SubP:AR (PAR.WAD)

When I hunkered down to look into Phobos: Anomaly Reborn I learned one of the community's best-kept secrets. There are four other levels contained within PAR.WAD, occupying E2M5-E2M8. They constitute the stealth release of SubP:AR, a collection of outtakes from Christopher's Inferno period (1997-1999). The author originally intended to make Lutz-ified reimaginations of Knee Deep in the Dead and The Shores of Hell, too, but he joined up with The Chaos Crew and these levels fell by the wayside. While he eventually got around to Phobos (and, though incomplete, Deimos) it was with a few good years of authorial experience under his belt. I don't know whether these were necessarily designed for BooMBF but it was probably the last port that Chris used to test them. I'm reviewing them separately from P:AR in spite of being contained in the same PWAD because I don't want to bloat Reborn's review and I'd like to give these curiosities their time in the sun.

Inferno (INF-LUTZ.WAD)

I was actually much more familiar with Chris Lutz's Heretic levels than the stuff that made him a legend in the Doom community which is interesting to me since they now represent a whopping 6% of his career. Reclamation and Torture stand right before a veritable winning streak of Caverns of Darkness, Phobos: Anomaly Reborn, The Dying End, and Icebound. Of course, I don't mean to downplay his contributions to 10 Sectors, Doom the Way id Did, and No End in Sight, not to forget the (as of this writing) recently published Hellscape and Dark Tide. The craftsman is a hitmaker and it all started with this Episode 3 replacement released in 1998, the imaginatively-titled Inferno.

Incineration (PE3_INCI.WAD)

Paul's episode of choice is "Thy Flesh Consumed", as evidenced in his Death Tormention series. Every now and then, though, he throws out a bone for fans of the other shades of Doom. Incineration is an Inferno-styled release from late 2014 that offers more of that old-style action, with attempted fidelity aiming at the venerable Doom v1.2 executable. Of course, it's not so much 1.2 compatible as it is mimicry at what features were available to authors back then, as opposed to 1.666 or Ultimate Doom. There is no story, just another excuse to go rooting around through Hellscapes.

Bedlam (BEDLAM.WAD)

It's a wonder there aren't more community episodes. Why wait for a whole bunch of people to crap out the maps needed for an entire megaWAD when you can just band together and churn out an episode in a theoretical third of the time? Well, Doom lacks the dynamic range of action found in Doom II, and community Doom II episodes suffer from the mystique surrounding the megaWAD status that devalues anything that has less than 32 levels with some kind of inherent superstition. Also, in spite of being a mere episode, it took Bedlam two and a half years from its inception to release in mid-2014. The dream is still out there, though.

20 Years of Doom (20YDOOM.WAD)

The French Doom Community wanted to pay tribute to Doom on its 20th anniversary. What better way than a trip down memory lane? The plan: condense the original trilogy into one single episode by conflating some of the most prominent elements of every three levels, all working in Boom-compatible ports. Interested authors claimed slots and did their best, but don't expect a slavish reinterpretation of the original Doom. Sure, you're gonna get a few homages. When you're doing Doom tributes, it seems to be practically unavoidable, even in 2014. I think it works, though, and these maps are anything but reference-composed patchwork. 20 Years of Doom proves again the vibrancy of Doom's international theater as its long legacy drags on, grunting and moaning.

Back to Hell (BAK2HELL.WAD)

There have only been a few OG Doom megaWADs, but there have been dozens of episode replacements. Back to Hell, finished by Dave Seager in 1995 and released, perhaps, in 1996, is one of those many Doom eps that struggles to get some kind of recognition in a field dominated by E1, E2, and E3 tributes of all shapes and sizes, not to mention stuff like the Serenity trilogy. Why, I'm practically smothering it in the process of writing this review! BAK2HELL draws some inspiration from the original Doom, and it's definitely Hell-themed, but Seager's take is distinctly his own.

The Inferno Series

THE INFERNO SERIES
by John "Dr. Sleep" Anderson

as featured in Super Serials

Dante's Gate	Crossing Acheron	Virgil's Lead
Minos' Judgement	Nessus	Geryon
Vesperas	Lethe	Chiron

Regrettably, the Inferno series is incomplete. Had John Anderson (aka "Dr. Sleep") ever released Lethe, he would have won Doomworld's Mordeth award, guaranteed. Six of its eight available levels are split between two commercial releases (five in the Master Levels and one in Thy Flesh Consumed), the two earliest entries available in a variety of freeware releases, both Doom and Doom II. The series itself is very loosely based on the first book of Dante's Divine Comedy from which it draws its name, insofar as its protagonist is named Dante, has a buddy named Virgil, and travels through Hell to find his love, Beatrice. Also, I guess, Anderson referred to each installment of Inferno as a canto.

