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Map 25 - Bastion of Void Leaving the city behind we arrive at a red rock fortress suspended in the void. The void aesthetic is played around with, with set pieces like the floor crumbling away into nothing, or platforms raising up out of nothing. The Dark Tranquility midi, Ex Nihilo, really sets the mood here, since it literally means from nothing. One interesting thing was cyberdemon in the main fortress, I left him to fend for himself against the various nobles and mancs, and he wound up dead, I was quite shocked when I heard that, must have been stun locked.

Map 24 - City of Pandemonium We're now in a massive city block for the damned. The majority of the level seems to be clearing out the streets of all the inhabitants, before tackling the interiors of the buildings. A nice hellish twist on the city here, with the upside down buildings and the harbour on a sea of blood and void. A massive inspiration of the level would be Duke, since the entire red key door area and the blue key seem to be inspired by a level from episode 3. I ended up skipping the last fight, didn't have enough cells or rockets to safely tackle the cyb and the arch-viles, so I just ran straight to the exit.

Map 22 - Stygian Depths The doom 3 cage at the start is a nice opener to this slimy corner of Hell. Seems like a demonic sewer system, with all the poison oozing into the void. The combat here isn't too challenging, although the archviles might catch some people unawares if there not careful. Map 23 - Fortress of Ages Straight after opening the first door were thrust into a massive open fight, seems we're trying to assault the fortress and the inhabitants aren't too happy about that. This fight is rather tricky, with the fireballs flying everywhere, the damaging floors and the hitscanners, but its nothing a bit of circle strafing can't fix. After opening up the gates to the fortress, you need to fight your way through the inside, finding all three skull keys to exit. This part is the completely opposite to the first half, seeing is it's mostly claustrophobic corridor shooting in contrast to the open fights before.

Map 20 - Borderworld From the gateway we arrive in the titular 'Borderworld', the space between our realm and Hell. The level itself is split between two parts, a trench warfare segment and a living end style segment. The trench warfare has you running through trenches trying to grab what weapons you can from the bunkers while avoiding the spiders up above. Once you have the plasma rifle however, you can make short work of the spiders, and the next fight to get the red key. Afterwards, we travel to the living end segment, a massive open cave filled with blood, all under the watchful eye of the cyberdemon. Just avoid the incoming rockets and navigate the area until you can get the keys to say hello to the cyberdemon in person. A quick romp through a marble fortress (and dispatching a bucket full of nobles) we open the path way to the very gates of Hell. Map 21 - The Gates of Hell Welcome to Hell. A short opener, especially by Hellbound standards. We start off by grabbing the shotgun from the corpse of another marine, before seeing the last crates for the megawad. A few fights later we enter the bulk of the level, a massive cathedral that fills up with monsters pretty quick. I'd say this fight is mostly Tyson, since you don't have enough ammo to safely kill everything, especially with the cyberdemon down below. I used him to help clear out most of the critters, before grabbing the invuln sphere and melting him with plasma.

Map 18 - Computer Complex We leave the realistic city areas behind to focus on the first of two homages, this level being an KDITD homage. A very classic feel here, mostly just mowing down hordes of imps zombies and demons, who all seem content to line up in front of my shotgun. A few doom 2 critters are scattered around the map to spice up the combat though. I like how the only hellish infestation we see is at the exit, another sigh of continuity on the authors part. Map 19 - Frontier Lab From the Ep 1 homage we arrive at the Ep 2 homage. This level crosses the line between classic and modern and lot more than the last, due to the use of more doom 2 critters. The combat felt a lot slower than the last level because of that, as there was a lot more ssg on mid level critters this time around. The hellish infestation makes its return, turning whole areas into flesh and marble. The crate maze felt like it dragged on a bit too much, but the boxed cyberdemon was hilarious. I can imagine the ebay review: "I wanted lab machinery, but all I got was this massive demon from hell, 0 stars." With the gateway at the end of the map, we now conclude episode 2, with an intermission level set between worlds coming up before we finally reach the hell we were bound to get to.

Map 16 - City Bounds Another massive city map, this time we seem to be in more of a slums with a massive overpass cutting through the area. After clearing out the bottom area you make your way to the yellow key (although that took me a while to find the right door) before unleashing the swarm of cacos. I remember there being a lot more cacos last time I played though, I didn't manage to run out of ammo this time. Through the yellow key door and a demonic teleporter we leave the city itself and enter the canyon area, travelling through the massive canyons we find the red key on the corpse of another marine, allowing us access through to the starport. The fighting here is mostly letting the critters kill each other, as well as letting loose various bouts of plasma and rockets until everything falls down. Map 17 - Starport We arrive in the star port, a massive installation with a lot to explore, most of the map is spent running through the installation just trying to find out where everything is. As per the norm for Hellbound the place looks amazing, like its almost a real area. After getting a few keys we make our way to the runway, where all hell breaks loose as usual. The actual fight itself isn't too difficult, a bit of circle strafing and the monsters tend to take care of themselves. It was a bit startling turning around and seeing a horde of arachnotrons in my face, I had completely forgotten about them from last time.

