| To
any Startrek fan, the serial number NCC 1701 will instantly conjure up
images of the Enterprise, Klingons, and the Borg. It was no different
with the Doom wad, and having played one or two Startrek TCs before, I
kind of knew what to expect.
This attempt to recreate
the Startrek theme in Doom is by far the best that I have seen. The
highlight for me was the quality and sheer number of new graphics and sounds.
According to the author, "Ncc1701.wad uses over 300 new bitmaps, 55 sound
effects, and 9 new level-maps to depict the starship(s) Enterprise
from Star Trek (the original series and the Next Generation)."
The new textures are incredibly
close to the 'real thing', with flashing lights, computer consoles, turbolift
doors, space battle scenes and a nifty holodeck. The 'new' weapons
are all of a high quality (in context of a freeware Doom TC), especially
the 'rocket launcher' which has been turned into a handheld version of
the original enterprise's phasers.
The sounds are great, and
are equally important to the atmosphere as the new graphics. Wailing
sirens can often be heard, and even the 'bird-like' clicking of the consoles.
When you press the spacebar on useless places, you get to hear Spock say
'That's illogical', which was a logical replacement :-)
No doubt you would all like
to blow away some Klingons, Romulans, Ferengi, and especially the Borg,
but unfortunately there are no new monsters of this type. The 'pistol
guy' has been changed to the green marine, and the player sprite is now
a Vulcan, but other than that, it's the plain old Doom monsters that need
to be killed.
In any TC, the levels are
going to be just as important as the the new graphics, and according to
the text file these levels are suitable for all types of play, but, DM
was what the author had particularly in mind. The first few maps
are simply a ship on which to frag your friend, but, later levels feature
planets that can be beamed down to, which is a very novel idea, and works
well. Another advantage of making a Startrek TC, is that Holodecks
can be used. In other words, they are a great excuse for a forest
level, inside a ship etc.
If you're a fan of the TV
shows, movies or even the cartoons, I reccommend playing through these
levels, either SP or MP, it doesn't really matter. Being designed
for DM, there are heaps of weapons and ammo lieing around, making them
a breeze for most doomers. |
