Who games on Linux? #1: DOOM 2 #

DOOM 2 is a 1995 game by id Software that develops upon what DOOM originally did, adding more levels and enemies to the FPS mix they created.

Game info #

Name: DOOM 2
Genre: Boomer Shooter
Games most like it in my experience: DOOM, Blood
Demo: None to my knowledge. Just pirate it(Yikes!), or buy it on Steam.
Linux: Use a source port

Thoughts #

It's a fun game, but some levels are a slog. My worst nightmare in this game is a line of chaingunners ready to ruin my day. The level in particular I found a challenge was "The Catacombs" as it does exactly that. Chaingunners and Revenants all around you. Another enemy that sucks is the Arch Vile but mainly because it covers your face with fire. Lost Souls get more annoying with the pain elementals spawning them, but it all adds up to the overall experience and priorities you set.

On the note of modding, I did mod this game to play with Brutal Doom. It made it a bit of a more satisfying experience. I also played with hardware rendering at a low resolution upscaled without texture filtering for that crunchy pixelated feel. It's quite fun. Also I played on Ultraviolence difficulty(Nightmare, from what I hear, is a joke difficulty that targets the extremest players).

There's not very much to say about it that hasn't been covered elsewhere before. Some levels are very clearly experimental. "Barrel's O' Fun" is another experimental pain in the ass. Another of these experimental pains is The Chasm. Now the Chasm isn't all bad, but with the fast movement of DOOM and thing platforms to move on, and lots of Cacodemons it's a bit of a pain in the ass.

Overall the game follows a similar downard trend to how I felt in Doom 1. The first episode was great fun, the second was alright, the third was okay and the final one is a bit of a slog. In this case, the third and fourth cases are swapped around. One of the levels that really impressed me from the final episode was "The Living End".

Some levels are a bit of a Key and Switch hunt. One example being "The Spirit World" where you have to shoot a specific uninteresting wall for progressiont o be possible.

As for difficulty, apart from levels that used a lot of Chaingunners, I didn't find it too hard. The first 2 levels of Doom's episode 4 were by far harder than the levels in Doom 2.

My final verdict is that it's fun, but becomes a slog towards the end with less interesting levels. I imagine community-made maps are better. DOOM 1 had better levels overall in my opinion. Similarly it'll entertain you for a good 5 or so hours, unless you try to 100% the game, or unless you mod the game to play more community-made maps.

Answering the question of "Who Games on Linux?" here, "I do".

Final information #

• Played Version: N/A. Used GZDoom and Brutal Doom
• Linux Compatibility: Use a Doom source port with Linux support(GZDoom)
• Hours played: 5 hours
• Will I return to it: The ID Software levels? Unlikely. For mods, probably.

Published on 2021/03/03