Doom II
Encyclopedia
Doom II: Hell on Earth is an award winning first-person shooter
video game and second title of id Software's Doom franchise. Unlike Doom which was initially only available through shareware and mail order, Doom II was a commercial release sold in stores. Master Levels for Doom II, an expansion pack
that includes 21 new levels, was released on December 26, 1995 by id Software
.
Due to its popularity and success, Doom II has been released for numerous platforms, including the Amiga
, Apple Macintosh
, Sony
PlayStation
, Sega Saturn
and Nintendo
Game Boy Advance
. The release of the original Doom source code has facilitated ports to many other platforms, including the Apple iPod, and several types of cellphones. On August 13 during the QuakeCon
2009 media conference, it was announced that Doom II would be ported to Xbox Live Arcade
, and was released in May the following year.
. After returning home from Hell, the marine discovers that Earth has also been invaded by the demons, who have killed millions of people.
The humans who survived the attack have developed a plan to build massive spaceship
s which will carry the remaining survivors into space. Unfortunately, the only space port that's capable of launching said ships has been taken hostage by the demonic invaders, who have placed a "force field" over it, causing it to malfunction. The marine then battles through thousands of demons, and is able to deactivate the force field, allowing the remaining humans to escape. Once all the survivors escape Earth, the marine is the only human left on the planet.
Just as he sits down to await death, knowing that he saved mankind, the marine then receives an off-planet transmission from humans in orbit, who have managed to find out where the armies of Hell are coming from. The message reveals that the alien base is in the center of the marine's own home town. The marine then fights through the city until he reaches the base, but sees there is no way to stop the invasion on this side. He then decides to step into the portal to attempt deactivating it from the other side.
After fighting through the hordes of Hell, the marine reaches the house of the biggest demon
(he has) ever seen, called the Icon of Sin. He kills the Icon of Sin by firing rockets into its exposed brain. The Icon of Sin's death results in the destruction of the Hellish portal. Now with Hell in ruins, the marine joins with the other humans in an effort to restore life on Earth.
Doom II was not dramatically different from its predecessor. There were no major technological developments, graphical improvements, or substantial gameplay changes. The game still consisted of the player negotiating non-linear levels, picking up keys to unlock new areas, and shooting down hundreds of monsters. However, due to the larger and more complicated maps with larger groups of monsters, the game had somewhat higher system requirements than the original.
The main additions to the game were new monsters to fight. Doom II doubled the number of non-boss monster types and started using bosses from the original Doom as normal level enemies. In addition, the multiplayer functionality was greatly improved in Doom II, including "out of the box" support for a vastly increased number of dial-up modems. The two player dial-up connection allowed one player to dial in to the other player's computer in order to play either cooperatively or in deathmatch style combat. There was also LAN
functionality added, which was improved upon as patches and updates were released. This functionality was later incorporated into the original Doom.
The only new weapon addition was the double-barreled shotgun. In-game it is known as the "Super Shotgun", which uses two shotgun
shells per fire, but could fire out twenty pellets instead of the regular shotgun's seven pellets. This made it very useful in dispatching medium-sized monsters. However, it takes slightly longer to reload and has a much wider spread which was less effective in medium to long range situations, this allowed for the standard shotgun to still serve a purpose in the game.
Other than the Super Shotgun, there was also a new powerup named "Megasphere", which gave the player, no matter how low his/her health/armor may be, 200% health and 200% armor. It resembles the "Soulsphere" but more brown, and the facial sprites have been altered.
A small change in gameplay was instituted. Instead of the player playing through three related episodes, gameplay takes place over one giant episode, albeit with interludes for when the story develops. Instead of watching the player's progress on a map (as in the original episodes of Doom), the screens between each level simply show a background (as in the bonus fourth episode of Doom available on The Ultimate Doom expansion pack
). It also meant that the player was not forced to start over with a pistol every eight or nine levels, as was the case in Doom.
, and Odamex, and are still popular today.
for Doom II which was released officially on 26 December 1995 by id Software
. The CD contains twenty WAD
files created by various authors under contract. The file teeth.wad contains a secret level, so there are a total of 21 levels. As a bonus, 1,830 amateur WAD files downloaded from the Internet
are also included, collectively called "Maximum Doom". They were also included in the Xbox port of Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil
.
, and TNT: Evilution by TeamTNT
. Final Doom was released on May 31, 1996 and distributed as an official id Software
product.
released the D!Zone expansion pack featuring hundreds of levels for Doom and Doom II. D!Zone was reviewed in 1995 in Dragon
#217 by Jay & Dee in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Jay gave the pack 1 out of 5 stars, while Dee gave the pack 1½ stars.
for the release of Doom II on Xbox Live Arcade. It consists of eight regular and one secret level.
