Action Doom 2: Urban Brawl

Action Doom 2: Urban Brawl is a stand-alone total conversion mod, released in September 2008 which runs using the ZDoom source port. It was mainly developed by Stephen Browning, with ACS scripting by Mike Watson and James Bauer. It is the prequel to the 2004 total conversion Action Doom, but has a different gameplay style. Whereas the original Action Doom was a sidescrolling shoot 'em up using Doom's first-person perspective, Action Doom 2 instead simulates a beat 'em up.

The project
Development on Urban Brawl began in 2004 just months after release of the original Action Doom on July 3, 2004. Instead of egregious advertising, like the original, the project remained entirely unknown to the community until the day of release. Urban Brawl features a distinct comic book art style with colorful scenery and characters rendered entirely in cel-shading. The game's enemy roster was drawn on paper, scanned, and colored. Similar to Beat 'em ups, many characters are a mere palette swap of previous enemies. Instead of using Doom's engine to calculate light, the lighting is texture-based. Objects and walls cast black shadows when seen in sunlight and blue textures were used to simulate a moonlight appearance.

The game can run as a standalone either with version 2.3.0+ of ZDoom or with its own included executable, requiring no IWAD to run.

Outside of gameplay, the story is told mainly through black and white, film noir-style cutscenes inspired by Sin City. Darknation wrote most of the dialogue and cutscenes, while Mike Lightner contributed the voiceovers. The story can branch off in different paths depending on the player's actions, and features multiple possible endings.

The soundtrack was created entirely by Ralph Vickers.

On December 10, 2008, Action Doom 2 was one of the winners of the 2008 Cacowards.

Versions
Action Doom 2 was available in two forms: A free download, and a CD that could be purchased from the official website for USD$9.99 through PayPal. The CD version came with its own case and box art, as well as several exclusive bonus levels including a survival zombie war set in an urban environment. The sale of the CD version has been discontinued as of May 20, 2010. As a result, the bonus levels have been released for free on the Action Doom 2 website.

Characters
The notable characters in the game are :
 * Mr.Action - Urban Brawl guy (protagonist, father, ex-military jarhead drinker, real name assumed to be Michael Mancuso; a heads up to the Mike Lightner the voice actor)
 * Kidnapped daughter (name never mentioned,  10 years old kid, Mr.Action calls her "Baby girl" or "Princess")
 * Jerry Marconi (a mobster who apparently knows every underground scheme, owns a gay bar.)
 * Peter Crisp (CEO of the Phylex Corporation and your daughter's kidnapper.)
 * Mary (the middle-aged woman who saves protagonist, if you lose the subway fight.)
 * Tommy Locaota (Mafia boss at the bridge route, tipped off by Marconi about Mr. Action's presence. Drops brass knuckles upon beaten down)
 * Scuba Steve (Developer of the mod, makes an approach as an enemy at the top floor of Phylex building)
 * Hugo (The psychotic killer in the farm who killed and maybe ate Mary's son with many other. Notorious for blocking any melee attack you can throw at him and counter-attacking with the deadly series of uppercuts. Hardest boss to take down unless you are prepared for it.)
 * Gary (The Policeman who you might find at the farm levels. Tied to a chair.)
 * Flynn Haggar (your ex-military, now wrestler friend. You might call him at several parts of the game from phone booths if he is not dead previously.)
 * Jennifer (passed away wife, worked with Phylex in the past)

Storyline
Urban Brawl's timeline is 10 years before the UAC Site 4 events, where the main character is a drinking ex-military guy who lives in Saigon with his daughter alone in his flat, after wife passed away. After a day of binge drinking in the park, he comes back to his home drunk, just to find his door half-open instead of shut and locked. Upon storming inside, he see that some business-man type professional assassiner taking away his daughter, also threatening him at gunpoint. Before our hero can clench his fists, he goes unconscious because of being intoxicated and possibly a blunt impact to behind of his head. After getting up, he understands that the man and his daughter are gone and now his house is lit on fire to remove any trace of evidence.

