Doom II: Hell on Earth, on Hells Legionary

Doom II: Hell on Earth

Doom II: Hell on Earth keeps you hooked from start to finish. It does the impossible: improving upon an underground hit as a sequel. In my mind, it’s to sequels what Civilization 2 or Warcraft 2 are in the strategy genre. Originally a PC game, it’s now available across multiple platforms, including the PS1. Enter hell, and enter a namelesss space marine.

Gameplay:

You’re an unknown space marine caught in the middle of a bloody where. Except there is little shooting back and forth. Usually, one side is dying or being turned into zombies, and that’s us. As a space marine, you have a variety of weapons available to you, includidng the new double barreled shotgun. The big story for this classic is the addition of 8 new monsters, including  a very tough boss at the end of the game.

The strategy itself can be frustrating—and addicting. You have to capture keys and other items to pass through levels, while mowing down hundreds of monsters. It can be frustrating, unable to find something, unable to move forward in the game and keep blowing monsters up. Yet Doom 2 has all the elements of a classic, improving upon the breakout PC game hit.

Story:

Again, a space marine with no name. Again, you’re fighting evil monsters from another dimension. Doom 1 ended on a dramatic note, a truly classic ending for a game which I won’t give away. The theme for Doom 2 is humanity surviving. But this isn’t “Battlestar Galactica” survival, in a way it’s more one man against many. The demons have spread to Earth, and the only chance for humanity is one hero with a  double barreled shotgun—among other weapons to kill hell’s minions.

Graphics:

The main sell point for this game is the improved graphics. At the time, the original Doom seemed quite a breakthrough in graphics, but the engine was simple and the images were somewhat blurred. Everything is a little tighter in Doom 2, even your character’s face on the screen. When you’re hit, he grimaces. When you die, it all goes red.

Replayablity:

Cheat codes can kill a fun game. If you really want to play this game—and you should—only consult game guides. However, if you’re complete bored, a rarity, then consider advancing through the ever bloody levels with an invincible code. The real joy is defeating thousands of creatures on the toughest of levels, without cheat codes.

And with 30 levels, if you’re a die hard FPS gamer, there is plenty to love. There are even two secret levels in the game, one a homage to Castle Wolfenstein by id.

Overall:

This is the best game of the Doom series. The most addicting, the most playable, the toughest on the hardest levels, and the most mesmorizing. Sure, the story is somewhat over the top. But this kept quite a few gamers playing for months.