So, you've slugged and blasted your way through the 36 blood-drenched levels of Ultimate Doom and the 32 teeth-grinding levels of Doom II, and by now you probably regard yourself as one lean, mean, invincible killing machine. But now with your main duties completed, you're a Marine without a mission, consigned to scouring the online back alleys for an occasional scrap to satisfy your thirst for carnage. These hit-or-miss affairs are often times disappointing and rarely meet the challenge your hard-won experience deserves.
Well, grab your best shotgun, strap on your ammo-pack, and make your peace with anyone left that you care about, soldier, 'cause a new mission has arrived. The gods of mayhem have lifted their ugly heads and created what may be the challenge of your career. As the last words of your next debriefing forbode, you may as well forget about seeing the light of day again!
Meet the Master Levels of Doom. A collection of deviously crafted new levels from GT Interactive and Id Software for Doom II, here are twenty never-before-seen levels created by indepedent designers under the supervision of the id Software gods themselves that will awaken the slumbering berserker in just about anyone. These maps are easily on par with the original episodes designed by id.
Up to the test
Having only played but eight or nine of these new levels, this reviewer was immediately impressed with the quality of craftsmanship, attention to detail, and the overall playability of this collection. And, in all modesty, I have to remind you that I am no slouch when it comes to quality blood-letting. I've stomped over lead-riddled carcasses through nearly all of the Doom I levels on both PCs and Atari Jaguar, all 30 main levels of Doom II, the entire Raven series, and the infamous Satan 666 (no game saving allowed), not to mention dozens of other home-brew WADs, all on Ultraviolent. (OK, I used god mode to kill the Boss at the end of Doom II -- it just got ridiculous). Anyway, I play for blood, not to go sight-seeing. So believe me when I say that this new addition to the insanity is up to the test.
The thing that struck me the most when I began playing these new levels is the attention to architectural detail that went into their design. You won't see many blocky four-walled rooms. Rather, you will often take a break from the killing just to gawk at the intricate archways, stairs and columns that break up the space into an aesthetically pleasing arrangement. Nothing is haphazard about the placement of objects and building elements. Everything appears to have logic and a true sense of purpose.
Though there are few new graphics employed, the authors made excellent use of the existing textures with impeccable coordination and alignment. I also encountered some ingenious uses of decorations in conjunction with construction techniques to create some unusual effects, like a true 3D fireplace. The placement of doorways, stairs and windows all make a positive contribution to the overall playability of each new level. In one level called Bloodsea, where the whole complex floats isolated in a vast sea of blood (hence the name), I marveled at my ablility to view so many key areas of the layout from a single vantage point. Even the most remote corner on the outside wall was within view so I could see the pacing Mancubus far below, waiting to ambush me if I were to come stumbling by.
This level in particular has become one of my favorites. The variety and placement of the monsters is just right -- so that I wasn't completely overwhelmed, but had to move and work skillfully to eliminate them all. I was really amazed at how well the monsters where able to follow me to almost any part of the complex. I was continually being surprised as I rounded corners to find a Demon, Lost Soul, or a Hell Knight waiting where there was none before. This I think is a true test of the layout of a level. Many times when playing other WADs, I find the monsters hindered by doors, stairs, or closely arranged objects. Though often times this is intentional, I find it lends far more reality and excitement to a level if the monsters can give relentless pursuit. Bloodsea is perfect for that.
The lighting effects in Master Levels also contribute greatly to the look and mood of the buildings. One in particular, Manor, employs lots of shadows and practical light sources. The one effect that most attracted my attention is the pitch-black darkness of the outside area. The author used a night starfield for the sky and brought the outside light level way down so that as I looked out a window, I could see nothing but stars, which suddenly were eerily obscured by the dark outline of a couple Cacodemons floating in to toast me. The initial blast from my shotgun brought a response in a bizarre chorus of Mancubi, Arachnotrons, and Revenants as they simultaneously lit up the night sky with a barrage of missles and plasma. The Cacos got caught in the line of fire and were immediately swept up in a massive free-for-all. I just moved safely back next to a column and watched the fireworks.
Each of the levels I played were distinctly different in layout and theme. Some are large, some are small. Some are easier than others, but by no means easy. The use of stairs and lifts plays prominently in most of them. There are lots of open areas to maneuver and run-and-gun, and plenty of problem solving for you Rubik's Cube fanatics.
For example, in one of the levels I encountered what I could only assess as a possible oversight by the designer. There seemed to be no possible way to acquire one of the keys, which was necessary to gain access to the other keys and, consequently, the rest of the level. I tried every angle, finally switching to god mode and no clipping mode to try to find access. I even opened the WAD in a Doom editor to examine it, and could find no moving walls, lifts, or teleports. (The name of the level is Vesperas. If anyone plays it and can get the yellow key, I would love to know how this is accomplished.) Aside from that one difficulty, it is an excellent level.
Overall, these are technically superior levels in every respect. That is not to say they are the biggest and the best -- that's a matter of individual opinon -- but I would bet my BFG that even the most seasoned players will get plenty of pure chewing satisfaction.
The Damage
So, at $25.00 for 20 high quality levels, that comes to a mere $1.25 per level. If you spend a good hour playing each level, that's much better than if you were plunking quarters into the arcade machines at the mall. Could you possibly ask for a better deal? Yes? Well, how about if they throw in an extra 3,000 WADs? That's right! Called Maximum Doom, it's on the same CD as the Master Levels. id supposedly scoured the Internet for the best home-brew WADs that it could find and threw them all together on one CD. That's about 2,400 more than you get on Demon Gate (which has 600). Included in this enormous selection are the famous Raven, ASD2, Simpsons, and many others WADs that you may have seen reviewed in this e-zine and other forums. Most of these WADs are for Doom II (approximately 1,600), with another 200+ for Doom I.
Also included is the latest version of the DWANGO client server software for online network games (for PCs). You even get a cool poster of the gruesome skeletons that grace the score-screen in Doom II.
Now let's see, that comes to about $.0083 per wad. Good enough for ya?
Now if all of this has gotten a lot of you MacDoomers salivating and polishing up your shotguns, there is an important caveat -- Master Levels is only available for PCs. I purchased my copy at Target, of all places, and haven't seen it in the larger specialty stores like CompUSA or Egghead. [I've seen it at CompUSA and smaller stores like Babbages and Software Etc.--Ed.] Since it is published by GT Interactive, the company that has already graced us Mac users with Ultimate Doom and Doom II, there's a good chance it will eventually be released for Macintosh.
The reason why I make the distinction between Mac and PC is that even though most PWADs are compatible with both platforms, the Master Level WADs on this CD are not in raw WAD file form. They are embedded in three data files and require the use of a PC installer program included on the CD-ROM to extract them. Consequently, unless there is a Mac compatible version available, you need to have access to a PC or have SoftWindows to get your blood-thirsty hands on them.
Once installed the 20 levels take up about 4.5 MB of hard drive space and exist as separate levels -- they are not combined into one large WAD file like the main DOOM.WAD. The Maximum Doom WADs are in raw WAD file format, so you can easily copy them straight off the CD to your hard drive.
So thats all I can tell you in 3,000 words or less. If you want to know any more, then get off your computer and go buy the damn thing yourself!
