I love this game, but I loath the N64's trident controller which makes playing anything more cumbersome than it aught to, and the game is really dark (even when brightness is maxed out), making it hard to sus out things some distance away.
Not the ideal way to play this gem in the year of our lord, 2022.
Not the ideal way to play this gem in the year of our lord, 2022.
doom 64 is my personal favorite of the classic doom games (if we're talking base/original games so no ultimate doom). it's the most atmospheric of the three and in my opinion the most gorgeous. the lighting, colors, and skyboxes stand out to me more in memory than those of doom 1 and 2. it's also still a bloody ride of thrills and gibs. combat is just as chaotic as doom 2 but not as mean; feeling like it was more concisely designed a la doom '93. most encounters are great fun, and the arenas almost always complement the fights. they get into the large and experimental but still maintain fluid pacing and organized layouts, it's amazing. though some levels include a decent amount of backtracking which hampers the experience a bit. the revenants and arch-viles missing do make me sad but also frustrate me because they included pain elementals and lost souls while buffing them a lot. if you thought pain elementals were bad, wait till you see them spit out not one but TWO lost souls in this game. besides the backtracking and even more annoying pain elementals, doom 64 is a great experience. doom 64 feels like a mix between the first two dooms while also being its own thing with the visuals and emphasized horror which to me makes it an incredible doom game.
very good gameplay, but the energy isn't quite as nice as the other original doom games and i find it's more forgettable.
A good game that is still classic doom. But the thing that almost kills the game on the original N64 is how dark everything is. You have to turn the brightness up almost all the way and then the rest of the game looks washed out, it is a total mess. I have heard the modern ports fix this problem, but sadly the N64 version will be forever tainted.
More Doom is good doom
A atmosfera desse jogo e o design em geral faz ele ser pra mim uma experiência muito mais consistente que os antecessores.
This took me a long time to complete. After walking away from it out of frustration for months at a time, finally got around to finishing it tonight. The game is great from the start and extremely challenging at some points (there were a few random levels that were the death of me). Even though I was really frustrated at times, the challenge was perfect. It kept me engaged the entire time and kept me excited for the next level. I never once got bored. This is definitely one of my favorite games I’ve played in recent years.
Quite the fun to shoot at demons like there is no tomorrow. I just wish the puzzles werent just wall licking 95% of the time.
No es un mal juego pero si es el peor doom
Niveles clásicos de Doom pero con las mejoras tecnológicas suficientes como para mejorar la sensación de lugar sin sacrificar la abstracción creativa de sus antecesores.
This game is, in my humble estimation, THE best Doom game ever made. It was the last of the proper "corridor FPS" Dooms to be made, really. And in my view, the ultimate evolution of that formula. I never cared much (at all) for Doom 3, and never tried the ones that came later. To me, THIS is Doom in all its glory, and what it should be.
I liked Doom and Doom 2 well enough, but when my friend and I rented this, it blew me away. For the time, even with at-the-time "dated" FPS design, the game took serious advantage of the N64's capabilities, with extremely good dramatic/spooky lighting effects, more clever/varied level designs than the earlier entries (IMO), and a positively haunting soundtrack.
Whereas the OG games had some generic rock going on, which I never felt truly fit the atmosphere of Doom, D64 has ZERO music. Instead, it has what you'd call "Atmospheric Sound Effects", from spooky demonic/ghostly sounds, to in later stages (in "Hell") hearing what sounds like babies crying in the distance, things like that. That, coupled with silence in these dark and creepy stages, REALLY added to the overall experience. Playing the game by yourself, late at night, in the dark, could actually get pretty creepy!
The graphics, beyond nice textures and lighting effects (superior to the previous games), also featured all new pre-rendered sprites for the enemies. Very of them were FULLY redesigned (except for the Imps), which would make purists happy. But the sprites really did look better, and the style lent a more "3D" look to them as they turned this way and that. I'm glad they went with this look, instead of trying to remake the enemies as clunky polygons.
But perhaps the most impressive thing about this game, is that it ISN'T merely a mishmash of Doom 1 and 2 stages. It's actually an entirely new game, (at the time) completely exclusive to the N64! It even has a brand new demonic "laser" weapon, and a completely original last boss. As far as I'm concerned, this is the TRUE "Doom 3".
