Alpha 1 Trilogy (ALPHA1.ZIP)

The first time I played the Alpha 1 Trilogy was as part of a compilation megaWAD by Legacy engine advocate Jive. It greatly impressed me back then and that level of awe still carries through to this day. Rob Schweiner authored the three parts of ALPHA1 at different times, but uploaded a .ZIP package of the three separate WADs (ALPHA1, OOZI, and SOURCE as MAP01, MAP02 and MAP03) as early as '97. The current version has a few edits dating to '98, but it's all vanilla compatible, with Schweiner lamenting the infamous visplane limit in the author notes. The story is familiar, but welcome. There's an alien (re: demon) outbreak at the Alpha 1 base, and you're sent in to clear it out and eliminate the source.

If I had to compare the Alpha 1 Trilogy to anything, it would be striking a balance between the labyrinthine, abstract techbases of Rick Lipsey and the more polished but no less exploratory levels from Russian authors like Lainos. The Alpha 1 Trilogy levels are Eternal Doom big, and pushing between 300 and 400 monsters. They're mostly little guys but they're used in a way that makes them feel dangerous when you're not fighting the bruisers. The maps are pretty non-linear as I understand it, with progression gates tied to keys. The route you want to take in order to explore each level is up to you. If you hate switch hunts, then you'll find some solace in Schweiner's gameplay, where the effects of buttons are usually straightforward.

Urban Fire (URBANFR.WAD)

URBAN FIRE
by Eli "ProcessingControl" Cohen

Sadly, when a mapset like Community Chest 4 is compiled, some levels don't make the cut, either due to quality issues or due to being unfinished (though the latter is arguably one of the former). Urban Fire, by Doomworld forum superstar ProcessingControl, is one of these such delights, originally released as a deathmatch map as part of 32in24-11: Occupy Doomworld. He elected to convert the map to single player but since it didn't make the cut, he opted to release it as a solo piece. There's no story, of course. It occupies MAP01, plays in Boom-compatible ports, and has what should be a very familiar music selection from Duke Nukem 3D.

Community Chest 4 (CCHEST4.WAD)

The Community Chest series is one of Doomworld's oldest institutions, with the first outing published in 2003. Now it's 2012 and between Duke Nukem Forever, Black Mesa, and the release of Community Chest 4, all signs point to the apocalypse being nigh. Doomworld forum superstar Eric "The Green Herring" Baker took full control of the project after some drama I was fortunate enough to avoid. The short story is, hey, here's Community Chest 4! It comes with a sweet-ass texture pack that's seen a lot of use prior to this release, most notably skillsaw's Vanguard from 2011 (but I know there are many more, and not just because I've seen whining about overuse of the resources).

Die Young! (DIEYOUNG.WAD)

DIE YOUNG!
by Grzegorz Werner

Grzegorz Werner, a Polish English student and author of one of the features of Doomworld's Top 10 WADs of 1996, released three single Doom II maps in 1996. His Hidden Mountain Factory came second, while Die Young! was the first, replacing MAP01 (as do the other two). The story is short and sweet, if you can even call it a story; such was Werner's wont. You're merely informed that you must make it to the temple in the level and then escape alive. Of course, it's not that easy. You didn't think it would be that easy, did you?

Cygnus IV (CYGNUSIV.WAD)

UK Doomer John Bye published a few Doom WADs before gliding over to Quake, himself having some claim to fame as a reviewer of levels for various id games. His most famous work is The Talosian Incident, a megaWAD produced as part of Black Star Coven (most of the work done by Bye and compatriot Malcolm Sailor). Before TALOSIAN, though, there was Cygnus IV, published for Doom II, I believe in 1996 (with a 1997 update). Bye originally released some of these maps serially; CYGNUSIV collects the scraps and fleshes the concept out to a fourteen-map episode (right on the cusp of the idgames definition of a megaWAD).

Interview on Doom Nexus

Against better judgement, Doomworld forum superstar ReX Claussen did an email-style interview with me for his "Inside the Boss Brain" feature, which he uploaded this Thursday. Read it and weep!

In other news, Community Chest 4 has taken awhile to review because I'm in love with Borderlands 2 (<3) and have been in a bit of a funk over the past week, but I'm better now. If I don't have it done after I post Cygnus IV, There Will Be Blood. Spoiler: It's really fucking good! But you already knew I'd say that, didn't you?

1 Day of Hellish Revenge (1DOFHELL.WAD)

In 20 Days in Hell, the Doom marine was slain while defending his wife from a mugger. Hell unjustly claimed his soul unless he could survive for twenty days, but the devil isn't known for fair bargains. In 32 Hours in Pain, his stoic wife Serena battled her way into the inferno to rescue her husband. In 1 Day of Hellish Revenge, released by Kristian Aro near the tail end of 1998, the Doom marine has recovered from his injuries, but not the mental trauma. To put his troubled soul at peace, he returns once more to the Stygian pit, meting out his particular form of retribution.

5till L1 Complex (5L1C.WAD)

5TILL L1 COMPLEX
by "Lainos"

Lainos is an author of large, exploratory levels. 5till L1 Complex is no exception. Published in 2012, this MAP01 replacement for limit-removing ports with .OGG support continues the "story" of Doxylamine Moon: Overdose, itself an offshoot of Clan [B0S]'s Sacrament. Armageddon has happened, and a man who woke up from an overdose finds himself in the post-apocalyptic aftermath, where the vile members of humanity are twisted into Hellish caricatures that roam the now still earth to feed on the remaining innocents...and each other. Waking up in the ruins, you resolve to trudge through the wilderness and try to survive for another night under the blood-red moon.