Doom 2
You walk into a dark room with your shotgun poised and ready to fire. You hear a growl. As you cautiously turn the corner, a gun goes off and a bullet ricochets off the wall, just above your head. You fire wildly, spraying ammo in every direction. You miss the mutated creature, but hit a nearby barrel, causing it to explode. The creature roars in pain as it is turned into hamburger. ''What the Hell was that thing,'' you think to yourself as you examine what's left of the creature in the flickering light. In the distance, you hear a snarl. You proceed down a pitch black hallway wishing you had a flash light and feeling more than a little paranoid. Suddenly, a hissing sound begins to come closer and closer. You turn just in time to see a fire ball heading straight for you. Having no time to react, you're hit. ''Ugh,'' you grunt after taking the full force of the blow. The hissing begins again as another fire ball begins its approach. Having seen it in time, you dodge, switch to your 9 mm pistol, and open fire. You hear a body hit the ground. At the end of the hall way you find a blue key. While innocently picking up the key, a secret door opens. Hordes of blood-thirsty demons begin to pour into the room. As your impending doom approaches, all you have time to say is, ''Oh, no...''
First there was Wolfenstein 3-D. Then came DOOM!. Sure, the concept of a 3-D, ''shoot anything that moves'' game was the same, but at least your enemy was human (for the most part). The movement was smoother, the sound and graphics were better, and the game was more challenging, not to mention scarier. All in all, the game was far superior to it's predecessor, Wolfenstein, in every way possible. Recently, the newest version of DOOM!, DOOM 2: Hell on Earth, arrived on the shelves of software vendors. It's similar to it's predecessor with similar graphics and far better game play then Wolfenstein. However, there have been some significant changes in the game's setup. Instead of having 3 episodes divided in seven or eight levels, the game is now one on going adventure with over thirty new levels of gut-wrenching, pulse-pounding action. Two of these are secret levels from Wolfenstein 3-D with a demonic twist. The setup menu has changed as well. Not only can you pick which level to start on, but the modem intializtion strings for most modems have been included, making access to death matches over the modem easier than ever. One negative change is that Id has taken out the ''Read This!'' Option, which basically defined the key functions for the game. This change does make sense, however. Unlike its predecessor, this game is NOT Shareware. In addition the on-line documentation is unecessary because on-line instructions come in the box.
When you start the game, you get to choose one of the skill levels which are as follows: I'm Too Young To Die; Hey, Not Too Rough; Hurt Me Plenty; Ultra Violence, and Nightmare. The Nightmare and Ultra Violence difficulties are essentially the same in respect to the number of demons you face except that you can't use the ''cheat keys'' and the demons respawn (come back to life after a period of time) in the Nightmare option. This difficulty level makes the game nearly impossible, but hey, some people live for a challenge. Along with being able to choose the skill level, you can also choose to start a new game, save a game, load a game, configure the game's options, or quit the game. The configuration options include ending a game, turning the messages on or off, controling the graphic detail, controling the mouse sensitivity, or changing the volume for the sound effects and the music.
During the course of the game, you will have the opportunity to use several weapons which range in size and power. The most basic weapon is your fist. When you run out of ammo, it's always fun to punch the snot out of an unsuspecting former human, but you have little chance of defeating anything more formidable than that. It's more likely that you will be ripped to shreds than deliver a fatal blow. Next is the chain saw. It, too is effective against lesser enemies, but the fact remains that to stay alive, you need to keep your distance. The third weapon is a pistol which is accurate from a long distance. The pistol is a good basic weapon, but it's not powerful enough to eliminate enemies at a fast pace, which often becomes necessary when a horde of demons is coming your way. The shotgun is good at close range because it can take most enemies out in a single shot, and it has a nice spraying effect when shooting at enemies that are farther away. The chain gun is a very powerful weapon, but uses up a lot of ammo in a hurry. If you're not careful when using it, you may find yourself having to fist fight your way out of a situation. The rocket launcher is a good weapon because it fires at a fairly quick pace and can take out several enemies at once, turning them into blood stains on the floor. It, too, has it's draw backs because you can severely hurt yourself along with the enemy, if the explosion goes off nearby. The plasma rifle, which rapidly shoots mutiple rounds of plasma energy, is similar in the chain gun in that it does lots damage, but uses up a lot of ammo quickly when you are trying to fry some demon butt. The BFG 9000 is clearly the most powerful weapon in your arsenal and can be used to clear a room of enemies. It's drawbacks are that it uses up 40 rounds of plasma in a single shot and it fires at an extremely slow rate. Conversely, very few of the demons you face can survive a direct hit from this weapon, and every shot does damage to anything in the line of sight. Clearly the advantages of this weapon out weigh the disadvantages. Finally, the newest weapon is the super shotgun. It's a modified version of what seemed to be DOOM!'s most popular weapon. It has twice the spread of the regular shotgun and is devastating at close range, but takes quite a bit longer to load, than the pump action of the original shotgun.
