Jun 14, 2015

The Classic Episode

The Classic Episode - 4.46 / 6
- Then again, what more do you really need?


The Classic Episode received its well deserved spot on Doomworlds "Top 100 WADs of all time" list. Smoothly put together by a dream team consisting of Jan Van Der Veken, Anthony "Swedish Fish" Soto, Nick "NiGHTMARE" Baker and Travis "Hobbes" Dunne, its one of the most well known and respected episodes released for Ultimate Doom. Spouting flawless 1.9 compatibility, and at the time recognized for its gameplay, it was one of the six user made wads that eventually made it into the Compet-N database through voting. The original version used for Compet-N is in fact and outdated edition, as the set was re-released as version 2.0 in 2002.

Before we get on with the coop session reviews, lets quote the accompanying txt to clarify what the release set out to do:

"An episode in the classic Doom style. The goal is to recreate as accurate as possible the atmosphere of the original id levels. This is a collection of the previous classic releases (classic1 - classic7) plus two new levels."



E2M1 - Foray
[Johnsen]
When I think of the "perfect user-made map" this one often comes to mind. Prior to the coop-session I had not touched it in over ten years, and even though the map do not hold any one scene that is particularly memorable, there is a different entity that exist with perfection like this; you recall the map as an experience more so than a scenic memory. From the moment you spawn and see a grey brick wall and a blue carpet in front of you, the action is constant. The highest level of monster class on display would be a multi only caco, besides this fella the gameplay is simply a mixture of zombie troopers, imps, demons and shotgunners. A beautiful gameplay mix when done right, and this map fits it like a snug glove. It never goes overboard with the number of monsters per scene, yet you are peppered from several different spots at once. Good aim and quick reactions will grant you the reward of zoning in on the games uttermost flow - or you can take the conservative approach, and pick the opposition down corner by corner. In either case, you will have great fun with this one. As an episode starter its sufficiently short and sweet, giving just enough outdoor scenery to establish a proper atmosphere. Its strengths obviously comes from Anthony Sotos' perhaps unmatched ability to create beauty with only a few sectors. Such masterful ways of flawlessly molding and texturing shapes is what set a great mapper apart from a decent one. The ambushes you unleash as you progress through this interconnected, tiny, nonlinear masterpiece are all timed to perfection, and always come at the right point and at the right bend to create joyful chaos. The extra plasma gun and rocket launcher the multiplayer setting granted us were welcomed gifts which we proper utilized in the later maps. A tempting BFG is visible but only reachable in deathmatch mode, this caused some confusion, but it's an easily forgivable distraction.

Aesthetics: 5/6 - Layout: 6/6 - Gameplay: 6/6 - Score:  17/18

[Hunsager]
This first map is hard too rate due to it's small size. It consists of many interconnected rooms with windows and doorways. Its possible to jump through several of these windows, making it very dangerous to move fast from one room to another because of hitscanners that can shoot you from multiple sides. A lot of ambushes increases the difficulty even more. Although it looks like it was designed like a small deathmatch map, it functions very well as the introduction to this episode. The symmetrical shapes of the windows and lanterns and lighting are nice, and none of these sections look dull even though they are simple. But something vital is missing here. What about a passage with nukage on the floor and some hidden areas to explore?(the two secrets that are present just seem too cheap). And what about utilizing that mysterious little yard? Being able to search for secrets and take a little tour outside the base in order to behold the structure is what gives me that Phobos feeling. (As a small side note the only thing I can see outside the large scenic window is water. That's a new discovery - water, on Phobos?)

