Poncho

Vanguard is, in my opinion, the single greatest solo project for Doom ever made. With this particular WAD, skillsaw pretty much made a name for himself, and for good reason. The WAD is split up into a few episodes (three to be exact - nature, techbase and hell). Every map looks great and the detail doesn't go batshit overboard, and nor does the difficulty. See, the thing about Vanguard that makes it so enjoyable is that it's not too hard. None of the levels - with the partial exception of Map11 - are truly challenging. They ARE, but in a very fun and very fair way. The traps are set up so that you can potentially beat them when you first trigger said trap (unlike a Ribbiks level where you'll most likely die trying). Map01 is a nice, short, easy jog through some ruins, with a combo of Berserk and gun action. Map02 is, in my opinion, one of the weaker levels, but is by no means bad. The enemy placement is perhaps the most annoying of the WAD, but still functions well enough to be a bit tough and still very manageable. The ways you can access parts of the map is quite cool. Map03 (13 Angry Archviles) is a gimmick map done right. With its suspense-building music and interesting, engaging scenarios, this is one of the best maps of the set. Map04 is another trek through some natural ruins of some sort, like a castle ruin. The open areas make combat difficult, but never impossible of course, and if you possess maybe a braincell or two, you should still be able to conquer this map. The ending's very unexpected, but fun. Map05 is our first taste of slaughter; a Spider Mastermind, several teleporting Archviles and plenty of low-tier enemies to be killed. It's a fun rush of a level, easily beatable in a short time. The second episode starts, obviously, with Map06, a mostly Tyson affair. Unlike other Tyson maps (I'm looking at you, Speed of Doom Map01), this is a rather relaxing take on the Berserk-only gimmick. By the end of the level, you should have enough ammo to use some shells. Next, Map07 is a take on Dead Simple, but a really fun one! Super fast-paced, dangerous if you're not paying attention and just plain fun, this is again one of the highlights of the WAD. After that, we have our obligatory crate level in the form of Map08. Navigation isn't too frustrating, and the only Archviles of the map are in the same area and easily killable. The cavern section and the ending battles are among the toughest, but the way these areas have been designed makes the fights a blast. Then... Map09 is next. It's a semi-slaughter level, and happens to be one of my favourite maps of all time. The Rise of the Triad music fits perfectly, the shift from narrow working tunnels to full-on car parks and surburbs is cool and the gameplay is fun as fuck, no doubt because of the given weapons and ammo, as well as powerups. The way you can use infighting to your advantage makes the whole affair cooler. The final level in the techbase episode - Map10 - is a proper slaughtermap, with over 800 enemies. The different areas all provide different challenges, and can all be tackled at any point, and in any order, which makes replayability more abundant (is that the right word?). Despite the fact that there are quite a few Cyberdemons (and high-tier enemies in general), the ammo and health distribution is adequate and makes for a good challenge. And then, of course, suicide exit. Finally, we begin our hell episode with Map11, arguably the hardest map in the WAD. The orange colours are truly a great touch. On top of that, the tapestry-like design is just astonishing... as are the enemies. My goodness, the traps in this map are simply deadly, none more so than the final trap. Before that, we have a pillar room fight (the beginning, that is), a precarious battle in a rocky terrain outdoors, a claustrophobic battle with swarms of monsters in a pit of some sort and the final battle, which is again a wave-based fight. All these encounters require the utmost concentration, but with skill (rather than luck), you should prevail. Then we have our final proper stage, Map12, once again a slaughtermap. This is significantly easier than the last level, but by no means "facil". The chasm design makes it feel like you're going deeper into hell, and the increasing enemy density makes the battles more interesting, especially when the Archviles start teleporting in to undo all your hard work. It isn't annoying though, since the amount of chaos - whether it be you with your own arsenal or infighting - will either wound or kill the AVs and / or the resurrected enemies. It really is remarkable. Map13 (Punchout) is a joke level that nicely ends the WAD, where you Tyson your way through low to mid-tier enemies before killing a Romero head. Really nice and funny. So, all-in-all, Vanguard has super-fun encounters, great design, great progress in terms of difficulty, fantastic enemy and item distribution and brilliant choices for music. What isn't there to love? The Good Maps: All of them! Overall, I give Vanguard a full 4 / 4 (obviously a 5 / 5). This is classic status! Worship this WAD!!!