The ONLY criticism this game deserves, outside of not having multiplayer (which it didn't need), is that for some reason the otherwise excellent developers chose to make the game SUPER dark. As in even if you put the game up to its BRIGHTEST option settings, it can still be hard to see. They REALLY cleaned that up in the more recent re-release on various platforms. Something I wish they'd done for the N64 original. Because otherwise? This game is Doom personified.
I liked Doom and Doom 2 well enough, but when my friend and I rented this, it blew me away. For the time, even with at-the-time "dated" FPS design, the game took serious advantage of the N64's capabilities, with extremely good dramatic/spooky lighting effects, more clever/varied level designs than the earlier entries (IMO), and a positively haunting soundtrack.
Whereas the OG games had some generic rock going on, which I never felt truly fit the atmosphere of Doom, D64 has ZERO music. Instead, it has what you'd call "Atmospheric Sound Effects", from spooky demonic/ghostly sounds, to in later stages (in "Hell") hearing what sounds like babies crying in the distance, things like that. That, coupled with silence in these dark and creepy stages, REALLY added to the overall experience. Playing the game by yourself, late at night, in the dark, could actually get pretty creepy!
The graphics, beyond nice textures and lighting effects (superior to the previous games), also featured all new pre-rendered sprites for the enemies. Very of them were FULLY redesigned (except for the Imps), which would make purists happy. But the sprites really did look better, and the style lent a more "3D" look to them as they turned this way and that. I'm glad they went with this look, instead of trying to remake the enemies as clunky polygons.
But perhaps the most impressive thing about this game, is that it ISN'T merely a mishmash of Doom 1 and 2 stages. It's actually an entirely new game, (at the time) completely exclusive to the N64! It even has a brand new demonic "laser" weapon, and a completely original last boss. As far as I'm concerned, this is the TRUE "Doom 3".
The ONLY criticism this game deserves, outside of not having multiplayer (which it didn't need), is that for some reason the otherwise excellent developers chose to make the game SUPER dark. As in even if you put the game up to its BRIGHTEST option settings, it can still be hard to see. They REALLY cleaned that up in the more recent re-release on various platforms. Something I wish they'd done for the N64 original. Because otherwise? This game is Doom personified.
Doom, is Doom, is Doom, is Doom.
I honestly don't think I ever played this one, but damn do I wish I could go back to the 90s, sitting on my giant ass PC, grinding out these games on repeat. This will certainly do though!
I honestly don't think I ever played this one, but damn do I wish I could go back to the 90s, sitting on my giant ass PC, grinding out these games on repeat. This will certainly do though!
My favorite classic Doom. any issue I would've had with it is fixed by the remaster. The gameplay is similar but distinct, and the ambient sountrack changes the entire vibe. Very fun.
Eu zerei esse no N64, PC e Switch mas creio que a versão do PC é a melhor de todas, mas todas são boas. Zerar esse game na ultima dificuldade é pra poucos, as ultimas fases chegam a ser absurdas de dificeis, é Doom clássico em seu auge.
Level design incrivel e divertido pra caralho, isso é doom em sua melhor forma
I've played a bit of the 2016 one and it also looks great, but nothing beats the OG.
This review contains spoilers
I think this is the worst of the Doom games I have played. Was really looking forward to this one as well. We get updated graphics and the enemies in the game have been completely redesigned, but I think they lose all identity and personality in this visual “upgrade”. The levels are nicer to look at but are just as much of a chore to explore. The red, blue and yellow key system has been done to death in this series by this point.
Instead of a banging soundtrack we get subdued, atmospheric ambience. This didn’t do it for me, I prefer to slay demons to music.
The little menu has gone when switching weapons so I would forget what weapon was next in the order. Doors would close when opening if you pressed sprint to get through them quickly. The player character would slide downstairs if you left go of sprint on a staircase, this messed up my positioning a few times in fights. I got a weird bug loading up the game where it was a black screen, taking my switch offline then putting it back online seemed to fix it. And the end boss. Man what a tedious mess. I missed all 3 secret levels in my blind playthrough. So I didn’t get the demons portal keys. So I had to fight soooooooo many enemies before the final boss. I beat them with 20 HP remaining but then that final boss, with its homing bullets and AOE knock up attack really tested my patience. Luckily I abused the save/load function and won the fight.
