Cybernight Zero

The visuals are the obvious showcase here. Don't get me wrong, though; there are great levels with fun to be had. Many levels do contain design flaws I believe are at work in making a number of these levels not fun. For one, the design is overall too symmetrical. The visual communication of Doom has always been outstanding. (Red stripes indicate a red key required, and you see an outside area, the tunnel in E1M1 is a clue of how to get there; green liquid usually indicates hurt floors, as do lava and blood. (and sometimes poop brown water tee he.). What key do I need if a door looks like fire, red or yellow? If you have four hallways/corridors going around a middle piece and all look the same, the player won't be pushed into what he/she needs to do next. Sometimes the switches blend right into the environment. This is Doom, so great combat is a must. At times this wad gets this right on the money. I'm thinking of the second level, where you start the map fighting lower-level enemies and then run into higher-tier ones toward the end. In that regard, this wad was great. But hold on a minute, is it great? Well, yes and no. There are levels where you run into so many archvilles it's downright predictable. How about dropping the player unexpectedly into an ambush? I expect that in Doom, but this trap gets worn out here. In many cases, this wad "repeats its refrain too much." The second part of gameplay is ammo and weapons. How is that? Well its a mixed bag TBH. There are levels where you won't have enough shotgun shells or rockets, and somewhere you run out of ammo completely. (I almost gave this wad a 3 but decided not to.) This was done with the intention of artificially increasing the difficulty, and levels become tedious because of it. (I understand the "Tyson" map idea, but come on, punching a caco, how bout no!.) My last point relates to this wad being "boom compatible." Sure, it was configured for that but not all levels run in PR or GLboom. (Map 24 in particular.) and besides that the intermission screen text doesn't appear except in Z or GZDoom (There is also audio in maps you wont hear. That said, playing this in GZDoom or ZDoom is highly recommended (and that's what this wad is meant to be played in. doh!) So to wrap it up, overall, the maps are beautiful and offer something unique in terms of look and even gameplay, but the lack of ammo and symmetrical design might leave you running around scratching your head on what to do to pass the level. (I honestly didn't struggle much but have seen it enough to bring it up.

I'll give this wad credit where credit is due. Into the Gate City in the Clouds, The round crossroads, Underground Base, Last Look at Eden, The Black Towers, Siege, Resistance is Futile, Dead Progressive, Top Hell, and Mostly Harmful, All are great classic levels with memorable designs if not basic design visually and in terms of action. But way too many levels rely on giving the player too little ammo and health and locking the player in a small room with high-tier enemies. Anyone can do that. I'd give it a 5 out of 5 but again, the levels listed are excellent, but many others are junk and not fun to play. Also many levels feature a symmetrical design that confuses even vet players. And a lot of design choices had already been done to death at that point anyway.