October (OCT11.WAD)

Here at Doomworld, we believe in the act of gifting. Authors release levels, and when I can get off my ass to do it, I give them a review! Some people prefer to give demos, so you can actually see someone else playing your map. And, well, some people go through the trouble to give Doomers maps on their birthday. October is a collection of six birthday maps for Doom II gifted to Doomworld Forum superstars in October 2011. Maybe, if you were generous / conceited enough, you might say that this is a birthday WAD to everyone born in October. Thanks, guys! This Halloween baby salutes you for your time and effort. Note that at least one of the levels makes no claim for vanilla compatibility, so use a limit-removing port for a full playthrough.

October may be a grab bag, with levels from three different authors (Doomworld Forum superstars purist, valkiriforce, and Noneellama), but they're all fun, short plays. Bourke's are the least traditional, moving from survival style to slaughter to requiring an east / west wallrun. Krizik's are bar standard, always great for more Doom II action. Norbert's is in the same category, a bit smaller and rougher around the edges, but a blast to play. And that's what this is, a fun little package for everyone, but especially meant for those to whom these maps were gifted. R.I.P., Callum.

OCTOBER
by Chris "purist" Bourke,
Michael Jan "valkiriforce" Krizik,
and Norbert "Noneellama" Dávid

To phobosdeimos1, from purist	MAP01
by Chris "purist" Bourke
A little bit of survivor-style gameplay from Chris. It's short and heavy with the chainsaw but the unofficial secret should give you some leeway, especially in the difficult to navigate outer area, which has some nasties roaming around on the outside while a revenant dances in the middle, flinging rockets your way. To top it off, there's a pain elemental with a lost soul entourage. Wanna get your motor running? Short, but looks pretty decent. I like the look of both main areas.

MAP02	To Marnetmar, from purist
by Chris "purist" Bourke
	Something a little different in this slightly industrial and mostly symmetrical slaughtermap. It's Fun Time With Rockets and maybe a little infighting as you make some room for yourself and then flip the switches that raise the pillars leading to the blue key and unleash handfuls of revenants at the end of the major hallway. The repeat skeletons are a bit much but I like the arch-vile trio and Cyberdemon to close. Protip - you can walk through the windows, and so can the monsters!

To Noneellama, from purist	MAP03
by Chris "purist" Bourke
Uhhhh, fuck! ZDoom doesn't do east-west wallrunning, which means this opening trap needs to be played in some other port. On exit you're subjected to some homely-looking underground viny ruins with a cadre of zombies and imps, and then eventually a bunch more teleporter monsters. Running through the red key loop twice is boring, but the action when you make it is good enough.

MAP04	To phobosdeimos1, from valkiriforce
by Michael Jan "valkiriforce" Krizik
	The layout is pure valkiriforce, something of the castle style, but the action is a bit different. You start things off with the plasma rifle and find plenty of ammo for it throughout the map, plus an early rocket launcher in the first outside area, so you have a ton of options as far as advanced monsterslaying goes. It's a fast and fun play, though the tiny maze slows things down a bit. I like the packed-in underground caverns to the east and the Cyberdemon showdown finale. If I would have known he was in there I would have cut him loose earlier!

To purist, from valkiriforce	MAP05
by Michael Jan "valkiriforce" Krizik
Another cool valkiriforce map with the vague castle feel. It has a few snooze sections, like the TiC-ish zombie trooper horde guarding the exit, but there are some cool features, including a lead-off that puts the player very close to an arch-vile. I love all the height play, in both the main room and the eastern annex. Especially the latter. The red key zone is trappy and cramped, but very simple. Only caveat - you can get stuck in the demon closet. Sploops! Lots of hardbodies in the final area. Also dig that cute little boat with oars.

MAP06	To purist, from Noneellama
by Norbert "Noneellama" Dávid
	Another fun little Doom II level rendered mostly in marble with some lava and granite to the north for a little cave section. It's got a bit of the knockabout style with the way he throws some monsters at you, but you've got enough room to be gutsy and the only real hangup might be the arch-vile ambush near the exit. You get a plasma rifle and plenty of ammo for the pain elemental trio; about the only desperate moment would be the first foray into the caves, depending on how much ammo you blow on trying to clear the canyon. The throne with the SSG makes no sense, but... I liked it.

LIBRA OR SCORPIO?