2007 review by me of Doom II remake using Doom 3 engine mod on GameSpy's PlanetDoom

The writing contained here is years old and GameSpy no longer exists but they are a reflection of the work I used to do then. Some of the links found in these posts will no longer work however they will remain as part of the original work. These posts are under the label: Outdated articles and works.

Today I stumbled on an old favourite, Doom II which I will review. However this isn’t any ordinary Doom II. This Doom II is actually a remake using the Doom 3 engine. There are a lot of levels in Doom II however this mod seems to only contain 10 levels. Ten very well put together, and accurate levels too.

The mod, as mentioned, contains 10 levels which are: Entryway, Underhalls, The Gantlet, The Focus, The Waste Tunnels, The Crusher, Dead Simple, The Pit, Refueling Base. The enemies are very responsive “once shot” or if they spot you, and I swear my shotgun loaded faster in the original Doom II! This mod plays very well and certainly brings back a lot of memories. I couldn’t help but wonder what this would be like when played using the available co-op mods, or the standard Doom 3 multiplayer.

I really liked the attention to detail that the mod creators have put in this. If you have played Doom II you certainly won’t be lost in this mod. It is also incredible how the map builders for the mod have created that "big space" feel to the whole game. Once again I got the "all alone" feeling from this mod as I had in the original Doom II. Understandably, due to the nature of the 2 different engines, the mod makers had to improvise some aspects of monster placement and level design. However, during gameplay, the time and effort the mod makers have placed in doing so certainly shows up. This is achieved in the form of sticking to the original Doom II feel without having the modifications intruding in on the experience.

What I really miss, however, is the music, in particular for the “Entryway” map. Might be a good idea pulling out those midi files and playing them in the background on repeat.

In conclusion, I can’t stress how much I enjoyed playing through this mod. The highly accurate attention to detail, the feeling of the old classic, and new Doom 3 features set in a way that is less intrusive to the experience. This is one classic mod you have to try. You would be missing a great deal each day that you put off downloading this excellent piece of art.

The mod can be downloaded from: http://www.doomwadstation.com/doom3/maps/doom2/

--Reviewed by Shadow Master