Plutonia 2

When I think back on memorable maps, more often than not they're from Plutonia 2. 

Really great megawad with lots of cool maps that I have enjoyed playing some times ago. The Icon Of Sin (map32, the end level) sucks like hell but you wont be disappointed with that game.

This is a renowned community project that brought together prominent authors of the first decade of 2000s. As many have noticed, the cumbersome name Plutonia 2 aptly describes the visual outcome and the fact that this mod is based on PLUTONIA.WAD. It should not imply that the design or the gameplay follows the style set by the Casali brothers. In fact, this is an ambitious megaWAD made of sprawling maps, gradually increasing their size and monster count, presenting a good degree of detail and complexity, with quantity often surpassing the quality of the offering.

Expect most maps to be open, disorienting, with a few progression choices that are not so obvious and destined to waste your time. Nothing extremely puzzling, just very long, and often tedious since every area contains a lot of enemies, sometimes placed effectively, but sometimes just there waiting to be killed. I played the easy way, continuous with saves, but I was surprised that the ambushes on UV did not kill me more often, since I was going in without any prior knowledge. I was also baffled by the ammo scarcity, which often left me without rockets and cells, despite the carryover ammo. In general, most of these levels were big and overstuffed with opposition that rarely managed to trap or surprise the player.

On the positive side, there are lots of great-looking areas and scenarios. The first 15 maps were the sweetest part, with the size kept smaller and thus easy to navigate. I thoroughly enjoyed that part of the ride, except on a few occasions. The Doom Community must have a penchant for big epics to nominate MAP11: Arch-Violence as the most memorable map of this set (placing 20th in the 2018 poll), with MAP29: Ticket to Eternity following in popularity. While they had interesting areas and ideas (the "Escher Dome" in the first and the Keen puzzle to find the credits room in the second), they were both overstretched and never seemed to reach the end. I prefer smaller maps and adventures; among my favourites, I mention MAP10: Cosmodrome, MAP20: Lurking Fear, MAP25: Black Ice, MAP 26: Plutopia. All maps by Gusta and Thomas Van Der Velden were enjoyable somehow, and those two authors deserve praise for bringing the never-ending development to completion. On the other hand, I felt that the older submissions by Metabolist and others dragged for too long without going nowhere.

Plutonia 2 is not a sequel to The Plutonia Experiment, except in the storyline. It goes further from there, increasing the size and complexity of the levels, but losing the peculiar use and efficient placement of monsters along the way. It still managed to be challenging at times (I confess I gave up the boss fight because I cannot hit the hidden brain, great Gatekeeper visuals though) and some levels felt quite an adventure. The problem is that too many levels want to be like that, going for a quantity over quality approach that I came to dislike in the second half of the playthrough. It was worth playing, but its high rating and name might suggest a closer affinity with the IWAD prequel. If you look for that type of gameplay, you will probably be disappointed; if you are familiar with community output from those years, this PWAD has some real epics to offer.

This was the first non-commercial megawad that I played, and many of those others have been chasing that high ever since. It serves as a great follow-up to Plutonia, keeping the feel while also building on it in a positive way. The levels are almost all challenging, however I need to call out maps 26 and 27 for being too easy for their slots. They both have a memorable look, so I can't be too mad at them.

Favorite: 20 (The right amount of epic)
Non-Favorite: 24 (Sorry Erik, The only things I remember about this map are how cramped it is and the fact that you can't backtrack from the exit. It's also sandwiched between two much more fun maps)

Loved this wad, Plutonia being my favorite id wad this was a real treat.

I don't regret that this is one of the first wads I ever downloaded, but I had given up easily because I had little-to-no experience or knowledge about the first Plutonia.
The naming of 'Plutonia' and long years of development was worth it. Gotta love those new graphics (thank you Thomas).
Favourite maps are from Map20 to 26, best homage map is Map32: Go 4 It, coolest surprise is in Map10: Cosmodrome, least favourite map is... nothing? Maybe it's Map30 or Map11.

9 Plutonias out of 10.

I do like Plutonia 2. Most of the maps are a fun challenge. Some maps are more impressive than others though, and there certainly are some cracks in the wall if you know what I mean.

Some points of constructive criticism are

1. Not enough rockets

2. some levels are confusing to navigate, and don't point you in the right direction. 

3. Too many levels have the "open map design," where everything is connected to everything surrounding it. (ino there words, too symmetrical)

4. Some enemies are hard to reach, but they can hit you easily.

Overall, these are good-looking, and fun, but slightly flawed levels.

if I could i'd give this wad a 3.5.

When I finished plutonia, I had no clue what was coming next
400 out of 200

Wow. This wad is mega awesome.

Definitely worthy of the name Plutonia. 

Even after playing many of the well known more modern wads this is still my favorite megawad.

I've played through the entire megawad in both gzdoom and crispy doom.

