Most favorite level from Episode 2

[Doom Trooper]

What is your most favorite level in The Shores of Hell and why? I like "Halls of the Damned" because of how much it resembles a bunker in the mountains which I find cool! 

[THEBaratusII]

E2M8 - Tower of Babel, because you can face the Cyberdemon and find plenty of rocket ammo and a rocket launcher. :)

[Deleted_Account]

Containment Area is best.

[Poncho]

Definitely Spawning Vats. It mixes the different areas you've already visited in the episode (a lab, a crate zone, an outside nukage area, etc) yet it all blends together quite nicely. Also, lots of action!

[Deadwing]

E2M7

I don't remember the name, though

[Poncho]

1 minute ago, Deadwing said:

E2M7

I don't remember the name, though

That's Spawning Vats. :D

[bonnie]

e2, crate?

 

[Job]

48 minutes ago, bonnie said:

e2, crate?

 

Heh

[SaladBadger]

weirdly enough e2m1 in recent months has become the one that stands out the most to me, though e2m2, e2m4, and e2m7 are close contenders. e2m1 is basically what I think about when I think e2, it looks pretty normal for the most part, like a UAC techbase but everything's getting fucked over by the demons as you go through further. Minor details like that weird reality-bending window you see showing the eerie red sky of hell really bring it alive and the song on that map is just way too damned catchy.

 

I swear, I'll finish an e2 themed map one of these days...

[nxGangrel]

E2M7: Spawing Vats, a fabulous techbase level provided  by Tom Hall and Petersen. I really think Tom Hall doesn't get enough credit for his work in episode 2 (and 3 to a lesser extent). If you think about it, the tech bases, made by Hall, are taken over by hell, created by Petersen... heh

[DMPhobos]

The shores of Hell it's my favorite episode, i know that contaiment Area e2m2 was voted as the best doom level and i agree that its one of the best levels in the game, but i personally like halls of the damned e2m6 better, the music on it sets a tense mood for the whole map, and there's a memorable fake exit moment on it. In comparison to the other ep2 levels, this one really pulls the feeling that hell it's really taking over the base quite well

[Catpho]

All of e2 is interesting in some way, except e2m9, which deserved to be run down by hell ;)

[printz]

Strange how much hate E2M9 gets... it's really just a shock level. Notably it looks like it belongs more in episode 3, which probably makes sense, considering how magically the building appears before you visit it. It's like a bonus mini-boss battle. I was pretty proud when I first survived that map. Getting ambushed by four barons and by about 20 cacodemons (or how many were there) wasn't comfortable back then. Those cacodemons also had the nasty effect of being camouflaged behind those corpses. Combine that with the rather low FPS and my lack of skill in strafing (which eventually led to the later shock of E2M8, so I suppose I'm not alone with the lack of strafing). Initially I thought E2M9 is like a quick and easy alternative to E2M8, if you avoid going through E2M6 and E2M7... but it's just a secret level.

 

I like E2M6 because of its light amplification visor time pressure, and you being pursued by barons and demons on nightmare mode. Quite a difficult level on nightmare, after the levels leading up to it. Also I love how the inner dark areas look, with all those strange wooden textures and exposed techwalls, as if the invaders thrashed and robbed all the place, breaking the electricity and turning it into a haunted house.

Edited March 18, 2018 by printz

[Walter confetti]

E2M4 it's been always my favourite

[Reisal]

Deimos Lab. I've made two levels in the style of the textures used over the years.

[Walter confetti]

11 hours ago, printz said:

Strange how much hate E2M9 gets... it's really just a shock level. Notably it looks like it belongs more in episode 3, which probably makes sense, considering how magically the building appears before you visit it. It's like a bonus mini-boss battle. I was pretty proud when I first survived that map. Getting ambushed by four barons and by about 20 cacodemons (or how many were there) wasn't comfortable back then. Those cacodemons also had the nasty effect of being camouflaged behind those corpses. Combine that with the rather low FPS and my lack of skill in strafing (which eventually led to the later shock of E2M8, so I suppose I'm not alone with the lack of strafing). Initially I thought E2M9 is like a quick and easy alternative to E2M8, if you avoid going through E2M6 and E2M7... but it's just a secret level.

 

You know, i never thinking about that level in that way, but you known that's a good explanation for that level?

Played it just now for testing a weapon thing and, well, it could be considered like the lower hidden section of tower of babel: there's a section with marble and unreachable crucified barons like in e2m8, there's the mini-boss set that emulates the final battle with the cyberdemon (also there's the 2 monsters combo "cyberdemon - lost soul" in e2m8 and the "baron - cacodemon" in e2m9).