Along with having access to some heavy hitting weapons, you get to go up against a whole slew of demonic nasties, which you can use for target practice. The most common enemies encountered are former humans called zombie men. These are the guys in filth covered combat suits. They're not too tough, though taking on three or four at a time could get sticky, especially since they have been made somewhat tougher and it can take two or three shots to kill with the pistol. Also in the former human department, are the former human sergeants called shotgun guys. These guys are in black armor and are meaner and tougher than the zombies. What else would you expect from guys who carry shotguns? Usually, they're not too much of a problem, but will turn you into swiss cheese if you're not careful. Imps are brown, thorny hominids, which take several bullets to kill. An imp can fry you with fire balls, or turn you into ground beef with their formidable claws. It's advisable to have something more potent than a pistol when taking on more than one of them. Demons are big, pink, and ugly. They're hard to kill, and have LOTS of teeth. Spectres are similar to demons, except they are nearly invisible. Knowing they're around is not a very comforting thought when you find yourself walking down a dark hall way. Other monsters you may run into include Lost Souls, Cacodemons, and the Barons of Hell. All of them are tough, mean, ugly and can kill you in oh so many delightful ways.
Along with the regular bunch of nasties from the original version of DOOM!, there are a few new demons that make life twice as unsettling. The most basic of these new demons is a former human which carries a chain gun and is called the heavy weapons dude. This guy is a real pain in the butt and never runs out of ammo. If you see one, it's time to retreat and regroup. The arachnotron is a smaller faster version of the Spider Mastermind, which made life hell in the last game, only instead of having a chain gun, it has a plasma weapon. Luckily it's easier to kill but by no means should be taken lightly. In fact, I'd sooner run from this thing than a heavy weapons dude. The pain elemental is similar in appearance to the cacodemon, which my friends and I playfully call a ''cocoademon,'' except that it has two tiny arms and is brown. It's overall attack consists of belching up lost souls and can quickly fill a relatively ''safe'' room with a ton of these suckers. If you happen to see a really tall skeleton wearing shoulder pads with a pair of twin rocket launchers mounted on them, you are looking at a revenant. These guys are bad news. Ducking around corners will not always suffice in evading their fire because the rockets have some limited tracking abilities and move with you. It's not any safer up close because the revenant has a devastating upper cut. The silliest looking of the new demons is the mancubus. It looks like a gorilla with a pot belly which it obtained by eating too many bananas. Unfortunately, it has twin fire ball launchers instead of hands and can BBQ you in a heart beat. Finally, the arch-vile is probably the most dangerous of the new demons because it can set you on fire as long as you are any place it can see you. Defeating one is extremely difficult because it's hard to shoot something when the flames consuming your body block your view. Clearly it can be seen that DOOM 2: Hell on Earth is not a game for the timid.
