Author: The Black Star

Release Date: Unknown
(Note: Dates are in British format DD/MM/YYYY)

So here we are with a map maker's farewell to Doom. Talosian is a partial replacement for Doom 2 which has proven successful in the Doom Community. To be honest this is another megawad which in my opinion is more successful than it deserves to be. I think it's mostly due to the eerie mood set by the new sky graphics and the new music. Also, Malcolm Sailor contributes a couple of very exciting maps.

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Difficulty: Medium (UV)

I didn't have many problems with the maps in this collection. Most of them are easy on co-operative mode.

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Gameplay: Average

For the most part I was not inspired by The Talosian Incident. The first map doesn't even have any monsters. "Setting the mood" is a good idea, but "running around with nothing to do" isn't. Map 2 is my favourite for its eerieness. One of the later levels is very short but nasty inside a deserted building where tons of demons attack.

The underground theme started to wear on me after a while. Talosian lacks the excitement and fast pace of Requiem, the co-operative fun of Memento Mori, the adventure and aesthetic appeal of Alien Vendetta. Nothing stands out, nothing struck me as curious or original for the most part. I would recommend Biowar over Talosian Incident.

Highlights: Music is superb. The new sky replacement works perfectly with the music to create a sombre, nostalgic mood. Malcolm Sailor's maps are really good.

Lowlights: A couple of the underground maps are really bad (they're the same level played in reverse). The constant underground levels made me feel trapped and claustrophobic in a bad way. The architecture is somewhat less than interesting.

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Aesthetics: Average

Average is the word of the day with nothing of note apart from the blazing orange sky. The appearance of a wad is very important to me. I wouldn't buy a crap-looking car even if it was wonderful to drive. So why would I enjoy playing a wad which doesn't concentrate on looking nice? This is subjective of course but then again you come here to read my opinions, so there it is.

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Overall Score: 5/10

Pros:
- Superb music sets the mood.

Cons:
- Can be repetitive.
- Simply all-round average.