So far I've only been able to finish it on UV once due to its high difficulty level (although I've come pretty close to doing it again)

The maps are highly details with overall good layouts and architecture. (However some of the larger maps are quite confusing without the automap.

The wad inherits many features from the original iwad such as the intricate monster placements and common use of traps. Many of the maps are directly inspired by maps from plutonia and even doom 2. The music is very well composed and does a good job at complimenting the map.

Most maps in the megawad give a good supply of health between encounters which helps stop the maps from dragging out. Ammo can be semi-scarce on some levels but can still be beaten without running out of ammo even without infighting. Enemy encounters are set up so that the levels always keep the player on their toes, while still giving out enough supplies so that the maps don't be become too unfair. A lot of maps will also start with several enemies creating a fast paced experience.

Overall, plutonia 2 is one of the best megawads I've ever played and definitely my personal favorite.

Favorite map: map 09

it doesn't play anything like plutonia and has little similarity other than in aesthetic. however, that's not a bad thing. not bad at all, in fact! the maps are larger and more exploratory, the monsters are far more numerous with lower-tier enemies appearing far more often, and while efficient monster placement is still the primary focus, it feels much less dickish than the original casali levels. it's also much, much harder. hot starts are common, the amount of projectiles you need to dodge is far higher, and at times it even starts to throw hordes at you (although it never becomes true slaughter)

not only does this feel like a worthy sequel, but it also feels better in nearly every way

This wad is a great sequel to the Plutonia Experiment. But lol, there are more Imps than Chaingunners unlike Plutonia 1 and Go 4 It is an even more insane version of Go 2 It. Still, great megawad and it should be an official sequel of Plutonia

I think rate 4 

Because this wad is cool but hard 

needs many goodies

Options and things:

* GZDoom.

* Have played with "Complex Doom" modification.

* Difficult - "Ultra-Violence".

* 100% secrets and enemies (if not count #33). Finished 32 levels, didn't get into #33. I guess to get there you need to choose right teleport (?) on secret map #32. But I don't know for sure.

* A lot of cyberdemons and skeletons. Really a lot.

* Enough number of save/load required with such options.

* A lot of hard maps. Especially secret onces #31, 32. As for regular - 21,22,30.
* #8 in community top.
 

Pros:

1. + Starting maps are fine. Small, well constructed, not much enemies (less then 150).

2. + MAP 29 (Ticket to Eternity). Nice design.

3. + Challenging.

4. + Combines fine with "Complex Doom" modification.

5. + Good sequel to "Plutonia Experiment". But someone probably will not like local huge maps.

6. + Ammo balance. Especially in case of using Complex Doom.

Contras:

1. - Annoying door switches on some maps.

2. - MAP31 has 2 bugs.

* Area with the credits and items isn't accessable. Seems to switch not working.

* 524/534 enemies. Some probably didn't teleport... or something else. Can't get 100% here.

The wad is epic but need more revenats

4/5

Not enough chaingunners..

Cool wad, pretty good sequel for the original Plutonia, although the remake of Map11 was hell, for all the wrong reasons..

Overall , Good game..

I'm just writing this review to let everyone know that you are supposed to run this choosing the original plutonia as the iwad and not doom2, or else (on zdoom at least) the plutonia textures will be shown as black and the midtextures will not be drawn at all, causing confusion since the blocking lines are still there.

I made that mistake the fist time I played this wad.

Expected more from the makers of Plutonia. The use of an all black texture almost everywhere didn't do much for me and the use of player blocking lines just made it confusing when running from a horde. Couldn't pass level 29 without using no clipping because the final steps were too high.

10/5

I feel the taste of 2000s

Frankly, if you're looking for more Plutonia, this isn't the deal. It's very different, but it's still very good in every aspect. I'd recommend it not for having the Plutonia name in its title, but for being such a good wad in itself.

Being that this was made by a lot of people™, it'd be impossible to talk about how each map performed, but they all pretty much draw resemblance to each other, while also possessing some of the designers' unique quirks visibly into them. Nothing's perfect, so there's a handful of levels that either aren't made for most people or straight up suck (like MAP15, and, arguably, 25).

Every level is challenging, even more so than the original Plutonia ones, though it still possesses Plutonia's design of combat of placing the player between a rock and a hard place in nearly every area, sometimes executed poorly, like trial and error, which can feel unfair.

Visibly beautiful and playfully slaughterful, fitting with its great soundtrack.

One of the best wads I've ever played, has a great and memorable soundtrack while also having a nice and difficult (but satisfying) level design. To me a nice step up from the original and a way more balanced map pack overall.

Highly recommended to people who want a nice and difficult wad to play.

Great WAD, some of the later levels are awesome. A good step up in difficulty compared to the original Plutonia, you'll feel right at home here if you play it right after Final DOOM.

"Putrid stench in your last breath,
Seeing death is nothingness,
Inhale the winds of punishment.

Aim!
Fire!
Attack! " (Perversor - Inhale (Anticosmocrator, 2015)).