Quite a large gap between the releases of Sector 666 and Aeternum, skillsaw's second WAD. For those interested, the word "aeternum" is Latin for "forever", or "to eternity". So yes, released in 2007, the aesthetics are greatly improved this time around (well, they should be, after WADs like Alien Vendetta, Scythe, etc.) and consists of only three levels. VERY short, even for skillsaw. Well, that makes my breaking-down review a little easier. The first level (The Boditorium) is a semi-wide-open island surrounded by damaging blood. The secrets and enemies are all positioned well enough to be highly dangerous (yep, this WAD is pretty damn difficult), and is just paced enough to be pretty fun. The second level - Archaeolophobia - is the adventure map of the WAD; travelling down sewage systems, traversing caverns, exploring old structures, fighting in church-like ruins... it's all pretty good, except for the fact that it simply goes on and on and on and on... it becomes utterly tiring after a while, not to mention that some of the monster placement is downright annoying (the Cyberdemon guarding the lift to the Yellow Key, and the YK section itself). It's too much to bare after a while. Fire and Grimstone - the final map - is, once again, a nice-looking level with some lethal traps (though, once again, Cyberdemons are placed is semi-bullshit spots). This level feels more slaughter-y than the previous ones, and there's a surplus of ammo, but it forces you to switch between weapons, which is nice. The final boss is easy as fuck, though. Overall, I feel that Aeternum is honestly skillsaw's weakest effort. Skillsaw himself apparently said that a lot of the stuff he did prior to 2010 wasn't very good (that's just false). With this WAD, it feels that he was experimenting with new mapping and new design quirks (more detail and whatnot). He succeeded in the actual map design and the choice of music (isn't it all from Unreal Tournament?), but the levels - well, more Map02 than anything - should've had a few cuts to prevent it from becoming stale, and the Cyberdemon placements should've been tweaked. The Good Maps: 01 Average Maps: 02, 03 Overall, I give Aeternum a 2.5 / 4 (rounded to 3 / 5).

So... this is skillsaw's first official work. Apparently, it's the only pre-2000 WAD of his that is still around. I must say that, for a 1998 WAD, this is pretty good. It's a short and sweet WAD, and is an ideal choice if you just want to play Doom for a good thirty minutes (it takes about that time to beat the WAD to 100%). With the exception of Map08 (and, to an extent, Map03), the maps aren't that long, and all have a sort of uniqueness to them. The first two maps are fast-paced bullet-mayhem style maps. I find these two levels to be well lit and have nice enemy placement (though the secret placement in Map02 is shoddy). Map03 is a longer affair, with a lot of backtracking that reminds me a lot of these earlier WADs. You can skip a lot of monsters in this map, too, which makes it a bit too easy. Map04 is the most confusing (if you're speedrunning, anyway), since it requires you to go from one end of the map to the other, and since you teleport back to the middle constantly, it can be a bit annoying. Map05 is the worst level; it's a series of gauntlets, really, most of which are just a bit agitating and / or boring. Map07 isn't your typical seventh level (Mancubi and Arachnotrons do appear, just not in an arena-like setting). It's a good level, with decent action, good music and good enemy placement. Then comes Mansion (Map08), the longest level. It involves "resource-starvation," which is something I'm not a fan of in Doom WADs generally. With that said, the music fits perfectly and the design (for the time, anyway) is really good. I like the little pool at the start and the observatory parts to the west end of the map (there's a sort of aquarium area, which is really neat). Map09 is like Map05, only better (better traps and feels harder for good reasons... well, except for that first Arch-Vile). After that, Map10 and Map11 are essentially slaughtermaps - both has a shit-ton of energy cells (especially the last level) and are super easy to complete (even easier if you're playing casually). So, all-in-all, Sector 666 is a short, yet fun affair - it's never truly annoying, the chosen music tracks (by Mark Klem and David Shaw) fit quite well and looks very good for the time of its release. Points are taken away, however, for the overall easiness of the WAD, and also Map06 - the laziest excuse for mapmaking I think I've seen in a non-joke WAD. Good thing skillsaw isn't like that now. Final Rating: 3 / 4 (rounded up to 4 / 5).

This is an example of a WAD that almost everyone liked and that I couldn't bring myself to enjoy. Of course, that isn't to say that there AREN'T any good maps (there certainly are), but the whole package is ridiculously uneven. Speed of Doom was made by Josh Sealy (Joshy) and Darkwave0000, both making 16 maps (well, Joshy made 17 if you include the semi-official Map33). Their two mapping styles are very distinctive, which is nice; I could immediately tell whose map I was playing. Mind you, it's easier to know by which number the map occupies than the mapping techniques (Joshy made the odd numbered maps, save for the secret levels and Darkwave made the even ones, again except for the secret maps). Joshy favours more cramped battles and lower enemy counts while Darkwave goes all out, with large, beautiful environments and large monster swarms. What's also cool is that SOD is not a slaughter WAD, so variety is present here. The issue is that a good half of the WAD (mostly by Joshy) simply isn't that good. While Darkwave gives you space to run around and pick your strategies, Joshy almost always forces you to play one way: HIS way. Otherwise, you'll end up taking a lot of unnecessary damage or dead. This makes progress in a lot of his maps more frustrating than fun, especially with his gimmick levels like Map21 (being Tyson, with 5 Arch-Viles and a few other high-tier enemies) and Map13 (practically no armour to be found). He makes the occasional decent level, but most are too cramped to be considered amazing both aesthetically and in terms of gameplay. Since the enemy placement in most of his levels is simply there to piss you off, it makes it annoying. Though, with low body counts, you could say it isn't absolutely torturous (besides Map23 and Map32). Luckily, Darkwave swoops in to save the thing. Of course, not all of his levels are good (Map22 is a sort of "Darkwave-goes-Joshy"), but the maps themselves are fantastically detailed and nice to simply gaze at. The enemy placement feels more organised and poses a difficult yet fair threat. The larger enemy counts and the lush surroundings also make Darkwave's maps more engaging to play. Favourite Maps: 31, 16 Good Maps: 02, 03, 04, 06, 08, 10, 11, 14, 19, 26, 28, 29, 30 Average Maps: 01, 09, 17, 18, 20, 24, 25 Not-so-Good Maps: 05, 07, 12, 13, 15, 22, 33 Proper Bad Maps: 32, 21, 23, 27 Overall, I'd give Speed of Doom a 2 / 4 (rounded up to 3 since I'm feeling generous). An average WAD.

