Id Software’s 1993 Doom is one of the most influential video games of all time and it just got one hell of an overhaul. The latest game in the series, simply titled Doom, released earlier this month on Friday the 13th. At this point it’s safe to say it won’t have the same impact as the original but it’s certainly going to give fans of the original game one hell of a good time.
The original Doom is one of the biggest video games of all time and with
its success made Id Software the biggest name in video games at the time. Now Doom was not the first FPS but it was certainly the first FPS game that most people played. I highly recommend checking out this video here, as it not only gives you the history of its development but also, a great look at its legacy, the people behind the game and the impact it had on not only the gaming industry but also its effect on popular culture as a whole.
Game Details
Platform: Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and PC
Release Date: May 13, 2016
Developer: Id Sooftware, Certain Affinity
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks
Genre: First Person Shooter
Modes: Single-player, multiplayer
ESRB Rating: M17+ (Mature 17+)
The latest Doom is really more like 3 different games within itself, the single player, the multiplayer and the snap map mode. The main single player is surely the highlight, however both the other modes are nothing to shy away from. The multiplayer is tons of fun and an interesting mix of past arena shooters from yesteryear and modern day competitive shooters. Not to be left out is the snap map mode where you can build your own single or multiplayer maps and game modes. There is certainly something here for every first person shooter and Doom fan alike.
Doom’s single player is a love letter to the original games
The single player of the new Doom game is absolutely amazing. Developed by Id Software using the Id Tech 6 engine, this single player game is so much more than what we could have ever dreamed of. First off there is the main story or campaign, which once you start the game literally gives you a gun and has you shooting zombies within the first 10 seconds of the game and once the action starts it only ramps up from there. Shortly after this you will also receive the Praetor suit, which resembles the classic doom marine armour and is definitely a nod to the original games.
You’ll fight your way through installations on Mars, then into hell and back again. Of course in classic Doom fashion while playing you’ll get a whole slew of weapons including fan favourites like the shotgun, plasma rifle, rocket launcher, BFG 9000 and more. Each one of these weapons can be upgraded with alternate fire modes, through completing challenges in each level for upgrade tokens. These upgrades give the weapon’s alternate fire modes more power and versatility as the game goes on. Along with weapon upgrades you will also be able to upgrade your Praetor suit armour, which will give you benefits like improved control in the air when jumping, resistance to damage, improved secret detection and more.
Speaking of secrets, just like the original games, every level of the new Doom has a number of secrets to find. This not only includes secret areas with more weapons and gear but also collectibles, easter eggs and every level also has a lever, that when pulled will open a door to a classic secret room from the original games. Upon entering one of these secret rooms you will unlock a classic map from Doom or Doom II which can be played from the single player menu. There are also rune challenges in each level, which when found will give you access to a challenge style map. These challenges generally revolve around completing a combat or movement objective in a very small time limit. Once completed these rune challenges can be played from the single player level and they will also grant you access to Rune slots. As you play you unlock 3 rune slots and 12 runes to equip. By equipping these ruins you can customize your space marine to your style of play. These runes can give you abilities like increased length of demon stagger state or increasing the amount of ammo you get in ammo pick ups.
The single player does have a story but it takes a back seat and only presents itself when it has to in terms of a couple of NPCs rambling for exposition, but you never have to stay and listen, unless you really want to. On occasion the game will take control of the camera but when it does it will only be for a few seconds and then it’s right back to the action. The main driving force to get you forward is the fact that killing demons grants you more health, this is much needed since your health never regenerates. The way this works is as you attack demons, once you deal enough damage to a demon it will flash blue and become staggered. Then once you get close enough they will flash orange, which means you are close enough to pull off a glory kill. Performing glory kills is very rewarding in all senses of the word, they feel great,are over the top and always reward you with health pick ups, in my opinion it’s a great addition to the game. The only thing that comes close to the visceral goodness of glory kills in this Doom, is using the chainsaw. Unlike in the previous games where the chainsaw had no ammo and could be used unlimitedly, the new chainsaw has gas and each enemy takes a specific amount of gas to kill. If you have enough gas mind you then it a guaranteed one hit kill and will always reward you with enough ammo to fill almost all of your weapons.
Multiplayer is a great mashup of classic and modern day shooters
Doom’s multiplayer was mainly developed by Certain Affinity, whom you might know from their work on massively popular multiplayer games like Call of Duty: Black Ops, Halo: Reach, Halo: The master Chief Collection, Halo 4 and more. In most cases they helped on these titles by making multiplayer map packs or in the case of the Halo games they helped develope the multiplayer. So it’s no surprise that you can feel a little bit of those titles bleed into this new Doom multiplayer.
