~Ultimate Doom 3 DOOM03.PCX DOOM05.PCX !D-ROM.PCX The Ultimate Doom Special Edition Reviewed By Adriano Maurizio Grisanti 1995 The Ultimate Doom is a 3D / Action / Shooting game, from I.D Software, full of intricate mazes and demonic abominations hell bent on making you their lunch, all you need to survive is quick reflexes and a good sense of humor. Please note the health warnings which come with this game, it is very addictive, more addictive than any drug on the market today be it legal or illegal (this excludes Paracetemol ed.), and it isn't recommended for the faint hearted, So stay clear all you wimps out there, especially you sad Amiga owners (Who think there computer's better then the PC, Ha, You make me laugh, try running Doom on your machine, I thought so, you'll just have to drool like a baby every time you see it running on a PC and wish, Santa Might be Kind). The Story for The Ultimate Doom Game is simple, you're a space marine, one of Earth's toughest, hardened in combat and trained for action. Three years ago you assaulted a superior officer for ordering his soldiers to fire upon civilians. He & his body cast were shipped to Pearl Harbor, while you were transferred to Mars, home of the Union Aerospace Corporation. The UAC is a multi-planetary conglomerate with radioactive waste facilities on Mars & its Two moons, Phobos & Deimos. With no action for fifty million miles, your day consisted of suckin' dust and watchin' restricted flicks in the rec room. For the last four years the military, UAC's biggest supplier, has used the remote facilities on Phobos & Deimos to conduct various secret projects, including research on inter-dimensional space travel. So far they have been able to open gateways between Phobos and Deimos, throwing a few gadgets into one and watching them come out the other. Recently however, the gateways have grown dangerously unstable. Military "volunteers" entering them have either disappeared or been stricken with a strange form of insanity--babbling vulgarities, bludgeoning anything that breathes, and finally suffering an untimely death of full-body explosion. Matching heads with torsos to send home to the folks became a full-time job. Latest military reports state that the research is suffering a small set back, but everything is under control. A few hours ago, Mars received a garbled message from Phobos. "We require immediate military support. Something friggin' evil is coming out of the gateways! Computer systems have gone berserk!" The rest was incoherent. Soon afterwards, Deimos simply vanished from the sky. Since then, attempts to establish contact with either moon have been unsuccessful. You and your buddies, the only combat troop for fifty million miles were sent up pronto to Phobos. You were ordered to secure the perimeter of the base while the rest of the team went inside. For several hours, your radio picked up the sounds of combat: guns firing, men yelling orders, screams, bones cracking, then finally silence. Seems your buddies are dead. Things aren't looking too good. You'll never navigate off the planet on your own. Plus, all the heavy weapons have been taken by the assault team leaving you only with a pistol. If only you could get your hands around a plasma rifle or even a shotgun you could take a few down on your way out. Whatever killed your buddies deserves a couple of pellets in the forehead. Securing your helmet, you exit the landing pod. Hopefully you can find more substantial firepower somewhere within the station. As you walk through the main entrance of the base, you hear animal-like growls echoing throughout the distant corridors. They know you're here. There's no turning back now. This is where you start the game, in this case Chapter 1 : Knee-deep in the dead, followed by Chapter 2 : The shores of hell, then chapter 3 : Inferno and finally Chapter 4 : Thy flesh consumed. At the end of each chapter the story will progress, explaining the outcome of your actions and finally telling you the end of the story, Which is then continued in Doom 2 : Hell on earth, the sequel, reviewed in an earlier edition of cheet sheets. Before you start the game you have the choice of the following five skill levels :- 1.) I'm to young to die. (for people who own an Amiga or sad B**tards) 2.) Hey, not too rough. (for play school kids only) 3.) Hurt me plenty. (for the over 18's) 4.) Ultra violence. (for navy seals only) 5.) Nightmare. (for crack pots only, no cheats available) The skill levels are basically easy, medium, hard, ect, which means the higher the skill level chosen, the more baddies appear, they become harder & do allot more damage to you when they hit or shoot you. As you progress through this game, you'll come across a whole host of baddies, which consist of :- Former Human ------------ These former humans will run around taking shots at you if you stand about to long. However these enemy are weak and stupid, so all you need to kill them is your pistol or shotgun. Former Human Sergeant --------------------- Just a tad harder than the former humans, these guys carry a shotgun which they'll leave for the taking once you've vaporized them. All you need for these guys is the good old shotgun, astalavista baby. Imp --- These Imps are everywhere in Doom, and are allot harder than the previous two enemies. However a shotgun will do at close range, but at a distance a rocket launcher is best, although two to three shots from your shot gun will finish them the same, beware through, that at a distance, these imps throw fire-balls at you, so be prepared to dodge them. Demon ----- This two-legged pink beast, is very unhappy, that is unless your its next dinner. Fortunately for you it doesn't have any weapons, but still be careful, because it has a tendency to run towards you & take a byte with its razor sharp teeth. (Just don't have a game of snap with this fellow, you'll loose). Cacodemon --------- These red horny balls (watch it ed.), float above ground attacking you with lighting balls. Kill these with the plasma rifle, but be prepared they bite when close to you. Lost Soul --------- These are flaming skulls, which watch you for a few seconds, then fly towards you screaming, with there sharpened teeth ready to take a byte. Use the shotgun to send these lost souls back to hell (or our price). Baron Of Hell ------------- This guy can move