Newgothic Movement 2

"Slaughter. Fun slaughter."

yeah, no. this pales compared to the first Newgothic. the maps here are less memorable and more painful than playful. there's no difficulty settings, and ZDoom will lag on MAP09 and MAP16 mostly due to the items present (a real hassle for MAP16). the cyberdemon placements in these maps in particular really bugged the hell out of me and these maps are less speedrun friendly than the original as well. favorites were MAP14 and MAP15. MAP02 is just unbearable. I prefer my slaughters with difficulty settings, thank you.

"Get out of the way!"

So that you can watch me kill your brethren before I get to you. You can't stop the killing. Newgothic Movement 2 has been finished, played through GlBoom+ 2.5.1.5 on HMP difficulty. Or is that HMP? I'll get back to you in a moment.

First things first, Newgothic Movement 2 is the sequel of the short slaughter megawad with the same name. It features a new menu background, end level stats picture, textures, and music. The gameplay is pretty much identical to the original, with large enemy counts, enemies placed in strategic positions, and emphasizing skill. This is pretty much all it has in common with the original, as the maps are generally very different and exploring more themes and locations, on Earth, Hell, and space, however, various ideas from the original have been recycled into the sequel, such as the tunnel sequence with the Cyberdemons underground, now taking place in a pyramid and more difficult, as it plays a much more important role as opposed being and area you could simply ignore by going straight to the right drop point. Additionally, there are no more levels that do not serve any real purpose in the megawad, unlike the original did with MAP03 and its Cyberdemon fest in the middle of nowhere. The progression between levels is also much more logical so it feels like a more coherent package and "actual" megawad, as opposed to just a collection of random slaughter maps.

Compared to its predecessor, the sequel has much higher difficulty, emphasizing foreknowledge in many of its maps in order to get the full, enjoyable experience than just jumping into it and hoping everything goes well for the most part. Therefore, it involved quite a bit of trial and error in some of its maps to avoid making crucial mistakes than could bring your progression to a half. Moreover, items, such as Invulnerability spheres, are now sometimes put in secrets, some of them being mandatory if you plan on making the enraged wave of enemies calm down quicker, and with much less frustration. The difficulty curve is nonexistent as almost all levels start somewhat easy (apart from MAP02 and a few others) and the difficulty increases dramatically as you progress, but the following map with not be necessarily easier or more difficult as you'd normally expect. There are also crazy parts in some of the levels, particularly on the aforementioned MAP02, which has a really rough start with lots and lots of mandatory damage (no wonder there's health potions at every step), with waves of Imps at both ends of the tunnel and Chaingunners shooting you from their alcoves. This is going to be the only map I did not like in the entire megawad, simply because it's all about damage and challenge, but zero fun. It's best to try to speedrun this map instead of maxing it out as that needlessly complicates everything (as if it wasn't already complicated). Due to the drastically increased difficulty going in blind like I did will prove to be a challenge in itself as traps and ambushes are much less forgiving than they are in the original. I would not say you need to know the maps inside out, but it will absolutely make your life much easier in some of them if you have some knowledge before playing them, so that you at least know where the nuttier parts are. There are also no difficulty settings, so despite choosing HMP, what I actually got was UV, so you either deal with its difficulty the way it is, or skip it.

When it comes to locations, it unfortunately does not explore cities. MAP13 was easily the one map that really stood out from the crowd in the original, despite not doing anything particularly mind-blowing. But it had an amazing grim atmosphere, and it was impressive both visually and gameplay-wise.

All in all, Newgothic Movement 2 is a definite improvement in all areas over its predecessor, but also a significant departure, as while still preserving the core essence of the original and being much more coherent with its design, it places much more focus on difficulty and foreknowledge, something the original did not do, therefore it is going to be more challenging than it, and more frustrating in parts. As a result, it is good for veterans and demo recorders who have the time to analyze the maps carefully and fully, but not a very good candidate for more casual players who just want to play some slaughter. It's also not a good introduction to the genre for newcomers due to its high difficulty and lack of skill levels, so it's best to check this out only after you have familiarized yourself with the genre and have some experience. Otherwise, you might get your ass kicked on many occasions.

Felt more polished than the original.  Maps were more enjoyable and prettier.

Without a doubt this is the most enjoyable slaughter wad I have ever played bar none.
The original "Newgothic Movement" was already great (especially for the time), but this sequel manages to not only match it's quality, but to exceed it (and then some), delivering an unmatched doom experience.
The gameplay is finely-honed, the architecture/level-design and thing placement are all carefully crafted, the music is always fitting, and the variation between levels keeps things interesting and moving.

Yes there is the odd visual glitch here and there, but you really won't care as you'll be having so much fun.

If only all slaughter wads were this inspired!

Done on UV/continuous/saves

Yes, continuous, so what?. A great mapset that practically requires foreknowledge and/or iddqd runs to see what's out there. Playing blind will make players suffer from frustration and annoyance, unless you really dig into intense slaughter wads. So, regardless of iddqd-ing before actually playing, I think it goes fair all the time IMO. As far as I remember I didn't have anger issues aside from a few specific situations, like the dark blood-erage in map 05. Patience is also required, but the adrenaline you feel playing these maps is, wow. 

Visuals and music are excellent. Gothic is really awesome in Doom, and some effects like the underwater cave in map 13 are what added pluses to the maps. There are a few HOMs in some maps and nodebuilder (as they call) issues in map 09. Map 31 looks awesome.

Secrets, well aside from some invul spheres that may or may not feel obligatory, are in general fine. And the music sounds great, adds a sense of excitement when tackling hordes of everything. 

My favourite maps, umm maps 03 and 13, also 08, 09, 10 and 15 for having a lot of fun. Map 05 is the only one I didn't quite enjoy, as far as I remember, though it's not a bad map. 

Overall, it gives you what it promises, go and check it out if you are a fan of carnage. It's a 9/10 for me. 

The description says "Slaughter. Fun slaughter. With music. Enjoy."
Delivers as promised. Great mapset of the "slaughter + eye candy" type. Recommend!