Doom II

The Good
What's good about this game? Well, this is the sequel to id Software's popular first-person shooter. There is no real plot involved, only that you return home only to find the demons that you battled before have invaded your home planet. The game has 32 levels, and as usual, you run through the level, destroying any demons that get in your way, finding the keycards needed to open certain doors, and making your way to the exit.

All the elements are there – the original monsters, power-ups, flip switches, you name it. Joining the original monsters are some new ones, and they take quite a lot of pounding before they die. The Arch-Vile is the most deadly enemy I have ever encountered in the series. Once he sets you on fire, you are thrown back several feet, and to make matters worse, he resurrects any enemies that you already killed. When you manage to nuke him, he makes a nice gurgling sound. There are also the Anachnotrons, which I like to refer to as the children of the Spider Mastermind.

I also like the addition of the super shotgun, which pumps two bullets in your target instead of one. Now it only takes three shots to dispose of the Cacodemon instead of six. The shotgun also works for the minor demons. You can also take out some of the new monsters with just three shots.

There are two secret levels in the game, and both of these play tribute to Wolfenstein 3D, id's very first first-person shooter. and they respectively center around the first and last levels of “Escape from Wolfenstein”, and the layout is exactly the same. There are monsters that we haven't seen in the original game, including the pink demons in the first secret level and the Cyberdemon in the second. I don't know, but maybe someone at id thought that it would be too hard to draw guard dogs and Hans Grosse. What's funny about the secret level is that there are actually blue SS guards, yet they yelp in pain if you shoot them.

Almost every level in DOOM II is more challenging than the last, and they can take you about 30 minutes to complete, or a little bit more if you get lost and have trouble finding things. I did not have trouble finding my way around because I referred to the level map occasionally.

Graphic-wise, some of the backgrounds look good, and they blend in with whatever theme that the level takes. One level, for instance, takes place in the suburbs, so the background represents a series of burning skyscrapers. All the new enemies and they are animated nicely. I like the way that that level is so open.

The music in the game is twice as good as the original, and there are some cool sounds coming from the new monsters, especially the Icon of Sin (the final boss, whose picture is seen on some walls in the game). When you get to the level, you teleport to the same room as him, and you hear a scary voice coming from him. You won't understand him, but you will be able to if you record what he says then play it backwards.

When I completed the game, I enjoyed flicking through the monsters that feature in the game and listening to their sounds as well as that Wolfenstein-like music. Before, I always forgot what the names of each monster was until I do this. Those funny messages appearing when you choose to leave the game are still there. My favorite is “You want to quit? Then, thou hast lost an eighth!” I read in the Trivia section that this is actually a reference to the Ultima series, but I am not a fan of RPGs.

The Bad
Anyone who thinks this game has anything bad needs to flush their head down the toilet.

The Bottom Line
In DOOM II, you do the same thing that you did in the original game, only this time you battle it out on Earth. There are some improvements like new monsters and the super shotgun (which is better than the original shotgun). One monster that I liked over most is the Icon of Sin. Each level of the game has its own theme, and they are good enough that you have to play them again. The background music on most levels is excellent. If you were impressed with the original game, then you should be impressed with DOOM II. Like the original, there are user-created maps out there ready to be downloaded by those that completed the game but just want more action.

The Good
So you went to hell and loved every second of it. Guess what? Now hell is coming your way baby! That's right, Doom has returned guns blazing, and if you thought it was a nerve-wrecking, balls-to-the-walls, ultra-violent action fest the first time around, then be prepared because Doom 2 comes with bigger, harder levels to complete, even more grueling artwork, and much more enemies to decimate and mutilate.

