Update: Also includes a link to a mod-for-the-mod that adds a whole new set of weapons.

The Doom shareware episode – Knee Deep In The Dead – is a cornerstone of modern gaming. It was one of the first major game releases to be distributed online, and it set the standard for networked multiplayer, bringing deathmatch to the masses. The layout of those familiar few levels is burnt indelibly into the minds of many. Recently released Doom 1 (yes, you need the original, full game along with the modernized GZDoom engine) mod The Phobos Directive sets out to give you a fresh spin on those familiar environments.

While Knee Deep In The Dead has already been taken apart and reassembled with modern components in the form of Knee Deep in ZDoom, The Phobos Directive puts a somewhat more Metroid-ish spin on the proceedings. Your goal is simple: Get the hell off of Phobos (moon of Mars) before hell gets too far onto it. Not quite so simple, now that the entire Union Aerospace Corporation Phobos facility has traded in its simple arcade progression in favor of becoming a huge non-linear expanse of 8 sections branching off a single large hub facility. Even less simple, as there’s a good few new types of enemies, balanced out by there being upgrades to each of your weapons hidden around the base, unlocking new and powerful alternative fire-modes.

The end result is a large, non-linear and remarkably replayable campaign that comes in as easily twice the length of the original first episode – easily a full game’s length. To compensate for health pickups not working quite so well in a non-linear format, portable health items are mixed in with the instantly effective sort, allowing you to heal yourself up on your own terms via a Heretic/Hexen-esque inventory system. At its core, though, this is still Doom. The enemies are (mostly) familiar, the guns still feel right, and the music (nicely remixed) still brings back warm fuzzy memories.

Familiar or not, The Phobos Directive still uses every trick in the book that the updated GZDoom engine offers. Modern, atmospheric lighting, sloped surfaces, proper 3D spaces (rooms can exist over other rooms), transparent liquids to wade in and jumping/ducking where appropriate. The levels also use 3D space more than classic Doom, so it’s highly recommended that you switch on mouselook to deal with enemies above and below. While sure to irk purists, it can be argued that the entire point of mods is to introduce new content and elements into the game, so why not go all-in?

If you’ve still got the original Doom knocking around in your Steam account (or anywhere for that matter – you only need the core WAD data file), there’s not much reason not to give this a spin. As mentioned, you’ll need the GZDoom engine to run it, and you can download the mod itself at The Doom Nexus here.

Also, prolific weapon-mod creator WildWeasel went and created a new weapon-set specifically for The Phobos Directive. Get it here. To run both mods, get a Doom launcher such as this, and load The Phobos Directive, then the bonus weapon pack in that order.

[The Phobos Directive]

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