Meeting with Marconi
Mr. Action escapes from his burning home and finds himself against street gangs. Every punk and gang member coming out from corners and apartments slowly as he approaches. Our hero is quick to realize there's now a big reward prize on his head. He battles his way through many of the gangs and street punks to the local gay bar. He wanted to ask some questions to the Marconi the owner, who has a hand or ear at every underground thing going around the city. He first have to take down the dancers there and when dust finally settles off, Marconi offers to give him a tip about that muddle he's in. He tells him to take a cab to the downtown to find the info he wants.

From here you have three options:
 * Take the cab and follow Marconi's tip
 * Go through the subway directly to search the trail on your own
 * Make Marconi tell you the truth once you destroyed his car.

If you take the cab
Cab will take you to an incomplete bridge at downtown, still under construction. Mr.Action will notice that Marconi's red car is near and see that he's being led to a trap already. Our hero beats the mafia big head to get information from him, and "borrows" his Brass Knuckles. Marconi will tip off Mr. Crisp as well while our hero is through with the bridge. When you go to the Phylex building after beating the mafia boss, learning Phylex Corporation is behind all of this, Crisp has a trap for you at his room. When you finally enter his room after beating all of his guards, floor by floor, you don't see your daughter in his office. You go to jail never knowing where your daughter is. (Bad Ending #1)

If you go with subway
You will have some fights with the gangs inside subway and after entering the train fighting the gangs there. When exiting you will enter a gang circle where two gang bosses picks a fight with you. You must let them beat you, otherwise you have lost the lead of your daughter and being killed from behind with a gunshot. (Bad Ending #2)

When you lose this fight you wake up in Mary's house and she tells you that she found you in the alley and she brought you home and took care of you for a whole week. After telling your story, you learn that her son was lost too, but his trail ands in a forest and an abandoned old house. So you exit the house and go to the forest.

In the forest you have to go through a mine field. If you keep exploring around by minding where you are stepping you might find an empty Chainsaw near a trashed car. That's actually a key item, if you want an easy fight and a good ending.

After passing the river you'll enter a field, full of haystacks and grasses. You will be attacked by a sniper rifle guy who appears to be a pissed off farmer, wanting to kill any trespasser. After some hiding around the field behind haystacks, you will eventually get past more wood and mine field to find a spooky house with a police car in front of it with headlights on. You enter the house and roam around to get attacked by feral looking wild dogs. After killing the both, fall into the basement where graves lie beneath. Upon some exploring around the pitch black darkness, you'll find a glaring red button in the dark. Here you can either turn on the generator or fill up the chainsaw if you found it.

a. If you turn on the generator
You continue the now enlightened basement and after a while you will find a half-broken wall and a shovel. Hitting the wall with a Shovel will crumble it and reveal a police officer tied to a chair. Mr.Action will rescue the cop kept there and escort him back to his car. You'll be informed that, there is a serial killer lives here who kills and eats the children. If not, player will get eventually convinced when they see the missing posters covering all over the top floor roofs once lights are on. So after you rescue the cop by breaking the wall, you trekback to the same broken wall at the basement and continue towards the path to confront the killer in the frozen warehouse (Hugo).

After killing Hugo, the cop waiting outside gives you info about the Phylex Corporation which is behind it all. After that you go into the corporation, kill all the guards, climb the floors and enter the CEO office. He meets you when your daughter is beside him. He tells you that he is your daughter's biological father.

Last fight starts with Crisp sending his guards and professional contract killers in the room. After killing the security guards in his office, suddenly your daughter turns against you and shoots you with a handgun. After you lose the gang boss fight Crisp had the opportunity of strengthening the bond with his biological daughter. Mr.Action sent into a hospital and suicide there. (Bad Ending #3)

b. If you fill up the chainsaw by drawing fuel
You will leave the basement in the dark and break the wooden planks blocking the warehouse used as a freezer and enter it. Before the fight you may wanna remove the planks you see around to find a large gas canister. Upon entering the warehouse you will confront Hugo. After killing him you will marry Mary and have two kids, while believing that your daughter was killed in the farm. (Good Ending #1)

If you destroy Marconi's car
He will tell you the truth, you proceed to the subway to take the train to the Phylex building. After beating your way through the subway, train and leaving a large pile of bodies, you'll enter the circle of gang members to get pitted against 2 mob bosses as usual. If you win you will directly proceed to Phylex building and start to kill all the security guards up to top floor to get into the Crisp's office. At last fight Crisp will call upon more security guards and professional hitmans at an increasing rate. After you're done he will send a chopper after you which you will have to destroy. If at any moment of the fight, you try to hit Crisp when he has your daughter, you will kill them both (Bad Ending #4).