Aesthetics: 4/6 - Layout: 5/6 - Gameplay: 5/6 - Score:  14/18





















E2M2 - Mars Outpost
[Johnsen]
Anthony's second and last solo effort in the set is also easily the 2nd best map overall in my opinion. If  the gameplay had utilized more of Dooms monster park, and added a slightly more refreshing take on the Episode 1 styled gameplay,  I would have given it the full 6 score. This is somewhat the case with its design too; this is about as good as Doom can look with the given theme for the vanilla exe, at least as long as you want to stay true to the original maps. Yet, there is not one scene here which will stand out as exceptionally memorable, instead there's just an extremely professional and well crafted feel to the map all the way through. If I was to pick at it, the slight lack of originality would be my only reason, but that's somewhat of a low blow when the obvious goal was to mimic Romeros' creations. One have seen all of this before, from the beautifully simplistic brown textured outdoor garden with its many well fitted windows, to the crate that lowers as you flip a switch in a nearby section. There is nothing original in this map, but it's perfected for what it's trying to accomplish. Wonderful gameplay does not hurt, either. With only two secrets to account for, it's less of an exploration adventure than it could have been, but the highly interconnected design, with parts unfolding and letting you backtrack as you progress, is a true sign of solid planning. Multiplayer settings rewarded us with a BFG here, no doubt intended for deathmatch play but we'll certainly not leave it to rust?

Aesthetics: 5/6 - Layout: 5/6 - Gameplay: 5/6 - Score:  15/18

[Hunsager]
With monsters teleporting in, it's off to a brutal start. We are presented with several keyed bars, and yes, finally we can also venture outside for added location feel - that's more like it! I might have to question if the choice of texture combinations in the yellow key area consisting of Startan3, Browngreen and Brown96, might be a bit of a clash though. In any case, we collect the yellow and red keys and search on for the blue one. Beside the rocket launcher which rest on top of a crate, there is even an invisibility, on multiplayer. Although it's nice that some thought went into coop play, that gift was not very useful. The moment when the lights go out as you grab the blue key wasn't much of a challenge since only a few imps teleported out to greet us. As we moved towards the exit, a platoon of shotgunners waited for us, but again failed to impose much difficulty. All in all a small map which perhaps overuse the keys a bit, and it's probably meant to be suitable for deathmach too, as the former level. This time we got to enjoy some outdoor areas, but the secrets are still only present in low numbers. Two secrets aren't enough if we are supposed to be on Phobos, or umn, an "Mars Outpost" - since that's what this map is called. 

Aesthetics: 5/6 - Layout: 5/6 - Gameplay: 5/6 - Score:  15/18





















E2M3 - The Deimos Complex
[Johnsen]
Jan Van Der Veken delivers a very slick E1M6 / E1M7 inspired mixture in this somewhat more complex entry. There is a most excellent flow present, ammo might be slightly on the excessive side, but this is an almost unavoidable side effect from making a low end monster map where refill is constantly supplied by the slain foes. One could perhaps have been a tad less rewarding with the supply given this fact though, but one should also keep in mind the natural accumulation we had going from the previous maps. The layout is most excellent, with all the keys protected by monster triggers, as expected and desired. We were greeted by some rather loaded areas here, particularly in the blue key section, but nothing that posed any great threat. Although it's sweet looking, with no ugly areas tho point a finger at, the map is a slight peg beneath Anthonys' entries, and delivers even less fresh views; some of these scenes are basically recreations of stuff from Ultimate Dooms first episode. As for quirks, it has an odd enclosure inside a wall just before the exit, hosting an imp and some items, a spot that should obviously have been rewarded as a secret.

Aesthetics: 4/6 - Layout: 5/6 - Gameplay: 5/6 - Score:  14/18

[Hunsager]
Deimos complex? Where are we? Phobos or Deimos? Hey, people, get your moons right! Well, still this definitely looks like Phobos. Anyway this base is larger and the architecture has bigger shapes and heights than seen in the first two maps, contributing to a cooler look. The large steps leading from the blue key towards the blue door looks like a layout ripoff snagged from E1M2, with these slightly winding stairs going up on both sides.  There is nothing wrong done here, but this isn't creative. This map is like a collection of small ideas for a few rooms and some sections. Each of these small ideas and rooms are executed well enough, but the map suffers from not having any underlying idea. Looks like the concept here was just to copy and paste some sections from Romero. I have already mentioned the stairs, and the same goes for the supercharge secret which too heavily resemble the area with the chaingun in E1M2. Although, its always cool with a supercharge, so it's a slight step up from the two first maps. Still, there's just two secrets and that's not enough when we are roaming a base on Phobos...uh...Deimos...whatever.

