Slaughterfest 2012

Generally good map design, but the difficulty as is the case with pwads tends to be uneven even on HMP, especially when you mix them with what slaughtermaps tend to be (monster spam). Too many parts where, after pressing a switch, you'll spend some time killing enemies only to realise the map maker tried to get cute and spawned a bunch of hidden archviles somewhere to start reviving everyone while you were busy wasting ammo. This is especially unfun in parts with very little cover where you'll be praying to the RNG gods during that Xth quickload as the entire thing devolves into an endurance test.

Even Slaughter type of WADs just not my cup of tea but at least I love many of them by visual(not details). Map32 is so special that I think this is not slaughter map at all(until very late of the level, yeah...BFG-ing powerful monsters would be some sort of slaughter map I guess)...too bad maps after 20 just went so crazy I could not handle and skipped them by noclip and check layout/architecture design...wow!

(Well, not all of them, some of them just meh on layout/architecture but many of them covered that.)

Yeah, I still give it 4, just because even with buddha/god mode actives and not enjoy the gameplay, I still like this WAD, authors put a lot of efforts here, really. Try it won't hurt you much, unless you're really sick of these kind of shit. :P

And just like that... Slaughterfest 2 has also been finished, still played through PrBoom+ 2.5.1.4 and 2.5.1.5 for the final 2 levels, on HMP.

So what is there to say? Well, just like the previous installment in the series (and as the name obviously implies) Slaughterfest 2(012) is a 32+ level megawad that consists of slaughter levels made by various authors with their unique take on the genre and style, which means the levels have large enemy counts and they usually assault the player in waves. Still, far from mindless gameplay as avoiding damage is a challenge in itself, and on many occasions the enemies are also placed so that you have to be careful at all times and never stop moving.

The wad comes with a new background, status bar, textures, but no new sounds, weapons, ENDOOM screen, or enemies. Most of the levels features at least a few hundred enemies, while others a few thousand, while MAP27 is an exception and features over 10.000 enemies.

Since it's pretty much inevitable to not bring SF3 up, compared to it I must to say that the biggest flaw that megawad had, namely the consistency issue, is mostly absent save for 2 or 3 maps here. Honestly, it's expected to see such issues considering that each author has his own style, however in the case of SF3 this issue was far too great. Plenty of levels had very obvious variations in terms of quality and problems, some were amazing and fun whereas others barely had decent gameplay and were of impossible ugliness, most certainly worse than you'd see in a dated '90s slaughter level, while others had incredibly obtuse progression (MAP29 you know I'm looking at you). That's not the case here, it's almost like the authors set a standard for quality which had to be met in order to be accepted, therefore pretty much all are good, with a rather unsurprising exception of TimeOfDeath levels. SF3 had the unbelievably cryptic progression of MAP29, and some areas were radically different from the others as if the author made multiple maps and just connected them, on top of having to fall through some lava pits where the yellow and red key were. I could not understand his style in SF3 and I can't do it here either. For instance, while MAP19 has a pretty linear/straightforward progression, the texturing makes no sense whatsoever. It's almost like he randomly picked textures for various objects in the world, put them together, and see how it would turn out. Unfortunately, some cryptic puzzles are also present in MAP29, at some point you have to shoot a switch inside an alcove in order to gain access to a new area, and the said switch is not visible at all, you basically have to shoot a wall. Whether the following is an issue with the map itself or the latest (and test) version of PrBoom+ I do not know, but this map also has quite a few HOM effects in various areas, one in the area with the red skull, and a broken part of the sky outside where the yellow door is located. Moreover, for some reason this map is quite different on UV than on HMP, one of the key difference being that it has 2000 enemies, not 300. All in all, with the exception of these few odd levels there's no other issues that need to be pointed out.

MAP27 could also be considered one of the more surprising levels, but in a good sense, as well as MAP25, however, for different reasons. MAP25 has some great areas at the beginning, but towards the end it becomes questionable. Some rooms are quite unforgiving, while others are very cramped at the beginning where you basically need to survive on small corridors until all the walls have lowered. MAP27 on the other hand is one of the most fun levels, which is also the exception to the overall quite consistent enemy count, as it's the only map to feature exponentially more enemies, reaching over 10.000 enemies. A rather small arena, a bit grindy especially during the Revenant and Mancubus waves that give the impression of coming a standstill, but it's without a doubt exciting, definitely one of my favorite levels in the megawad. Speaking of which, the other one has to be MAP21. "Walk with Me in Hell"? No... YOU walk with me!

"As they walk with me like a medium
When I choose and require a burn-out,
Resting in expanded malicious force,
Drained for murderous weapons.

Knowing where you stand
In the magnitude of this thought,
Looking at the spirit of fire and flames
Enduring on the throne of the black heart."

It's dark, appears to be similar to a temple, simple, and fun, no need for extra details or complexity, it's amazing and perfect the way it is for me since I'm a sucker for these things, after all I'm mad about the look and atmosphere of the majority of levels in Doom 64. Diabolic ecstasy.

After all is said and done, MAP30 presents an end to the massacre with a Romero head (indeed, no Icon of Sin wall to be found here), although some levels already presented similar exits such as the ones made by TimeOfDeath. Regardless of this, it's fitting.

So, all things considered, SF2 is a great megawad. Would totally recommend this to fans of the genre and especially to newcomers to feast on the wicked and get drunk with their blood. Without a doubt, superior to SF3.

Slaughterfest 2012 is the second major slaughterfest-oriented wad, and a great step up from its predecessor. whereas 2011's outing sorted the maps by author, making the experience a little boring after you can predict what each author can do, this one doesn't do that, which adds a bit more variety. nothing wrong with that. TOD's ESP levels are all here, and they are pretty good, with Degrassi being the true test of everything you'll come across, but it's not to ignore everything else. cannonball and Phml both do fantastic jobs on every map they make here, and elmle's contribution is an epic. the rest, well, they do decent for the most part.

i'd say the map I'd like the least would be MAP27, too laggy for it to be playable even though other maps would likely lag. furthermore, the one thing I have always said about slaughtermaps, they are taxing. fun, yet taxing. play it if you have A LOT OF SPARE TIME, as these levels will take a long time to beat. especially the last few ones and especially Anathema.