| Speed
of Doom - Joshy and Darkwave0000  There was a bit of
hesitation on my side when I picked Speed of Doom for one of my Cacoward
write-ups. Not because it was in any way bad or tainted in relation to the
rest of the candidates. But rather because I did have some hand in its
creation. Well OK, all I did was make some crummy graphics and help out in
the testing phase. In the end, I suppose graphics have little impact on
what should be the main focus here - the maps. And let me tell you, there
are plenty of maps in Speed of Doom. In fact, there's a whole megawad
worth!
 Ok, silliness aside, Speed of Doom is one of
those Boom megawads you hear about from time to time. The whole shebang is
an amalgamation of works produced in a collaborative effort between Joshy
and Darkwave0000. As such, you'll probably be able to note key differences
between the two mappers as you make your way through this adventurous
megawad. Such a setup doesn't suffer similar fates that community driven
projects tend to though; the variation between two unique but very valid
styles keeps the entire play through fresh. Visually, Speed of Doom is
very pretty to look at. There are a number of different themes and colors
going on in there, all of which I found to be engaging but not
distracting. The detailing is subdued but well done and, overall, balanced
out. The maps generally don't look too busy, which is a good thing because
the gameplay will keep you busy. Very, very busy.
The set starts out relatively difficult, but not too insane. But you'll
quickly find that the pace ramps up almost exponentially in just a few
maps. While I found the maps challenging, it was rare that I found myself
in a position where I just couldn't deal with a situation that was thrown
at me. Joshy and Darkwave0000 did an exemplary job at making sure the
gameplay was balanced, while at the same time keeping the slaughter
frantic, massive, and at times seemingly overwhelming. The feeling of
dread when you come face to face with some of these seemingly hopeless
situations makes Speed of Doom a very interesting and engaging play
through. I really did thoroughly enjoy it. I'd like to say that the MAP30
Icon of Sin implementation was one of the coolest I have ever seen. And
I'm not a fan of Icon of Sin maps at all.
Perhaps what may be more insane than some of the maps in Speed of Doom is
the fact that this was put together by just two mappers in what seemed
like a relatively short amount of time. Making a megawad seems like a
foolish task in futility. Anyone else who has attempted it will probably
tell you the same, myself included. The fact that Joshy and Darkwavve0000
put together a megawad of this quality in the time that they did is worth
praising on its own.
-Mechadon
Drip
Feed - Iori
I've always felt like it was Christmas come early
whenever Iori releases a map, and this is quite the present. Drip Feed is a map 30 replacement for Boom,
with a few new textures and a scary red sky. As a standalone map it doesn't disappoint, giving the player
an excellent mix of old-school fast-paced Doom gameplay with strong new-school influences when it comes
to level design and detailing.
 Drip Feed is a tough start, throwing you right into the action with almost no
warning. The map is a very tactically oriented map, requiring a lot of strategy in dealing with monster
encounters and traps. Even though it starts out very strong, it gets easier as the map progresses,
specifically as you acquire more weapons, finally giving you a BFG at the end. The design of the map
is one of a vast marble fortress, and Iori manages to keep the map flowing by minimizing backtracking
and giving you sneak peeks at areas you're headed towards. The sometimes repetitive texturing theme is
definitely not enough to take away from this absolutely epic map.
-Hobbs
Epic
2 - Alexander "Eternal" S.
Deathz0r
was right, Eternal is probably just a supercomputer randomly generating
Doom maps. There is no way a single author can continue to produce this
many maps in such a short period of time. This wasn't his only release
this past year, either!
 Some may
remember that the first Epic was featured in 2007 as one of the best
picks, and Epic 2 is more of the same... but this time you get 32 levels.
The maps provide a good challenge and look decent. Epic 2 shows what a
significant change proper textures can make to your project. Departing
from standard Doom textures makes these maps stand out; most feature an
Egyptian/tomb theme, while several are alien in appearance. The alien
levels are inspired by Equinox and provide a nice break from the Egyptian
theme which dominates most of the wad. Certainly another exceptional
project from Eternal that is worth playing.
-Scuba Steve
Stronghold
- Tormentor667
Now,
when I judge a wad I never take into account who made it. So when this
came out I ignored all the hype and the bias etc. and got straight on with
playing the wad, which is essentially a cross between Skulltag's Invasion
and UT's Assault. There are 40 maps set on various moons/planets where the
aim is to prevent waves of monsters (including many new types) from
reaching or destroying some kind of target.
 Everything has
that highly-polished look, from the cinematic and setting to the hi-res
skies and atmospheric effects to the impressive detail in the maps, which
also avoids impeding players and monsters alike. The best thing I found
though was the gameplay – in particular the new weapons and inventory
items that really enhance your options and develop strategies to keep
those pesky monsters away. I couldn't really find much to criticize...some
of the layouts seemed a bit plain, the lack of exploration for the most
part and the wad's repetitive nature (but what megawad isn't
repetitive, really).
It's not for everyone, but it's fun, frantic, challenging at times,
and it comes with multiplayer support too. Say what you will, but it
deserves this award for bringing something different along as well as
being an all-around quality project.
-Ultimate Doomer
|
2010
Cacowards
Page 1
- No Rest for the Living
- Arcadia
- Curse of D'sparil
Page 2
- UAC Ultra
- Unloved
- Valhalla
Page 3
- Speed of Doom
- Drip Feed
- Epic 2
- Stronghold
Other Awards
- Best Multiplayer
- Worst Wad
- Mordeth Award
- Mockaward
- Mapper of the Year
RUNNERS UP
Beyond Revival
Fiend
Base Ganymede ep2
Khorus
Thanksgiving comes and goes and I start thinking about the Cacowards. I
tell myself, "Man, there haven't been many good releases this
year" and yet, when I start compiling a list, you realize there were
plenty of good releases (plus the couple of jerks that release a great
project on December 8th). Revival and Base Ganymede Episode 2 may not be one
of our top 10 projects, but they are certainly somebody's top
10... they're that good. So play them. While you're at it, play some of the
following that were recommended...
|
