Amazingly, it has been a whole 12 years since the last proper Doom game. A brand new Doom was released last week - a reboot, which set out to honour the series that came before it.
This isn't the full review - that should be along in a couple of days. But it is a first impression of the opening few hours of the surprisingly solid campaign mode. The big question is... will it be enough to rouse these sleepy-types from their blissful slumber?
This isn't the full review - that should be along in a couple of days. But it is a first impression of the opening few hours of the surprisingly solid campaign mode. The big question is... will it be enough to rouse these sleepy-types from their blissful slumber?
Opening moments feel like they're trying a bit too hard. Ooh! Satanic imagery! Ooh! Crunching guitars! Ooh! Gore! And yet... at the same time, it feels like a proper Doom game, and so it's hard to be too down on it.
I was sceptical about the new melee/execution thing (when an enemy soaks up enough damage, you can dive in for a special hand-to-hand kill animation)... but it actually works pretty well. Also, never having to reload is something every first-person shooter needs to adopt. Weird how it takes a bit of getting used to though.
Doom looks as if it uses the same graphics engine as Rage. It's clearly a very good-looking game, but still somehow underwhelming as a setting; it's another gore-drenched space base-meets-Hell.
That said, it has that used universe feel which something like Halo never tries to achieve; that's so shiny and clean it's hard to believe you're in a war zone. Consequently, I find it easier to buy into Doom's world.
Upgradeable weapons and gear. That's new for Doom. Also: I seem to be getting all the weapons pretty quickly. I approve of this - providing it doesn't give away all of its tricks too soon, why withhold the fun from the player?
Already... the chainsaw! Nicely, when you use the chainsaw, the enemies drop ammo. It feels so satisfying to use... though, I don't know how I feel about limiting its use by having to find fuel cans.
Currently, it feels very much like a series of rooms with locked doors, that can only be opened by killing demons. It could get repetitive. But it hasn't yet. There's a lovely, old school, ebb-and-flow to the combat - especially once you bring the chainsaw into play. There's no stealth, no cover - you've got to keep moving.
The story is absolute bare minimum - but what's there is solid. The idea of a corporation exploiting Hell for its resources is neat.
I've only found a few of the supposedly many secret areas/rooms in each level, but the rewards are usually worth the hunt. There are classic Doom levels hidden around the place supposedly. I've not yet found any.
Despite not expecting to enjoy Doom, it is starting to win me over. The way it strips away so much of what we've come to expect from the FPS genre - particularly in the wake of Halo - manages to make it feel fresh and new. Even though most of its ideas are defiantly old school.
That said, I've not finished the campaign yet, played with the multiplayer mode, or the level editor. The jury's out on whether the single player levels will get repetitive. So far... I'm feeling I know what to expect from every area - and there's not a lot to make them feel distinct from one another visually.
In the hours I've spent with Doom already - I'm probably a third of the way in - I'm really enjoying it. It's unpretentious, crowd-pleasing, nonsense. It's a throwback, and isn't in any way gripped by its own self-importance and epicness. It feels like it just wants to entertain.
And that's all the Doom. A full review will be up on Digi2000 later in the week. Rise and shine!
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