Vesperas (VESPERAS.WAD)

VESPERAS
by John "Dr. Sleep" Anderson

Vesperas is the final canto of Anderson's included in id's Master Levels for Doom II, a replacement for MAP09. The eighth canto, Chiron, found its way into id's Thy Flesh Consumed as E4M7, "And Hell Followed', and the final canto, Lethe, in which Dante would presumably have encountered Satan, remains unfinished. The only clue to which circle of Hell this level represents is its name, which Sleep notes in the text means "evening ceremony", alternatively vespers. It could in theory be the ninth circle of Hell, where the betrayers are punished, but it doesn't really resemble the freezing ruin of Cocytus. The only thing I can tie Vesperas to is the War of the Vespers, a civil war which occurred in Dante's lifetime (rebelling against French rule) and which figured heavily into his life experiences, indeed resulting in his eventual exile.

Geryon (GERYON.WAD)

GERYON
by John "Dr. Sleep" Anderson

Dante and Virgil appear to be moving at a more human pace. Where exactly this takes place isn't quite documented as Anderson has ditched the little asides of the travelers at this point. The eponymous character is Geryon, the embodiment of fraud, on whose back Dante and Virgil descend toward the eighth circle of Hell (Fraud). As such, this could be a journey to meet Geryon, or Dante's sojourn through the circle of Fraud after arriving. It's not altogether clear, though given that Anderson wanted to spend each of his "cantos" highlighting a specific portion of Hell leads me to believe that this is indeed the eighth.

Nessus (NESSUS.WAD)

NESSUS
by John "Dr. Sleep" Anderson

Having spent the past two cantos in the outer area of Dante's Inferno (the first and second circles of Limbo and Lust, respectively), Anderson fast-forwards to the seventh circle, Violence (passing Gluttony, Greed, Anger and Heresey). It's just as well, or the project would never have finished within the nine cantos Anderson restricted himself to (not that he actually ever finished!). The only hint as to where this takes place is its title and inclusion of Nessus, a centaur from mythology who in Alighieri's work guides Virgil and Dante down and across the Phlegethon (Dante's own Canto XII). Anderson's brief rendition of the event is rather humorous.

Minos' Judgement (MINOS.WAD)

MINOS' JUDGEMENT
by John "Dr. Sleep" Anderson

Minos' Judgement is the fourth canto in John Anderson's Inferno series, five maps of which were released as part of id's Master Levels for Doom II. Somewhat based on the first book of Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, it follows Dante's journey through Hell in search of his love, Beatrice, with color commentary by Dante's friend, the poet, Virgil. It's merely a framework for the action of the maps, which don't really lend themselves to that kind of storytelling. It's appreciated, though, as it helps to firmly establish a sense of place for the activity of the levels.

Virgil's Lead (VIRGIL.WAD)

VIRGIL'S LEAD
by John "Dr. Sleep" Anderson

Prior to being contracted as a designer for id's Master Levels for Doom II, Anderson had two publicly released maps for Doom, Dante's Gate and Crossing Acheron. They are parts one and two of his Inferno series; cantos one and two, if you will. Thankfully, Anderson released cantos three through seven as part of the Master Levels. The series is loosely based on Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, if Dante were a space marine whose girlfriend disappeared during an attack by the forces of Hell, and Virgil was his Moorcock-esque drugged out space hippy sidekick. None of this really shows itself through the maps, but it's a cute concept.

Crossing Acheron (ACHERON666.WAD, ACHERON2.WAD)

CROSSING ACHERON
by John "Dr. Sleep" Anderson

Crossing Acheron is the second level in John "Dr. Sleep" Anderson's Inferno series, loosely inspired by Dante's Inferno. Of the eight available maps (many of which can be found as part of the Master Levels for Doom II), only two are available on the idgames archives: the precursor, Dante's Gate, and this one. Like its progenitor, it comes in several different flavors, but I'll be differentiating between 1.666 (for Doom) and 2.0a (for Doom II).  The story so far - you've passed through Dante's Gate in order to find your beloved Beatrice and wind up on the shores of Acheron (whose features are not included in the map, a fact noted by Anderson in the .TXT). Your guide, Virgil, is missing and you're already under assault by demonic forces. Like any good hero, you must continue to seek out Bea, slaying everything in your way.

Dante's Gate (DANTE666.WAD, DANTE25.WAD)

DANTE'S GATE
by John "Dr. Sleep" Anderson

id employed a number of independent Doom mappers for their Master Levels project. Perhaps the most notorious them is John "Dr. Sleep" Anderson. Not because his works are reviled, no - Anderson's infamy is currently a product of his seclusion. His body of work is fairly well documented, but remains as of this time incomplete. His Inferno series, inspired by Dante Alighieri's work of the same name, was (is?) supposed to be a 9 map series. Eight of those maps have been released, with Dante's Gate and Crossing Acheron publicly available on the idgames mirror. Dante's Gate is the first in the series, occupying either E1M1 or MAP01 depending on which version you're playing - 1.666 for OG Doom or 2.5 for Doom II. There are more versions than these available, but these are the two I'll be discussing.