The reason it took so long is probably because this one single map is almost as long as a whole map pack. It is an absolutely huge map, and it is very well made. Shockingly well made. In fact, it looks better than most official maps I have played developed by Id. To give you an idea how absolutely huge this map is, it took me 117 Minutes to finish it. No joke. And it was not boring either. This map is just that long.
The story for this one can be found in the accompanying text file: "The Foursite military base lies abandoned. You’ve heard rumors of a secret backdoor entrance: find the entrance, explore the four quadrants of the base, reach the heart, and escape alive." It gets the job done. The real experience comes from exploring this massive and ambient facility.
From the beginning, this map treats you to a shockingly realistic setting. There was a desert. A path leads to an entryway. A long elevator. And then from there, you make your way into the guts of the most intricate underground facilities you will ever see in a classic Doom game.
The building has nearly a thousand enemies but they are all spread out throughout this huge place. It never really feels like a "slaughter map." It just feels like a regular Doom II map that's just way bigger than a normal one. Half the fun was just exploring it. There were just so many little nooks and crannies to poke around in, and I was never not enjoying myself. On top of all that, the map was designed to look fairly like actual places. It all felt very real even for the old doom tech being used. The ambience was extremely solid.
There was such a huge build up to the ending, and I just had a really good feeling that there was going to be a boss fight at the end. I was right. It was a surprisingly intricate boss fight with a Spider Mastermind where you had to avoid its guns while trying to quickly hit a bunch of switches. Somehow the author made it so the Spider Mastermind would never stop shooting at you, preventing you from being able to just attack it directly. I loved this fight, and I am amazed he was able to make this on the Classic Doom platform.
Without a doubt, I recommend you play this one, but be warned! It is a very long map. It will take you a long time to beat, but the atmosphere of the place was beyond well done. This map deserves a place in the Doom hall of fame!
This blog was written on October 17, 2024.
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Bauul obviously loved DOOM... and he poured that love into making what took him much longer to design than it took you to play. Interesting that he decided on realistic architecture. Why are the other facilities whimsically and dangerously designed? Oh, well.
ReplyDeleteImagine taking as long to make one map as it takes to make a map set.
DeleteA new take on the original game, can make it feel entirely different. The same materials are being used, but the arrangement changes everything. With a little ingenuity you can make something truly special.
ReplyDeleteAnd all in just one map.
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