WAD Review of SHADOWS.WAD
(ocf.unt.edu    /pub/doom/wads/newwads/shadwad.zip
                /pub/doom/wads/newwads2/shadows.zip)

[The only other reviews I've seen out there have been Cameron's, so
 I'll try to stick somewhat to his format and ratings.]

========================================================================

Title                   : SHADOWS.WAD
Authors                 : Sergey Ishchenko and Ivan Samarin
Email Address           : math588@edvzbb2.ben-fh.tuwien.ac.at
Misc. Author Info       : "DoomEd for Windows; a grrreate Doom Editor."
                          At least that's what they said in SHADOWS.TXT.

Description:

	This is purely a deathmatch level.  It was created with DoomEd for
	Windows, and is a fast-moving wonderful WAD for your diehard DOOM
	friends.  It loads as e1m1, and exits to e1m2.

	There are no monsters, and skill levels (seem to) make no difference
	in the placement of the weapons.  If you have two or three buddies
	get together and waste an evening on this WAD; it'll be worth it.

              *                        *                      *

	For those of you who have gotten tired of E1M1 for your deathmatch
	forays, this WAD will do wonders for your DOOM life (gee, I sound
	like a sex therapist).  It's a serious WAD for serious DOODMers,
	and the inexperienced need not try it.  Then again, maybe the inex-
	perienced should try it--they'll never learn how to play DOOM fas-
	ter.

	SHADOWS.WAD, true to its name, features areas of near-complete dark-
	ness.  As opposed to the areas of complete light, this offers an
	excellent transition.  Also, the rooms are interconnected, making
	the area seem larger than it really is.  So, while the entire WAD
	remains small, you'll end up bumping into your buddies a lot more
	than usual.

	The whole WAD caters to the experienced DOOMer.  From the dovetail
	shaped alcoves where you'll pop in to get a weapon (or, more likely,
	pop into a wall a few times until you get the hang of it) to fight-
	ing in total darkness, relying on pure instinct and your opponent's
	sillhouette as (s)he fires at you, you'll find SHADOWS.WAD a never-
	ending challenge.

	The level features all types of weapons, and each weapon except the
	BFG9000 is placed twice.  All this weaponry makes for a very quick-
	moving deathmatch, for those of you that get bored after running
	out of your fifty bullets and punching your opponent to death.  The
	only problem is that the plasma rifle kills people _very_ quickly,
	and if you get the plasma rifle and the BFG9000, you've got eighty
	cells to commit mass murder with.  Considering the fact that it
	only takes about eight close-up cells to kill someone, you've got
	a _way_ lethal weapon in your hands.  Moral: get the damn plasma
	rifle quick!  Unfortunately, the two areas where you can get them
	are near perfect ambush spots.

	Ambush spots brings me to the only two things I didn't like about
	this level.  The level seems to cater to the wimpy ambusher, who
	likes to wait it out in some tunnel.  Me, being a shoot-the-hell-
	out-of-you-where-the-hell-are-you kind of guy, found this slightly
	annoying.  One-man nitches abound in the level, and there are two
	areas where there is a one-way-see-through wall.  So, if you're
	the kind of guy who likes to sit in a corner for twenty minutes,
	waiting for someone to come along, you'll probably find your frags
	rising faster than the guy who used to kick the everliving piss
	out of you in the open terrain.

	The only other problem was the lack of an exit.  It's possible
	that the level contained one, but neither I nor my friends ever
	found it.  Personally, I always liked hitting that exit button
	and then gloating over the number of times I killed everyone.

	[one other possible bug was that while I was playing with a few
	friends, one of them managed to get himself outside the wall (in
	the area by the BFG9000).  Either the wall wasn't joined right
	with the other wall, or it was a fluke.  At any rate, we sprayed
	the area with BFG9000s and plasma rifle fire until he died and
	regenerated in a new spot.]

	All in all, this is a wonderful deathmatch level.  It's small,
	fast, intricate and will keep you on the edge of your seat (or
	off it even) during your entire playtime.


	On scales of 0 to 10.

	Layout:         7
	Textures:       10
	Difficulty:     10
	Huntability:    7
[Note that I have added "huntability," and taken out "logic level."  I think
that each deathmatch WAD should cater to fighting areas, and "logic level"
doesn't mean a whole lot when you're merely killing someone.]
	Funness:        10 (10, going on 15 trillion)

	On a Cameron overall scale of 0 to 10, SHADOW.WAD scores a 8.8

Daniel.
dmccarty@sitvax.stevens-tech.edu