"Legacy of Rust" has two episodes included: "The Vulcan Abyss" and "Counterfeit Eden." The story is about the UAC's attempt to find the actual Garden of Eden which turns out is hidden away inside Hell itself. Of course, they shouldn't be messing around with stuff like that, and you get caught in the middle of the whole mess. Time to kill things!
First of all... Wow! It looks like the original Doom, but there are effects and map designs never before seen in the old Doom games. They even created a portal that takes you from the UAC into Hell itself. Brilliantly done! It was all practical effects too. They used the old engine in ways that blew my mind. There was even a bridge that you could walk under. I know that doesn't sound like anything special, but that was previously impossible in the older games. I'm not even sure how they did it.
"Legacy of Rust" also has new enemies and weapons. The latter shocked me most of all. Doom has not seen new weapons since Doom II with its double barreled shotgun. I'll list it all out and tell you a little bit about them.
New Weapon - Incinerator: Very cool. I don't normally like flame throwers in games, but this one was really interesting. It throws out a flame that will stick to surfaces and enemies and burn them during contact. The only downside is that those flames will burn you too. This weapons completely replaces the Plasma Rifle.
New Weapon - Calamity Blade: I am a little surprised it is called this. It is obviously the Ballista from "Doom Eternal." It works about the same way too. It throws out a wave of fire that just about takes up the entire screen, and it slices through enemies. It completely replaces the BFG9000. This is an extremely efficient killing weapon that can clear an entire screen of enemies very quickly and cheaply. By the end of the mission, I was using this gun exclusively.
New Enemy - Banshee: They would have been incredibly stupid if it wasn't for the noise they make. They slowly float towards you, screaming the entire time. It is very unnerving. They explode if they make contact with you and also when you kill them.
New Enemy - Ghoul: I have mentioned these in an old blog. They were in "Doom Zero," but they were called Alpha Souls in that one. They are basically Lost Souls that fire projectiles at you. They never gave me any trouble, but they do make creepy noises.
New Enemy - Mindweaver: Basically weaker versions of the Spiderdemons. Never gave me any trouble unless they showed up in large numbers.
New Enemy - Shock Trooper: These guys are awesome. They basically look like the sprite for Doom Guy, but they are carrying plasma rifles. They fire fast too. They are very dangerous, but they get killed pretty easily. I always prioritized them when they showed up. They have a cut-off scream when they die that I absolutely love. I think this ended up being my favorite of the new enemies.
New Enemy - Tyrant: It's like a weaker version of a Cyberdemon, and I don't really like them. They are kind of deformed which makes them ugly and no fun to look at.
New Enemy - Vassago: This is my second favorite of the new enemies. It's like a charred-black demon with wings. He throws fire at you which sticks to surfaces and burns for a bit. It's basically the same attack as the Incinerator but not as rapid. I like them a lot and want to see more of them. They look amazing, and you get to see them a whole lot too.
That's all the new stuff. Both episodes were amazing and fun. The secret levels were really interesting too. Not really hard, but strange. I really liked the variations from map to map. You never quite knew what they were going to throw at you.
The music was all new as well. It was all done in the old MIDI style of the original game too. Although all the pieces were well produced, I only liked a few of them. Most of the music reminded me of anime tunes. When I play Doom, I wanna hear heavy metal influences. All said though, I still enjoyed how well made they were.
I recommend "Legacy of Rust." You should play it! It proves that new Doom games can still be made on the classic game engine. This particular game takes everything Doom has already been, adds to it, innovates, and brings out a new experience that blew me away. Bravo! May Classic Doom live forever!
This blog was written on September 4, 2024.
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Incredible that a game so old, one of the very first shooters, is still fun. It is still an excellent template for new games. It seems even art as technology can be forever.
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