Wow five posts already and we haven’t finished the first scenario yet!

You can find all my previous posts in this project here if you are interested or need to catch up for some reason.

E1M4 Command Control

I’m back into the sequential stream of levels.

There is a term in D&D for a party of adventurers that just goes around killing everything in sight, and looting the corpses. Murder Hobos.

It’s hard not to feel like a murder hobo whilst playing Doom.

There is none of this sitting round a camp fire and negotiating with the imps or marines. This is strictly shoot first, loot the corpse, and ask questions like “how the feck do I get to that power up?” later.

In Doom I am the ultimate murder hobo. Or I would be if I found all or even some of the secret rooms on these later levels.

The one thing I do seem to be doing is getting a 100% kill rate.

There will be no witnesses to this murder hobos antics.

E1M5 Phobos Lab

The slaughter continues as the maps get more complicated. But also more rewarding.

I love how these later levels play with lighting. Particularly when you get a maze like section and the light flickers so you only get to see partially where things are and any potential threat. Suddenly out of the darkness a fireball is coming at you or a spectre is in your face. You can hear the grunts or heavy breathing. The only clues death is awaiting around the corner.

I fire indiscriminately in all directions wasting scarce ammunition trying to lure out the threats.

E1M6 Central Processing

I blast through the level continuing my low discovery rate of secret rooms.

But the body count keeps on running up.

E1M7 Computer Station

I spend much of this level frustrated I can’t get to the outside or even to the pools of acid with their tantalising bonus items. Upon completion my secret room percentage is zero.

I make myself a promise to revisit this level and get to those bonus items.

It’s a hollow promise as I know that I’ll make the same decisions, and feel the same frustration next time I play through Doom.

You’d think I’d learn my lesson. But time will fade my memory between plays, and I’ll forget. Doomed to keep making the same mistake.

E1M8 Phobos Anomaly

This is it the final level of Knee-Deep.

The clues are here that something bad is awaiting you on this level. After clearing the demons it’s time to stock up on the carelessly left around ammunition, first aid kits, shield and health bonuses.

This sort of subtle is even obvious to some-one like me.

The doors open from what could easily be holding pens for not one but two Barons of Hell.

As they stomp out of their boxes I move to the side using the boxes as cover. I load up the rocket launcher, and dive from cover unleashing a storm of rockets on them before hiding again behind my cover and any response.

I do this a couple of times before they are just mounds of flesh on the floor.

These were way easier than I remember. Maybe I’m confusing them with their more dangerous end of level bosses.

I step on the portal with it’s demon head image and pentagram. The screen goes black. Then in the darkness I’m surrounded by the noises of marines, and imps. There are flashes of light illumination the enemies I’m surrounded by. I open fire in a futile attempt to take out as many as I can before departing this mortal world. The screen fades to black. And is filled by red text explaining how I’ve ended up on the shores of hell, and the only way out is forward and playing the next scenario.

We know I’m going forward this murder hobo is no quitter.