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- Title/Name: DOOM ][: Hell on Earth
- Requirements: Not available at review time.
- Minimum Recommended: 486DX-33, 4 MB RAM
- Ideal: 486 DX2-66 or faster, 8 MB RAM, fast hard drive, sound card
- Reviewed On: 486 DX2-66, 8 MB RAM, SoundMan Wave, DOS 6.2
- Reviewed On: Pentium-66, 16 MB RAM, Proaudio Spectrum 16, DOS 6.22
-
- Specifications:
- GRAPHICS- 320x200 256 color VGA
- SOUND- Soundblaster, General MIDI, PAS, Soundblaster AWE32, also all
- others supported by registered and shareware DOOM
- HARD DRIVE SPACE- About 16 MB
- CREATED BY- id Software
- DISTRIBUTER- GT Interactive Software
- PRICE- $44.95 from GT, probably about $40 at stores
- CONTROL- Keyboard, mouse, joystick, Gravis Gamepad
- COPY PROTECTION- None
- SPECIAL/NOTES-
- _________________________________________________________________
-
- Summary:
-
- OK, we've all heard of DOOM, quite possibly the best game created
- to date. DOOM ][: Hell on Earth (HOE) is the commercial version, similar
- to Spear of Destiny, the sequel to id's Wolfenstein 3D. It will be sold
- to owners of registered DOOM by GT Interactive software, shipping soon
- after disk duplication is finished. HOE will be available in stores
- like CompUSA and Best Buy starting October 10, 1994.
- When id released DOOM on December 10, 1993, they also released a
- new standard all other first person, 3D action games will be judged by.
- They continue in this tradition with HOE. HOE uses the same game engine
- as seen in DOOM, adding new textures, enemies, weapons, graphics, sounds,
- and levels. Several new command-line switches have also been added.
- HOE contains all of the original enemies, all the weapons, and most
- of the wall and ceiling textures. First, the enemies, using the same
- names as found somewhere in the game (I won't tell you where, you have to
- find it.)
- In this preview, HOE means DOOM ][, and DOOM means the original
- registered version.
-
- Name: Description:
- ------------------- --------------------------------------------------
- Zombieman Original Trooper
- Shotgun Guy Original Sargeant
- Heavy weapon dude Sargeant with chain gun, kills you as fast as the
- Spider Boss in DOOM
- Imp Original Imp
- Demon Original Demon
- Spectre Original Spectre
- Lost Soul Original Lost Soul
- Cocademon Original Cocademon
- Hell Knight A toned-down version of the Baron of Hell. Same
- size, different colors, fires the same fireballs,
- but takes less damage to kill.
- Baron of Hell Original Baron of Hell
- Arachnotron A mini verson of the Spider Boss. Much easier to
- kill, uses a plasma weapon (Very fast projectiles!)
- Pain Elemental A new Cocademon. Instead of fireballs, this enemy
- shoots Lost Souls. When you kill it, it explodes,
- releasing three more Lost Souls
- Revenant Skeleton-guy. Shoots homing rockets (slower, less
- powerful rockets that will follow you until you
- lose them and make them hit a wall). Will give
- you a powerful punch if you get too close.
- Mancubus Fat, dual plasma shooting enemy. Fires very
- quickly.
- Archvile Fire enemy. Will set you on fire if you stand
- still, throwing you into the air. Will also
- ressurect enemies you've already killed. Get
- rid of this guy first!
- Icon of Sin End boss. You'll have to see him for yourself!
-
- The only new weapon is the super-shotgun. It is similar to the
- original shotgun, but it fires two shells at once, taking twice as
- long to reload. When you fire at long-range, the individual pellets will
- spread out all over the wall, both vertically and horizontally. At close
- range it is VERY effective, taking only one shot to kill a demon and two
- shots to kill a cocademon. However, at long-range it is not very effective
- against smaller targets like Zombiemen, since only a few of the pellets will
- hit the target. It works well at long-range against a group of Zombiemen or
- Shotgun Guys, taking a few shots to clear out a large group. At close range
- against weaker enemies you can easily take out three or four guys at a time.