It’s more Doom and if that’s what you want, enjoy this. But I was a little tired of the formula by this point and having a break from the old school shooters now. But I will return.
Instead of a banging soundtrack we get subdued, atmospheric ambience. This didn’t do it for me, I prefer to slay demons to music.
The little menu has gone when switching weapons so I would forget what weapon was next in the order. Doors would close when opening if you pressed sprint to get through them quickly. The player character would slide downstairs if you left go of sprint on a staircase, this messed up my positioning a few times in fights. I got a weird bug loading up the game where it was a black screen, taking my switch offline then putting it back online seemed to fix it. And the end boss. Man what a tedious mess. I missed all 3 secret levels in my blind playthrough. So I didn’t get the demons portal keys. So I had to fight soooooooo many enemies before the final boss. I beat them with 20 HP remaining but then that final boss, with its homing bullets and AOE knock up attack really tested my patience. Luckily I abused the save/load function and won the fight.
It’s more Doom and if that’s what you want, enjoy this. But I was a little tired of the formula by this point and having a break from the old school shooters now. But I will return.
Quite enjoyable for what it is. A perfectly fun shooter. Levels are short, but enjoyable. Sure, it's a lot of button pressing and key gathering but that simplicity is perfectly enjoyable with the fun gunplay. I do think sometimes switch locations and puzzles can be a bit too cryptic, but it's nothing a good guide wont solve. The tone and atmosphere is amazing, the art style is beautiful in my books. And the ambient sound effects? Man it's spooky. This is probably my favorite classic 90s shooter so far. Although that final boss... Fuck that man
boring.
the best classic doom game! the graphics are great, the guns look and sound way better, the level design is phenomenal, i just wish there was a soundtrack
ndadropei essa bosta jogo podre
Verticality is mostly always seen as indication of good and creative level design in the video game sphere - this is especially true for platformers for which I can see the case being made but I do think that holding this as some sort of universal fact limits creativity and can make everything feel the same; when all the designers are striking for the same goal of verticality it can all start feeling ridiculous.
I wouldn't say verticality always conducts to good level design. Point in case is the DOOM franchise, where my favorite official maps to date are still those designed by John Romero for Episode 1 (1993) which do have this element but it's restrained to the point of working well with the nuances of classic DOOM gameplay or even Sandy Petersen's Mt. Erebus where most of the enemy encounters happen in a horizontal fashion.
When this element gets out of hand you get things like Industrial Zone for Doom II which I appreciate for existing for being so ridiculous, having enemies on top of skyscrapers shooting at you and then having to jump off buildings to reach the bit of land where you need to go is interesting but it's not fun on the whole - all of this in a game where you cannot look up or down.
On this same line of thought, corridor and maze-like levels in first-person shooters are often seen as something boring and indicative of bad design but I especially don't agree with this at all.
DOOM 64 had to work with the limitations of the N64 which is partly the reason that there's an emphasis on back-tracking, compact level design (which conduct to what people call corridor-like/maze-like) and even absense of verticality.
Instead of a "DOOM lite" coming out of these limitations, the developers justified these elements by giving DOOM 64 an atmospheric and survival horror spin. Whereas 1993 and DOOM II are a gamer fantasy of being an overpowered macho marine listening to heavy metal and blasting through hordes of demons (okay maybe DOOM II on UV not so much); 64 exists to oppress you, scare you and make you realize you had claustrophobia all along and need a big open space to breath some fresh air.
The soundtrack was changed from renditions of heavy metal classics to oppressive atmospheric sounds. Deciding not to go with these dopamine-inducing tracks was a great choice thematically for 64, it does play with the theme of you being somewhere you don't really belong. Just have a listen to Final Outpost for example
I love the art design for 64: the darker color palette, the environments, the weapons and enemy re-design were all done incredibly well. My favorite redesigns probably being the Imp and the Pain Elemental, Nightmare Imps are also a really cool new addition.
