Game:

Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994)

Duration: 2:51

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1

This is Hell Revealed 2 MAP30: Source Control done 100% on Ultra-Violence - played through PRBoom+ v2.5.1.4.

Source Control is the last level of Hell Revealed 2 and as most of HR2 levels, it was designed by Jonas Feragen. Given how awesome MAP29 was, Source Control wasn't probably the kind of ending people were looking forward to, given that it is just another Icon of Sin level. However, in defense of HR2 you could say that "Scythe MAP30 format" wasn't invented at the time when HR2 was released. Still, perhaps it MAP29 that is the spiritual last level of HR2 instead of Source Control.

In any case, Source Control is short, and discovering the lone secret that allows you to telefrag the Cyberdemon blocking the boss brain switch can be useful, because otherwise you might just simply run of space to fight the monsters, thanks to the ridiculous amount of spawn cubes that the boss throws at you. Maybe Source Control is not the most well-aged MAP30 that comes to mind, but it sure does have a fitting music for the last level of HR2.


If I were to describe HR2 through non-nostalgia-biased-glasses, I'd say it doesn't necessarily live to its predecessor; "Hell Revealed" that was released in 1997. There are various reasons for this. First and the most notable of which would be inconsistency. This can be seen not only visually, but also it applies to gameplay. Sometimes, it seems as if HR2 doesn't exactly know what it is supposed to be, or what was it that made the original HR memorable. Probably the worst offenders are the fake-difficulty maps like MAP10, MAP16 and MAP18 and some individual fights on certain levels, where the player is often being confined into narrow spaces with poor weaponry and / or is being forced to just "deal with it". While on the subject of narrow spaces, it seems that too often the player's movement and random spikes in difficulty are generated by narrow spaces, low Health & other resources and locking stuff away inside secret areas. In case of various HR2 maps, the essentials to complete the level are often hidden inside secret areas, which may cause players to bang their heads against the wall for nothing until they discover the required secret. Another problem arises from the poorly marked Exit areas on on certain levels, like MAP06, where the Exit is just a random teleporter. For completionists or people who would like to just explore for more, a sudden departure may not be so welcome. HR2 may not have aged as well as the original Hell Revealed, but it has its moments, even though some of the "highs" are coming from just by following the original Hell Revealed, such as MAP15, which is one of the more better "remakes" of a classic Hell Revealed level. At the other end are sitting maps like MAP10 and MAP16, which are capable of producing a challenge - although not in such manner that would leave players pleased after playing them. If there's something HR2 will be rightfully remembered for, it would certainly be the music. All in all, HR2 is one of the most memorable megawads for me personally, and I can still remember playing it when it was released in 2003. HR2 may not be defining what a "slaughterwad" is called in 2021, but it was paving way for other wads and "Hell Revealed" and its sequel are names that are popping up often when people are discussing of "slaughtermaps" almost 20 years later.

That's it for Hell Revealed 2. I'm not yet sure if I will play any other "slaughterwads", mostly due to the fact they require such dedication and constant Dooming - which is something I'm not necessarily willing to commit to.

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