Eternal Doom

Certain levels from the first and the second part are without a doubt, a masterpiece to behold. Perfect show pieces of  the mapping prowess that 90's mapping community had to offer. However, a majority of the maps best remain as such; show pieces. Gameplay isn't much of a stronghold of Eternal Doom. Dark Dome for example, while it's a phenomenally beautiful level to look at, the combat there isn't anything to write home about and I absolutely despise the yellow key puzzle. Nonsensical running around to find 8 switches, not a fun way to implement a puzzle. 

Apart from that, I'd say it's a must play experience.

Also, hands down to one of the best secret maps in the history. Jim Flynn outdid himself with the implementations of certain things and given that it's made in vanilla FOR vanilla, it puts myhouse.wad to absolute shame.

First third great. Second third so-so, last part sh!t. The steps from very good to terrible is very quick like in a typical movie trilogy. I cannot emphasize enough how much I hated especially last half; didn't even finish it, which I do very rarely.

Looking for problems to find keys in EVERY level? Enjoying wandering through already discovered parts for 30 minutes without any progress? Wanting to shoot something with 100% ammo and health but nothing around for ages? Love millions of switches? If answers to these question is yes, search no further; Eternal is just for you. For the rest who wanna play Doom and not Supaplex or The Incredible Machines (games which do in far more enjoyable and better way those things authors of latter parts of Eternal are trying to achieve), look literally anywhere else. It's quite a shame because design (architectonics-wise) even many of latter levels are not bad at all. 

tl;dr: first third 4.5/5, second 2/5 final 1/5.
Play till level 12 or where it breaks and never touch the rest even with long stick.

Some boring Levels. No new monsters and weapons!

The original "Eternal Doom," which makes up the first 12 maps of this Megawad, is an absolute must-play masterpiece. The levels are huge, yet finding one's way about them is an enjoyable task rather than a maddening chore. Hexen and Heretic both have beautiful textures, and the maps use them to great advantage to create sprawling medieval architecture and display some of the best environmental story-telling present in any wad I've ever played.

However, that praise does not carry on to Eternal Doom's two expansions, dubbed, "Eternal Doom II" and "Eternal Doom III," created by TeamTNT, which make up maps 13-32 and are, at best, an incredibly mixed bag and worst--well--painful. Beautiful architecture and intuitive layouts are traded out for strange abstract maps with misaligned textures and an overall quality that feels better suited for something like "D!Zone."

Most of the maps aren't awful by any means (Actually a few of them are--Map 14 comes to mind), but it almost feels unfair to put any set of maps after one of the greatest 12-level episodes of all time. 

It should be said that the weakest the Megawad gets is "Eternal Doom II," as part III as a whole finishes strong, aside from a bloated copy-cat of map 12 that stands in the map 30 slot. 

The soundtrack, composed by Rich Nagel, is the most consistent bar of quality throughout the wad, and almost--ALMOST--makes the more mediocre sections of the map-set bearable, providing an incredible score with returning themes and varying styles.

On the whole, Eternal Doom I is easy to recommend, and to the most diehard fans of the wad's esthetics, may just buy enough good will for those who wish to journey forth for rest of the megawad's offerings. 

Not really a fan of wandering for hours in huge maps trying to discover what hidden unmarked switches unlocked (spoiler: it was more switches) but has some very cool design. 

Yes, this is a legendary megawad. Yes, there is a lot of positives to say about it.
But I can't ignore the button madness present in many levels. In the second half of the game this gets utterly insane - you WILL spend most of the time bashing and shooting every inch of every wall to find yet another hidden switch to be able to progress. Many switches open hidden doors in an unrelated location on the other side of the level without even telling you. Some levels have switches completely invisible and one of them even hides switches in random decoration sprites like trees.

I'm sorry but this was no fun and in the end it ruined the entire megawad for me.

ETERNAL DooM is not a megawad, its an experience that had to be lived to be fully undertanded.
This is the megawad of the 90's for me in terms of exploration and atonishing sightseeing og the marvelous structures around.
This megawad its one of the few that awakes in me a sense of wonder like no other.
And to make things better, i played the incredible dehacked patch that @NightFright made, that adds maps names and new text screens with a custom story. This is the ultimate way to play this outstanding work.

Now to the flaws: the first two levels are what really define if you would play this megawad or not. The first maps is corridor after corridor, with a little puzzle for the keys to enable the exit, after that, the second map is something completely different, with a very big puzzle map that will catch everybody unprepared. If you can reach map three, your surely are at it now, and after that, is a big alley up, a pretty big mountain ahead full of wonders.

Thanks team Eternal and TNT for this amazing work of art. This possibly is the best megawad i played soo far and the one that i most liked. It has almost everything, new textures and graphics, new way of thinking maps, extremelly clever puzzles, a lot of exploration and a full experience.

What it lacks? Maybe a proper graphic for the end boss, a proper BOSSBACK also, and some new monsters would be cool, but for a megawad from 1997, this is almost perfect.

