DOOMATHON entry #5/20
List: https://www.backloggd.com/u/Mariofan717/list/doom--quake-campaigns-ranked/
The only game that I had already played at this point in the marathon, and still narrowly my favorite at this point. Quake is a tremendous achievement that translates the design principles that make classic Doom so timeless pretty much perfectly into full 3D. It's not without quirks resultant from that transition - the behaviors of enemies are generally more rigid and predictable here, most notably - but it doesn't feel as compromised as other games from the era I've played.
Another change that I imagine is resultant from this is an almost complete absence of the deviously hidden switches and doorways that would often result in me running in circles around Doom maps until I stumbled upon where to go next. Episode 4 is too labyrinthine for its own good and has the most consistently cruel enemy placement (The Spawn will be a strong contender for the single most aggravating enemy type encountered in this entire marathon), but I found navigation to be a lot more intuitive in the first three episodes.
Ironically, the clashing creative visions behind the scenes led to a set of four distinct dark fantasy level aesthetics that don't feel too disparate, and are tied together by the droning, dread-inducing Nine Inch Nails soundtrack; half the reason I chose to go out of release order to play Doom 64 before Quake was not only to experience all the classic Doom games back-to-back, but to experience a smoother transition to Quake's moodier atmosphere. The dimension hopping and dungeon crawling accompanied by a soundtrack that whispers demonically in your ears every so often simply feels great, shockingly so for being the first fully 3D FPS ever made. If for whatever reason someone finds classic Doom to be too antiquated for their liking, this is the game to direct them to.
Cross-posted on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mariofan717/status/1748123672555168141
List: https://www.backloggd.com/u/Mariofan717/list/doom--quake-campaigns-ranked/
The only game that I had already played at this point in the marathon, and still narrowly my favorite at this point. Quake is a tremendous achievement that translates the design principles that make classic Doom so timeless pretty much perfectly into full 3D. It's not without quirks resultant from that transition - the behaviors of enemies are generally more rigid and predictable here, most notably - but it doesn't feel as compromised as other games from the era I've played.
Another change that I imagine is resultant from this is an almost complete absence of the deviously hidden switches and doorways that would often result in me running in circles around Doom maps until I stumbled upon where to go next. Episode 4 is too labyrinthine for its own good and has the most consistently cruel enemy placement (The Spawn will be a strong contender for the single most aggravating enemy type encountered in this entire marathon), but I found navigation to be a lot more intuitive in the first three episodes.
Ironically, the clashing creative visions behind the scenes led to a set of four distinct dark fantasy level aesthetics that don't feel too disparate, and are tied together by the droning, dread-inducing Nine Inch Nails soundtrack; half the reason I chose to go out of release order to play Doom 64 before Quake was not only to experience all the classic Doom games back-to-back, but to experience a smoother transition to Quake's moodier atmosphere. The dimension hopping and dungeon crawling accompanied by a soundtrack that whispers demonically in your ears every so often simply feels great, shockingly so for being the first fully 3D FPS ever made. If for whatever reason someone finds classic Doom to be too antiquated for their liking, this is the game to direct them to.
Cross-posted on Twitter: https://twitter.com/mariofan717/status/1748123672555168141