Map 13 - Encrus Station The monorail ride we exited the last level on was short lived, as we've crashed into the hellish corruption. This area of the base seems to be the most corrupted we've seen, half the place seems to be either being corrupted, with the pink flesh oozing its way through everything, or straight up corrupted, like the marble hell section at the end of the level. Combat picks up here, especially with what feels like a low amount of health pick ups, but that might just be me playing poorly. We finally get the BFG here as well, in a nice set piece area. Of course, grabbing the BFG unleashes the demonic hordes, but there easily dispatched. I managed to get hit pretty hard by the end cyberdemon, so starting out the next level might get a bit tricky. Map 14 - Doom District Another great looking map! we emerge from the other end of the teleporter into a massive city area, one of the best city areas made for doom really. Clearing out the city streets and the minor spider infestation wasn't too tricky, especially with the BFG from the last level, but the second horde proved to be a challenge. I must have been playing bad, but I spent most of the fight running around on 10 health, until I finally found some in the park. On that note, this level houses the most monsters in the map set so far, made even worse by the hard to kill PE's in the second horde. Map 15 - The Vault Leaving the city behind we venture deeper into the UAC base, where we find all sorts of experiments the UAC were doing, as well as their 'trophies' from the teleportation experiments. What this boils down to is a massive exploration level through the dense underground base, filled with lots of critters to snuff out. Not particularly challenging, but a high enough monster count to keep you on your toes. I managed to find the secret exit, but I don't think I'll worry about them in this play through, although I might keep a save and play through them later if I get time. I will say though, I love how each secret level's normal exit send you back to the vault, and how each time the area is more corrupted. It really helps to give a sense of continuity.

Fell quite a way behind, woops. Played maps 10 - 12 and will hopefully try to catch up more tomorrow. Anyway, some quick thoughts on the maps: Map 10 - Cistern What seems to be the obligatory sewer or sewer-like map of the set, we travel through this mostly bright building, slightly overgrown with vines, or perhaps mold. Not much else to write about really, just a standard Hellbound level. Map 11 - Venom Canyon Wow. What a map this was. Already bonus points for my favourite TNT midi, really enhances the atmosphere on display here. After leaving the cistern, we make our way through one end of the waste disposal facility, and over the dam pumping the toxic waste into a massive Half-Life inspired canyon. What a great design here, truly beautiful. Bonus points for the monorail system on display here, leading into the main UAC base. The level ends with a nice fight against two Cyberdemons, not a particularly difficult fight but a great thematic closer to the episode. Map 12 - Power Station From the massive exterior of the canyon we enter the UAC base, where we need to turn on the power to gain access to the monorail system to head deeper into the base. A decent level, the massive macro structure of the power station was great to look at but not so much to play in. On a side note, the main hallways seemed a bit too much copy and paste, there seemed to be a lot of them. But other rooms, especially seeing the hellish infestation for the first time, still look great. Combat is ramping up, what with Arch-Viles starting to be used, but nothing too difficult as of yet.

Map 7 - Woods The gateway leads us to the woods, where presumably another UAC base is located. The road to the base takes us through cute sector trees towards a house stock full of ammo, ready for the teleport ambush after we grab the key. Must have been one of the UAC security officers house, especially located so far away from anything else. This level also sees a good use of the tag 667, rather than being another 'Dead Simple' remake the tag is used only to give us the red key, a nice change of pace really. The midi worked great, one of the more ambient and low key of the stock Doom 2 soundtrack. Map 8 - Military Depot Travelling through the woods we end up at a military depot, most likely used by the UAC. I love the use of the Spider at the entrance, the player is too under equipped to take him straight on, so its a matter of evading him until later. Once you enter the facility, through the sewage system naturally, you can take him on with the blur sphere (it's actually useful!) and the store of rockets next to him. Afterwards, its just a matter of finding the relevant keycards to gain access to the exit. The base itself is an interconnected labyrinth, with the player going through the hallways and even the air vents searching for the keys. Map 9 - Disposal Facility The Abyss is both midi and overall design of the start area and other areas. It makes for a fun romp through the canyons into the actual base it self. On a side note, there's something immensely satisfying about triggering a chain reaction of barrels to blow everyone up, 'tis fun. The 'Hell Trip' returns in full force, this time in a more aesthetically pleasing room, filled with lost souls and large pillars of flesh and bones, all wonderful stuff.

Map 5 - Underground Seems the UAC facility has been built around a train line, where we get to explore a bit of this derelict subway system. Most of the action seems to take place in the subway, with two teleport traps triggered by different events. There both easy to deal with, the ssg makes short work of both really. The midi is a good choice, seems duke music works really well with this more atmospheric approach to level design. Spent far too long looking for the yellow key, only to realise there was a button out in the open I didn't even press, heh. Map 6 - Gateway Lab Travelling through the 'infested ooze' (why Doomguy decided to travel through that I'll never know) we end up at the gateway labs. The UAC seem to take care of there employees here, with the infirmary stock full of medikits,complete with an off-limits berserk pack. After clearing out the hallways and surrounding sides, as well as finding the key on a corpse in the viewing area, we go to the centerpiece of the level; the Gateway. When you get too close to the titular gateway, the monsters start pouring in. It's not too difficult, although I had to make a few trips back to the infirmary just to restock on health. Then it's just a quick death exit away to the next level, where ever the gateway takes us.