with speed, so don't waste time fiddling with your weapons, just take one shot with the BFG 9000, and wala crisp toast. Cyber Demon ----------- This is one big bad mother hubard, who just happens to have a rocket launcher for an arm, its gona be a tough fight, see ya. Only joking, the best way to kill this guy is to lure him into a cross fire situation with other beasties in the area, then attack with everything you've got once he's been weakened. Player Two ---------- This can be your best mate, teacher, parents or just about anyone who's linked up to your machine and ready for a two-player challenge, remember show no mercy. Do Not worry, you are not powerless against these baddies, help is at hand in the form of weapons, which are as follows :- Fist ---- Your fist is the only real weapon you can rely on, it never runs out of ammo, & isn't very powerful, but at least its some protection. Pistol ------ Your trusty pistol, is a good form of defense, especially at close range, and is the only weapon (besides you fist), you start the game with. Pump Shotgun ------------ Just like your pet dog, look after it & you'll be friend's for life. This beast is quite effective, especially at close range. Chain Gun --------- This gun is smart, it fires thousands of rounds off a second and makes your enemies suffer. However it isn't that powerful, and tends to be a little weak at times. Rocket Launcher --------------- Use this to clear a path in front of you, as it takes out most enemies per shot, however don't fire it near a wall, as it will back fire on you, and the blast will take allot of energy from you. Plasma Rifle ------------ This fires intense bolts of plasma, accompanied by deafening sound effects. You can't go wrong with this beast. BFG 9000 -------- This is the military's top weapon 'big F***ing Gun, or BFG for short'. I truly recommend this gun, its what Ferrari is to the car industry, and like the car it uses allot of gas, well in this case allot of ammo, so always be on the look out for more. Chainsaw -------- Fun is the only way to describe this weapon, it is effective best at close range, and almost makes you feel sorry for the enemy, especially when you hear them scream. Once you have this, you have it for good, as it never runs out of ammo (possibly because it doesn't have any ?). Berserker Punch --------------- This enables you to become a very hard B*****d, which is able to punch enemies to death, they'll drop like flies once you have this weapon. Besides the above weapons you can use the various toxic barrels to your advantage, by shooting at them while an enemy is near, resulting in a nice mess on the floor and walls (with a nice splat effect). Don't forget to keep your ammo stocks up while playing the game, as you desperately need as much ammo as you can get your hands on, in order to survive. Special Items ------------- And finally here is a list of all the special items you can pick up along the way. Stimpack -------- These can be found effortlessly, however they only boost your energy level by 10%. Medikit ------- These increase your energy by 25%, they are harder to find than the stimpack. Health Potion ------------- These blue vials of health increase your health by 1% each. This may not seem much, but you can push your health meter over the 100% mark. So it is best to collect all the medikits and stimpacks first before collecting any of these items. Spiritual Armor ---------------- These helmets increase your armor points by 1%, and can push your armor meter over the 100% / 200% mark. So it is best to pick up the green and blue armor first. Green Armor ------------ This increases your armor gauge up to 100%. Blue Armor ----------- This increases your armor gauge up to 200%. Blur Spear ---------- This makes you semi-invisible to the nasties in Doom, they'll still have an idea of where you are, but the effects of their effects are drastically reduced. Soul Spear ---------- These increase your health by 100% and up to a maximum of 200%. Invulnerability --------------- This makes you invincible for 30 seconds, however the screen turns white, making it impossible to see what's happening. Mega Sphere ----------- This beastie boosts you health and armor up to 100%. Backpack -------- These basically double your ammo capacity and come stocked with 10 bullets, 4 shells, 1 energy cell (for the BFG) and 1 rocket. However they're nearly always hidden from view, so look around. Keys ---- These come in the form of red, blue or yellow colored keys or skulls, which open the appropriate colored door. Computer Map ------------ These show all the areas you haven't yet visited on the map in gray, which comes in useful for finding secret areas. Radiation Suit -------------- This baby protects you from the toxic waste, but only lasts while the screen is green, when it starts flashing that's your cue to get the hell out of there. Goggles ------- These enable you to see in the dark for a whole 2 minutes. Right You know the story, all the monsters, weapons & special items, and you get the gist of it all, well just look at the screen shots for a better idea. However in the meantime I'll tell you what it's like to play the ultimate doom. Doom is very atmospheric, all the weapons make realistic sounds and have different abilities, along with the monsters, which make great sounds, be it a growl or a scream, they'll keep you at the edge of your seat, you just don't know what's around the next corner. All these monsters have different weaknesses, which'll take some time to work out, but in the process is actually fun. A nice feature in this game is the map function, you can see where you've been by pressing the tab key. The levels are also designed well, with appropriate monsters and scenery, along with the correct weapon, just at the right time. The game skill level is just right as it lets you progress through the game a bit more at a time, and also supports a save game feature Which comes in handy. Overall I give this game 95% as it is a very excellent piece of software, especially for around œ30 (Mail order, always shop around). Remember if you Like it buy it don't Pirate it, also don't cheat, as it spoils the game. However if you do need help see the cheat section in this issue. For more Wad files (doom 1 & 2 levels), check out the Cheet Sheets Volume 2 CD-ROM, or the Cheet Sheets BBS.