#216 by David "Zeb" Cook
in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. According to Cook, "if mindless but intense carnage is what you want, you'll get your money's worth. It's not just a must-have game; it's a keep-on-the-hard-drive-forever game. If you need to have more Doom, get this."
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game and second title of id Software's Doom franchise. Unlike Doom which was initially only available through shareware and mail order, Doom II was a commercial release sold in stores. Master Levels for Doom II, an expansion pack
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
that includes 21 new levels, was released on December 26, 1995 by id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
.
Due to its popularity and success, Doom II has been released for numerous platforms, including the Amiga
Amiga
The Amiga is a family of personal computers that was sold by Commodore in the 1980s and 1990s. The first model was launched in 1985 as a high-end home computer and became popular for its graphical, audio and multi-tasking abilities...
, Apple Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
, Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, Sega Saturn
Sega Saturn
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
and Nintendo
Nintendo
is a multinational corporation located in Kyoto, Japan. Founded on September 23, 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi, it produced handmade hanafuda cards. By 1963, the company had tried several small niche businesses, such as a cab company and a love hotel....
Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
. The release of the original Doom source code has facilitated ports to many other platforms, including the Apple iPod, and several types of cellphones. On August 13 during the QuakeCon
QuakeCon
QuakeCon is a bring-your-own-computer computer gaming event with a competitive tournament held every year in Dallas, Texas, USA. The event, which is named after id Software's game Quake, sees thousands of gamers from all over the world attend every year to celebrate the company's gaming dynasty...
2009 media conference, it was announced that Doom II would be ported to Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade
Xbox Live Arcade is a type of video game download distribution available primarily in a section of the Xbox Live Marketplace, Microsoft's digital distribution network for the Xbox 360, that focuses on smaller downloadable games from both major publishers and independent game developers...
, and was released in May the following year.
Plot
Immediately following the events in Doom, the player once again assumes the role of the nameless space marineDoomguy
The Doomguy is the protagonist of the Doom series of video games created by id Software, and its sequels and spin-off media.In all the games, he is a UN marine, wearing green combat armor, working with the Union Aerospace Corporation. He never speaks . In the games, he is never referred to by name...
. After returning home from Hell, the marine discovers that Earth has also been invaded by the demons, who have killed millions of people.
The humans who survived the attack have developed a plan to build massive spaceship
Spaceship
Spaceship can refer to:* Another name for a spacecraft* An Unidentified flr5tyqertaerying object * "Spaceship", a song by Puddle of Mudd from their album Vol...
s which will carry the remaining survivors into space. Unfortunately, the only space port that's capable of launching said ships has been taken hostage by the demonic invaders, who have placed a "force field" over it, causing it to malfunction. The marine then battles through thousands of demons, and is able to deactivate the force field, allowing the remaining humans to escape. Once all the survivors escape Earth, the marine is the only human left on the planet.
Just as he sits down to await death, knowing that he saved mankind, the marine then receives an off-planet transmission from humans in orbit, who have managed to find out where the armies of Hell are coming from. The message reveals that the alien base is in the center of the marine's own home town. The marine then fights through the city until he reaches the base, but sees there is no way to stop the invasion on this side. He then decides to step into the portal to attempt deactivating it from the other side.
After fighting through the hordes of Hell, the marine reaches the house of the biggest demon
Demon
call - 1347 531 7769 for more infoIn Ancient Near Eastern religions as well as in the Abrahamic traditions, including ancient and medieval Christian demonology, a demon is considered an "unclean spirit" which may cause demonic possession, to be addressed with an act of exorcism...
(he has) ever seen, called the Icon of Sin. He kills the Icon of Sin by firing rockets into its exposed brain. The Icon of Sin's death results in the destruction of the Hellish portal. Now with Hell in ruins, the marine joins with the other humans in an effort to restore life on Earth.
Gameplay
The main additions to the game were new monsters to fight. Doom II doubled the number of non-boss monster types and started using bosses from the original Doom as normal level enemies. In addition, the multiplayer functionality was greatly improved in Doom II, including "out of the box" support for a vastly increased number of dial-up modems. The two player dial-up connection allowed one player to dial in to the other player's computer in order to play either cooperatively or in deathmatch style combat. There was also LAN
Län
Län and lääni refer to the administrative divisions used in Sweden and previously in Finland. The provinces of Finland were abolished on January 1, 2010....
functionality added, which was improved upon as patches and updates were released. This functionality was later incorporated into the original Doom.
