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.