Final Doom

The gameplay mechanics of Final Doom are nearly identical to Doom II: Hell on Earth, featuring the same weapons, items, and monsters. However, it is widely considered to be significantly more difficult than its predecessors Doom and Doom II, with The Plutonia Experiment generally being considered more difficult than TNT: Evilution.

The gameplay in the PlayStation version of Final Doom is nearly identical to that found in the PlayStation version of Doom, and, in addition, it was compatible with the PlayStation Mouse. Compared to the MS-DOS original, the PlayStation version's overall difficulty was significantly reduced. Many of the harder levels were removed and those that remained often had enemies taken out. For instance, the Cyberdemon was removed from the level 'Baron's Lair'.

In TNT: Evilution, the UAC are once again intent on developing and experimenting with dimensional gateway technology. They set up a base on one of the moons of Jupiter, with a detachment of space marines for protection. The marines do their job well; when the first experimental gateway is opened, they annihilate the forces of Hell. Research continues with more confidence and all security measures turned at the gateway.

A few months later, the annual supply arrives ahead of schedule and appears unusually large on radar. The radar operators initially dismiss the anomaly. When base personnel investigate, they discover that the approaching vessel is a demonic spacecraft constructed from steel, stone and organic material. Its gates open and release large numbers of demons, which quickly overrun the facility, killing or transforming its personnel.

The original TNT: Evilution megawad was created by TeamTNT, a group of WAD-making hobbyists who were active on the 'advanced Doom editing' mailing list. It was scheduled to be released online as a free download on October 25, 1995. However, just 5 hours before its release John Romero contacted the leader of TeamTNT, Ty Halderman, with an offer to acquire and sell the project as an official product." The 2–3 dozen core members of TeamTNT formed a legal entity and completed the sale to id Software a couple weeks later. GT Interactive secured worldwide rights to distribute the game in February 1996.

Brothers Dario and Milo Casali, who had contributed eight levels to TNT: Evilution, were assigned the task of creating what became The Plutonia Experiment after having sent an eight-level WAD they had created to American McGee and managing to impress him along with the rest of the id Software crew. They created 16 levels each for The Plutonia Experiment in four months time, and submitted them in January 1996. Unlike their contributions to TNT: Evilution, which were edited by id Software before the final release, no revisions were made to or requested for these 32 levels.

Reviewing the PC version in GameSpot, Jim Varner argued that Final Doom is a waste of money, since it is essentially just a new set of level maps for Doom, and there were already thousands of such maps available to download for free on the internet.

While GamePro criticized that Final Doom has no new enemies or weapons, and that the PlayStation version includes only 30 levels as compared to the PC version's 64, they were pleased with the "huge, perplexing, and sometimes sadistic levels" and the new scenery, and considered Doom still a compelling enough game that simply more of the same was enough to satisfy. PlayStation Magazine gave it a score of 9/10, calling it "essential". A reviewer for Next Generation was less impressed, remarking that a side-by-side comparison with the PlayStation version of the original Doom reveals that Final Doom has a much lower frame rate, less precise control, and more visible seams in the textures. Three of the four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly said they were tired of seeing ports of Doom, and that Final Doom was simply another such port with new level maps.