Let's start with the description: "This is a map with a very unusual twist". Honestly, it is impossible to do a review without giving away the twist but that was the chance the author took when he requested a review. :-) So here it is..... weapon 1 is a.... ready for it?..... hmmmmm - it's a shovel. That's right, a shovel. More about that in the review. Secondly - addressing this point: "Warning: Skill 4 is not recommended for the first time players!" Ok, I don't know if I would go THAT far, but the "masochist" difficulty is, well, how do I put this - um, damn near impossible? that should about do it. lol



Difficulty: 10



ok, so i (stupidly as it turns out) ignored the advice of the author and played on "masochist". how right he is. first, to start, you have a pistol and a shovel (took me a second to figure out what to do with the damn thing but I got it). so, after "digging" through the first barrier I moved into the next room and began my little adventure. there is a switch, a rocketlauncher and then a whole lot of digging to do to get more ammo (don't forget - pistol and rocket launcher). while you are digging you are picking up new items and also uncovering some badasses - you WILL learn to switch weapons quickly because you will use your shovel to uncover a badass then immediately need to switch weapons in order to kill said badass. in this case, there are hordes of imps, revenants and even my least favorite doom 2 character - the archvile - so do THIS real fast - use the shovel to get at him (you sort of have to if you want what he's protecting) and then switch quickly to your rocket launcher while backpedaling (to avoid fragging yourself). or..... you can actually destroy the wall protecting him with a rocket and then attack him but i don't recommend it because ammo WILL get short on you...... so, you clear that room, then move on to an underground cavern (less digging - bigger) and deal with a shit ton of mancubii - this room really isn't THAT difficulty - even if it sounds it. Are you starting to get the picture yet? And yes, there is more digging coming - and the next room is even MORE difficult! Good luck getting that blue key - it took me quite a few tries to pull it off and i'm not telling you what you'll be up against but it ain't pretty



Design: 10



the unique feature of having to dig your way through certain portions of this map rates the 10 (not to mention the sheer difficulty of trying to wage war with a pistol, a shovel and a rocket launcher). I wouldn't want to go through a whole slew of maps, slogging through the painstaking work of digging your way through walls and columns to get at bonuses and bad guys, but for a single level deal - it really works. it does slow the map down though so don't expect a run and gun experience - can't, and won't, happen.



Playability: 8



i haven't finished it on "masochist" and honestly, i don't think i'm going to be able to do it. i'm still trying though. after i got the blue key (you'll see) then i had to waste most of the rockets i had horded on a bunch of revenants. i thought, afterwards, that perhaps if i had somehow released them while the other creatures were out and about (i had already dispensed with them) that maybe i could have gotten them to destroy each other but i quickly realized that plan of attack wouldn't have worked because i would have gotten slaughtered trying to dig my way to the revenants..... which brings me to the final point I want to make....



Overall (Not an Average): 9



This is definitely a unique and fun map and i believe, compared to most maps, actually will require you to think about strategy in order to defeat the hordes that will be unleashed upon you. I'm going to try it on a lower difficulty setting next time and see how THAT turns out. :-)