If you haven't ever played this game, it is extremely challenging and intense, and at times, frightening. However, there is a way to lessen your gaming woes. Id has installed several ''cheat keys'', and although some of them are the same as in DOOM!, there are a few new ones. These keys can be used in variety of combinations to enhance your game playing experience. As before, IDDQD is the ''Degreelessness'' code. More or less, you become a god-like being, and are invulnerable. Nothing can harm you, and you pack one hell of a punch. IDBEHOLD allows you employ time-based conditions like becoming partially invisible, gaining berserker strength or turning on the lights. As silly as it sounds, having the lights on can be a big help (and an even bigger relief for those of you who are afraid of the dark). IDSPISPOPD was the tedious code for the ''no clipping mode'', but has been changed to IDCLIP. This basically allows you to walk through walls. It's a nice feature to have when you are stuck in a room and can't get out. Conversely, you can't pick up any of the goodies lying around if you don't turn it off. Don't worry about being instantly killed if you happen to turn it off while standing in a wall, you just get stuck. Let's say you just used the chain gun to clear out a room full of Imps, Demons, and other nasties, but in doing so, you used up all of your ammo. No problem. Just type IDKFA, and you instantly have more ammo than you know what to do with. Similar to IDKFA, The ''Happy Ammo Added'' code, is the new IDFA code. This allows you to obtain everything except the keys to open the doors so the game remains somewhat challenging. Finally, the IDCLEV code allows you to warp from one level to another by simple typing in this code and then typing the number of the level you wish to go to. When you use the warp, you lose all of the weapons you had before you warped but do regain any lost health. In essence, when you warp, you start the game over, just on another level. In case you're wondering, the secret Wolfenstein levels are levels 31 and 32, but if you try to go to anything higher than that you automatically get booted out to the dos prompt because there are no more levels. I speak from experience.
Here are some tips to help you work your way through the 32 levels of carnage in DOOM 2: Hell on Earth.
- Don't touch anything thing that's green and glowing, because it's probably radioactive waste.
- Pick up as many blue bottles and helmets as possible. These help increase your health and armor. You may also find a blue sphere with a human face on it. This object is called a soul sphere. When you take it, it increases your health to 199%. Along with the soul sphere, there are two type of armor. The green armor raises your armor level from 0% to 200%, while the blue armor raises it to 100%.
- As you walk around, you may notice several barrels scattered throughout the compounds. These barrels aren't just for show because they can be used as one of the most devastating weapons available to you. All it takes is one or two well placed shots with a weapon of your choice, and the barrels explode taking anyone or anything nearby with them. Much like the rocket launcher, it's not advisable to get too close to one that you intend to detonate because it will kill you just as easily as the next guy. One intriguing aspect to using the barrel as a weapon is that you can detonate several barrels in a chain reaction, enabling you to destroy a greater number of enemies while using less ammunition.
- Another way to eliminate enemies, is to let them do the work for you. If you are confronted by several enemies at once, try to get them into a cross fire. If an enemy is shot by one of his own guys, he will attack the guy with the bad aim until one of them is destroyed. This, too, is an effective way to eliminate a large number of enemies without having to use a single round of ammunition.
- If you find that you can't open a door, try shooting with a pistol or shotgun. The final tip is that to fully enjoy this game, you need to play it by yourself with the lights out and the volume up.
Before too long, you may realize that you're actually becoming quite paranoid, or even frightened because this game is very intense. At this point you should probably take a break, because I don't want to get sued if you have a heart attack.
Stunning graphics, incredible sound effects, and great music, along with fast-paced, action-packed game play, make DOOM 2: Hell On Earth one of the best games available this year. If you are short of cash, try obtaining the shareware version of DOOM! By down loading it from a local bulletin board or getting it from a friend to see if you like it enough to buy it's successor. Out of a scale from 1 to 10, I give DOOM 2: Hell on Earth, a 9.5 because there seems to be a minor compatability problem with sound blaster on the very last level of the game. This problem only happens on the last board and only lasts about five seconds, serves no function other than to try and scare you. If you would like to order the DOOM 2: Hell on Earth, or the hint manual and disk, call 1-800-IDGAMES. The whole trilogy costs about 50$ and is quite a bargain, when you consider the cost of other games on the market. Doom runs best on faster machines (486 and above), but there are several ways to configure your machine to run the program fairly well, if it isn't quite as fast.