Decent WADs you've played this year

[Cutmanmike]

Christmas and the Cacowards are on the way. What are the best WADs you've played this year, or what do you feel deserves a Cacoward?

For me, only two have really stuck out.

Happy Time Circus 2 - I loved the first one just because it gave me the heebejeebs. The first minute of Happy Time Circus is extremely atmospheric because of the lack of monsters. Unfortunately it was kinda ruined by the crazy Clown Dimension which introduced crazy disco lights, crazy gravity and a billion cheap balloon monsters. The second one is much better, and keeps the tension sky high. If you ever get paranoid about a demon sneaking up behind you on you in Doom, welcome to hell.

Insanity's Edge - This one reminded me why I'm playing ZDoom over other ports. Puts some good features to use while executing some good old fashion Doom gameplay. Also very good lookin'. If only the boss wasn't... y'know... Korax

[Viscra Maelstrom]

Oh, umm... epic wads I've played this year? Umm...... OH YEAH, OF COURSE!

Whispers of Satan

This mega wad is fucking epic. Lots of good gameplay, never EVER a dull moment, epic music and some superb secret levels PLUS 3 extra ZDoom-only super secret levels. They are quite hard to find, I have only found the first one! All in all, a must play. If you have'nt played it already, then go to Hell.

[Phobus]

This year... I'll probably forget some, but offhand:

Hell Ground - it's really good, basically. Plus, it's Eternal, so it's really good as a standard, and then better than that.
Insanity's Edge - GZDoom was worth playing for two wads this year - this one, and the one above.
Mini-Level Megawad - I personally loved it.
Plutonia 2 - that counts for this year doesn't it? If so, then definitely needs moar awoard.
Harmony - Probably the best of the best this year.
Mapgame - This was really good too.
Whispers of Satan - Pretty good, and is allegedly improved, though I've not bothered with the download again. Were a few shortcomings though.
Ultimate Needs More Detail - Delightfully oldschool, and rather fun too, I thought.

Still need to play Doom 2 Reloaded too, which is what I reckon the other main nominee on my part would be. Might be other greats out there from this year, but I've just not played them (or forgotten them ).

EDIT: Thanks Morph for reminding me about Scythe X - how the fuck did I forget that piece?

EDIT2: And thanks Graf for reminding me that most of Claustrophobia 1024 was very good too - it certainly is one of the more decent wads I've played - probably the lowest on my list though.

[Project Shadowcat]

Insanity's Edge, Harmony, Demons of Problematique 2 (GZD), Whispers of Satan... well, it would help if I wasn't so easily impressed.

[Jimmy]

Cheogsh 2

[Remmirath]

Okay.

-Insanity's Edge: I betatested this wad before its release, and i gotta say that i was really impressed by its architecture. Plus Starscream improved his gameplay so much since Darkness Falls, so this is a recommended wad.
-Scythe X: This is an artwork masterpiece, not only for the level of architecture (which looks good nonetheless), but also because map layouts are very well conceived and fun to play. That's a kind of wad that rarely gets released.
-Hell Grounds: One word : EPIC
-Happy Time Circus 2: This wad shows how an horror wad should be made, and it should serve as an example for other people that want to develop such wads.
-Harmony: Harmony deserves 5 stars only for the amount of effort put in it. New sprites, new textures, new monsters, new weapons. Basically, a full TC that may be considered as a complete new game. Recommended with all of my heart.
-Demons Of Problematique 2: One of the wads that i've liked the most. Awesome architecture and good gameplay make this wad a worth contender for a Cacoward.

If other ones come to mind, i'll post them.

[DoomRater]

Shooting Monsters with Guns, Psychic, Oniria 2... I'll let you know if I think of anything else.

[Enjay]

WoS, DoP2 and Harmony leap gazelle-like to my mind. I enjoyed all of these and, to be fair, most of the others mentioned already too.

I've also been lucky enough to play test a few betas that may or may not come out this year and they will also be highly regarded I'm sure.

[Amuscaria]

Happy Time Circus 2 I've played very few new ones, as I haven't touched doom in months. But HTC2 is definitely the best of two I played. Excellent Atmosphere and creepy as hell. If any game/mod could give someone a phobia from playing it, it would be this one.

Whispers of Satan Is also a solid mod. Gameplay is pretty classic and challenging without turning into a nuisance. The first few maps were a bit dull, but gets much MUCH better as you progress. Difficulty is very well balanced, IMO. A blast in Co-op. There are some Co-op bugs, but nothing major.

[NeuralStunner]

Shooting Monsters with Guns

[phi108]

Shooting Monsters with Guns

Wow, thanks for the mention. I guess many people might dismiss it because at first look it's pure Counter Strike model rips, but I'm trying to add in new interesting gameplay elements, while keeping it balanced for vanilla.
(I haven't really been trying other weapon mods this year, so I don't know how it would compare... and I guess I haven't released a final version either...)

Whispers of satan, Harmony, I guess Claustrophobia-1024, and I haven't tried many others. I guess I need to play some more, instead of just downloading everything and letting it sit on my hard drive

[NeuralStunner]

I guess I need to play some more, instead of just downloading everything and letting it sit on my hard drive

I know the feeling. But then, I never did finish Ep. 4 or even start Ep. 5 of Heretic... Maybe i ought to do that.

[Enjay]

I know the feeling. But then, I never did finish Ep. 4 or even start Ep. 5 of Heretic... Maybe i ought to do that.

Looks at NeuralStunner's avatar.
Shame on you.

[Project Shadowcat]

I guess I need to play some more, instead of just downloading everything and letting it sit on my hard drive

I know the feeling. But then, I never did finish Ep. 4 or even start Ep. 5 of Heretic... Maybe i ought to do that.

You should, they're about as good as the other episodes.

[Ceeb]

Doom, 2, Final, Hexen, and Strife were all fun, but Heretic is that one Doom engine game that just... Lacks "wow" for me.