This here's a classic level, and one featuring more nukage than the supposed "Nuclear Plant." As soon as you open the first door, you're greeted with on the most iconic rooms in the entire WAD; a raised walkway bordering a big ol' pool of corrosive sludge, teeming to the brim with pinkies, shotgunners, and zombiemen. Toxin Refinery is a great example of what most people think of when they think DOOM; On Ultraviolence (and especially UV-fast) you really start getting put through your paces here, with crowds of hitscanners that start out across the room while you're stuck dealing with the up-close melee monsters, plus a smattering of imps to harass you as well. It's on this stage where you really start to learn how terrifying pinkies can be when playing with -fast, they'll get right up in your face and stay there in a way that you just really don't have to deal with at normal speed, and of course shotgunners will almost instantly deal damage on sight. Almost feels like I'm playing a build engine game at times.
Moving forward through the level, you start to get into some slightly tight spaces that really force you to work crowd control while dealing with some verticality, as well as some fun with dark areas if you get the secrets. (Pro tip: your muzzle flash lights them up.) And you will want to get the secrets, the Soulsphere is a huge boon to your survival at this stage, not to mention the chance to get an early rocket launcher.
There's also a particular room that always left an impact on me, where it's got sort of a half-ceiling kind of thing with a gap running across its entire length and a tech pillar in the middle, very cool architecture, and this leads out to a big oblong courtyard type area with more nukage pits and some cheeky shotgunners hiding behind a corner, take 'em out with a well-place rocket. (You did get the secret launcher earlier like I recommended, didn't you?) In the back of that area you'll find the blue key you need, but it's paired with a pretty fun gag where when you pick it up the lights go out and it drops some imps on you. I bet that scared the piss out of some kids back in 1994.
Heading back to the other end of the main room, the blue key will get you into the final few rooms with a couple more hoard fights, all of which are resolved quite quickly by equipping the chaingun and holding M1. It's a sort of relaxing wind down at the end of a level that's actually pretty tense compared to what's been thrown at you so far. The exit has a neat stairway leading to it that rises up when you step on it, but don't worry about that. There's another secret where you can grab another Soulsphere to get you through these trying times, and then, rather than heading for the exit, go back to the main room again and find a bridge leading to one final secret fight, which you may have actually taken care of ahead of time if you found a secret window earlier on, and finally exit to the secret level.
Toxin Refinery is a display of exemplary DOOM mapmaking; Every room is memorable, there are tons of monsters to kill and goodies to collect, and it makes use of the engine's limited features to delivery fun and interesting setpieces at every turn. It's levels like this that make Knee Deep in the Dead such a fondly remembered episode, and it deserves a 5.
Moving forward through the level, you start to get into some slightly tight spaces that really force you to work crowd control while dealing with some verticality, as well as some fun with dark areas if you get the secrets. (Pro tip: your muzzle flash lights them up.) And you will want to get the secrets, the Soulsphere is a huge boon to your survival at this stage, not to mention the chance to get an early rocket launcher.
There's also a particular room that always left an impact on me, where it's got sort of a half-ceiling kind of thing with a gap running across its entire length and a tech pillar in the middle, very cool architecture, and this leads out to a big oblong courtyard type area with more nukage pits and some cheeky shotgunners hiding behind a corner, take 'em out with a well-place rocket. (You did get the secret launcher earlier like I recommended, didn't you?) In the back of that area you'll find the blue key you need, but it's paired with a pretty fun gag where when you pick it up the lights go out and it drops some imps on you. I bet that scared the piss out of some kids back in 1994.
Heading back to the other end of the main room, the blue key will get you into the final few rooms with a couple more hoard fights, all of which are resolved quite quickly by equipping the chaingun and holding M1. It's a sort of relaxing wind down at the end of a level that's actually pretty tense compared to what's been thrown at you so far. The exit has a neat stairway leading to it that rises up when you step on it, but don't worry about that. There's another secret where you can grab another Soulsphere to get you through these trying times, and then, rather than heading for the exit, go back to the main room again and find a bridge leading to one final secret fight, which you may have actually taken care of ahead of time if you found a secret window earlier on, and finally exit to the secret level.
Toxin Refinery is a display of exemplary DOOM mapmaking; Every room is memorable, there are tons of monsters to kill and goodies to collect, and it makes use of the engine's limited features to delivery fun and interesting setpieces at every turn. It's levels like this that make Knee Deep in the Dead such a fondly remembered episode, and it deserves a 5.
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