TNT: Evilution is a rather odd WAD. Sure, it's part of the commercial set of Final Doom, and is the more accessible one as its difficulty isn't on Plutonia's memorable scale. But it's also mired in past controversy over the whole "pay to get Final Doom" stuff and what not. Regardless, this half of Final Doom is one that I go back to, even if I don't always enjoy myself all the time, and after playing through it yet again, I managed to think up the best ten maps that are the ones most enjoyable. So let's see what they are.
(and no, Metal and Mount Pain won't make the list, sorry, you fools).
10. Central Processing (MAP20)
This is certainly a controversial pick, considering all three of Drake O'Brien's levels feel like they all overstay their welcome. Whereas Administration Center has the centralized main area, and the open field that follows it, the side areas tend to be a bit boring. Mount Pain, of course, is an amalgamation of sewer hallways, weird linedef triggers, and lost souls teleporting on the mountain over and over, but almost none of it ends up being fun. Central Processing, which is the first of the Drake maps, is a relatively staggering map, one that is long, overstays its welcome, but at least the encounters are well put. The office area is silly, and once you clear the monsters, the huge valley at the east end feels empty. Nevertheless, the feel is atmospheric over there, and the level definitely proves itself well as an adventure map, with doses of back and forth every now and then.
9. Last Call (MAP30)
Obviously, I made an entire rant about the legacy of the final map in Evilution, the good, and the horrible. Yes, that Icon of Sin fight itself sucks, and a number of areas in the middle of the map are kinda meh. But of course, the torch block puzzle is an outright showstealer and one that many thought was trial and error when they first played it. Further proving this level's memorability is that spiral staircase that gets built, a testament to the fact that this is one of the select few IWAD maps that actually utilized "dummy sectors".
8. Heck (MAP28)
I gotta say, the Casali twins did horrible with their Evilution levels. Mill overstays its welcome and has a couple of puzzles that are non-intuitive, and the two secret levels are fairly difficult, but for all the wrong reasons, plus they are quite large and exhausting too. Heck, the one made by Milo, is generally alright for the most part. It's a fairly standard hub map, which is a blessing for it and a curse at the same time. Things are organized, and you've even got two areas that resemble MAP18 The Courtyard and MAP28 The Spirit World from Doom II, except more compact and difficult. Nevertheless, it's still not as tough for a level this late. This is also the final map in the TNT portion of PSX Final Doom, and I'm quite disappointed there wasn't some majorly big enemies to tangle with here.
7. River Styx (MAP29)
River Styx is yet another map where the player is staggered on approaching the enemies and such. It's got the adventure feel to it too, you go down the path until you reach the marble temple, deal with its trials and tribulations, including a nasty crusher room and another with a spider mastermind (one of three in the whole wad, four if you count the one on Caribbean on ITYTD/HNTR). The tower area with the arch-vile can be quite frantic too. It may not be the best of MAP29's, particularly in buildup, but it works well as any sort of middling level.
6. Dead Zone (MAP15)
While there's bound to be some frantic action in Final Doom, most of it is segmented in mostly linear levels without much in the way of nonlinearity. Dead Zone is a straight-up sandbox, you can enter the main building or run around the sides, picking things off, a testament to the sandbox city levels of Doom II. On the surface, it's probably the ugliest map, with hidden doors not being easy to find without an automap or so. But it plays frantic and well and combat matters more. It sure has its fun moments.
5. Deepest Reaches (MAP16)
I consider Deepest Reaches to be the most interesting of the TNT Evilution maps. For one, its author, Andre Arsenault, doesn't seem to have a record of making any other map, so this is a one-map wonder for the author. Another is that it stands starkly contrast to everything thus far. The hellish parts of Final Doom aren't shown yet, but Deepest Reaches comes the closest, with the iconic-looking scenery of rocks jutting from the slime, the wicked library section, a few chapels here and there, and loads of subterranean caverns. It's certainly a fun adventure map. Later in the WAD, Ballistyx will follow suit with its subterranean combat.
4. Wormhole (MAP04)
The idea of deja vu is rarely explored as it can be hard to make it seem interesting in a way. Sadly for TNT Evilution, this is only explored once, but wow, when you look at TNT-inspired community wads, it's quite obvious that Wormhole served as an inspiration. Its difficulty is deceiving as well, I mean, the cramped corridors are one thing, but the trap in the beginning is another. The familiarity of the layout can be used for the second half, and oddly enough, for this map, you don't need to enter it at all if you find the right linedef for the exit.
3. Stronghold (MAP09)
Metal is such a horrible map. From the start it feels non-metal, you've got hitscanners everywhere, and that stupid end room is just blind luck for a majority of players, especially if they're not fully prepared. Stronghold on the other hand, yes, it's packed to the gills with enemies too, but they aren't gonna go for cheap tricks and open arenas. You'll be fighting all the small fries in Stronghold in more confined spaces, which should be worked to the advantage. In the end though, as far as a hitscanner-centric map, this fares far better than the one that preceded it. An interesting fact is that this map right here has only one demon, everything else is a zombie or an imp and there's nothing stronger than them in the whole map. What fun!
2. System Control (MAP01)
You know what they say. A first impression has got to be the very best. Looking at System Control, well it's just a techbase in layout...what's that? A berserk pack already? System Control starts you with the handy berserk pack, almost as if to convey that this map will be a load of fun right off the bat. Many berserk-oriented maps exist as starting maps (which can be episode starters by the way), and this was the first major one more or less. POW! POW! POW! It never gets old to punch everything on Evilution's starting map, and that's why it ranks highly.
1. Crater (MAP12)
Crater is quintessential Evilution. You've got the decently constructed techbase with slight nonlinearity, the outside areas that are somewhat expansive, the hitscanners and imps out and about, and all within a reasonably sized level. Hallways are done right, stronger monsters are spaced evenly, and there's even the peculiar dark room with border lights. A neat effect. Also neat is the walkway where you can look at a huge slimefall, in one of the most beautiful aspects of scenery in an IWAD ever. The water areas that follow aren't all that interesting, but they do give a Tom Hall-esque design vibe given their optionality. This is the level that just screams Evilution in every which way.
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