The Beginning of the End (part 1)

The first episode seems more solid to me. But the second was much more fun. Stairway to hell seemed endless.

Then I got to the cemetery. Knowing what can happen when you get locked inside. Total insanity with strange angles, fish? and a lot of fireblu. So much fun in Bonus. Great midis also. Played pistol start in some various sessions. Tough.

A reasonably fun set of 2 episodes that's rather mixed in quality. E2 was made first and it shows, but even E1 has some stinkers like E1M5. The maps are not that pretty or complex in architecture, but there are some charming ideas sprinkled in. Gameplay leans towards cramped corridors full of weak-to-medium enemies, with occasional wide-open spaces to mix things up. The difficulty holds up surprisingly well for the era it was made in.

Unfortunately, enemy encounters quickly become repetitive. Multiple Barons are thrown at players in every level, often times with only the Shotgun or Chaingun to kill them with. The latter half of E2 approaches slaughtermap territory with emphasis on herding demons through chokepoints. The Metallica and Nirvana MIDIs are pretty terrible, but they do add to the "90s Doom community time capsule" feeling of END1.WAD.

vintage set, years later it still is incredibly charming. detail is not everything, the gameplay leaves everything hot and fresh. lovely stuff.

Pretty cool E1/E2 replacement. Some nasty traps in spots but nothing I felt was too unreasonable save for maybe one setup involving a Spider Mastermind in the distance with little cover on one of the secret maps. Love the ideas on display like the graveyard map in E2 and the close-quarters shootout of E2M6. Definitely felt it had more highlights than it had flaws, so I'd say it was perfectly legit Doom experience - not perfect, but certainly legit. A good place to look for some unconventional ideas and some left-field designs.