Marine's Folly (MARFOLY.WAD)

MARINE'S FOLLY
by Chris "Mr. Chris" Pisarczyk
Michael Jan "valkiriforce" Krizik

Marine's Folly is a joint effort by Doomworld forum superstars Mr. Chris and valkiriforce, a vanilla-compatible MAP14 replacement for Doom II created over the course of three days. The text file doesn't leave much story, simply leaving it at "A place you don't want to wander around without means of defending yourself." It's pretty succinct, and indeed, you don't want to be exploring without packing heat, so it's a good thing they throw you a shotgun near the start.

Reverie (REVERIE.WAD)

Reverie is the other vanilla-compatible megaWAD Doomworld forum superstar valkiriforce released in 2011. It's also the one that won a Cacoward (as well as the coveted Brandon D. Lade award, courtesy of Doomworld forum superstar Gez). Why Reverie and not Doom Core? Well, this is basically Doom Core 2.0, by which I mean the same principles and influences are present, tempered by experience gained up to and including Reverie. There's more coherence, more polish, and just higher quality all around. The story follows the marine from Doom, who realizes that the events of the past few games never happened – they were all a dream, produced by his coma-fueled imagination. He must therefore fight his way through another horde of demons, symbolically battling his illness. If victorious, he will return to reality.

Phil's Infested Compound (PHILPLU.WAD)

PHIL'S INFESTED COMPOUND
by "Philnemba"

Phil's Infested Compound is an outtake from the Plutonia Revisited Community Project. Since the map didn't make the cut for the main event, Doomworld forum superstar Philnemba uploaded it as a standalone work. As one could guess, it's a remake of Plutonia's MAP17, "Compound", whose slot this map occupies. When playing Phil's offering, I got a very familiar feeling, similar to several other PRCP works. I've played a lot of maps since Plutonia, but this homage (more or less) brings me back. I'll mention a few of the references I recalled, but looking around there are more that completely escaped me.

Whoops

Damn, I posted my buffer a day early. Whatever, Riot Control is pretty good, DD. I'm sorry I bumped you from the top so soon. 

Sin City (SIN2_9.WAD)

Sin City is a nine-map episode for Doom II by Kurt Maples. From what I can gather, it existed in a variety of versions, each one adding more levels until this final, 9-map edition, released in '95. At the very least, levels 6-8 were produced after 1-5, and 9 was added to this set as a topper. The difference in mapping quality shows, too. The later offerings aren't knockouts, but they're better overall than the first segment, featuring better layouts, better action, and more cohesion. Overall, if there's one design element Maples falls back on, it's mazey corridors. He escapes this mapping trope in some of the later offerings, but if you should load up Sin City, put on your Theseus cap.

Riot Control (RTCTRL.WAD)

Riot Control is a four-map minisode for Doom II and Boom-compatible ports by Doomworld forum superstar Ronald Lubellinkhof, aka "Dutch Devil". The project started out with him playing around with textures from the original Quake, only intending to make a few maps, but he was inspired enough to round the set out at four (the whole set produced over more than two years). They're not very long, with even the largest of the four feeling medium at best, and not too terribly difficult, the main limiting factor being health. Dutch has included no story, with the action speaking for itself. You're a marine infiltrating a series of outposts located in a mountain range.

Where Serpents Ever Dwell (SERPENTS.WAD.WAD)

WHERE SERPENTS EVER DWELL
by Adrian "DeathevokatioN" Hanekom

Here's another map for Heretic, this one from Adrian Hanekom, aka Doomworld forum superstar DeathevokatioN. It replaces E1M1 (with an early version replacing E4M1) and indeed is a little E1M1-ish in its appearance. The story is fairly standard, with Corvus stepping into what he believes to be the portal home only to wind up, you guessed it, fighting more of D'Sparil's monstrosities. Of course, you have to wonder how bad he really has it. I mean, he spends his days traveling to dimensions I doubt he's ever dreamed of, using magical weaponry to tear apart manifestations of evil (which has got to give him at least a vague sense of ethical fulfillment), and it sounds like he knows how to have a good laugh every now and then. Plus I bet he's fallen into his fair share of Boris Vallejo paintings (NSFW).

Heretic: Call of the Apostate (APOSTATE.WAD)

Doomworld forum superstar Vordakk, aka Stormwalker, gives us another opportunity to play the only elf worth playing with Heretic: Call of the Apostate. It's a sequel to Heretic and replaces its third episode in DECORATE-abled ports (specifically (G)ZDoom and Vavoom, though Vordakk recommends the former). The story picks up after Corvus returns to his homeworld, which still lingers under some shadow of evil. There he catches rumor of the existence of a necromantic abomination capable of resurrecting the Serpent Riders should they perish at the hands of a mortal – the Apostate. Gripping his elven wand, he prepares to hunt down the undoubtedly resurrected D'Sparil, and afterward, his previously silent partner.