 

And i was always related it to the Grosse of ultimate doom (wolf-3d fell and tight fights, plus a "puzzle" for exiting)!

[MeetyourUnmaker]

I would say Under The Radar has a good segment where you are ambushed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5cyIu01YF4

[idbeholdME]

Indeed, if someone says episode 2, the first thing I think of is Containment Area. It also has great music.

[DynamiteKaitorn]

I genuinely found Episode 2 to be boring...  With that being said though E2M1... just for the quick access to my favourite gun in the DooM series.

[DooMingo]

Always E2M4: that goddamn gloomy music, the gargoyle heads watching you...

E2M6 is good too.

E2M8 is very special: first encounter against a formidable enemy, and that baron's corpses at the beginning didn't presage good things.

[NuMetalManiak]

E2M1 is fun to play with mods.

E2M2 has crates, crushers, and Tom Hallisms from the most elite ID software mapper ever.
E2M3 is just fun.

E2M4 is spooky, has lots of interesting areas.

E2M5 is a fun breather map with no keys necessary and at least two hordes that are fun to splatter with rockets.

E2M6 has a little bit of everything, mazes, crushers, a fake exit, new monster closets.

E2M7 is huge, got more Tom Hallisms

E2M8 has a fair cyberdemon fight

Only one I don't like that much is E2M9 and it's only my second least favorite map in Doom (behind E3M1)

[Camahueto]

Containment Area is so ingrained in my mind that it's actually the first level i think of when talking about Doom 1. Even then, for some reason, i cannot remember the layout, so it always takes me like half an hour to finish it. Great level though. Or should i say Crate Level???

[Diamhea]

Agree with OP. Halls of the Damned scared me the most back as a kid. The dark wooden maze, the way those demons and baron come through the hallways. Good atmosphere.

[Yugiboy85]

E2M6 is one of my favorite maps from episode 2. It has an awesome midi track that fits the overall atmosphere of the map and it has a nice gimmick (the fake exit) to make it interesting. It used to scare the crap out of me when I was a kid. 

Other than that, I've grown to like e2m2 quite a bit over the years. The cardboard maze doesn't really bother me and it actually adds to the exploration value of the map IMO. 

 

[Pirx]

On 3/17/2018 at 4:55 PM, Ex Oblivione said:

Containment Area is best.

 

because, crates. 

 

seriously, as overdone this trope is today, the map was suspense as its finest when i played it for the first time and a single imp was a deadly enemy.

 

and then there's  this music  *whistles*.

 

i still like to launch this map for a quick berserking warm-up.

 

closely followed by e2m4 for being so eerie.

[Equinox24]

E2M8 is the best

[DeadAstronaut]

E2M6, Halls of the Damned. My favorite map in all of Doom 1 and has my favorite MIDI track of all the official music. 

 

Exploring those dark halls for the first time many years ago leaves a memory of fear. You can't see where the enemies come out and there's also the other half of the level with the long tunnels and the fake exit. Speaking of the fake exit, it contains possibly the nastiest trap in all of Doom 1. If you don't know what's coming, chances are slim that you'll survive there unless you quickly pick up the Soulsphere. IMO this was Sandy Petersen at his peak. 

 

 

[galileo31dos01]

Hard to pick a favourite, most of them have something I really enjoyed back then when I was a noob. Nowadays, I'm more inclined into the atmospheric, labyrinthish, spooky maps like E2M4, E2M6 and E2M7, those are still really fun to play casually. E2M2 has crates and berserk, not to sound cliche but... yeah, cliche, I love it. E2M3 has those obscure secrets in the nukage pit iirc, kinda linear, pretty fun though. E2M9 scared me a lot because it felt claustrophobic, it doesn't upset me nor amaze me nowadays. E2M1 introduced cacos which are my favourite enemy, visually cute and fluffy, so adorable, plus they fly, that's fantastic. E2M8 is overrated imo, it does send spooky vibes with the dead barons and music, but very meh from a gameplay perspective, makes the "boss" look like a tiny bug inside a maze. E2M5 is one of the most memorable ones, the secret nukage corridor was the part that took most time to come out alive, that was nerve-racking back then, still fun to play and get lost. 

[stochastic]

E2M4 and E2M6 because they're spooky and fun. You can really feel Hell starting to subvert your environment in these maps.

[MTF Sergeant]

E2M4 for the level design.

E2M8 for the music, cybie and lots of rocket ammo.