And thus, Plutonia 2 ended, played through Eternity 4.00.00 Voluspa on UV difficulty. A rather interesting community sequel to the most challenging IWAD, but does it live up to its name? Well let's find out, shall we?

Plutonia 2, as the name implies, is a community sequel to The Plutonia Experiment, one half of the Final Doom expansion for the original Doom II. It aims to be a continuation to the IWAD and thus it sticks pretty close to its philosophy while adding new things to the table and expanding upon the foundation of the predecessor. It comes with new music, status bar, ENDOOM screen, fonts, and intermission screens. The Schutzstaffel and Commander Keen are the only non-standard Doom II enemies to make an appearance in the levels.

The design of the maps stays true to that of the original while bringing its own spin and usually taking liberties, but the essence of Plutonia is present in every map, that being challenging combat and smart enemy usage. The player is carried on various locations on Earth and Hell during the journey, both indoors and outdoors, and faces an Icon of Sin at the end.

Similar to the original, the difficulty curve is traditional, starting relatively easy and slowly becoming more difficult s you make progress. Relatively, because just like the original even the first map can give the player a false sense of safety, but all it takes is a dumb mistake and everything goes down. Mistakes are costly in Plutonia, and Plutonia 2 is no different. There are also no difficulty spikes, therefore the balancing is done well for all maps, from the beginning to the end, and the enemies or maps themselves aren't the only thing to pay attention to either. Resource management plays a big role. Easy to get fooled into believing the maps are offering a bunch of ammo or health, only to discover in potentially the same map that it isn't so. Monster infighting also helps in the more punishing sections. 

Although the general ideas of Plutonia are followed, certain iconic maps present an interesting take on their concept, with perhaps the most notable level being MAP11: Arch-Violence, which expands on the original's Hunted. This time around the player finds himself in a maze with 3 locked door (3 keys), and the Arch-Viles are no longer encountered one by one, facing even small groups at once.

Another difference would be the lack of very tricky portions that the original had. A notable example here would the notorious Soul Bridge, an idea which isn't seen in PL2 at all, instead resorting to other creative traps and encounters to kill the player or push them over the edge. But this is perhaps were the problems arise. Despite the encounters being fair and challenging most of the time, there are a number of questionable choices. Sometimes the player is ambushed in very dark, if not pitch dark rooms, and occasionally a completely unexpected monster closet opens up, killing an unsuspecting target in a matter of moments. There are also a number of secrets that are trapped, instantly spawning enemies around you. Both are cheap ways to kill an unsuspecting target as neither of them require the player to anything other than have previous knowledge, as by the time they assess the situation they're dead. Other than this, despite some maps paying homage to other traits of their IWAD counterpart, they might go too far. MAP29 is one such scenario. Although it's a very solid map with good layout, interesting areas, great use of textures, and fun combat, it's too long for its own good, taking almost or over an hour to finish in a blind playthrough. MAP29 was also the longest map in Plutonia, but took nowhere near as much, thus this level being an example of a level taking an idea to the extreme.

The final map has, unfortunately, a very anti-climatic end game battle. This is because it's one of the worst takes on the IoS out there. The player is tasked with shooting the eyes, or forehead, of an IoS from awkward angles. Awkward, because it can only be found out through trial-and-error, shooting it randomly until it starts making noises. The only clue given by the platforms that need to be raised is that it's either the left side of its face, or right, nothing else. Certainly fun to shoot rockets randomly.

The music is another interesting aspect in PL2. The most intriguing part being that it's literally all over the place. It features entirely new tracks from different sources, as well as Doom and Doom II. It makes no sense. Luckily though, the tracks do fit the maps they're used it, so this becomes less of a problem, despite still being there anyway. The new tracks seem to be more action oriented, unsurprising considering that PL2 places greatest emphasis on gameplay, and then the visuals and atmosphere, although it has plenty of that.

Fortunately, these are also the only problems in PL2. For a community project with contributions from various authors the quality is fairly consistent, but it's also easy to tell when you're playing a map done by someone else as they all exhibit pretty different gameplay styles, design, and enemy usage, while also keeping in mind the core aspects of the original. This is always important but sometimes difficult to nail in projects, where quality consistency can become a real problem, and it's not without precedent to run into a few, or a lot of, fantastic maps, only to end up in a real crappy map, or maps, in the same wad at some point. The opposite is also true, the maps becoming too similar to each other to the point the player has no idea whose map they're playing because there's nothing to create contrast between them.

Do you miss the Chaingunners, for instance? So do they, they're back with a vengeance. So, PL2 might not be perfect, and in some cases perhaps (slightly) worse than the original, but it definitely is worthy of the title and does justice to Final Doom's Plutonia Experiment while adding its own spin. My favorite levels are going to be the ones seen in the first half, plus MAP29. Yes, it drags on terribly, but the design and gameplay is solid so calling it awful based solely on that would be foolish and dishonest. So, grab your weapons and start reliving the Plutonian experience.