For those who are familiar with first-person shooters, you would know that it is a genre that is pretty easy for developers to take advantage of. I mean, most games simply just have you, some random dude, be given a gun, and you then go off and start blasting every single thing that moves around you, until you ultimately succeed in stopping the force you are fighting against. That in itself is easy enough to replicate, and it has been used time and time again to make plenty of titles over time, but this then comes with an issue: most of these games are insanely generic. Yes, they can be a bit of fun at first, giving you the proper amount of excitement and adrenaline that these titles should be giving you, but most of them at the end of the day don’t really show any signs of creativity or innovation. You just shoot guys, and that’s it, which is enough for a lot of people (including me, in some instances), but it doesn’t evolve the genre any further from where it already is. Truly great FPS games, however, manage to do that while also keeping the base game fast and fun, such as the case with one of the best and most important FPS games ever made, Doom.
I have played many different FPS games over the course of my life, ranging from generic ones to the more experimental ones, but out of all of them, the Doom series is, without a doubt, my favorite set of FPS games ever made. They may not have the most creative gameplay over all of the other games, and some of them just flat out aren’t that good, but let me tell you, there is nothing more satisfying and cathartic then the feeling of just taking a shotgun and blasting off the faces of many different demonic freaks in a slaughtering frenzy, which Doom usually manages to nail perfectly. With that being said though, I am more so referring to the modern Doom games when it comes to my complete adoration of this series, with Doom Eternal in particular being not just my favorite FPS of all time, but one of my favorite games in general. As for the original Doom games though, I still love them to an insane degree, and in terms of the original Doom, the one that started it all, it manages to be a pretty great time even to this day. At its core, it is very similar to other FPS games from before and since, but it manages to do so much with seemingly so little, while also innovating the genre more than any other game at that point in time.
The story that we have here is one that is primarily kept out of the game, because most people just usually settle with “demons are here, go kill them all”, which is all anyone needs to get going, but when you take the time to check out the story, it is pretty good, the graphics are incredible for the time, and while future games would take what was done here and make it look much better, the original still holds up supremely well even after almost 30 years, the music is amazing, with so many rocking tunes to hear throughout the entire game, and if you try to tell me that you don’t at least like the At Doom’s Gate, then you are a fucking liar, the control is pretty great for this game, and while it does take some getting used to, you can take full advantage of it to kick some demonic ass, even if movement can be pretty wonky at points, and the gameplay is classic FPS action in the best way it possibly could be.
The game is a first-person-shooter, where you take control of an unnamed marine that we all collectively just call Doomguy, go through plenty of different stages through abandoned research facilities on Mars and even Hell itself, use whatever equipment you have to mutilate and destroy any demonic scum in your way, whether it be by shooting them to bits, slashing through them with a chainsaw, or even ripping through them with your own two hands, find plenty of different weapons, health, armor, and keycards throughout to help you proceed forward and deal more devastation, and take on more demonic forces that get bigger, badder, and more aggressive, even though at the end of the day, the only thing in these facilities anyone needs to fear…… is you. As you could probably gather, the main gameplay itself doesn’t differ too much from other FPS games at the time, but it manages to innovate and be exciting in many other ways, such as with the graphics, the music, the levels, the puzzles, the annihilation at hand, and many more.
There are a lot of video games out there that are all about starting at the essentials, getting better through getting stronger and getting new equipment, and being able to thwart any evil force that stands in your way, and Doom is one of the best examples of this that I have ever seen. You start out with a mere pistol, which is enough to handle what is thrown at you at the beginning, but as you keep going, you find more weapons, more ammo, more powerups, and enemies everywhere you look, and if you play your cards just right, you can end up absolutely decimating hordes of demons with the right tools, and it feels oh so sweet whenever you do so. In addition, the weapons you use are just as sweet as the gameplay itself, with there being many you can obtain like shotguns, rocket launchers, a plasma rifle, a chaingun, and without a doubt, the best weapon in the game, the BFG 9000, or as we all know it as, the Big FUCKING Gun. This baby can be used to absolutely obliterate enemies and it makes bosses absolute jokes, and that is why I will forever love it until the day I die.
Aside from the main campaign though, there are several multiplayer modes that you can try out as well, such as the co-op gameplay where you and others can run through the campaign together, and your typical deathmatch, where you can fight against a group of friends until you or one of them comes out on top as the ultimate Doom Slayer. I myself don’t typically play multiplayer modes in FPS games, except for FPS games that have nothing but multiplayer modes, but hey, if you ever wanted to experience classic Doom with your friends, there you have it.
