How Eye Killed Time (KILLTIME.WAD)

HOW EYE KILLED TIME

by "Memfis"

Memfis uploaded some maps to /idgames as he made them, but he waited to upload even more of them until 06/21/14, the day of the great uploading. How Eye Killed Time, a MAP01 replacement for Doom II, was apparently crafted early October of 2013 but it doesn't appear to have been stealth-released on the Doomworld Forum like most of the June 2014 uploads that I've played thus far. Maybe he posted it to a different forum, or maybe he just sat on it until he decided to clear out his archives. In any event, the PWAD claims to require Boom compatibility, but based on what I've seen over past Memfis reviews, I believe that the reality is that the only environment this map was tested in is PrBoom-plus using -complevel 9. It wouldn't surprise me if it worked in more or less any limit-removing port.

This was interestingly the beginning of an unusually productive period for the author, who--following KILLTIME--appears to have cranked out more than one release a month until he posted his back catalogue to /idgames. The level seems unusually large for a Memfis map, and a short one at that. It has a few custom resources, sure, but it wasn't until I peeked into the WAD using SLADE that I realized that this is loaded with a bunch of custom assets. Based on the number of textures and flats that aren't seen in How Eye Killed Time, I assume that they're a reliquary of an intended larger project that didn't pan out.

In the grand scheme of Memfis levels, this one is a difficult, hot start kind of map, sort of but not quite as desperate as pus06's MAP02. It's actually a single-room style level with one major exception that I'll get to in a moment. You start off the map with some revenants directly in front of you and a plasma gun on their other side and a whole bunch of other minor monsters visible. In order to play this map you are likely going to have to be comfortable dying and learning what monsters are where and what supplies are available. I think that one good anchor route might be darting in front of the revenants to pick up the plasma gun and then circling around to the left to snag the chaingun from a commando and then clear out a nest of Nazis. There are a bunch of daring strategies available given that there's a Berserk pack on the floor that you can use for a health reset when needed.

Once you clear out a safe space then you can polish off the lingering monsters and settle into some more or less normal Doom II action. KILLTIME features nearly every regular monster in the roster. The sole exception is the arachnotron, probably because of the size of the level. I think that there's only one mancubus in the whole thing and it's more in the position of a roadblock. The arch-vile is actually one of the easiest-handled encounters in the whole thing as you're pretty much handed a rocket launcher right before and a handy window lets you blast it to smithereens the moment it's revealed. There's a Hell knight / Baron invasion into one of the map's alcoves that put way more pressure on me.

There's one thing about How Eye Killed Time that I absolutely loved: the teleporter that takes you to an ethereal, cosmic railroad. This may be just about the weirdest thing that I've ever seen in a Memfis level and I adore it. It's kind of a tricky fight the way that the imps and the Hell knights are laid out, but it's not difficult per se. It's accessed on a lift that's activated by the same switch that triggers the arch-vile trap. Either this or leaping from the teleporter on the return trip to the central platform was a serious roadblock for an /idgames reviewer. It's one of those leaps that you have to sort of back up for a straferunning start.

Aesthetically, the brick and green and a few choice textures gives this level a sort of off-brand Plutonia vibe. I like it! It's almost as though Memfis wanted to experiment with something that presented itself as The Plutonia Experiment-ish but didn't take itself too seriously, mixing SS Nazis and the wonderfully weird Spirit Tracks. It's kind of trippy how there's a red sky in the hole in the ceiling while the outdoors is a whirling blue cosmos. The sort of straightforward crumbling ruin on the edge of infinity gives me a Chrono Trigger "The End of Time" vibe. For whatever reason, the railway just floating in space cements this for me.

If you want to see the quirky stuff this level has to offer but aren't big on combat puzzles then you'll have to try it on ITYTD for the 50% damage nerf (the double ammo with the plasma gun ought to help out too) or just walk around in -nomo. The railroad pretty much made this level for me, so I'm glad that Memfis saw fit to release this on /idgames.

THIS KNIFE WOUNDS TIME