Introduction
Gravity by Eternal, is a two level wad set which focuses on the visuals more so than it does the gameplay. Both maps are large, with a low monster count and the usual mix of switch and key hunting. Find out more, or simply grab the wad right now.

Gameplay
This two level set is a suitable wad for those who are looking for a much more calmer pace. Instead of having large hordes of hungry demons constantly on your tail. These are a lot more laidback. Both maps don’t have many enemies as a whole and there’s nothing that poses a huge challenge. Most of the fights usually take place in very open locations, while on occasions, in tighter areas to add that little bit of spice to the flow. The maps are otherwise straight forward, looking for switches and keys to gain access to the exit with some backtracking here and there. The Mancubus horde in the second map was quite nice, since the vast area can become littered from its projectiles, while the Cyberdemon fights were just too easy even for this.

Design
This is the area in which the two levels focus on, taking place in a large landscape with various structures placed about. It is pretty obvious once you’re there that the vastness is too flat and empty, but the buildings themselves do make up for it from their detailed design and, as a whole, good texturing. There’s no usage of slopes here, instead the shapes are emulated by blocking out the general curves with sectors raised at intervals of different heights. This creates an almost classic look for visuals. The map approaches a very clean and solid construction, which is emphasised well from the chosen textures. Either simple metals or some brickwork, which really bring out the shape of the level without looking either too plain or too busy. Lighting has also been ensured to have some sort of realism, with shadows being cast as if the sun was up high, adding that little bit of quality to the design. The major flaw with both maps is the emptiness you’ll see when looking at the map as a whole, even if the points of interest do look nice.

Conclusion
The maps have a nice change of pace with some laidback gameplay. Nothing difficult. Visuals are clean and solid, though the landscape is too flat and empty.

Required Ports
GZDoom

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Doomworld /idgames/ Archive

Introduction
Decided to give this one a re-review, since I finally reinstalled the games and wish to replay through some levels. This was the first choice on my list and I feel it deserves to have another review along with several other wads. Altar of Evil has you blasting your way through a dark, hellish themed location with many tight corridors and claustrophobic rooms where Imps just can’t wait to sink their claws into you.

Gameplay
Altar of Evil starts by throwing you close to a horde of enemies within the next room, also allowing you to understand the way in which gameplay is played out. The level is mostly dark with the occasional brighter areas, so finding your enemies amongst the darkness is a scenario in itself. Some of the enemies have been recoloured, the most noticeable being grey which allows them to camouflage amongst the shadows more easily. That isn’t the only issue either, with many of the enemies found behind grated windows and constantly firing off projectiles toward you from all directions. This forces you too keep moving and the difficult also lies from a lot of smaller rooms and tight corridors to make you feel claustrophobic while fighting your foes. You’ll mostly be up against hordes of Imps, with Hellknights and Bulldemons closely behind. Progressing through and pulling switches and finding keys will usually mean a monster closet will be sprung, keeping you on your toes at all times. Ammo and health supplies are sufficient, I only ran out of ammo once I got to the Archvile due to wasting it, but you’ll more than likely leave stuff behind you can backtrack for. Then of course there’s secret areas too. The level does at first appear to be short, but it is actually quite long and may get too repetitive for some players.

Design
The map takes on a hellish theme set within the interior of some kind of evil temple, which not only looks great but has a good sense of colour usage as well. The level generally has a lot of details and not one location is left empty handed. The closed in spaces do help with doing that too. There’s always something to look at whether it’s along the walls or on the floor and ceiling, and the structure doesn’t exactly get in the way of gameplay either. Texturing is good and sticking closely to four colours, browns and reds for the basis of the level with some greys and greens to add some contrast. The enemies that have been recoloured are made to follow this very scheme so that the grey Imps, Bulldemons and Manubus feel at home. There is also a nice atmosphere created from the use of alternate sounds from the PSX Doom game, which are always a welcome change now and then when playing a wad.

Conclusion
Even now the level is still an enjoyable experience with a nice set of challenges thrown at you. Design remains as good as I remember it to be and has a great use of colour.

Required Ports
ZDoom

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Doomworld /idgames/ Archive

Introduction
Released for the Vertical Contest, Garrett’s parser requires him to break into Lady Mossy’s manor in South Quarter, to locate and steal the family scepter. And it is required to find the thing whole, not just a jewel of it. The task does sound really simple and shouldn’t take long. His parser also showed him the location of a storehouse with some equipment, and should start there.

Gameplay
This mission will probably be a mixed bag for a lot of people and I can definitely see the reasons why, which I’ll start off by addressing. From the beginning of the mission is where the first of the problems lie, as you’ll climb out of the starting building and be presented with a ton of locked doors with no clear way in opening them. The lock picks don’t work, you search around hopelessly and even climb on top of a roof and find you’re completely stuck and not even five minutes have passed by yet. The second would be some of the small bugs you’ll come across and the lack of polishing. All the locked doors seem to be missing their usual sounds, though I did like the unlocking tone which sounds like a ‘congratulations, you progressed!’. There are also other doors which are locked and should never be opened, but some keys and even mines allow them to revealing a wall behind them.

Otherwise with some perseverance, you’ll be rolling onwards once you discover the path ahead. Along with the usual look goal, you are required to find a scepter in Lady Mossy’s manor. Not just one piece of it though, the whole thing, scepter and gem. The mission is pretty simple to take on (considering you got passed the beginning) and all the keys are labelled, most of them remind you where you found them while another two point to a specific area. Some rooms don’t have much to offer inside them but have visual significance later during the mission. There’s only a few readables that tell a small amount of story, while the rest of the plot can be picked up from exploration and a little bit of imagination. The twist in the mission later really helps.

