Real Talk By: KJ

DOOM is a retelling of the 1993 classic.  Scientists have designed a portal which connects between Mars and Hell.  This couldn’t go wrong.  No way.  The famous yet nameless Marine is resurrected into battle to put everything back in-place. From the moment you awaken, the action begins with familiar enemies coming your way.  Gameplay feels retro.  fast paced, with standard left trigger aiming removed.  A think fast and run affair.  Plenty of difficulty levels, with the hardest carrying “permadeath” rules.

Having a good eye will only benefit the character.  Fantastic secrets are littered throughout the game world.   This includes important upgrades which could increase health, armor, ammo counts and more.

Music was composed by Mick Gordon, who also worked on the amazing Killer Instinct Soundtrack.  Doom’s tunes synch perfectly.  Suspenseful/Rocking sounds lining up with levels in-play.

Whether it’s obtaining a new upgrade point or finding a favorite weapon again, Doom makes it always feel epic.  The graphics are outstanding.  Stepping outside viewing the red planet, Doom’s detail is clear.  Gusts of Red Winds, Rocky Hills.  Never been to Mars, but it has to be close to the real thing.  Somebody who’s been, let me know.  Sarcasm aside, nothing was sparred in the visual department.  In fact the game looks so intense with demon-designs alone, I wouldn’t let a child even see a glimpse of this game.  Chopping open enemies with a chainsaw or classic shotgun shooting can leave a detailed mess.  I was surprised by the number of close quarter finishing moves at my disposal.  Depending on the demon, the DoomGuy does a different finish.  This isn’t simply for the looks, performing “Glory Kills”, makes enemies drop health.  No regenerative life bars here so it’s important.

Creatures will dodge attacks,  scurry up support beams and most certainly find you.  Throwing energy blasts distracting the player from the ground level baddies in the vicinity.  They love to swarm, like the old game you have to keep moving and shooting.  It’s the subtleties I noticed as well, how the character holds weapons, some of the sound effects, put a fat nostalgic smile on my face.  Seeing these old weapons and enemies again with modern tech in-play, makes for a satisfying gameplay experience.

Doom has a few boss fights.  Learn the enemy patterns, and take advantage of your strongest upgrades.  Those who’ve explored, will have an easier time later.  The last battles certainly felt satisfying, a change from many Triple A Bosses in other titles.

This Doom has the key card retrieval spots, but none of the puzzle solving.  That would have made it stand apart further from other shooters this gen.  When the last act hits, you’ll have seen much of what Doom has to offer.  A room is locked, fight through a punishing wave of foes, then the door magically opens.  The repetitive feeling doesn’t kick in until the ride is almost over.  Still, we could see people running through this 10-12 hour campaign several times, going for all the secrets and giving it a shot on the more punishing difficulty levels.

Multiplayer is definitely retro.  It feels like an Unreal Tournament style game.  Like the campaign, it’s furiously fast paced.  Some Power ups, Big Weapons.  Its fun, but it doesn’t have the staying power of the campaign.  My beta impressions haven’t changed and that’s the problem.  Those who experienced the preview have pretty-much seen it all.

Coop lies in Snapmap.  Players make their own scenarios.  Design goals for friends to carry out.  Even in the early going, there have been some cool levels.  One in-particular was a big time race.  We ran around a portal-filled stage.  In each area  kill the hordes of enemies, while collecting the points they dropped.  Run back to base and score without dying.  If one player gets greedy, trying to combo demon kills without scoring, it could cost the entire team.

Whether a player is new or old to the franchise, Doom has something for either side.  True fan service flows, with classic enemies, weapons, and amazing Easter eggs.  A graphical showcase that brings back the challenge Modern FPS games neglect.

DOOM Gets

4 Out of Five

 

What’s Legit?

+Gameplay Feels Old School and New

+One of 2016’s Best Looking Games

+Challenging

What’s Perpetrating?

-Competitive Multiplayer

-Starts to get repetitive

#DOOM @PlayLegit