Doom 2: Alien Vendetta (w/ MIDI Pack) - Map 16: Mutual Destruction (UV Max)

Alien Vendetta is a 2001, 32-map mega WAD given the title of “most influential PWAD of all time.” It’s also one of the VERY few PWADs eligible for Compet-n speedrunning, which it was selected for in 2002. That Compet-n version of Alien Vendetta is the one we’re going to be playing, and it received quite a few updates. Most notably, it gets rid of the original Map 25 (Valley of Echoes) and banishes it to the shadow realm, puts the original Map 24 in the newly vacant Map 25 slot (Demonic Hordes), and slots in a brand new Map 24 (Clandestine Complex). I haven’t played much of the original 2001 mega WAD, but I’ll happily stick to this version because it’s most likely the superior version in every way imaginable.
Alien Vendetta’s influence can’t be understated or ignored. It’s the tipping point for our little corner of game development history. You see Alien Vendetta in the DNA of nearly every single PWAD to have come out after it. It’s one of the earliest examples of a WAD that combines aesthetic beauty, atmosphere, and high quality, brutalizing combat with success. More specifically, Alien Vendetta puts Eternal Doom and Hell Revealed into a blender, tops it with some classic references and callbacks to the IWADs and other classic WADs, and blends it all together.
We’ll also be using the Alien Vendetta MIDI Pack for this play through. While a good majority of the maps have different MIDIs, there are still many maps that use stock IWAD MIDIs. While I do regret letting go of the MIDIs in map 8 and 10, I believe that overall, the MIDI Pack is a much better fit for the WAD.
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IWAD: Doom 2
Port: DSDA-doom 28.2
Compatibility: Vanilla (comp level 2)
Mapper(s): Brad Spencer
MIDI: Myrgharok - Speed of Tech
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Alien Vendetta: www.doomworld....
Alien Vendetta MIDI Pack: www.doomworld....
DSDA-doom: github.com/kra...
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This is probably the most forgettable of Brad Spencer’s maps, right next to Entropy. It somewhat lacks the insanity of Map’s 13 and 14 while also keeping the monster count way lower than those two. This map definitely could’ve been better if it weren’t for some annoying sections. The first area you start out in kind of pisses me off. The immediate hitscan ambush, the flock of Pinkies and two Barons, they completely clog the hallways and it kind of leads to mindless gameplay. It’s easiest to just skip those idiots and make quick work of them after the next section has been dealt with.
Speaking of the next section, I don’t mind the first half of it but the sequential doors with Hell Knights behind them is a tell-tale sign of this WAD’s age. Perhaps Spencer was running out of ideas in this map, but this section is just plain boring. It isn’t even hard, just boring.
I do admittedly like the second half quite a bit. The trap for the yellow skull can go sideways if, like me, you accidentally trigger the Arch Vile too soon (that run ended horribly). Taking it slower in this room pretty much guarantees victory.
I definitely screwed up the surprise party of Revenants pretty bad. I don’t why, but I decided to stand my ground and BFG them instead of running away. I suppose it makes for a more interesting fight. I also really like the next room. That Arch Vile and Pinky horde followed by the harrowing sight of 6 (or something like that) Cyberdemons in a room too cramped for them is something I would fully expect from Brad Spencer.
Other than that, the MIDI injects a much-needed shot of energy into the whole map.

[@emanuelamaha1427]

That Was One Intense Video

[@장헌정-z5i]

doom2 is supershotgun! kwang~

[@duncancurtis5108]

Level 2 pinkys
Level 1 imps.

[@redpart]

скелеты тебя нормально потрепали, едва не порешили