Design
The mission doesn’t exactly look very impressive as a whole, with many simplistic structures and texturing throughout. Each area does clearly represent what they are supposed to be and some do look nice, but the streets feel a little empty. The level also uses some fog which does help add some atmosphere to the streets, however it seemed very buggy in certain areas and actually caused some ugliness when it did so. This is probably from a lack of polishing. There are various paintings of nude females found throughout the manor on all three floors, with the occassional clothed ones. These are tasteful however and don’t exactly present anything explicitly sexual in tone. In fact, they seem very fitting considering Lady Mossy is a pagan living in the city, the paintings represent the naturalness of nudity and some others represent innocence. The pagan influences in the mansion were pretty neat, from the crystals acting as a light source or the large tree growing within the house itself. Even the bathroom was funny to look at.

Conclusion
Although the start may be fustrating, it’s an enjoyable mission once you get rolling. Design is simplistic, but what the mission lacks in design it does make up for in gameplay.

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Introduction
Released for the Vertical Contest, Third Time’s the Charm has Garrett going to a Hammerite monastery high on a cliff. Two months ago, Gaston the Red took a job from a collector and never came back. Another thief took the same job and also never returned. It’s up to Garrett to finish the job to seek High Abbot’s wand, The Scriptures of the Master Builder, the Hammer of St. Marcarius and the Violin of St. Humphrey. The Hammerites have already been robbed unsuccessfully twice, so they’re going to be on high alert, but third time’s the charm.

Gameplay
In this mission, you’re going to need to locate four different objects along with finding out what happened to Gaston the Red and to complete loot goal. However, since the Hammerites have had to deal with two previous attempted robberies, they’re on higher alert. The level has a lot of bright areas from torches almost everywhere. This reduces the amount of shadows to hide in, but the author has cleverly ensured there is always somewhere sufficient to hide. It’s not only the lights you’ll need to look out for, since this mission is fairly tightly packed with smaller rooms, though nothing too claustrophobic. The mission generally looks tricky at first, but it’s much easier once you’ve got comfortable with how lighting works. You’ll start with no idea where any of the items are located, slowly finding clues, keys and backtracking a few times.

Guards themselves don’t exactly patrol much either, only a few really create patience. Unless your preference is the blackjack then you’ll have no worries at all. There’s no rules about killing anyone in this mission, so you’re given the freedom to approach the tasks anyway you like and even given a few optional tools to use. One noticable item being the tranquiliser dart which can produce some hilarious results. During my playthrough, the dart itself was bugged where it would stick in the air after throwing it at a target giving me the chance to use it again. During another playthrough this never happened again. Going back to the objectives, these can be approached in any order you desire and there’s atleast three ways into the room with the wand. Even at the start of the mission you’re given the choice between two routes into the monastery.

Design
The mission is structurally done well, each room size is wide enough and the layout is simple. The small rooms aren’t cluttered with furniture and have just enough to represent the type of location they are. There are also a lot of arches used throughout the monastery and a few buttresses outside. Being on a cliff also makes the location feel more fresh and the the dark silhoulette against the sky works well. Even the rock terrain has some nice instances, like the small cave above the elevator with an interesting shape, or the cave leading to the secret entrance with the purple crystals and lighting. The mission generally has a good use of brown towns without looking dull that blend with the warm lighting from all the torches and candles. It simply looks good as a whole.

Conclusion
Four objects that need to be required and can be done in any order allowing some unlinear gameplay, through a lit up monastery with cleverly placed lights to allow some nice hiding spots. The design looks good as a whole with a good blend of browns and warm lighting.

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Introduction
Released for the Vertical Contest, When Angels Refuse to Die has Garrett going back to Angelwatch once more. Since the demise of Karras, the Mechanist order disbanded and Angelwatch fell into ruin. Due to strange events, a patrol was sent in to investigate. They never returned. Mercenaries were hired to find them. They also never returned. The matter was then handed over to the Hammers, sent in to find out what exactly is going on. They suffer the same fate. It is feared there is another signal tower at Angelwatch which still poses a threat. It must be destroyed.

Gameplay
When I read what the story was about for this mission, I felt a little disappointed to find out it takes place in Angelwatch, only because I assumed it would use the same level with different gameplay. Good thing I was wrong since this mission surprised me with what it had to offer. Don’t expect to be sneaking around and avoiding guards. This mission is mostly about solving puzzles throughout Angelwatch, going from one location to complete a task for access into the next area. Each puzzle is fairly different, most of which are button pushing and some that aren’t as simple as that. The plot is pretty neat too, very simple but it’s effective for a short mission like this. The mask scene and first puzzle scenario were a great touch as they added a bit of immersion to the events unfolding in front of the player. There is a very small section you can attempt some stealth if you are gasping for that style of gameplay. Loot is barely a problem as you will find the intended goal way before you even climb the first ladder, and then there is the odd piece here and there.

Design
The structure follows closely to the style of Angelwatch itself to ensure you feel as if you’re revisiting the location. This is mostly evident from the later exterior section with the windows and balconies. However, now that Angelwatch has been abandoned since the death of Karras, the place has fallen into ruin. This is shown from the use of debris and collapsed hallways with large metal beams blocking the way and another floor is even flooded. The other locations stick to the mechanist themes using a lot of metallic and art deco wall textures, and the rooms are usually small enough to look decent. The pyramid room at the top of Angelwatch however seemed a little too simplistic in design, mostly due to the large size of the area. I especially liked the first puzzle area, the blend between the yellow wallpaper and light wooden trim works well along with the choice of ceiling texture. It may only be a small location, but it really creates an artificial feeling to the ‘lively home’ environment it tries to create, which is fitting considering the situation.

Conclusion
The mission is solely based on solving puzzle with barely any stealth being involved. This is a refreshing change to the gameplay with a twist on Angelwatch, but may not interest those who prefer sneaking around.

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