port: Any Specs: E2M1-E2M9 Gameplay Mods: None Author: Anthony Soto aka “Swedish Fish”, Jan Van der Veken, Travers Dunne, and Nick Baker aka “NiGHTMARE” idgames | doomwiki | onemandoom 

Veken, Soto, Dunne, and Baker contribute to this kickass collection of levels that treads all of Ultimate Doom’s themes. It starts out pretty easy but the later levels get pretty hairy in terms of monster density. Fantastic layouts and fights.

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.

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The Hell Factory Hub One

Game: Doom II Year: 2000 Port: ZDoom Specs: MAP01-MAP04 Gameplay Mods: None Author: Tomi Rajala idgames | doomwiki | onemandoom 

Tomi Rajala builds on the promise of ZDoom with this Doom II hub pack with a strong Quake II feel. The design is a little too back-and-forth due to the small size of the levels, but Tomi does a good hand at showing us one of Doom’s potential futures.

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.

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20 Years of Doom

Game: Doom Year: 2014 Port: Boom-compatible Specs: E1M1-E1M9 Gameplay Mods: None Author: William Huber aka “[WH]-Wilou84″, Sid Zetmeck, Nils Vandamme aka “Nils the Red”, Jean Bon aka “jambon”, Arnaud Florian aka “Oxyde”, and JC Dorne aka “JCD” idgames | onemandoom 

The French Doom Community whipped up this little tribute to the original Doom where each map in a single episode was supposed to be a mixture of three. They’re not just stitched together homages, though; every level has its own character, even if E1M7 is “Mt. Erebus” as fuck. The run from E1M4-E1M8 is brilliant and E1M1 is a great little pastiche of E1M1-3. E1M2 is really boring, though. Skip it.

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.

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Berserk

Game: Doom Year: 1994 Port: Any Specs: E2M1 Gameplay Mods: None Author: Jon Landis  idgames | doomwiki | onemandoom 

Berserk is Jon Landis’s first level, of Eye of the Beholder / STRAIN fame. Appropriately enough, it’s also the most basic level in his oeuvre, though it’s still got some enjoyable gameplay moments, mostly related to combat. 1994 haters beware.

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.

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Return to Hadron Episode 2 The Collider's New Clothes

Game: Doom Year: 2017 Source Port: Limit-removing Specs: E2M1-E2M9 Gameplay Mods: None Author: Matt Powell aka "cannonball" idgames | doomwiki | onemandoom

In ConC.E.R.Ned, Hell invaded the European Organization for Nuclear Research's Hadron Collider, with a lone security officer getting pretty far but ultimately failing at securing the complex. Return to Hadron E1 was a sort of reimagining of the first episode, with another hero taking a stab at the now even more warped installation and, again, failing. Now, civilization is ruined, and you're one of the survivors picking through the resulting Hellscape. During your scavenging, you're drawn into the periphery of the Collider complex. With no apparent means of escape, the only way out is through.

Return to Hadron E2, like E1, is a sort of remake/remodel of Powell's debut megaWAD, this time targeting the second episode. Don't expect any sort of major devotion to the labyrinthine layouts of Deimos, though. Expect cavernous interiors and tons of OG Doom monsters to fill them out.

Click here if you'd like to read my full review.

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Chaos, Uprising

Game: Heretic Year: 2014 Port: ZDoom Specs: This mod mixes some gunpowder into Heretic but also adds more magic and different starting character kits. Gameplay Mods: New characters, new weapons, new monsters, new items Author: “Richard S. Long” idgames | onemandoom

This ZDoom mod for Heretic is set long after Corvus’s adventure. Technology has advanced slightly and a mysterious wanderer has settled down on Parthoris only to find the cult of the serpent returning a few years into his retirement. Wield revolvers, shotguns, and various magical implements and pry the secrets of spellcasting from the cult pontiffs as you battle through Corvus’s old stomping grounds. Play as the stranger, the melee-oriented mercenary, agile seer, or mana-leeching warlock. All in all, I thought it was pretty cool, and if you want something a bit more "advanced” from Heretic, you ought to give this a shot.

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.

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Micro Plutonia

Game: Doom II (PLUTONIA.WAD) Year: 2011 Port: Any Specs: MAP04-MAP06 Gameplay Mods: None Author: Mattias Johansson aka “Waverider” idgames | onemandoom 

As if you couldn’t get enough Plutonia, Waverider took his Plutonia Revisited reject map and added two new minimaps for a tiny trilogy. These levels don’t quite match the standards of PRCP, but they’re great if you’re dying to fight through more Plutonic ruins.

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.

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Esselmap I: Testing Facility

Game: Doom II Year: 2006 Port: Limit-removing Specs: MAP01 Gameplay Mods: None Author: Sarah Mancuso aka “Esselfortium” idgames | doomwiki | onemandoom

Before Esselfortium laid her iron grip on the Doom mapping community, she made cool, amateurish levels, too. This plays in Doom II but it’s a big level with an OG Doom look and one of those stream-of-conscious layouts.

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.

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Quadruple Threat

Game: Doom II Year: 2010 Port: Boom-compatible Specs: MAP01 Gameplay Mods: None Author: Eric Baker aka “TheGreenHerring”, Jon Vail aka “40oz”, Jamie Bainbridge aka “Super Jamie”, and Joonas Ailjala aka “Jodwin” idgames | doomwiki | onemandoom 

This single map has four contributing authors, each one a fairly recognizable name in the Doom community. It’s a speedmap of sorts, but good luck speeding through it. TheGreenHerring’s section is demons and zombies in the dark while Jodwin posits a superhard slaughter. SuperJamie and 40oz are pretty tame in comparison.

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.

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LaboUAC

Game: Doom II Year: 2014 Port: GZDoom Specs: MAP01 Gameplay Mods: New monsters Author: “jameson2_fr” idgames | onemandoom 

This is a big map for GZDoom that explores a UAC research complex. It can’t compare to the meticulously-engineered ZDCMP2, but it has its good points. None of the architecture can measure up to those overlayed bridges at the opening, though. Lots of R667 beasties to be fought. Have fun navigating the 3D layout.

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.

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Installation B

Game: Doom II Year: 2003 Source Port: Limit-removing Specs: MAP01 Gameplay Mods: None Author: Alex Parsons idgames | onemandoom

This is the last part of the World's End series to be published outside of the first Community Chest. It's a small, solid base level for players who don't mind feeling slightly outgunned, particularly due to the conspicuous absence of the combat shotgun, which fosters a combat feeling more akin to OG Doom.

Click here if you'd like to read the full review.

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Back to Hell

Game: Doom Year: 1996 Port: Any Specs: E3M1-E3M9 Gameplay Mods: None Author: Dave Seager idgames | doomwiki | onemandoom 

The UAC placed Doomguy in charge of the urban redevelopment program in reward for his services. When his eyes close shut, though, the demons come back, again and again. When they finally return in the flesh, they enact a diabolical plan of vengeance, abducting the last marine and taking him back to Hell through the UAC’s secret teleporter lab, afterward sealing off the gate with an explosion that destroys the lower floors. When our hero comes to, it’s time to relive the nightmare…

This is a pretty cool episode three replacement for the original Doom. Seager creates a series of novel environments to fight your way through, all of which are about as hostile as you might expect. One of the levels is unusual in that it forces you to return to the beginning with some clever thing placement, doing battle with the cacodemons that chased you out in the first place.

Click here if you’d like to read my full review.