Review by Colin Phipps

"Sprike" is a medium sized level for Boom. It seemed to be a nukage processing works of some kind, with lots of pipes, water, and some acid tunnels later on. There are new textures imported which are used a lot, to give the level a very distinctive feel.

There are lots of good Boom features like underwater parts (with changed colourmap) and clever tricks with staircases. These add a lot to the level, making the level progression more interesting and giving scope for a lot of secrets too.

There's plenty of action throughout the level, especially a high proportion of traps. The traps are generally fair though, there is usually a bit of warning. Also there is an excellent mix of monsters throughout the level, with weaker monsters used a lot right up to the end; the level reminds me of Underhalls (Doom 2 MAP02).

There were a couple of minor problems; one room has the monsters stuck together. Also there are a few new sounds, however the new shotgun sound didn't work right for me; my guess is that it's an incompatibility between the wav and sound pitching, but I don't know. Presumably this problem doesn't affect pure Boom users.

This is a great example of putting Boom's new features to good use, without forgetting the usual things needed for a good level. Well worth playing. Also worth noting, the level plays great for coop too, a lot of the fights work even better this way.