Aesthetics: 5/6 - Layout: 4/6 - Gameplay: 5/6 - Score:  14/18





















E2M4 - The Evil Base
[Johnsen]
The difficulty ramps up somewhat with this one, adding several lost souls and three rock solid barons in the mix. The berserk was much appreciated here, as it helps generate a fast paced flow as you go Tyson on the spectres and burning skulls. Design wise its another highly interconnected, slick beauty. The flow is almost spotless, and even though some areas are less than striking visually, everything have a quality to it. The highlights for me included the very sexy balcony with the red key, and the caco ambush it unleashed - as well as the grey concrete area with the slime flowing in from underneath some barely visible trenches. The map achieve its intended episode 2 feel with great success, but like most of the levels in the set, it never invents or show off, it recreates what already works. Thematically not as pretty as the previous three maps, but just as much fun to play.

Aesthetics: 4/6 - Layout: 5/6 - Gameplay: 5/6 - Score:  14/18

[Hunsager]
According to the maps name, something evil awaits. I wouldn't say it's all that evil, rather quite good. Especially when it comes to the texture combinations. The txt state that this is an Episode 2/3 base. From my perception I would rather say that this is a typical Episode 1 layout with a mixture of textures from Episode 1 and 2. The result became the best looking episode 2 base that Ultimate Doom never had. We meet the baron for the first time and also several lost souls. The caco ambush which appears outta the stark red boxes is a good example of how one can completely change the appearance and the impression of a room. At the first visit it looks ordinary, then it turns scary and dangerous. And we will be returning to this section later on to collect the red key, though from another angel and through a door. There is also a hidden secret in this room which we didn't discover during our coop-session; if you step on the smallest crate and then jump into the slime you will see a supercharge in the hook below you.

Aesthetics: 5/6 - Layout: 5/6 - Gameplay: 5/6 - Score:  15/18





















E2M5 - Demos Observatory
[Johnsen]
Jan whips up another solid Episode 2 base here, easily on par with the former one visually, if not slightly better. Again, there is very little to pick at as the architecture accompanies the gameplay perfectly. Yet, it has a slight touch of the mundane, with no areas that inspire awe. We initially missed out on the rocket launcher secret and its ammo supply which would have made the barons less of a shotgun repetitive ordeal. There is also a healthy amount of lost souls and cacodemons here, so the difficulty has undoubtedly been notched up slightly again. Unfortunately the first multiplayer gameplay screw-up occurs in this map, since you will not be able to reenter the red key area if you die in this section before flipping a required switch. I would also add that the secret exit seemed too easy to find, especially when rated against the other secret areas in the map. With a total of six secrets to uncover, it presents the most successful exploration adventure thus far. Another solid entry, but perhaps just a tiny tad less slick gameplay wise than the former ones.

Aesthetics: 4/6 - Layout: 4/6 - Gameplay: 5/6 - Score:  13/18

[Hunsager]
This one grants a really nice view with the big rectangular, symmetrical windows and the invading cacos. There is unfortunately a major design blunder here involving the potential for a permanent closure of a door leading to the red key. Since the door can't be unlocked until the red key is grabbed, you better survive the barons and the multitude of ambushes until you reach it. This could easily have been avoided if the door applied the tag that would reopen it after 30 seconds. I praised E2M3 for using heights and I would also highlight this one for the northern end where there is a cool supercharge secret. Through its narrow window you will get a high point lookout and get a feel for the dimensions of this base. Finally we also got a map with a decent amount of secrets and exploration, although what is up with the secret exit? That wasn't very hard to find...

