Doom II: Hell on Earth

My favorite game of all times! May be Doom or Ultimate Doom would've been my favorite of all times, but it just happened that I played this before the original Doom. It was the first ever FPS game, first ever action game and first ever horror/demonic game I ever played, so I may be quite biased towards this game. Yeah, maybe games like Call of Duty and all are "better" than these games. But had it not been for Doom, none of such games would've existed at all. So, you may not like it, but you can never deny it's legacy.

There are new monsters, a very cool Super Shotgun (which is my favorite gun in an FPS game, together with the BFG) and some improvements in gameplay experience. I personally liked the continuous gameplay rather than the episodic approach of the original. The levels look better in terms of design and some levels (Map 13: Downtown in particular) do become a great experience after playing a number of times, even if they are too tedious in the beginning. Also, it has less number of mazes compared to the original Doom. Since I hate mazes, I take that as an improvement. Arch-Viles are perhaps my favorite enemy in classic Doom, which first appears in this game. Some levels require a well-planned strategy to get through it properly. Not really the primary element of the game, but it's also a strategic game sometimes. The strategic part of the game is often overlooked. One major issue people bring up is the lack of storyline. Yes, it doesn't have a whole lot of cutscenes and scrolling and reading. And considering it to be one of the earliest games of its kind, it might have been horrible to look at the cutscenes in retrospect. So, it puts gameplay above the storytelling but it doesn't mean that the game has no storyline at all. It has very minimal storylines and setups and buildups. The minimality adds to the charm of the game. Even though they're in minimal amount, they're sufficient for the players to make some sense out of the gameplay experience they get. That's some weird brilliance. The continuous gameplay makes things a little easier than compared to Doom/Ultimate Doom - especially Episode 4 of Ultimate Doom (Thy Flesh Consumed). But, playing each level from a pistol start will make some of the levels ten times more difficult.

My favorite levels - Entryway (1), Dead Simple (7), Tricks and Traps (8), 'O' of Destruction (11), Inmost Dens (14), Suburbs (16), Tenements (17), The Courtyard (18), The Citadel (19), Barrels o' Fun (23), Bloodfalls (25), Monster Condo (27), The Spirit World (28), The Living End (29). These are my favorite levels out of any classic Doom games and the millions of other wads created by the people who loved and played these classics.

My least favorite levels - The Pit (9), Refueling Base (10), The Chasm (24). Not at all the worst levels out there in the original ones or the customized versions. But, it's either their gimmick and the lack of ammo which made me like these levels less.

Score : absolute 10/10 Grade : golden A+

This was one great game! The soundtrack keeps you motivated to fight. The level design kind of makes up for the limited number of creatures to fight. This is kind of uneven. Some of the middle levels were harder than the latter. It could have been spaced more evenly. But the experience is gritty. Considering that this was the early 90's, I'm surprised they pulled this off. The quality is astounding for what they had to work with. All the controls are tight. The way the sprite bobs when you walk. The ending was disappointing. It just became a very hard 3D platformer, when they could have just added another character.

In 1993, Doom was a big hit. It changed the face of RPGs, with its amazing true 3d walls, landscape, etc.

1994 saw the release of Doom II. Everyone expected a lot, and I bought it the day it was reported to be out in my area. Unfortunately I was disappointed. The graphics were brown and dull, and there was not much of a storyline. All you know is that you have to save Earth, nothing more. "So this story doesn't make sense, okay.", I thought, but I was still going to enjoy shooting those monsters. Unfortunately the levels were much more dull than Doom 1, and there were no major changes to weapons or enemies. Only the introduction of the Super Shotgun and about 3 more monsters.

I hope I don't feel this way about "Doom III" which is coming out fairly soon.

If you haven't got Doom 1, I recommend it over Doom II. It is more futuristic, more entertaining and there are better levels in general.

Kudos to the creators who made this awesome game. I still play sometimes at the age of 24 and guess what? Same nostalgic feelings comes whenever I play this game. Doom and blood are the games that can't be created again.

Doom II in a lot of ways feels more like an expansion than it does an entirely independent game and though I don't think it's quite as consistent as its predecessor, that doesn't stop it from being a hell of a fun time and a worthy follow up to arguably one of the most influential games of all time.

The levels are bigger, more complex. There's essentially twice the amount of demons to slaughter, both in number and variation, with inclusions such as the Revenant, Hell Knight, Pain Elemental, Mancubus, Arch-Vile and Arachnotron being introduced into the franchise. The music is just as bangin' as ever with Bobby Prince returning to compose and we get a brand new toy to play with in the form of the iconic Super Shotgun, a tool synonymous with both the franchise and its protagonist.

Step back into the gore-drenched boots of the Doomguy, avenge your beloved Daisy and save the Earth from demonic invasion.

Doom II feels like a refinement and though it's difficult to stand side by side with the cultural Goliath that was Doom (1993), its important to remember that the franchise would not be what it is today had it not been for this game.

8/10.