And the soundtrack!
God, thats a marvelous soundtrack!

so it seems I have not actually written a full review of Eternal Doom yet, Eternal Doom is often touted as the classic megawad of getting lost, with people crying "SWITCH HUNT!" and completely obtuse progression no casual player can think of. yet if I were to have a say, I'd say it's the best thing TeamTNT ever actually made. by comparison, Icarus is a standard megawad with some weird bits, and the same for Evilution. Daedalus is all sorts of fucked up, and the deathmatch sets aren't memorable to the singleplayer levels. this means that Eternal Doom forever stands the test of time despite its age.

you'll be happy for some of the shorter maps, which include MAP01, MAP06-08, MAP16-18, MAP21, and contrary to popular belief, MAP28. for the rest though, you'll get lost, that's the whole point. you'll likely cry foul at the obtuseness of several of the levels, in which knowing the author style really sort of helps. but when you're not hating it, you're liking it. some puzzles are actually fun, and combat remains serviceable in most locations. there's still loads of obscurity, so it helps to use that automap, especially for the memorable MAP12.

from the looks of it, it looks like Chris Couleur and Dia Westerteicher were the two who's maps will likely be felt the most. Couleur's style is making generally expansive locations in medieval fields, so there's a lot of room to run around in and quite a lot of meat in every nook and cranny imaginable. I can perhaps think it would get old after a while, but MAP11 is a nice treat and easily the best map he's done. Westerteicher seems to be responsible for most of the shorter outings, all of which have at least one bit of obtuse progression that casual players won't see. MAP03 is his best work if I'm being honest, and one of the best ways to utilize six keys in a non-Boom fashion. for the other authors, we have Adam Landefeld, with two large and two short maps, usually similar in style to Dia, Alex Mayberry, with two very linear levels, and Paul Schmitz, who may have made two short maps by ED standards, but actually somehow manages to make their progression memorable by being quite perplexing.

the showstealers are Sverre Kvernmo, Jim Flynn, and Bob Evans. it's likely these are the ones who's maps will be the ones you'll get lost in the most. Kvernmo went with MAP04, a large crate maze and sewer system, although progressing through it is generally just long, while MAP05 is actually quite short. MAP12 however is a certified magnum opus, a nicely done medieval castle with an interesting puzzle for the yellow key that still proves memorable to this day. the late Jim Flynn holds three rather notorious maps, the first being Monster Mansion (MAP31) a map that holds the most insane realism of a mansion with loads of crannies. the next is the appropriately named Beginner's End (MAP25) with numbers of confusing puzzles, and having to retrace your steps often, then right after that is the frantic MAP26, loads of ground to cover but hard to even go around. then there's Bob Evans; if MAP20 makes you squirm trying to figure out where and what is to be done, MAP30 will certainly be a true treasure hunt. these two maps are the ones where you'll need all the luck and patience to go through them.

I've played Eternal Doom all the way through many times, and my opinion of stuff tends to shift constantly on each and every map, but I tend to enjoy what I play through as I go along and memorize where anything and everything is. Eternal Doom surprisingly has linear key progression throughout the entire set, something that I'd love to see done in level progression diagrams some time soon. its maps are made out to be both long and memorable and perfectly deliver on those fronts, standing the test of time to this day. of course, there are much longer and larger maps than even Excalibur, which shows how inspirational the whole set ends up being to make much longer creative children. all this makes this the greatest accomplishment TeamTNT ever made.

I played the wad when Altima recommended it to me since I told him I love big complicated levels. I wasn't disappointed. Except... Map 26. Map 26! The reason I'll never play this pack again! So sad, because the first release has some great maps, especially map 12 Darkdome. It contains one of my favorite cyberdemon encounters. 19 sucks as a level as well and 20 is... weird. These three maps drop one star and the other drop is because of the lack of secret levels in the progressive run. The only secret map must be put as a map 1 replacement and I'm not a fan of that. Some encounters aren't fun, some required lots of infighting. Overall, the wad is tedious. Another reason for me to never play it again is that I no longer will have half a year free time. Yes, that's how long it took me to beat it. Anyways, a fun wad overall with great final map, some other strengths as well. Only if it had its secret levels the proper way and if it was vanilla compatible... 

Just awesome. The best 90s Doom wads had to offer, but certainly not for everyone.

Gameplay is fun. Very fun and well-thought out. Some maps can be a bit too easy, but mostly, Eternal Doom certainly doesn't lack in challenge. There is no "shooting huge walls until the sun begins to shine", only well-made, dynamic encounters, with well-balanced ammo for your entire arsenal, so you can get to use the right guns for the right guys, when it's time.

The action, however, is sometime given a break for the sake of puzzles, and while sometimes -- so few that it's excusable -- they rely more on sight than smarts, they're certainly acquired taste. You have to expect a few certain tricks, and this adds to the megawads' overall timeless uniqueness; it doesn't take more than it gives.

The levels look absolutely gorgeous, and this fact is made even more impressive considering this is work made to be in line with the original engine limitations. Some areas can be pure eye-candy, you can tell these maps were given much attention to, in all aspects. Is this really a 90s wad?

Featuring one of the best original soundtracks made for a Doom wad. When music is so good and fitting for the setting it's put in, and there's not much more needed to say other than "It's great", or, "Amazing".

