Reviews - FiremariomkiZX

Before I continue, some points.

1. Despite the name, this isn't simply Brutal Doom with a Doom 64 coat of paint. In fact, it's the exact opposite. The game is more Doom 64 than Brutal Doom.

2. Blah blah blah, potential bad attitude from SergeantMarkIV that while semi concerning, doesn't affect the game because he seems to have either grown up or not let that get in his work (as far as I can tell).

Okay, are we good? Good.

So, Brutal Doom 64 is a pretty neat recreation of Doom 64. It's probably not a 1-1 reflection of Doom 64, but darn is it good for a layman. The game is gorgeous, smooth as butter and even inspired some of the better features of Brutal Doom v21 (like Tactical Mode).

All the weapons players are familiar with, from Doom 64 or standard Doom are here. The pistol, chaingun, shotgun, super shotgun, plasma gun and BFG all work like you expect. In addition, the Chainsaw, which is even more powerful than it used to be, is now limited in ammo to compensate for its usefulness and the Unmaker is still the Unmaker. However, Brutal Doom 64 also adds in a few other goodies: the Assault Rifle, a more portable alternative to the Chaingun capable of firing accurately in bursts (but inaccurately when full auto), and the cut laser weapon, which fires a powerful, continuous laser not unlike the Lightning Gun.

While the enemies are vicious (which is to be expected from a Brutal mod), the monsters in the mod are far closer to their Doom 64 counterparts than Brutal Doom. Imps and Pinkies don't lunge out, and in general they'll stick to their ranged attacks if they had any. That said, this doesn't make them any less dangerous. Uniquely, unlike a handful of other Doom 64 TCs, classic Doom foes that didn't make it into 64 such as Revenants, Chaingunners and Spider Masterminds are now here, alongside the Doom 64 unique foes like the infamous Nightmare Imp and further cut foes like Hellhounds make the rounds in the game.

Give the mod a shot, it's much more atmospheric.

This is perhaps the Mental Omega of Tiberium Sun... though perhaps that might be a tad inaccurate. Mental Omega tries (and succeeds) to be a perfect Red Alert 2 by revitalizing the original game. Twisted Insurrection, on the other hand, tries to create its own story and its own continuity, reaching all the way to the way the factions work.

While NOD and GDI are technically very similar to how they play in Tiberium Sun (GDI is the Powerhouse faction with highly durable units and lots of tanks and walkers, and NOD is the Subversive faction with subterranean tools and stealth capabilities), they also change things up by now working very similar in some areas. For example, GDI can use partial subversive tactics by utilizing their abundance of EMP, and deploying Railgun Platforms in places where their anti-aircraft purposes can really mess up Banshees, whilst NOD has sheer durability with their slightly expanded Cyborgs.

If Twisted Insurrection's new features aren't your thing, that's okay. You can also have one of the best remakes of classic Command and Conquer gameplay by playing in Twisted Dawn mode, allowing you access to the original Tiberium Dawn arsenals with slight additions, like GDI's new Avenger and the Tiberium Bomber. OOOOOR. You can use Ultimate Insurrection and combine new and old together for an insane match.

Also, you have access to Challenges which allow for unique situations. So. Great!

Speaking of Mental Omega, Twisted Insurrection has a wonderful and unique original soundtrack from a wide variety of composers, one of which is a REMIX OF AN ORIGINAL TWISTED INSURRECTION TRACK BY THE MAN OF COMMAND AND CONQUER HIMSELF, FRANK KLEPACKI, some remixes of Act on Instinct and Valves, and also a few tracks by Mental Omega's lead, Speeder. Seriously, why doesn't he compose for his own mod?

Also, since Tiberium Sun is free, the mod is fully standalone, and you can play as soon as you download it. SO WHY AREN'T YOU PLAYING THIS?

To say that Brutal Doom is gory is an understatement. To say that Brutal Doom is difficult is only scratching the surface. In fact, my sole complaint about Brutal Doom is that Bethesda didn't take enough from it.

Let's get one thing out of the way. Sure, there's a potential that SGT Mark may be a jerk, but this is mostly hearsay in my eyes. But you don't review a work based on the creator, you tend to review a creator by their work (though there are exceptions, like when a creator attempts to use nostalgia to make a quick buck or actively injects their politics into their works, neither of which applies here). So, let's forget for now that Mark's attitude has any bearing on the enjoyment of the game.

Sooooo, as I said, Bethesda's Doom takes a lot from this. Brutality, satisfying weapons and difficult enemies are all here, and amazingly, SGT Mark turned a GAME THAT COULD NOT HANDLE 3D into a game that is pseudo 3D. That is. AMAZING. Headshots, aiming and even arcing weapons like your grenades are possible here, and the game refuses to relent with its modernity. Classic Doom BARELY feels the same with the enhancements this mod brings.

also if there's a final deal breaker between this and modern doom, mark's creating an addon that adds the doom 4 weapons into brutal doom so thats cool.

12.0/10.0 on a scale of bad.

I gave Mental Omega a 10 when it was still 2.0 Psi... and I wish I could change that to a 9 because 3.0 can't go over a 10.

What Speeder and the Mental Meisters have done is turn the most broken Command and Conquers BAR NONE (Yeah, say what you will about Red Alert 3. That game is the most stable game VANILLA of the series, but paid by being nearly unmoddable) into one of the most balanced RTSes that I can think of.

I for one accept the new Sub Factions. Why? Because it helps diversify the tactics. If there was anything Kane's Wrath and Zero Hour did right, it was having unique sub factions with their own rules, and Mental Omega destroys the concept of "Vanilla" factions to give a more unique experience. Sure, most armies have analogues to most units (Every faction having an MBT, an advanced anti-air, a siege unit, an anti-ground unit) but the end result, with the assistance of Ares makes each faction feel fresh but evenly matched, save for US, which I hope is improved in the next update.

Save/Load is an issue I can live with, and the difficulty of the campaign is certainly surprising, but not unexpected. After all, Mental Omega has always had hard as nails campaigns, and there's mods with HARDER ones (Looking at Twisted Insurrection on this one). One thing that I absolutely ADORE about this campaign the the sheer number of callbacks and references to Red Alert 2... Each of the first missions all call back to a specific even in the campaign of Red Alert 2 (Peacekeeper has us starting the game, while the Allied and Soviet campaigns begin with an inversion of the events, with Soviets failing to take Washington DC, and Allies failing to save New York). Perhaps one thing that keeps me going in some missions are the call backs, like Bad Apple where the map is an EXTENDED VERSION OF THE ORIGINAL THIRD MISSION OF THE RED ALERT 2 SOVIET CAMPAIGN. Dead, freakin' serious.

Over all, Mental Omega is continuity porn for anyone who likes CNC, and is the best RA2 Story yet.

3.3 Edit: THEY'VE DONE IT. THEY'VE MADE MENTAL OMEGA EVEN GREATER.

In 3.3, even more revamps have occurred, and in particular, to make the game only greater. More new units, the return of the Sniper, buffs to the United States, and even a BRAND NEW FACTION, the Foehn Revolt, I continue to have naught but praise.

Oh yeah, and the missions have been modified to be less irritating, and the new missions are just spectacular. Must play as usual.