The only new weapon addition was the double-barreled shotgun. In-game it is known as the "Super Shotgun", which uses two shotgun
Shotgun
A shotgun is a firearm that is usually designed to be fired from the shoulder, which uses the energy of a fixed shell to fire a number of small spherical pellets called shot, or a solid projectile called a slug...
shells per fire, but could fire out twenty pellets instead of the regular shotgun's seven pellets. This made it very useful in dispatching medium-sized monsters. However, it takes slightly longer to reload and has a much wider spread which was less effective in medium to long range situations, this allowed for the standard shotgun to still serve a purpose in the game.
Other than the Super Shotgun, there was also a new powerup named "Megasphere", which gave the player, no matter how low his/her health/armor may be, 200% health and 200% armor. It resembles the "Soulsphere" but more brown, and the facial sprites have been altered.
A small change in gameplay was instituted. Instead of the player playing through three related episodes, gameplay takes place over one giant episode, albeit with interludes for when the story develops. Instead of watching the player's progress on a map (as in the original episodes of Doom), the screens between each level simply show a background (as in the bonus fourth episode of Doom available on The Ultimate Doom expansion pack
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
). It also meant that the player was not forced to start over with a pistol every eight or nine levels, as was the case in Doom.
Online multiplayer
As with the original Doom, multiplayer games can be played across the internet using third party source ports such as Skulltag, RUN!, and Odamex, and are still popular today.
Master Levels for Doom II
Master Levels for Doom II is an expansion packExpansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
for Doom II which was released officially on 26 December 1995 by id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
. The CD contains twenty WAD
Doom WAD
Doom WAD format is default format of package files for the video game Doom or its sequel Doom II, that are containing sprites, levels, and game data. WAD stands for Where's All the Data?...
files created by various authors under contract. The file teeth.wad contains a secret level, so there are a total of 21 levels. As a bonus, 1,830 amateur WAD files downloaded from the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
are also included, collectively called "Maximum Doom". They were also included in the Xbox port of Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil is a first-person shooter video game developed by Nerve Software and id Software. It was released for the PC on April 3, 2005, as an expansion pack for Doom 3 and on October 5, 2005, for the Xbox video game console...
.
Final Doom
Final Doom consists of two 32-level megawads (level files), The Plutonia Experiment by the Casali brothersCasali brothers
Brothers Dario and Milo Casali are best known for creating The Plutonia Experiment, one of two stand-alone megawads for the second and final Doom expansion, Final Doom....
, and TNT: Evilution by TeamTNT
TeamTNT
TeamTNT is a group of mappers who created the TNT: Evilution episode of Final Doom, as well as several free level packs and developer resources for Doom II...
. Final Doom was released on May 31, 1996 and distributed as an official id Software
Id Software
Id Software is an American video game development company with its headquarters in Richardson, Texas. The company was founded in 1991 by four members of the computer company Softdisk: programmers John Carmack and John Romero, game designer Tom Hall, and artist Adrian Carmack...
product.
D!Zone
WizardWorks SoftwareWizardWorks Software
WizardWorks Software was a video game developer and publisher located in Minneapolis, MN. Focused on casual consumer games sold through mass-merchants like Target and Wal-Mart, WizardWorks was best known for publishing the Deer Hunter series of video games developed by Sunstorm Interactive but also...
released the D!Zone expansion pack featuring hundreds of levels for Doom and Doom II. D!Zone was reviewed in 1995 in Dragon
Dragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#217 by Jay & Dee in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Jay gave the pack 1 out of 5 stars, while Dee gave the pack 1½ stars.
No Rest for the Living
No Rest for the Living is the title of a Doom II expansion set developed by Nerve SoftwareNerve Software
Nerve Software is an American video game developer that was co-founded by ex-id Software employee Brandon James. Many of the original employees at Nerve were previously employed by Rogue Entertainment, another U.S...
for the release of Doom II on Xbox Live Arcade. It consists of eight regular and one secret level.
Reception
The reception of Doom II has been very positive. The game was reviewed in 1995 in DragonDragon (magazine)
Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#216 by David "Zeb" Cook
David Cook (game designer)
David "Zeb" Cook is an American game designer best known for his work at TSR, Inc., where he was employed for over fifteen years.-Early life:...
in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. According to Cook, "if mindless but intense carnage is what you want, you'll get your money's worth. It's not just a must-have game; it's a keep-on-the-hard-drive-forever game. If you need to have more Doom, get this."
External links
- Doom II at id Software's official website
- Playing the Game: DOOM II, a list of academic texts about the game
- Classic Doom Online - online multiplayer set up instructions