There simply isn't a WAD that tops Alien Vendetta. Despite being released a good 16 years ago, this could be considered the first "modern" WAD. What I mean by that is that the maps here have tip-top design and attention to detail that is present in practically every WAD released nowadays. Like Memento Mori, its sequel and Requiem, AV brought a lot of Doomers from around the world to contribute (the US, Sweden (?) and Norway to name a few). Each map has its own identity, and thus they are ALL memorable. The first level immediately tells you that the details, lighting and enemy placement is gonna be spectacular. Once you get to Map03 and see the city overlooking the main station, you know this is something that is way more advanced than anything before it. When it comes to Map11 and Map20... well, we all know how epic THOSE two look. Those two maps still look better than most maps today! Of course, the look of the levels aren't the only thing that make-or-breaks a game. The gameplay here is nothing short of brilliant. All the maps besides Map21 (which is a Tyson-based map) are balanced for pistol-start and also for continuous gameplay, which is nice. I said before that each map has an identity, or a personality. This is true in the fact that the traps, secret placement and challenge are all different yet balanced. AV gradually gets harder and harder, reaching its boiling point with Map27. Speaking of that map, there aren't that many slaughtermaps in the WAD. Maps 25, 26, 27 (yep, three in a row) and 32 are, but as I said before, each are identifiable and aren't brainless BFG spam. 25 isn't too hard, though 26 and 27 take the cake as the two hardest maps in the set. Memorable set pieces I can recall are the Cyberdemon zone in Map06, the Demon horde in Map15, the Mastermind madness area in Map18, the island climb in Map20 and the waterfall trap in Map26. Everything is memorable here! If there's ANYTHING I can criticise, it's a bit weird having the techbase levels start in Episode 2. Though then again, that makes the WAD that bit more original. Oh yeah, and Map30 can be a bit annoying, if only for that one lift. Oh course, I can't write an AV review without mentioning the great Kim André Malde, who passed away a few years ago. I heard he was a talented mapper but, more importantly, a lovely person in real life. Rest in piece. Favourite Maps: 04, 09, 10, 11, 20, 25, 29 "Least" Favourite Maps: 06, 19, 27, 28, 30 My Rating: 4 / 4 (thus a full 5 / 5)

With the final (I assume, and HOPE) version out, I can feel comfortable reviewing this WAD. Some have called the game's aesthetic design and theme redundant and yes, most of the levels are techbase, but remember that [the full versions of] Episode 2 and Episode 3 are coming soon, so I can accept this. What makes me completely forgive the mapmakers for using this theme for almost 27 maps is that most of them are great: they have great layouts, great traps, great music and fantastic balancing. There are a couple of bollocks maps in the set, but they are completely overshadowed by the better ones. What I like about this episode more than its sequel is that there's a range of sizes in the maps: there are short and simple ones ("Postal Blowfish," "The Room Takes Shape" and "Failed Experiments and Trashed Aircraft", for example) and massive, expansive levels ("Underground Initiations" and the awesome "Tricyclic Looper"). The sequel had WAY too many large levels, and thus felt like Hellbound 2, just with a different theme. Also, no death exits. Yay! The wide range of mappers also brings a lot of variety to the map design and layouts (as mentioned before, Mechadon's Map15 is easily identifiable by its huge layout), but also mappers like Skillsaw, Esselfortium, Tarnsman and the like all have their own ways of making a level around their design ideas, and I love this WAD for that. I haven't played this on multiplayer, or solo-net, but I understand that there are more monsters to coincide with the additional players. All modern WADs should do this. I mentioned this earlier, but the music is fucking brilliant. Tracks like "Quicksilver," "Conductor," "Drilling By Night" and "Entering" are all great on the ears. However, what doesn't make this a full-stars WAD is that there are a few maps that I don't like a lot. Other than those few annoyances, I fully recommend this WAD to anyone who likes Doom. Additional Notes: Favourite Maps: 02, 03, 12, 15, 32 Least Favourite Maps: 05, 14, 19, 31 Final Rating: 3.5 / 4 (rounded to 4 / 5)