Difficulty is also really important for me, I usually enjoy challenging things. I would say the hardest difficulty level of 64 (Watch Me Die!) sits somewhere in between DOOM II's UV and 1993's UV (closer to the latter) so I was not disappointed in this regard. I did play Sunlust on UV (cbt) before this so my concept of difficulty might be a little distorted.
The only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is because I did feel the levels had some predictability to them, maybe a byproduct of me already having beaten 1993, DOOM II and Sunlust so it's harder to surprise me. I still miss that feeling of wonder and surprise that 1993 gave me though so that one is still my favorite.
I wouldn't say verticality always conducts to good level design. Point in case is the DOOM franchise, where my favorite official maps to date are still those designed by John Romero for Episode 1 (1993) which do have this element but it's restrained to the point of working well with the nuances of classic DOOM gameplay or even Sandy Petersen's Mt. Erebus where most of the enemy encounters happen in a horizontal fashion.
When this element gets out of hand you get things like Industrial Zone for Doom II which I appreciate for existing for being so ridiculous, having enemies on top of skyscrapers shooting at you and then having to jump off buildings to reach the bit of land where you need to go is interesting but it's not fun on the whole - all of this in a game where you cannot look up or down.
On this same line of thought, corridor and maze-like levels in first-person shooters are often seen as something boring and indicative of bad design but I especially don't agree with this at all.
DOOM 64 had to work with the limitations of the N64 which is partly the reason that there's an emphasis on back-tracking, compact level design (which conduct to what people call corridor-like/maze-like) and even absense of verticality.
Instead of a "DOOM lite" coming out of these limitations, the developers justified these elements by giving DOOM 64 an atmospheric and survival horror spin. Whereas 1993 and DOOM II are a gamer fantasy of being an overpowered macho marine listening to heavy metal and blasting through hordes of demons (okay maybe DOOM II on UV not so much); 64 exists to oppress you, scare you and make you realize you had claustrophobia all along and need a big open space to breath some fresh air.
The soundtrack was changed from renditions of heavy metal classics to oppressive atmospheric sounds. Deciding not to go with these dopamine-inducing tracks was a great choice thematically for 64, it does play with the theme of you being somewhere you don't really belong. Just have a listen to Final Outpost for example
I love the art design for 64: the darker color palette, the environments, the weapons and enemy re-design were all done incredibly well. My favorite redesigns probably being the Imp and the Pain Elemental, Nightmare Imps are also a really cool new addition.
Difficulty is also really important for me, I usually enjoy challenging things. I would say the hardest difficulty level of 64 (Watch Me Die!) sits somewhere in between DOOM II's UV and 1993's UV (closer to the latter) so I was not disappointed in this regard. I did play Sunlust on UV (cbt) before this so my concept of difficulty might be a little distorted.
The only reason I'm not giving this 5 stars is because I did feel the levels had some predictability to them, maybe a byproduct of me already having beaten 1993, DOOM II and Sunlust so it's harder to surprise me. I still miss that feeling of wonder and surprise that 1993 gave me though so that one is still my favorite.
Did they really make 64 of these..?
great game except for the final boss fuck that piece of shit
Worse level design, weird soundtrack, cool new weapons and some choice enemies. It's doom.
i really love da aesthetics but i REALLY don't like da level design, it's so easy to get lost and not know what to do next, sometimes idk what da buttons or where to look next and i spend too long figuring it out
i also don't like trying to retrace my steps for five to ten minutes only to find out dat i had to push a button dat was hidden behind a pillar
though i really love da gameplay, doomguy's speed and shooty shoots are really fun in an open environment cause it's fast and fun and sounds yummy
if you love da original dooms i guess you'll probably like it but i just don't like da level design asgdhjkwehnbfuhwi 3
i also don't like trying to retrace my steps for five to ten minutes only to find out dat i had to push a button dat was hidden behind a pillar
though i really love da gameplay, doomguy's speed and shooty shoots are really fun in an open environment cause it's fast and fun and sounds yummy
if you love da original dooms i guess you'll probably like it but i just don't like da level design asgdhjkwehnbfuhwi 3
جيمبلاي مرة بيسك لكن اللعبة تعرف كيف تخليه ممتع بانواع الاعداء وتوزيع بالمراحل وتطبق هالشيء بشكل مرة ممتاز
ماخذي الوحيد معا اللعبة انها تطول بزيادة
بعد مرحلة معينة صارت بس تعتمد على تصميم المواجهات بدون تجديد بالاعداء بشكل حسسني بتشبع في الاخير معا ان المواجهات نفسها ممتعة لكن مافيها تجديد كبير
وتمنيت لو كانت اقصر
ذي مش حاجة كبيرة طبعا لانه لسه لعبة شوترممتازة
ماخذي الوحيد معا اللعبة انها تطول بزيادة
بعد مرحلة معينة صارت بس تعتمد على تصميم المواجهات بدون تجديد بالاعداء بشكل حسسني بتشبع في الاخير معا ان المواجهات نفسها ممتعة لكن مافيها تجديد كبير
وتمنيت لو كانت اقصر
ذي مش حاجة كبيرة طبعا لانه لسه لعبة شوترممتازة
The Final Boss is bullshit.
