A deeply frustrating sequel. The new lineup of demons is one of the greatest rogues galleries in gaming. Every single enemy a unique silhouette, a unique role in the game design, and all of them work together just beautifully. And the addition of the Super Shotgun? Buddy boy... Just magnificent.
Doom II is the absolute perfect collection of pieces to design an FPS around. There's so much opportunity just in remixing what's already here to make some of the greatest levels in gaming history if you just had the right team to do it.
Unfortunately,
They put half of the game on one designer's shoulders and it really starts to show by the end of it. There's a whole midsection of the game that's full of these far too open, barren, boring city levels. I get that it's trying to express the "Hell on Earth" part of the title, but the engine's a tad too early to execute on these outdoor areas—that would have to wait until the Build Engine games a few years later—that it all just kinda falls flat. I spend half this game missing the tight labyrinthine designs of the original.
But, man, what a great game anyway. And more than anything: those perfect little pieces I mentioned at the start are why Doom's modding community has had 30 years of life to it. Doom II isn't the greatest Doom game, but it gave the community everything it needed to make some of the greatest Doom games for 30 years to follow.
Doom II is the absolute perfect collection of pieces to design an FPS around. There's so much opportunity just in remixing what's already here to make some of the greatest levels in gaming history if you just had the right team to do it.
Unfortunately,
They put half of the game on one designer's shoulders and it really starts to show by the end of it. There's a whole midsection of the game that's full of these far too open, barren, boring city levels. I get that it's trying to express the "Hell on Earth" part of the title, but the engine's a tad too early to execute on these outdoor areas—that would have to wait until the Build Engine games a few years later—that it all just kinda falls flat. I spend half this game missing the tight labyrinthine designs of the original.
But, man, what a great game anyway. And more than anything: those perfect little pieces I mentioned at the start are why Doom's modding community has had 30 years of life to it. Doom II isn't the greatest Doom game, but it gave the community everything it needed to make some of the greatest Doom games for 30 years to follow.