After destroying the chopper there, your daughter bites Crisp's hand and comes to your side. This is your cue to kill him. When Crisp is dead, you hug your daughter, and the two of you start a new life. (Good Ending #2)

If you lose the subway fight, you have two chances: Forest or the Phylex Corporation. Each of them goes the same story (Phylex results in Good Ending #2)

Weapons
There are many weapons found in the game :
 * Action Fists (Default Fists. Double tapping right mouse unleashes a devastating right uppercut at the cost of being immobilized for a small while. Left swings with alt fire are slightly slower than right punches which is your primary attack)
 * Whiskey Bottle (a full whiskey bottle serves as armor in this game, reducing the damage by a large margin. Have a long windup animation for drinking before you see the effects. Once emptied it's nothing different than any other melee weapon you found in the game.)


 * Pistol (found in the MAP01's cabinet at the starting room, protagonist calls it "Sarah" when you try to leave the building without picking "her" up. Alt fire can smack with the bottom for small amount of damage. Can be reloaded on demand)
 * Bottles, nailed short plank , heavy chain (and many other you can find on streets. They all deal 1-8 damage, attack speed and wind up time changes)
 * Switch Blade (another common melee weapon. Alt fire can throw the knife for more damage.)
 * Fire Extinguisher (Rapid fires what appears to be frozen carbon, alt fire can smack for small melee damage. Can put out small fires and can freeze an enemy solid at death animation only for cosmetic purposes.)
 * Baseball Bat (One of the heavy hitters. Can be found from a few spots throughout the game. First one is right at the start room behind the door consumed by flames.)
 * Wrench (Another heavy hitter that only appears at a few spots in the game. Quite sturdy. First one being the toilets before you enter the train)
 * Billard Cue (Hits way hard than most melee weapons but breaks in one hit. A few at the entrance of gay bar area and the casino floor of the Phylex building.)
 * Shocker (found in Phylex Building on the desk at the map start and also found at Peter Crisp's desk)
 * Shovel (found in farm-slaughterhouse level, hits hard but its rather short lived)
 * Katana (accessible if you find a secret area by making a leap of faith or unlock the secret room in Crisp's office. Only can be kept after a challenge. Alt fire can block some of the incoming projectiles)
 * Uzi (found in Phylex Building from the fallen high ranked security guards with shades. Only drops by small chance. At the easier difficulties you can find this weapon lay around at the street. Replaces Pistol once you pick it up.)
 * Maul (Forces you to become immobilized the moment you swing it. Not ideal for hit and run but a slower approach for accuracy against tougher guys.)
 * Brass Knuckles (Upgrades your fists. Only dropped by mafia boss at the bridge route where a bad end is inevitable)
 * Action Chainsaw (found in the forest. Need fuel to work. Have a long kickstart animation but once it starts running it decimates anything infront of its blade)
 * Shurikens (tripplet throwing solid steel ninja stars, drops from ninja ladies you encounter at the top floor of Phylex)
 * Blunderbuss (found in Peter Crisp's office while fighting the chopper. Helicopter fire drops it from above the entrance door. Replaces Uzi or Pistol, once you pick it up. Requires reload and cocking it up before firing)
 * Cheetah Fists (cheat unlocks, rapidly fast jabs)
 * Dragon Fists (cheat unlocks, alt fire now casts a "cat-doken" instead of an uppercut)

Environment
Action Doom 2 have an interactable colorful environment. Hand-drawn and textured. Game pits you with a dozen of enemies that throw themselves onto you, gauntlet style. Once you're done with them, game lets you access the next area via invisible triggers.