Doom 64 kind of serves as the unofficial Doom 3 taking place after the events of Doom 2 and giving us some snazzy better looking graphics while keeping the identical style of the old Doom games. What holds it back though is that it doesn’t bring any new ideas to the table, only one new weapon and two new enemies that were hardly in the game. In fact it takes a step back removing many of the enemies from Doom 2 due to cartridge restrictions.
Still it’s Doom so the gameplay remains phenomenal. Levels are creative and downright sadistic at times as this game has an over reliance on spawning enemies out of nowhere to surround you. It’s 30 levels of non stop action, with levels that are balanced really well, nothing to crazy like the hard mod levels. I don’t care for the music, it’s all creepy mood music, one track is just infants crying; a far cry from the metal music of the original.
Doom 64 is well worth playing if you enjoy the old Doom games. I would probably rank it third on the list of old doom games but it’s still better than most of the clones of its day.
Overall score: 8.6
Still it’s Doom so the gameplay remains phenomenal. Levels are creative and downright sadistic at times as this game has an over reliance on spawning enemies out of nowhere to surround you. It’s 30 levels of non stop action, with levels that are balanced really well, nothing to crazy like the hard mod levels. I don’t care for the music, it’s all creepy mood music, one track is just infants crying; a far cry from the metal music of the original.
Doom 64 is well worth playing if you enjoy the old Doom games. I would probably rank it third on the list of old doom games but it’s still better than most of the clones of its day.
Overall score: 8.6
If we are talking base DOOM games and not any additional content like Plutonia in Final DOOM, this is probably my favorite game to date from the franchise. I really, really love how they handled this game from a sound design and artistic perspective. It changed the normal DOOM formula to something I think it fares better as, a pseudo-horror experience. The cacophony of droning you are met with immediately after loading into the first level sets the scene for the rest of the game in that this is not your average DOOM game, the re-textures on all the enemies were an extremely welcome touch. I actually prefer some of the designs here to the original ones, specifically this games version of the cacodemon.
However a double-edged sword of this installment is about the puzzles of this game, they are a lot less forgiving especially when it comes to secret items. There are mistakes you can make that irreversibly destroy any chance to actually get to a secret, there are also extremely methodical and obtuse steps you have to take just to get certain secrets. I myself really enjoy this feature, but I understand why a casual player would dislike this. As you actually have a very slim chance of finding these without going out of your way for a walkthrough. The game is also a lot more puzzle heavy than its predecessors outside of secrets. If you are looking for a more horror oriented experience I would heavily recommend this version of DOOM, but if you prefer the run and gun ass kicking, the original and newer DOOM's might suit you better.
However a double-edged sword of this installment is about the puzzles of this game, they are a lot less forgiving especially when it comes to secret items. There are mistakes you can make that irreversibly destroy any chance to actually get to a secret, there are also extremely methodical and obtuse steps you have to take just to get certain secrets. I myself really enjoy this feature, but I understand why a casual player would dislike this. As you actually have a very slim chance of finding these without going out of your way for a walkthrough. The game is also a lot more puzzle heavy than its predecessors outside of secrets. If you are looking for a more horror oriented experience I would heavily recommend this version of DOOM, but if you prefer the run and gun ass kicking, the original and newer DOOM's might suit you better.