The great battle between space marines and demonic forces has raged for 23 years, and while we wait for the fourth installment under Bethesda Softworks, a small surprise arrives for the original game from John Romero. The programmer and designer decided to go back to his roots with a special level named Tech Gone Bad, which replaces the eighth mission.
If all goes well, fans of the Doom saga will enjoy a new installment in the middle of this year. The official gameplay at last year's E3 was very well received, and many speak of a return to the nest, with blood and guts flying in all directions. After all, out-of-control violence (though justified, since we're fighting hordes of demons) is what made Doom one of the most important franchises in the last 25 years, and it keeps a community of modders alive with extraordinary skill. Just look at what they achieved through Brutal Doom to see that their dedication is as alive as ever.
One of those modders, though not as active as the rest, is John Romero. According to his own words, 21 years have passed since he designed a level for Doom, and out of nowhere he decided to publish on Dropbox an alternative version of the last mission of the first episode, called Tech Gone Bad. Romero created this level in two weeks, investing a few hours of his free time, and he considers it a warm-up, which makes us imagine there will be additional developments in the near future. It's also necessary to remember that the original eighth level is Phobos Anomaly, leading to the end of the campaign "Knee-Deep in the Dead" — the only one available in the famous shareware version of Doom.
To run this external level you'll need to review some of the old secondary commands and, of course, have a copy of the first Doom. Luckily, there is a significant number of mods, launchers, and special environments (like DOSBox) that should make the process of starting Doom on a modern computer much easier.