Aesthetics: 5/6 - Layout: 5/6 - Gameplay: 5/6 - Score:  15/18





















E2M9 - Dissension
[Johnsen]
This pesky Episode 4 inspired green and brown brick map can easily end you if you do not take proper care. By its theme alone it stands from the rest of the episode in a refreshing way, and although not being close to its companions visually it still creates decent scenery and atmosphere. Oddly enough it might be the most memorable map because of its gimmick with suddenly transforming the violent start area from a plain room into a ledge crawling pit. Unfortunately it has a gameplay unfriendly error with the yellow key trap; if you die in the given section after picking up the key and thus triggering the door trap, you wont get back in. Since its pretty easy to pick up the key without triggering the trap, it's somewhat of a fail anyway. When played from scratch, this map should be a decent challenge even for seasoned Doomers. Luckily there is a berserk laying around, as well as a plasma gun and a rocket launcher, allowing you to dispose of the many barons infesting the place. The only secret is a memorable, yet weirdly placed blue armor on top of a really tall pillar - which is lowered by pressing a green torch near the yellow door. The crushing ceiling before the blue key room partly nailed me, and generated a sudden cry of agony over Teamspeak, as my partner simultaneously did the often too late "watch out!" scream. It gave me a nice jolt but luckily it's the merciful fast moving crusher, not the often used marine smothering slow edition we all despise. The following blue key room present a very pesky baron and imp combo ambush, you best be ready for it or you will be up shit creek fast.

Aesthetics: 4/6 - Layout: 4/6 - Gameplay: 4/6 - Score:  12/18

[Hunsager]
It's cool that the first hall transforms when the floors drop down. I also like the fact that it's possible to see the yellow key through some windows as it grants a hint to where we should go next. For this episode its a refreshing sight, since most keys have just been laying around on crates, or in the rear end of a corridor. On a less refreshing note, this map also use a standard Doom cliché; a reverted cross with a baron that teleports onto it. Maybe it's supposed to look "evil", but doing it two times in the same map is just overusing it. There isn't any surprise at all the second time it happens, after picking up the blue key, although this time it's much more loaded and unfair. Its probably possible to telefrag the barons with some luck, but it would be silly to rely on such. They can also be tricked to walk underneath a nearby crusher, as you spectate from below, and this option is probably what has been intended, but either way I don't think this is good gameplay at all. In fact this scene sums up the map for me: There is an idea behind most stuff here, but it isn't executed well enough. For the first time, the gameplay disappoints with the overload of barons. (This level introduces the plasma for the first time on single player, but on multiplayer we already got it in E2M1) 

Aesthetics: 4/6 - Layout: 4/6 - Gameplay: 4/6 - Score:  12/18





















E2M6 - Outpost 666
[Johnsen]
The episode reverts back to its Romero'ish blend with the sixth map. This is another highly interconnected and well flowing creation, allowing some nifty shortcuts as you progress from one key to the next, and it beautifully capture the essence of Doom's legendary first episode. My gripe with it is simple tho; this becomes too much of an E1M6 / E1M7 tribute to receive too much praise on its own account. The borrowed elements are too similar, and one cannot help but feel creativity was left in the bin in order to stay "true" to the concept. The map is somewhat more unforgiving than E2M5, especially as you pass the blue door and you're greeted with a yellow key guarding baron and his hissing caco sidekicks. This would be one of those maps where I miss the super shotgun, which is usually an indication its a little on the heavy side as far as single shotgun action goes - but when you are too lazy to utilize infights proper, you should not complain. A few more rockets would go a long way here. The trap with the door that close behind you as you approach the red key became my firsth death in this session. This is an absolutely nasty close encounter trap, forcing you to fend off two barons and a small platoon of hungry demons. I got stuck between the two fronts like the tasty ham in a sandwich, and was consequently eaten. Luckily the door can be triggered from the outside, so we were able to get back in and avenge me and pick up the expensive red key. This area also grants a nice interconnecting touch by letting you peak across the yellow key section - good stuff. The 100% secret thrown in at a random hallway seems a bit underwhelming in presentation for such a juicy bonus, but my health lacking partner didn't complain when he happened to come across it.