- It will also change deathmatch play greatly, since you can kill with one
- shot, whereas with rockets you have to wait for it to get there. You can
- toggle between the shotgun and the super-shotgun using "3", assuming you
- have both of them.
- HOE contains many of the original textures from DOOM, and adds many
- new textures more appropriate for earth buildings, like windows, bricks,
- etc. id has again done a very nice job varying the textures, and using
- the right textures in the right places. There are new sky textures which
- correspond to the location of the level (see below for more details.)
- One of the things I enjoyed about DOOM was the level design, which
- I believe are MUCH better than most of the PWADs out there. Now, with
- more experience and ideas from other people's levels, id has created another
- incredible set of all new levels. These new levels are much larger and
- harder than those found in DOOM. They are a totally different style when
- compared with those in DOOM. One of the major differences is the ceilings
- are a lot higher, giving the impression of huge, open areas, and an
- abundance of large, slime floors.
- HOE has only one end level, since it is only one episode, broken up
- into many smaller pieces. The end level, called Icon of Sin, is definetely
- the best end level in any of the DOOM episodes, and one of the neatest end
- levels I have ever seen in a game. It is quite difficult, though. You'll
- have to see for yourself.
- Several new types of doors and lifts are featured in HOE. There are
- super fast doors and lifts, giving you less time to react against whatever
- is waiting on the other side. This helps keep the excitement level high as
- you wonder what type of object you will be triggering next. Throughout the
- game there are a lot more doors triggered by shots hitting the wall.
- The new music in HOE is excellent, especially on a good wavetable
- soundcard. It is a nice change from DOOM music, and really fits the mood
- of the level. There is also more of a variety of music.
- Many of the sounds from DOOM have made the trip to HOE. There are a
- few new ones, like a couple of new screams as you die. The new monsters
- also all have their own new grunts, shots, and chirps. The super-shotgun
- sounds just like it should- a souped up version of the normal shotgun.
- The enemies also have sounds that fit their personalities.
- Since DOOM2.WAD contains all the original enemies, weapons, items, and
- most of the original texures, so it will work with most of the PWADs
- currently available with mimimum modifications. There are a few differences
- in the way HOE treats levels, but it should only take a little while (most
- likely about two weeks) for the level editors to work with HOE.
- HOE uses the new version of DOOM.EXE, version 1.666. This version
- is basically the same as DOOM's EXE, but has a few bug-fixes and new
- features. For example, there is now a built in timer that will exit the
- level after a specified amount of time, great for deathmatches. As in the
- 1.4-1.6 betas, -TURBO lets you run up to 250% your normal speed, and you can
- record and playback multi-player demos.
- Deathmatch is a totally new game with all the new options. 1.666
- now subtracts frags when you kill yourself. It also has the option to
- have respawning weapons, health, and ammo. This would be excellent if you
- could specify what you want to respawn, but is not very good with the default
- options. For example, soul spheres respawn, letting people keep going around
- and collecting them. The super-shotgun also creates a new feelng of
- complete fear, since you never know if you'll be dead with the next shot.
- _________________________________________________________________
-
- PROS-Hours of entertainment are available in the 32 supplied levels. Endless
- additional hours of entertainment are available by downloading some of
- the hundreds, perhaps thousands of available add-on levels.
-
- CONS-Some may find the graphic and satanic nature of DOOM ][ offensive.
-
- Josh's Ratings: (1-10)
- GRAPHICS- 10.0
- SOUND- 9.0
- CONTROL/GAMEPLAY- 9.0
- FUN FACTOR- 10.0
- VALUE- 9.0
-
- Overall Rating: >>> 9.5 <<<
-
-
- Scott's Ratings: (1-10)
- GRAPHICS- 9.5
- SOUND- 9.0
- CONTROL/GAMEPLAY- 9.0
- FUN FACTOR- 10.0
- VALUE- 10.0
-
- Overall Rating: >>> 9.5 <<<
-
-
- Should I Buy It?- What kind of question is this? Unless you have something
- you find morally wrong with DOOM, YES!
-
- In Short: DOOM ][: Hell on Earth takes the best, and makes it better. You
- can't go wrong with a game like this. Plus, with all of the available and
- mostly free add-ons, you will never run out of enjoyment from this game!
-
-