"Revolution!" is a very relaxed and fun Doom II mod that doesn't ever get too difficult unless you pump up the difficulty yourself. The missions are fairly straight forward and the maps look like real places. Velden is really good at creating environments that are like this. For example, the first missions takes place on a moving train. I have actually seen this done before, but it is still really cool. It is actually impossible to make a moving train in classic Doom, so the whole thing is just a clever illusion.
The story of "Revolution!" is very interesting. Here is a copy-and-paste of the story as written by the developer:
The story revolves around a chaotic being known as "The Father". The Father had a son ("The Son") which was a being of pure evil and rebelled against him. The Father created humanity as an army to stand against the Son. The Father left a device called "the Oracle" which was intended to show humanity its true purpose; when humans had evolved sufficiently they would discover their true purpose and the battle against the Son would begin.
The Son discovers the plan and attacks humanity before it has finished evolving. Nonetheless an army of marines succeeds in defeating the Son. The monsters previously commanded by the Son become humanity's slaves. The Father, although pleased, becomes worried that humanity will eventually conquer the universe.
Earth begins to colonize a planet known as "Utopia". The monsters are used to build the colony. On the planet the Oracle is discovered; the monsters use this to break free and take over the colony. The monsters seize the transporters on the colony and use it to begin an invasion of Earth.
The story sounds really serious until it becomes kind of silly. And the opening of the game does feel very silly. It brings you into various resort-looking places such as pools and hotels where the demons have revolted. You almost feel a little bad for them, but ultimately you realize that they have to be stopped. I do think it is funny that we basically enslaved demons which gave them kind of a right to go on the defensive. Funny!
The game does get very serious and cool as it progresses. I enjoyed exploring the different areas more than anything. Velden is just so good with classic Doom architecture. I think he might be one of the best map makers, even likely better than the original developers of the base game in many respects.
This 32-map set did have two secret maps, but I don't really remember them all that well. I guess they were not that big of a deal. I don't think I hated anything though.
It ends with yet another Icon of Sin battle but done in a way that it doesn't actually look like it. It's just modeled in a way that fits the story better. The mechanics are there, but it has been visibly changed. It made for a final battle that was similar to the Icon of Sin map but easier to execute. And let's just be honest, the original Icon of Sin fight was kind of bullshit.
There is no reason not to play "Revolution!" It's funny at times, charming at others, and just all around cool. I recommend it. You can find "Revolution!" as a featured mod in the excellent "Doom+Doom II Remaster put out by NightDive Studios.
This blog was written on March 6, 2025.
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Very "unWoke" that the oppressed are the baddies. I like it! The creator obvious took the project very seriously. Though many of his ideas are silly, he bothered to give it all a detailed story for context.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice when a creator makes something just to be fun and relaxing.
DeleteFighting demons on a moving train would be interesting. What happens if you tossed one out the door? I suspect they might tumble as you rolled past.
ReplyDeleteSadly, in Doom, it is only an illusion.
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