Review 4 - The Ghouls Forest

New ideas are always interesting. They might not work out so well and all we may be left with a large pile of what many would call “number 2” but it never ceases to be interesting. Nevertheless, many (I’d say most) of the wads containing new ideas I’ve played seem to be overall quite enjoyable and a satisfying experience.

The Ghouls Forest, a wad by Cutman Mike is probably one of the most revolutionary wads I’ve ever seen. It brings a whole new branch into the DOOM gameplay possibilities and leaves players with a feeling of “that was a fucking good idea! I wish I’d done that before!”

The basic premise of the wad is that you’re lost in a forest. It’s a dark, creepy forest where one could get lost very easily (and that’s not only cause all the trees look alike). As if it’s not enough that you’re completely lost, there’s this ghastly, horrendous moaning face floating around the map looking for you.

The rules of the map are simple: kill this Ghoul called “Choke” before he kills you. Sounds easy? Too easy? Think again. The map is dark. It’s hard to see Choke. He floats moves faster than a bloody meteorite falling towards the earth. He’s fast, he’s ugly, and he’s lethal. Just a few bites from him will take you out and, what is more, the player will probably be so freaked out that he pops out of fucking nowhere, that they’ll be too busy running away from him to shoot him!

The Ghouls Forest is one of the wads that have lead to some of the most varied opinions. Many see it as a brilliant and original masterpiece. Others see it as crap. Of course, most of the negative views stem from the fact that the players were “scared shitless” and/or had “shat bricks”. How can you be so stupid? It would be as ridiculous as saying that wow.wad is garbage because it lacks gameplay! The fact of the matter is that, similar to how wow.wad is a joke wad and is not meant to be taken seriously, The Ghouls Forest is a terror wad and is made to evoke feelings of horror and dread in the player. Cutman Mike himself constantly reminds players that the wad is not for the faint of heart.

I’ll be sure to review his other works at a later stage including, but not limited to: The Ghouls Forest 2 / The Ghouls Forest 3 / Ghouls vs Humans (GvH)

Grades

• This wad is all about new content. New levels, new sounds, new Ghouls! Brilliant! 7

• One of the many problems that players had with this wad was the fact that it's very difficult. Whilst Choke can kill the players in few seconds, they need to pump it full of rounds before it would die. Id give it a 6 because of this.

Gameplay is original, simple and fun. Not much can be said here. Definately something to get your mind off slaying Arch-Viles and Cyberdemons. 8

Although I've never played this wad on Multiplayer, I have read other people's comments and seen videos of co-op against the ghoul. Seems to be enjoyable and being able to see your friends killed through Choke's eyes after he's killed you is a blast. Pity it's practically limited to Co-op and survival mode. 5

Frankly, I didn't really like the Forest Architechture in this wad. The Ghouls Forest 2 and 3 improved on the detail there, but it still looks rather blocky and ugly in this wad. I'd give it a 4.

7+6+8+5+4 = 30

30 / 5 = 6

The Ghouls Forest gets a 6! A pretty good wad since it gives us a completely new idea to work on. However, it still has many problems related to difficulty and architechture. These are (mostly) corrected in the next wads in the series: The Ghouls Forest 2 and The Ghouls Forest 3.