Doom 2 improves upon the original by adding an atmosphere of sheer chaos with dozens of Demons going for your throat as well as out to get themselves. One of the simple yet clever ideas found on Doom was the fact that the monsters hated themselves as much as they hated you, and thus you could waltz in a room and find a couple of demons duking it out (which makes quite a bit of sense, since you wouldn't expect deranged demons to wait around calmly until you happened to stroll by, wouldn't you?). However in the original this was at best a cosmetic detail that happened every now and then. On Doom 2 however this is taken to the extreme and you can find yourself in the midst of veritable wars among feuding demons, in fact one of the most memorable levels consists of nothing but rooms filled with demons going at each other (and you if you get in the way) And that "everyone against everyone" only serves to raise even more that "holy-shit-just-shoot-and-pray-they-don't-kill-you" feeling of mad desperation Doom introduced to the world! In a word... Brilliant!

The levels themselves are also much bigger and well laid out, without the overdose of mazes that sometimes plaged the original (though never at the extent of say, Dark Forces). In short, pretty much everything that was added is cool, the new enemies are fantastic (my favorites being the rocket-launching Revenant and the Arch Vile, which ads an interesting twist to the game since he can resurrect the enemies you have already dispatched). The double-barreled shotgun is simply amazing and gives a feel of satisfaction that not even the original pump-action one had. Nothing beats that feeling you get from watching a bull demon charging at you and then stopping him dead on it's feet at the last second with one deafening double-barreled shot to the head... ah..... 'tis the simple things that matter, right? :))

The Bad
Yeah, it's all good right? The problem is that when you think about it, for as good as it is it just isn't enough for a sequel. This is the sort of small additions and improvements you would expect in an expansion pack, not a full-blown sequel. I mean, when you get right down to it, it's just better level design, some new textures, 7 new enemies and one new weapon... wee...

I am not the type of player that demands a new engine for every incarnation of a series, but c'mon.... Doom 2 is certainly the best example of "let's just add some stuff and re-sell the whole thing" they didn't even bother to add an ending cutscene this time around, which is okay since nobody plays Doom for it's story but shows the level of lazyness with which the game was released.

Another not-so-hot point is the level of difficulty in the single player part of the game, sometimes it can be just plain imposible! If you were amongst the ones that rejoiced on killing every enemy and discovering every secret on a level, then you better lose that custom pal, 'cos most of the time you are going to be running for the exit praying nothing hits you in the back. Really, I don't want to be over-dramatic but Doom 2 IS HARD. VERY HARD. Even ANNOYINGLY hard, so much so that it feels like a trick to cover what we all already know by now: this isn't worthy as a sequel.

The Bottom Line
So yeah, yeah, Doom kicks ass, it always has, and it always will. But Doom 2 certainly is a letdown as the sequel to one of the best videogames ever... the only thing that saves it is that it is overall slightly better than it's predecessor, and that it literally came out a year after the original (effectively saving it from the "You took XX years to give us the Same thing all over again???").

Still it was flat-out unaceptable at it's time, and I really hated id for not putting more effort into it. However, considering that you no longer have to worry about such things as it's price (45-55 u$s when released) or that you had to have a pretty beefy machine to run it, then Doom 2 is still worth it. Just think of it as an expansion of the original and you'll be okay. Be warned tough, it is NOT for FPS newbies and it is effectively one of the hardest fps ever made. Those looking for a challenge will find that they may bite more than they can chew...

The Good
When I first saw Doom, I couldn't believe it. Great graphics, great sound. It was amazing!! I played it and I loved it. Then it came the obvious sequel. And, far beyond my expectations, it was even better than the original one. Now you don't have three episodes, you must take a long journey to save the Earth from the alien guys that you fought in the martian moons. And, this time, they are coming with a couple of new friend, like the Mancubus, or the Arch Ville. The game was great for its time, with very advanced graphics, an improved gameplay from the original Doom, and in some places, very huge levels. And the sound!! I still remember the giants footsteps of the Cyberdemon, the shots from the spiders, the bullets from a nearby room every time I managed to start a fight between the enemies. Doom 2 was one of the best games in history, absolutely.

The Bad
Not too much to say. The only bad thing it was that there was only one new weapon.

The Bottom Line
Totally surprising!!