Map 4 - Processing Plant Descending through the UAC labs we find ourselves in a waste processing station, presumably the one that infected the water in the canals. The level itself is a tight hallway shooter, somewhat lacking in the immersion and aesthetic of the first few maps. There are some good ideas being shown still, most notably the 'hell trip' as the text file describes, as well as the mancubus reveal in the yellow key room. Combat as a whole is still just mostly lower tier critters and the occasional bruiser, although with the introduction of mancs we'll hopefully see more diversity in the monsters.

Map 3 - Testing Chambers Coming from the Canals we stumble across the UAC facility we've been looking for. After walking past the docks and taking care of the shotgun toting guards, we make our way into the facility. The opening room soon floods with monsters, which you escape via the vents, since the main door seems blocked by some infernal contraption. The facility is made up of the central room, with various computing stations to the sides, a storage room complete with crate maze and lastly the main processing area, where the exit is located. The titular testing of these chambers seems to be teleportation, since a teleporter is located right in the middle of the central room, which also houses the ending fight. Speaking of combat, the fights are mostly incidental, with a few monster closets opening up hear and there to spice things up. As a whole, it's following the progression of the last few maps, with more monsters and more tougher monsters too. Still nothing too heavy yet though, but that I suppose that doesn't make much narrative sense. Which is one reason why I love this wad, everything plays up to the progression.

Map 2 - Canal Road Moving on from the apartments and the city street, we find out selves battling away in the canal, a sort of slums/sewer hybrid, with all the housing situated near industrial waste rivers. The Duke 3D music helps add to the atmosphere, we've escaped the horror of living through the start of the invasion, and moving onto exploring the area, trying to find out goal. The level doesn't seem to be as dark as the previous, but we're still under the ominous night time sky. The combat mostly consists of mowing down low level critters found walking around the edges of swimming around the filth, with a few bruisers placed to spice things up. The RL secret was a nice touch, although I didn't spend the time solving the puzzle until after I had finished with most of the level, so the invul sphere wasn't really needed but it was a nice touch. Spent way too long trying to find out how to access the blue key, took me a few minutes before I realised one of the indents was actually a door. The elevator section leading up to the blue key was strange, I'm not sure whether I find it cute or annoying, especially how it doesn't seem to fit any sort of aesthetic the rest of the level would be creating. But that doesn't detract from what is still a fun map.

Seeing as Hellbound is one of my all time favourite megawads, I think I'm going to join in again, hopefully I'll send in more than just one post this time! I'll be playing GZDoom, UV-continuous, save scumming and freelook. Map 1 - Apartments Straight away I can see what made me like this wad so much, the excellent use of atmosphere and sense of place as a key driving force. It's really great to see a doom mapset use progression like we'll see, it makes the set feel like an adventure, rather than a simple set of levels. I like the way the combat escalates, using the pistol against zombiemen and imps while still in the building, before giving you a shotgun with a whole lot more critters running around. Also, it's always good to hear 'Opening to Hell' used more often, its a good track that doesn't get its fair share of play.

Hi DWMC! About time I decided to join one of these, always wanted to but I've never had the chance. After finally finishing Ancient Aliens and blasting through Icarus in preparation I think It's time to play some THT. Hopefully I catch up by the time NRFTL starts! I'll be playing GZDoom, UV-continuous, freelook and save scumming. Map 1 - Eirene Pretty fun opener here, not much in the way of opposition, mostly lower level monsters. As far as first levels go, it does a good enough job of grabbing your attention and making you want more. Map 2 - Rockage On to what feels like a homage to Quarry from Icarus, or at least the general feel of Icarus's planet levels. Maybe I'm just seeing things though, but things like that winding caves and the red key to end the level sell the idea to me. Fairly short, although I spent longer that I should have trying to find the red key, walked right passed the opening too many times. Map 3 - Chemical Facility Looks like a nukage processing facility, infested with all our demonic friends. The action picks up around here, especially after picking up the double shotgun. For over 200 monsters, the level goes by quickly, not really any sort of dull moment to be found. I'm not sure if it was the level or me just being careless, but I got down to 1% health more often than I would have liked to. Map 4 - Manly Hatred Some sort of techbase nested in the mountains is our next destination. The opening trap with the chaingunners after getting the double barrel was nasty, completely took me by surprise. Aside from that, the level never got too difficult, more high energy action, albeit in a slightly cramped locale this time. First time using the rockets, and I gotta say I'm not too much a fan of the rocket replacement sound, but maybe I'll get used to it. Map 5 - Nukevil The difficulty keeps on going up with this hectic map. Quite a large number of critters here, compared with the first few maps at least. The duo of revenents right at the first doorway destroyed me straight away, learned pretty quick not to run ahead. With the secret invul sphere and BFG I was expecting some more heavy resistance, although the BFG came in handy for quickly dispatching the arch-viles. Strong E1 feel here, with the textures and especially the midi, gave the level a classic feel.