MM2MEM01 (MM2MEM01.WAD)

MM2MEM01

by "Memfis"

Memfis has published a ton of material, most of it in small packages. His early works displayed his infatuation with classic PWADs both popular and less so. Requimem used Requiem's resources, of course, and actually consisted of remakes of its first two levels. MM2MEM01 was released in 2011 but not uploaded to /idgames until 2014. It continues in the same tradition as far as using another PWAD's assets, in this case Memento Mori II. It doesn't purport to reimagine Dennis Moeller's "Outpost", though. It is a brand new level for Doom II that merely occupies the MAP01 slot. You'll need MM2 in order to play it without any missing textures. The .TXT also implies that it is meant for limit-removing source ports.

This is a short experience. It's not bad, though. As vdgg pointed out in his /idgames comment, it would work as a solid opener to a traditional megaWAD (in this case, a hypothetical Memento Mori III). You aren't going to fight anything stronger than a demon and your kit is limited to Memfis's typical shotgun / chaingun setup. There's plenty of ammo in the hands of the zombies but you will need to play it cool with the pistol for a bit. None of the ambushes are potentially challenging apart from a dickish chaingunner trap. Genre-savvy Doomers will probably be too wary to let it take you down.

The layout is smooth and sultry with plenty of height variation and interconnecting windows. It's pretty much everything that you'd expect from a small but complex classic Doom level. I like the architecture in the courtyard and the sewer section to the east. Raising the pillars to get across the former is a neat moment. The texture scheme feels more like it was meant to show off the wicked cool resources that were made for Memento Mori II. It isn't a necessarily concise theme but each individual area looks great and it makes structures like the green stone tower at the beginning stand out even more.

This is a solid play for anyone who wants a short, easygoing map. I love Memento Mori II so I'm glad to have had the opportunity to play another level that uses its textures. It's also nice to see authors who aren't chomping at the bit to make every level a torture chamber for the player. MM2MEM01 is alright by me.

MEMORIES

FROM THE CORNERS OF MY WAD