Aesthetics: 4/6 - Layout: 4/6 - Gameplay: 5/6 - Score:  13/18

[Hunsager]
As the previous map used a doom cliché in design, this one applies one to its title - "Outpost 666" - come on! What kind of a cheap name is that. As for the map, what you get here is a few Episode 1 sections mixed with a little bit of E2 and E3. Unfortunately it suffers gameplay wise from a problem that some times occur as a result of Ultimate Dooms limited bestiary compared to Doom II. The possibilities are simply less when it comes to variation in between high end and low end monsters. To avoid only having small monsters to fight, this map throws in several barons. Especially in the northern garden, which is just too small and crowded to be a fair fight. If you run out of cells it degenerates into a time consuming shotgun vs baron ordeal. That is not good gameplay. Oh, if only they were hell knights and I had my super shotgun, how it would have totally altered the gameplay and increased the fun of playing this map.

Aesthetics: 4/6 - Layout: 4/6 - Gameplay: 4/6 - Score:  12/18




















E2M7
 - A Place of Sin
[Johnsen]
Well, damnit. The start of this map severly humbled us quickly. We approached it all wrong. If you dart around here without a decent strategy you will unleash too many angry inhabitants and consequently get slain. We clustered things severely, even splitting up and thus doubling up on the trouble in the process. A more slow and concise approach would have left us in charge, instead this became a proper bitch slap tallying several deaths in a row. The map is an obvious E3M3 tribute, and sufficiently manages to recreate the gloomy, hellish atmosphere of "Pandemonium". It did not visually appeal to me as much as most other maps in the set, but its decently nice to stroll around in. The supercharge area post the red key door is completely optional, a design choice that I enjoy now and again. If you die in there like I did though, you will not be able to reenter. This could have been easily avoided by adding a mechanism allowing the blockade to lower again. One could debate if picking up the supercharge is worth the risk, since you unleash a nasty baron and demon ambush in the process. It's a fun fight though - as is the accompanying small red maze which reward you with a berserk power-up. Just make sure you've located the BFG before you venture past the red door. The traps are generally evil and effective all through the map, and its a tense and very enjoyable romp. Take it slow though, and do not think yourself invincible like we did.

Aesthetics: 4/6 - Layout: 4/6 - Gameplay: 5/6 - Score:  13/18

[Hunsager]
It's Blitzkrieg time as the 1. and 2. barons panzer army steamroll over us. The first wave appeared in the room with the supercharge, a goodie we never got to enjoy, and the second came as they swarmed us in the start in some sort of Ardennes offensive. After a while we discovered that there is actually a BFG laying around, but regardless this map felt like the eight sin of death. This is where good gameplay dies. Aside from that, it's a short and simple map which looks a lot like E3M3 - "Pandemonium".

Aesthetics: 4/6 - Layout: 3/6 - Gameplay: 3/6 - Score:  10/18





















E2M8 - Evil Refinery
[Johnsen]
Not they prettiest map in the set, but it's easy on the eye still - and has a high level of functionality. It strays somewhat from the generic E2M8 mold by adding a more tech-styled base where you have to teleport between two different areas and collect the keys, before eventually entering the wooden circular area with the expected showdown. A good tactic there would be to flip all the switches and release the cacos and the barons simultaneously with the Cyberdemon, thus saving a ton of ammo and effort. We chose to utilize our accumulated ammo instead, which worked just fine. This is a highly fun, fast paced last map, letting you vary between pecking on small end monsters with the shotgun and full on plasma / rocket feeding the occasional ambush. Perhaps a little bit on the easy side after the far more deadly E2M7, but as long as the fun prevails, who could complain?