Even though the multiplayer is very reminiscent of the 90s style arena shooters like Quake 3 Arena and Unreal Tournament, it also has dashes of more modern FPS staples. For the first time ever in a Doom game you have loadouts, which allow you to pick two weapons, one piece of equipment and a demon, for when you get that highly prized demon rune. Also a huge thing to take note of in the multiplayer is the surprising amount of customization for your space marine. This includes different armour pieces which all come from different armour sets, two colour zones for your armour, which can also include different patterns along with being able to customize each weapon in the multiplayer with similar colour schemes and patterns to your armour. This really lets each player put their own personal touch on their multiplayers look.
The multiplayer does however play a little different from the single player, in terms of , weapons, weapon mods and powerups. Many of the weapons are the same however they don’t have upgradable mods like in the single player. Every weapon does have some sort of alternate fire but that’s its. Some of the weapons are also only available as timed pick ups and have very limited ammo. Also every now and then a Demon Rune will spawn into the game and will allow which ever player who gets to it first the ability to play as demon. There are four playable demons and each are very powerful and have unique advantages and disadvantages. You can play as the dual rocket wielding and jetpack enabled Revenant, the quick and brutally powerful Baron of Hell, the slow but huge damage dealing Mancubus or the quick and stealy Prowler.
Regardless of you demon of preference, they are all fun to play as and can certainly change the tide of battle in a match and secure the win for even a halfway decent player.
Along with standard game modes like team deathmatch, domination and clan arena, along with three new game types as well. The first being Soul Harvest, which is a kill and collect style game more where after killing an opponent you have to collect their soul to score points, if you have ever played Kill Confirmed in Call of Duty, you know what I’m talking about. Next is Freeze Tag, when instead of killing your opponents you freeze them and pmce a;; the opponents are frozen, you win match. During the match you can also thaw your team mates, which makes for a fun game mode. Lastly is my favourite game mode on offer, Warpath. It’s similar to king of the hill but the hill moves along a set path through the level the entire match. It’s fun, frantic and always a frag fest.
Snap Map is a great addition for fans and modders alike
The third part of the Doom package is Snap Map. this mode lets you create maps and missions for one to four players. Similar to Halo’s forge, you have a set list of assets you can use to build levels from the ground up to post online for other to rate and play. At first the mode seems a little daunting but it does have some really good tutorials that will have you making remakes of your favourite classic levels or creating entirely new and twisted levels for the public to take on, in little to no time. The mode also features some curated content by way of feature maps. So far what i have played of other people’s maps have been pretty fun but I’m looking forward to maps coming in the future once fans have had a little more time to tinker and create.
Final Thoughts
There is still a ton I could talk about in regards to this game. The music throughout the single player is great and knows exactly when to pick up with some rad chugging guitar riffs. The level design as good as it is takes a back seat to the action and but still manages to awe me every now and again. It also captures the feel and atmosphere of the original,as much as comes off as a love letter to everything that Doom is about and all the games that took inspiration from it. With that being said, the single player is an absolute joy to play and you can definitely see the evolution of Id games in it as it takes elements from everything they have ever made over the years. As fun as the multiplayer is it definitely takes a back seat to the single player and I feel that the snap map mode will have a much more lasting appeal to fans as it offers limitless single and multiplayer appeal. With all that being said, I think this is a great take on the series and as long as you play the game with fun in mind, you are going to have one hell of a good time with the new Doom!
+ Doom’s new look is awesome
+ Single player is great and the higlight of the show
+ Snap Map has limitless possibilities
– Multiplayer is really nothing new to veteran players
OVERALL
Gameplay: 4.5/5
Graphics: 5/5
Sound: 5/5
Lasting Appeal/Replayability: 4.5/5
Overall Rating 4.75/5 (95%)
Get your copy below and be sure to check out my unboxing video of the amazing Doom Collector’s Edition.
Get the Doom Collector’s Edition on Xbox One
Get the Doom Collector’s Edition on PlayStation 4
Get the Doom Collector’s Edition on PC
Love this reivew and unboxing! I’ve had a lot of fun with this game too
@ZeroX39 Yeah, I’m glad they did such a good job but i wasn’t very worried in all honesty as the last Wolfensteinn game was totally awesome and you can feel all they took from it to make DOOM what it is now. Glad you liked the review and the unboxing!
Comments are closed.