Review by Colin Phipps

This is a fairly large level, but which still ran fast on my machine. The level is a real mix of styles, but keeps the same Shores of Hell mood to it throughout. As you play you pass through marble courtyards, mine tunnels, and acid lake areas. All these areas are well done, with lots of detail and attention to texturing.

All this helps with the secrets; the level has a lot of secrets, and a good mix of dexterity and observation secrets. It is a pleasure to notice a slight texture change, and find that it marks a secret instead of a mistake.

The play is excellent too. There is a good variety of fights; the author makes good use early on of the player's limited ammo, to make some interesting fights. Everything is very well judged - in one area, you are given an invulnerability, loads of rockets, and thrown into a small yard with lots of powerful monsters; even after this frantic fight, you find that you are back where you started with ammo, so the later fights stay balanced.

The author is good at forcing the player to run and fight, or fight from a position they wouldn't have chosen, while still giving them enough room to work with.

The final fight is a clever showdown, with the player having to get past a spiderdemon, cyberdemon, and a lot of barons to reach the exit. This fight takes several attempts, to work out how it works, and what the solution is. The solution isn't hard to find, though you do have to hammer the spiderdemon to death.

There is some new music included, which is not bad. The Doom title screen is also replaced. And there are a few new textures, though I can't say I noticed them much. But I always think that the best new textures are the ones that fit in so well they are not noticed.

This level has a rare combination of excellent fights, and good attention to architecture.