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Title : Double Impact

Filename : DBIMPACT.WAD

Release date : 03/30/2011

Author : RottKing & Ralphis

Email Address : ralphis@unidoom.org





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New levels : 9

Sounds : No

Music : Yes

Graphics : Yes

Dehacked/BEX Patch : Yes

Demos : Yes

Other : Yes

Other files required : No



* Play Information *



Game : Ultimate DOOM

Single Player : Yes

Cooperative 2-4 Player : Yes

Deathmatch 2-4 Player : Yes

Other game styles : None

Difficulty Settings : Yes

Reviewer Zorah Download the file

Double Impact is an Episode 1 replacement for Doom/Ultimate Doom by RottKing & Ralphis, for use with ZDoom/GZDoom. I'm not gonna waste your time on this one - You should absolutely play this episode.



Oh, right. I forgot, reviews aren't exactly convincing with two sentences. So, let's go into why you want to play Double Impact.



Difficulty: 9



For the decades I've been playing this game, only two wads have challenged me the way Double Impact has. Monster placement, while predictable at times, is done in such a way that it doesn't even matter if it's predictable or not. There are a LOT of enemies here. Not gonna lie, most of them are sergeants. Ugh, those sergeants... Blowing my damn headoff right after I've grabbed the key, they did.



But, it's not just the sergeants. You can expect to see the heavier beasties once you get maybe three maps deep into the episode. Cacos and lost souls at E1M3? Yes. Barons in E1M7? Yes. Plasma rifle and BFG? No. You're on standard E1 artillery for this one. But it's cool, I'm sure you can handle it.



Oh, did I mention there are traps? Because RottKing and Ralphis love traps. And so do I, on occasion. This was no exception - Traps aren't just placed effectively, they're downright sadistic. Everything is going great until you get a little too close to that yellow key, and the entire room changes on you, unloading large amounts of Barons and sergeants into the area until it's standing room only. But, again, if you're a badass, you laugh at barons and teabag their broken spines. Or focus on the next one hiding right behind him. Shit.



And let's not forget the finale. You remember that one map from The Plutonia Experiment? You know the one. The one with the Archviles. Yeah, you know that one. Well, okay, hear me out for a second. Take that level... Put about a hundred miscellaneous baddies in it... Throw in four cyberdemons and two spider masterminds. You basically have no choice but to run, watching your back every time you turn a corner while you ready your escape. It's fast, it's brutal, and I love it.



Design: 8



Silly me, I almost forgot about the design aspect of the review. The maps are downright beautiful, for a hellhole on Phobos. Yes, I know, "It's just another techbase E1 replacement." And you're right. But you're also wrong. RottKing and Ralphis pay special attention to lighting, especially outdoors. You can tell the authors checked what position the light source on the sky texture is going to be in, and cast the shadows accordingly. You can tell just by the way that the shadows cast onto the first building in E1M1 that this is going to be a very different episode.



And different it is. The maps aren't just difficult, they're as non-linear as it gets. The later levels are quite large, and seem to have multiple ways of getting to and from locations. In addition to being incredibly entertaining to romp through, you may actually end up lost a few times. On more than one occasion, I stopped finding enemies to kill, pulled up the automap, scrolling around for about three minutes, and later muttering, "Where the f*ck do I go?!"



Still, the non-linear design speaks volumes to the amount of effort put into Double Impact.



Playability: 7



Not gonna lie, if you're not a veteran, you're probably gonna get turned off on this one. But, if you're battle hardened enough, a good romp on UV might not be so inaccessible.



Overall (Not an Average): 9



Bottom line, download this episode. Classic, fast paced, non-linear gameplay at its finest.



See? I told you, you want to play this one. And if you don't, well... Those cyberdemons aren't going to wait for YOU to find THEM.