28th of June 2025

WGFang 2 | Single | Author: William Gee | Download

The Review: William Gee's WGFang gave us some of the most complex true-room-over-room (TROR) effects up to that point. WGFang 2 continues with the tradition, being the author's most ambitious TROR map yet. (Mind you, WGFang 3 has already been released, so the previous statement may be outdated by now.) You've got multiple layers of TROR, floating islands up in the sky and who knows what else; sometimes the use of TROR is subtle. The theme is a castle of sorts, or maybe a fortress (there isn't much of a difference); the layout doesn't really make much sense - after all, it is still intended for gameplay rather than living in. WGFang 2 is one of those maps where you'll be stopping regularly just to gaze at the scenery; arched windows, gigantic doors, lovely round towers and the many layers of TROR will be distracting you everywhere you go. The map comes with a ton of new textures made by the author himself. These are really good; some use Duke3D stock textures as base, others are brand new but also a perfect fit with the rest. (A lack of contrast between the new sky texture and the scenery is rather noticeable though; look at the screenshots to see what I mean.) And as if these weren't enough, the RPG and the Freezer have gotten new art too (I think their damage values have also been slightly tinkered with?) and there are several new enemies. The new enemies are a great fit; not only do they look good, but their attack patterns aren't that difficult to learn and none is a bullet sponge. The only annoyance were modified troopers with mortars, hitting you from high up with their ballistic trajectories with little warning.
The map has a bit of a problem with signposting. Early on this doesn't cause much trouble as it's more or less clear where to go, but later on as the map has opened up considerably the lack of clear signposting can throw you off. You've got some switches, but there's never any clear indication what they do. Presumably they open a locked door nearby, and sometimes respawns can show you the way, but still, having to figure out what a switch does should not be a thing. Otherwise gameplay is pretty enjoyable; new enemies are fun to fight against, minibosses lack annoying stats and monster spam doesn't really become a thing until the very end (and here it's coupled with a lack of cover as well). There's also a metal music track from some Castlevania thing. It's definitely geared toward high-octane action rather than ambience and I did enjoy it for a while, but midway through I toned it down considerably to get a better vibe of the place's ambience.

Rating: 95