There are a few spots where Mr.Action have to push buttons to reveal secret areas for better weapons, make phone calls for help or access elevators for advancing through. Being a jarhead hobo, Mr. Action can whack objects or doors to find treasured items for bonus points at game end or health replenishes to put on a better fight. As story develops, you'll occassionally see water dispensers that you can use a few times to replenish your health.

However, environment is not limited to buttons, smashing objects or invisible triggers only, but cover hazards as well. There are a few hazards lying along the levels, that you can shove bad guys under. Chandeliers can be shot by a pistol to crush what's beneath them, fire hydrants can be punched for their water pulsed lid to home-in to the nearest target. That makes fights much easier if you can find points to juke enemies, or use what's nearby.

Difficulty
Game have 4 different difficulty scale as opposed to 5 that is default among classic Doom series. With every diffiiculty scale climbing up, enemies will hit harder, become crowded and will have more health. It's possible to see medium ranked enemies earlier among low tiers, and high ranked enemies by the small crowds of 5-6 at the middle of the story.

Lower difficulties will be more abundant about health items and pistol ammo also secret areas will contain high grade heavy hitting weapons. Higher difficulties will be more scarce about health items and pistol ammo, while secret areas only will contain lower grade weapons compared to the earlier difficulties. This makes pistol ammo and whiskey bottles pretty valuable items as player decides to take higher challenges.

Cheats
You can use GIVE or SUMMON to get the weapon, health , ammunition and everything else you want. also idfa fills your current weapons and idclip and idclev do the same act with the original cheat codes. Game also, gives you 2 extra cheat codes to summon helper side characters, if your score exceeds certain threshold; Gary and the dog. Apparently they were planned story involved sidekicks; perhaps dog was your daughter's best friend, and Gary joins you when you save him from slaughterhouse level, but somehow both discarded along the project's design. Also there are two different fist types player can unlock from console for fun.

Endings
There are six events that two of them are not a real ending :
 * You meet Peter Crisp, but he has a trap for you and sends you to jail. (If you take the taxi or use idclev 10 cheat code.)
 * You meet Peter Crisp and kill all of his guards, but your daughter shoots you with a handgun (this happens if you fail the subway fight and go to farm and save the policeman and then kill Hugo. Letting your daughter to strengthen bonds with Crisp)
 * You hit Peter Crisp when he is carrying your daughter. This causes them both to die by falling their death (this is more like a game over)
 * You meet Peter Crisp, kill all of his guards and destroy the chopper. therefore your daughter comes to your side and you kill Peter Crisp. (The True Ending, happens when you destroy Marconi's car and go to the Phylex Building directly without losing the dynamic duo bossfight.)
 * You directly enter the subway without getting directions, lose the lead for your daughter in the subway and get killed by the gangs (more like a game over, happens when going with subway without destroying Marconi's car and win over the gang bosses, rest of the mob finishes you.)
 * You marry Mary and have two kids without knowing what happened to your daughter. (This happens when you fail the subway fight and go to the forest and kill Hugo without rescuing the cop.)

Promotional offerings
Scattered throughout each level of Urban Brawl, there were unique specialty items which awarded the player 100,000 points per pickup. Additionally, discovering all nine unique items revealed to the player the official contest website and how to win. The winners were:
 * Dylan Sanchez
 * Robert Yarborough
 * Mike Ewer

Bugs

 * If player is running the mod through any new doom sourceport, and not its own stand-alone exe file, there's an engine false flag. When player take the taxi and head for bridge, there's a road blocking bus positioned diagonally to separate the road. Player have to go in, beat up a few bad guys and go out to trigger the next phase. But because of the mentioned unsourced engine mistake, whole bus will be treated as a huge mash of obstacle and block player from stepping ever inside the bus.
 * Player have to use cheats to progress through the game further. Even while doing so and skipping the bus, some triggers won't activate and player won't even face the end boss like he/she supposed to. Player ought to cling at the stairs of the bus after using noclip cheat (idclip) and get back to normal collision mode to ever enter the bus and trigger the event.