As I said in the first line of this review, this megawad is certainly not for everyone, and this is fault of its puzzles -- Still, I'd say it's a must-play, for anyone to at least try. Skilled Doom players won't have a problem with most of its puzzles; such tricks are something expected, that such have grown accustomed to, and it's experience acquired from having played hundreds of levels. You have to go in with a certain mindset, more alerted and attentive than usual.

I'd say, it's not a bad thing for a video-game to try to get the best of your skills in more than just the combat aspect.

5/5.

Done with these settings:

- Crispy Doom 4.2

- Ultra-Violence.

- Continuous combined with a pistol start mindset. Actual pistol start on the bonus maps.

- Saves every 10 minutes or so.

This is a massive megawad that stands for its name. Indeed, an eternal adventure through some of the most complex maps I've ever played. Quite enjoyable, sometimes, and quite suffering too. The overall visual theme is medieval castles under a beautiful dark blue sky, including a few futuristic and tech maps, plus some nice music and sounds that you'll hear repeating again and again due to the length of the levels. Textures are super neat, particularly the combination of grey and brown bricks with Heretic/Hexen windows, plus water and trees, which are not in the middle of the way!. There are tons of cool details to take a look, such as fire to indicate the presence of archviles, or a TV revealing the path to a hidden switch. The imp also suffered a few transformations, though it's still the same monkey. In addition, with the new textures there are new switches, like a camouflaged X or a wheel, and some shootable stuff like windows and walls with cracks. Eventually, these kind of details can become key for progression, so I strongly suggest not to ignore any sort of visual clue you may find on your way. 

Back to the progression topic, a couple of things are what make this infamous mapset an utter nightmare for the ones who played it: cryptic puzzles, and/or intricate linearity. After playing several wads from the 90's, it's clear that was the attraction in that era, but nowadays it's hard that those two features call someone's attention, specially the second one. I liked the actual puzzles of this wad, those where you have to connect the clues provided to solve it, like the hidden red switch in map 31, that was quite satisfying. Another plus was the special textures used to indicate something, map 05 has a lot of computer panels to read and understand better what's going on. Unfortunately, across the maps I stumbled upon a lot of stuff that was completely unintuitive in some way or another: unmarked walls that hid keys, unmarked lifts too, switches that opened other switches placed somewhere in the map, obligatory secrets(!). It's not impossible to find out progression when these things are involved, since areas are connected for the gameplay to be pretty straightforward, but it can be painful and distasteful sometimes, specially when you're constantly meant to explore in portions of the maps that would logically be actual secret areas. I reckon I had to use walkthroughs as guides for the later maps, because I was suffering too much with them lol, and this comes from someone who's very open to exploration in Doom. On a different side, the combat was much more palatable, incidentally a positive contrast in the majority of the cases. Despite the massive size of most maps, monster count isn't very high (for a vanilla wad it could be), and they can be found in different ways depending on the authors, for example Couleur's maps are very spacey so monsters will be wandering freely (cacodemons aplenty, woo!), usually repopulating after some exploration is done. Other maps are more trap-based in tight quarters, gimmicky setups too. You'll rarely find ambushes, though infighting is highly possible and even a "scripted" show in some cases. One of the things I really appreciated was that almost every map has berserk pack(s), which allowed me to have another weapon option for many cases. 

Secret-wise, well I mentioned before the existence of mandatory secrets. Clearly the mappers wanted to encourage exploration before anything else, and that's something I personally find positive, if only many areas weren't marked as secrets, because you're obligated to find the goodies inside them to exit the level. Whatever... there were also your typical optional regular secrets, behind marked walls, megaspheres on top of pillars, plasma weapons, etc. For favourite maps, I'll pick 04 (yay crates mazes), 05, 08, 12, 17, 22 and 23. I'll also include the bonus maps for an extra quote of fun. I didn't like map 13 at all, and map 30 was a nightmare, not fun when you don't know what you're supposed to do 90% of the time.  

Overall, not to misunderstand my review, the megawad provided an unique experience I'll never forget, confusing maps can be good sometimes. I'd only recommend it for puzzle lovers, or people who are keen to eccentric progression developed in a past era of Doom, seriously don't even think of trying it if you don't have a minimum sense of direction. Also, don't forget to check the bonus maps, Cybersweeper is really cool, and the extras that the authors provided, I didn't but you might find them useful. My rate is 6,5/10. 

On one side it has really nice visuals and many levels have good atmosphere, but on other side it's insanely complicated in path finding and sometimes it goes really too far. As for example: on map 20 there is a yellow key lies on open area but on UV it's IMPOSSIBLE to obtain and to complete level you need to lower secret lift which you cannot see or hear and fast path to it is also hidden behind secret door which looks like normal wall. And map 30 is probably worst thing in terms of switch/key/linedef hunt I've ever played which seems impossible to complete without examining each linedef and sector in editor. As opposite, map 29 is huge and requires running from one side to another but it's not hard to understand where you need to go next. At first I wanted to give it 5, but closer to the final map I got too frustrated from switch hunt nightmare on some later maps, especially the last one, so I give it 3.