Alpha Accident: Terra Nova

Fantastic Doom 1 wad, one of the best.

What's in store is a 9 episode tribute to OG Doom, that has pretty much the same feel, but is much more challenging, especially in the first and maybe second maps, where you are starving for ammo. You get to the shotgun after lots of time, which makes it extra rewarding, and the mapset is EXTREMELY non-linear, making you feel like a mouse trying to brave a maze full of cats.

Why minus one star? Well, Wraith777 has placed E1 in a blender (and added lots of fitting textures), with the result being beautiful... but it feels as if each and every map looks and plays the same. There's little variation in themes and concepts, something that many Doom 1 "tribute" wads suffer from. Just a nitpick, probably because this is a definite recommendation.

Done with these settings:

- Crispy Doom 4.2

- Hurt Me Plenty.

- Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset.

- Saves every 10 minutes or so.

An impressive wad over here. It's a long episode consisting of huge, absolutely non-linear maps. The texturing is not just alpha Doom but also a whole new bunch of amazing editions to add more character to the wad. Honestly, with these textures and detailing the visuals are top-notch, since the layouts are very complex and cramped it's more enjoyable to explore and it never feels repetitive (the music is great too). In addition, the author added a set of stuff to interact in similar ways you would treat monsters: the explosive pillar to block the way, hard to distinguish from the regular pillar at first glance, just shoot at one if you see a hole behind it (don't be like me and punch one...); non-toxic barrels, these ones are abundant, generally an obstacle and they are actually funny to punch; destructive boxes that may or may not contain goodies; another sort of pillar, it has an energy cell pack for decoration, and it's susceptible to splash damage; and last but not least, electric grey floors, actually they are just highly damaging and there's usually a "Voltage" sign on a wall, plus you can turn electricity off. Incidentally many of these objects interact together in secrets, such as a hidden box blocked by a destructive pillar, so be aware of them.

The combat element is mostly incidental, including several ambush set-ups and claustrophobic traps. Casually, you'll rarely find packs of the same type of monster, as they are generally mixed tropes of zombies, imps, pinkies and cacodemons. There are a couple of new enemies from the hitscan class, a brain-bot and a static gun, the first one is particularly dangerous given it's flying ability, I found myself dead a few times as they are small and fast too. The second one should probably have less health imo, as it doesn't portray a significant threat aside from specific mixed ambushes. Neither of them have an excellent autoaim though, still watch out, their roaming sound is very loud and can be heard from miles away, seriously. There is another enemy that serves as a boss, but I'm not spoiling it, just going to say cool!... It takes some time to find any weapons, yep the maps can be heavily pistol oriented meanwhile, luckily this weapon was upgraded (sped up) and it's not boring to use it for a few minutes, not that there are so many barons around, because they are pretty scarce in general. The chaingun has now a bit of recoil, making the tap-tap usage less simple, well I tend to snipe with the shotgun too but that's just me. The bullets stock was expanded to a limit of 450, which is good since you'll be spamming bullets aplenty, and there's a new bonus item that counts as 4 bonus armors. Yeah, I support these additions. About progression, like I said the maps are massive and non-linear, you'll frequently find yourself opening new areas that lead to other areas that also lead to another area that is connected with a previous section where a new portion has been opened, and so on, that's my sum up of the maps lol. An advice would be to always use the automap as a guide, as it can be easy to get lost or not be sure what a switch did. In my experience it was the positive kind of "lost", because the maps are so complex that I always felt the need to keep exploring for more stuff. Eventually, you'll find the exit and realize you spent an hour in the map, that is also thanks to the high amount of secrets that will remind you you're playing a 90's oriented Doom 1 wad. Talking about secrets, they cover no less than 1/4 of each map, generally above 7 per level, and they are not so easy to find. However, if you're a bit like me, you'll stay to find them all legally, plus it feels more satisfactory, I felt like playing Doom 1 again, so there's a high nostalgic factor here.

I don't have favourite maps because I really liked them all in the same way. I am going to point out one thing about map 07, there's a part where you have to step on a bloody pool with health bonuses to trigger a trap, the entrance will slowly close, but it is possible to leave before that wall closes entirely, which will trap yourself in the dark corridor. Of course I found it out by accident. 

Overall, totally recommended to die-hard fans of Doom 1 mapsets. Just use a limit-removing compatible port, like Crispy Doom, and immerse yourself into the complexity these maps are, take your time. I hope the author find some time to deliver the complete megawad, because I'd play more sets like this. My rate is 10/10. 

Excellent mapset with a nice 90s design, fitting music that adds atmosphere, and tons of monster action to keep you focused.
Each level got better and better and I was sad when it ended!
Recommended for those that like nuts-and-bolts doom with some eternal doom touches too.