dead.wire (XA-DWIRE.WAD)

DEAD.WIRE
by Xaser Acheron

I hope you don't think that Xaser's been keeping quiet. He's got his tendrils in a handful of community projects, plus the management of both Doom the Way id Did: The Lost Episodes and No End in Sight. Heck, in 2014, he was one of the unifying forces of Back to Saturn X E2. 2015 wasn't a big year for the X-man, but there was a flurry of standalone releases to drink in, starting with dead.wire. This map was a competitor in Realm667's 2015 Doomja Vu contest, and while it did not bring home the gold, it ALMOST did, and if you load it up in GZDoom you'll quickly see why.

Skulldash (SKULDASH.PK3)

The vast majority of PWADs we see don't really muck with the core format of Doom. Even when we throw true three-dimensional geometry and custom monsters and weapons, you are still working your way toward a finish line of some sort, whether it's a literal line or an exit switch or the death of the Final Boss. Skulldash, a Zandronum megaWAD developed by Joshua O'Sullivan aka "Dragonfly" and released in 2015, has these same conceits, but there is a significant change in what it means to complete a level that shares one aspect of 2014's Doom: The Golden Souls. Specifically, you've got to pick up a certain number of collectibles to make it to each exit. The difference is, you're on a time limit, and when your hourglass runs out, you're dead.

Bloody Steel (BLDSTLP.WAD)

Big Memka was as one of the main contributors to Whitemare 2, the Russian Doom community megaWAD of 2014. His maps had a high level of visual polish and tended toward compelling, if linear, gameplay, excepting the now-infamous "Gloominarch's Realm". Bloody Steel, Memka's first solo release, gives us a deeper look into his personal predilections, free of the artificialities of speedmapping. Another foray into Russian realism, Memka delivers a nine (or ten if you're generous) map episode that's more varied in gameplay variety and, again, practically dripping with detailing. The levels were designed for Boom-compatible engines, I believe, but are best experienced in GL ports (GLBoom / GZDoom) mainly due to the skies. I made it all the way through in ZDoom before realizing, with only ugly visual bugs to show for my ignorance.

Back to the Fire (BTTF.WAD)

BACK TO THE FIRE
by Simon Dupuis

I've never played the PSX version of the Dooms, and while I've dabbled in Doom 64, I haven't given it good enough of a look to be intimately familiar with it. What I do know is that to some players, both Dooms are the iconic experiences driven by their nostalgia trains, and oppressive ambiance plus colored lighting constitute much of that feel. Back to the Fire, released in 2012 by Simon Dupuis, is a single map for Doom II that uses these elements to I feel evoke that sensation but in a more modern sense. Replacing MAP01, it's meant to be played in the GZDoom engine or Skulltag (now defunct - use Zandronum). Apparently, it's not strictly necessary to play the level in GL ports, but you'll miss out on the colored lighting, and that's a huge part of the level's draw.

Winter's Fury (WINTER'S FURY.WAD)

Every so often a super-ambitious GZDoom project manages to climb over the sea of bodies left by its fallen brethren and grab the brass ring. 2012 had Ed Cripps's Putrefier, but it also had Pyroscourge's Winter's Fury, a twelve-map episode for Doom II packed with tons of goodies. Winter's Fury, like many PWADs, begins some time after the events of Hell on Earth. The demons lost the war on Terra, but rebuilding has been a long and costly process. The UAC kept the corpse of the uber-demon - Baphomet - interred deep in the mountains of Siberia while tactical units traveled across the globe, wiping out the remaining bastions of infestation. Of course, when scanning Earth for demonic activity, recent results revealed a presence in the top-secret facility where Baphomet's body resides. When the exploratory team failed to report back, well...

Putrefier (MA_PUT.PK3)

PUTREFIER
by Ed Cripps

Ed Cripps, known as the brains behind the famous Sin City series, released Putrefier in late 2012. Originally meant to be part of a much larger release (think legit TC), he saw fit to make one single level for Doom II in GZDoom. It's more or less a sequel to 2010's Valhalla, another single map for ZDoom. There's no given story, but with the context of the mission profile that pops up right before the level's finale, the character is ostensibly the Doom marine, sent to another charming military base that has since been corrupted and overrun by Hellspawn. And that's pretty much all there is to it, so grab the gear laid out for you at the front door and get to shooting!

Frozen Time (FROZENT.WAD)

FROZEN TIME
by Alexander S. aka "Eternal" aka "Deadall"

Eternal shoved Voodoo Guns out the door just in time to be hit by the Cacobus and did the same, more or less, with Frozen Time. Like Voodoo Guns, it's a large map for advanced source ports, targeting GLBoom and GZDoom in particular. I ran it without much trouble in GZDoom, but you might want to stick with Boom depending on your computer. While I would have liked to see more Eternal Doom stuff from him, or more stuff from the Voodoo Guns universe, I'm happy with this fairly straightforward and combat-centered map that has no associated story.

Voodoo Guns (VG.WAD)

VOODOO GUNS
by Alexander "Eternal" S. aka "Deadall"

Voodoo Guns is the most recent original release by Russia's favored son. It's a Doom II minisode in two parts for GL engines (GLBoom, GZDoom and, in the near future, Risen3D). Eternal has thrown together some never-was hybrid of American Western and steampunk, looking pretty creepy with all the gas-mask wearing portraits, not to mention the soundtrack from American McGee's Alice. There's no given story; I can only assume that the player's character is the sole survivor of some supernatural event. He wakes up on a still-moving train that arrives at a seemingly-deserted city. Exploration uncovers a sinister presence bent on your annihilation. You'll have to fight your way out or get put six feet under.