I'd like to note that this WAD actually runs from E1M1-E1M3, not E1M1-E1M9 as the text file says, despite a secret exit in E1M3. I'd also like to note that there's no new music, again contrary to the text file. Now, onto the levels themselves. They suck. They consist of large empty rooms littered with monsters and pickups. Sometimes there's switches and keys too. Stay away. 1/5
This is an eight-level set composed of small-to-very small levels. The first two levels are meh, but after that the design picks up quite a bit. There are some neat locales, like a dam, mines, subway, living quarters for whatever lived in the area, I guess . . . however architecture on the whole is a little lacking, and moments of cool detail are sparse, which keeps it from being truly great. Action is tough for the most part, aside from the final fight. (The whole final level is a bit of anti-climax, truth be told.) I had a fun little romp, but unless you�re a fan of offbeat design, you�ll probably want to skip it. 3/5
This level is patterned after a Star of David, with each of the points having a different, random, and not particularly good theme. After you blow through �em all you�ll be transported to a large area outside of it, the idea of which was kinda neat. As it�s executed though it�s a bit too big. Architecture and detail are pretty lacking, and as said before texturing is random. Action is pretty easy (feel free to use up those cells). Fans of offbeat design might like it, as it is a bit different, but otherwise: 3/5
A large, randomly textured and structured level that's pretty fun. It has a good deal of Cyberdemons in it, which you don't have always have to kill directly. I found one encounter in particular to be memorable. Unfortunately, ammo is pretty tight, and I couldn't figure out how to exit, but there's some included demos for that stuff. 3.5/5
A fun, short level in the theme of Alcatraz. And guess what? The level design actually makes sense! Signs point out where you are, and while I'm not gonna give anything away by telling you all the details, suffice to say everything you'd expect is there. (Well, except an execution chamber, now that I think about it.) The author also has a sense of humor. The new sky sucks, however, and the sounds are almost uniformly retarded, but not SO bad that you have to remove them. (I will admit that I laughed when the Lost Soul honked liked the Road Runner.) The music is pretty good. My only complaint is that the level is actually too small to really be Alcatraz. It's still a fun little romp, so go get it. 4/5
Alcatraz? Hardly. Overly large, off-grid level design, action that�s probably a bit tough if you don�t find the ridiculously overstocked secret room, bad texturing . . . but for some reason, I got a slight kick from the classically bad design of it. Nostalgia hunters might want to check it out, as it�s probably just small enough to be worth it for ya. 2/5
Random texturing and structure, just plain bad design, such as mowing down what must have been at least one hundred Former Humans with just a pistol. I kept on hoping for these levels to get better but they never really did. However . . . E1M4 is in the design of a bull/horse's head, and looks pretty neat. (Heh, it actually looks like those ghost heads that dragon boss from the NES Zelda left behind.) There are some somewhat nice looking areas in E1M5, and the beginning area from E1M8 is kinda neat. 2/5
Random theming and structure, bad level design. In some places the texturing is actually random, in that he doesn't even keep with on texture in a room but puts down random ones at random intervals instead. The very end of E1M7 is kinda good, but that's about it. The new music is mediocre. Action isn't very good. 2/5
A WAD compilation. Only E2M5 and E2M6 aren't in the archives, so they're only ones I'll be reviewing. E2M5 is a crappy E2M9 remake that only really modifies the Baron part. E2M6 is a mediocre, randomly textured and themed "base" level. 2/5
This set of four levels is frustrating in that they could have been cool, but basically ended up sucking. You might want to download it to see the end of the first level, but otherwise you're stuck with random structure and somewhat consistant theme, but the textures within the theme are totally random; you could have two totally different vine textures alternating right next to each other, for example. Another example is the use of transparent textures on one-sided walls. The level design is also pretty bad. The end of the first level is the beginning of the second, which is nice, but that's the only level where this is the case. The action is kinda bad. 2/5
This a fun set of eight levels, E2M1-E2M8. Detail and architecture is good, basically at id's standards. Theming is basically E1 with metal and the occasional demonic influence thrown in. If you choose to ignore all the plasma Alamain throws at you, the gameplay is good. Overall, if you liked Doom, there's no reason for you not to like this. 5/5
Supposedly this is based on the Alone in the Dark mansion, but I've never played it so I can't comment on the level's accuracy. (Though somehow I don't think Alone in the Dark ever had bright green ooze.) It's not very tough, though ammo might be a problem depending on how you go through the level. If you don't grab the yellow key before you go down a hole you'll get stuck, and after dropping into said hole I got stuck anyway. I'm thinking fans of Alone in the Dark only. 2/5
This is somewhere in the Maximum files, under a different name and without the MIDI. Basically it�s a GRAY maze, with teleporters at each corner leading to a random-ish room. Speaking of those rooms, some weird design he used crashes jDoom. Whoops. It�s meant for Deathmatch so there�s gratuitous weapons and such. The MIDI, which is �Amadeus� apparently, is actually really good in my opinion, and I�d like to extend a thank you to the author for crediting it because I picked it up from another WAD a long time ago and I�ve been wracking my brain over what song it is for literally years now. Overall it�s really not that much fun a single player, but it does have a bit of an old-school feel so nostalgia hunters may enjoy it. 2/5
Maximum vets will recognize this from Newdoom.wad. It's a small level with a central "maze" that's real easy to navigate. Said maze has rooms coming off of it, etc. What he says under Copyrights and Permissions is the textfile is cool, so maybe read it. 2/5
Another small level with a maze. This time the maze is a bit of a pain in the ass. Just to let you know, if you hit a switch and hear a door open, look around the maze. The secret doors don't really have too much of a cue, which is annoying. However, the part outside the maze is kinda nice looking and has a pretty cool battle, and the new music, Ruiner by NIN, is nice too. 3.5/5
This is a medium-sized, randomly textured and structured level. Action is alright. The author really hates Barney for some reason, so there's lots of pictures of him scattered throughout the level. He also threw in Barney and Clinton Doom. I'd say that you might as well run it with Barney, but it's one of those old DMGRAPH .GIF jobbies, so you'd have to copy Doom, run the batch file, then copy the Barney sprites to Ambient; a colossal waste of time. There is one pretty neat but somehow washed out texture included, so you might wanna check it out for that; otherwise, skip. 3/5