Aesthetics: 4/6 - Layout: 4/6 - Gameplay: 5/6 - Score:  13/18

[Hunsager]
The Refinery must be one of the top three most used level names. Added to it this time is the assurance that we again face "something evil". The last map is ok as a last boss map, but it isn't a worthy closure to this episode. The gameplay is good, and it is an ok placement for a Cyberdemon since it's more challenging to fight him in a circular hallway than in an outdoor arena. Even so, we didn't have any problems at all taking care of him with two players at work, and I wouldn't guess it's that difficult in single player either if you have a little patience.

Aesthetics: 4/6 - Layout: 3/6 - Gameplay: 4/6 - Score:  111/18





















Johnsens' Summary and total score:
The Classic Episode is an all around success. It's one of the most appropriately named episodes as well since this has become a true classic of its own. The first edition was obviously included at Compet-N for a reason, and although one could argue the decision of adding pwads to that database at all, this was certainly not a bad candidate for such a cause. For me, Anthonys' maps are the most refined ones in the bunch, but Jan obviously carries the bulk of this with his creations. His levels seem to lack some of the utter perfection Anthony manage to convey, but it's a closely contested run; this is super solid work all through. The cons are as obvious as the pros however. One just cannot deny it a high scoring, but this episode never intended to be original, and by recreating what Romero already captured, it lose some of its ability to leave a strong individual impression from one map to the next.

This was fully intended to be enjoyed as more of the same old recipe that tasted so good when "id" cooked it. It seems somewhat weird to indulge in Episode 1 designs to this degree, yet chose to present this as a 2nd episode replacement. Not that this matter for the experience but its arguably somewhat directionally indecisive.

Is this the best episode released for Ultimate Doom as far as fine-tuned, fun gameplay goes? That's a hard call to make, but it very well might be. It's probably the episode with the most nuanced and best successive map to map difficulty increase, at the very least. However it's probably not the one you will have the most fun exploring, as its relatively light on optional areas and scars on secrets, and even the largest maps are merely mediocre in size. It flows really well on multiplayer too, with only a few grave errors present. The extra weapons intended for deathmatch play are not negatively intrusive at all, and I had fun wielding the BFG already in the 2nd map. At the end of the day; what a team of authors and what a set of maps. Yet, oddly enough I will probably not recall much scenery beyond flashes of Romero'ish gimmicks and some sweet, constant, shotgun blazing action. Then again, what more do you really need?

My score: 4.55
Aesthetics: 4.22 - Layout: 4.55 - Gameplay - 4.88
(Awarded points: 38 / 41 / 44 = 123)


Hunsagers' Summary and total score:
This episode is solid, especially when it comes to creative texture use and gameplay. Thought have been put into all the ambushes so that they appear at just the proper times, and you can't feel safe anywhere as you roam between the different rooms, and even backtracking through sections you already visited can yield surprises. The monsters are definitely coming for ya. The problem is, as will always be the case with Ultimate Doom because of its limitations, it's difficult to achieve a balance in between low end and high end monsters. There is always a risk that it will turn into an overload of barons. Admittedly I know that Doom II is the game I love, and this reminds me yet again why. For me, Ultimate Doom is either the kinder-garden or the overblown baron fight and thus becomes a bit boring in the end. I just long for the super shotgun and the higher variety of monsters. Anyway! The Classic Episode is still a classic. It holds the best Episode 2 themed base that Ultimate Doom never had, but eventually the episode disappoints with the last few maps.

My score: 4.37
Aesthetics: 4.44 - Layout: 4.22 - Gameplay - 4.44
(Awarded points: 40 / 38 / 40 = 118)




COMBINED SCORE: 4.46
Aesthetics: 4.27 - Layout: 4.38 - Gameplay - 4.66

No comments:

Post a Comment