I really don’t have any huge issues with the original Doom, or at least, none that bring down the game as a whole. Even from the beginning, they had a solid formula that could be improved upon further and made even better in future games. But, if I had to get extremely nitpicky, I guess you could find the gameplay to be pretty repetitive. There isn’t much else that you will be doing through the entire game other then going through these levels and slaughtering demons, which is all good in my book, but if you are the type who wants more variety in their games, and different guns and demons just won’t cut it, then you probably won’t get too invested in this. In addition, obviously, future games would take what was established here and improve upon it even further, which does make this game feel somewhat hard to come back to, but the core gameplay is still solid enough to the point where I don’t really even care about that. It is still classic Doom at its bloody, demonic core, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Overall, despite being repetitive and not having too much over other installments, the original Doom is still an incredible FPS from the early 90s, and a great way to start off what would become one of the most iconic and legendary FPS franchises of all time. I would definitely recommend it for those who are Doom fans, as well as fans of FPS games in general, because if you somehow haven’t played this game yet, then… what are you waiting for? Besides, it's available on all modern platforms, and not just video game consoles either! You can play it in your car, on your smart fridge, on your microwave, and you can even play Doom INSIDE of Doom! Hell, I would say that, if you managed to somehow implant a screen into the palm of your hand, and you managed to load up the game in there, you could play Doom on your hand as well. That is just the magic of Doom, folks.
Game #399
I have played many different FPS games over the course of my life, ranging from generic ones to the more experimental ones, but out of all of them, the Doom series is, without a doubt, my favorite set of FPS games ever made. They may not have the most creative gameplay over all of the other games, and some of them just flat out aren’t that good, but let me tell you, there is nothing more satisfying and cathartic then the feeling of just taking a shotgun and blasting off the faces of many different demonic freaks in a slaughtering frenzy, which Doom usually manages to nail perfectly. With that being said though, I am more so referring to the modern Doom games when it comes to my complete adoration of this series, with Doom Eternal in particular being not just my favorite FPS of all time, but one of my favorite games in general. As for the original Doom games though, I still love them to an insane degree, and in terms of the original Doom, the one that started it all, it manages to be a pretty great time even to this day. At its core, it is very similar to other FPS games from before and since, but it manages to do so much with seemingly so little, while also innovating the genre more than any other game at that point in time.
The story that we have here is one that is primarily kept out of the game, because most people just usually settle with “demons are here, go kill them all”, which is all anyone needs to get going, but when you take the time to check out the story, it is pretty good, the graphics are incredible for the time, and while future games would take what was done here and make it look much better, the original still holds up supremely well even after almost 30 years, the music is amazing, with so many rocking tunes to hear throughout the entire game, and if you try to tell me that you don’t at least like the At Doom’s Gate, then you are a fucking liar, the control is pretty great for this game, and while it does take some getting used to, you can take full advantage of it to kick some demonic ass, even if movement can be pretty wonky at points, and the gameplay is classic FPS action in the best way it possibly could be.
The game is a first-person-shooter, where you take control of an unnamed marine that we all collectively just call Doomguy, go through plenty of different stages through abandoned research facilities on Mars and even Hell itself, use whatever equipment you have to mutilate and destroy any demonic scum in your way, whether it be by shooting them to bits, slashing through them with a chainsaw, or even ripping through them with your own two hands, find plenty of different weapons, health, armor, and keycards throughout to help you proceed forward and deal more devastation, and take on more demonic forces that get bigger, badder, and more aggressive, even though at the end of the day, the only thing in these facilities anyone needs to fear…… is you. As you could probably gather, the main gameplay itself doesn’t differ too much from other FPS games at the time, but it manages to innovate and be exciting in many other ways, such as with the graphics, the music, the levels, the puzzles, the annihilation at hand, and many more.
There are a lot of video games out there that are all about starting at the essentials, getting better through getting stronger and getting new equipment, and being able to thwart any evil force that stands in your way, and Doom is one of the best examples of this that I have ever seen. You start out with a mere pistol, which is enough to handle what is thrown at you at the beginning, but as you keep going, you find more weapons, more ammo, more powerups, and enemies everywhere you look, and if you play your cards just right, you can end up absolutely decimating hordes of demons with the right tools, and it feels oh so sweet whenever you do so. In addition, the weapons you use are just as sweet as the gameplay itself, with there being many you can obtain like shotguns, rocket launchers, a plasma rifle, a chaingun, and without a doubt, the best weapon in the game, the BFG 9000, or as we all know it as, the Big FUCKING Gun. This baby can be used to absolutely obliterate enemies and it makes bosses absolute jokes, and that is why I will forever love it until the day I die.
Aside from the main campaign though, there are several multiplayer modes that you can try out as well, such as the co-op gameplay where you and others can run through the campaign together, and your typical deathmatch, where you can fight against a group of friends until you or one of them comes out on top as the ultimate Doom Slayer. I myself don’t typically play multiplayer modes in FPS games, except for FPS games that have nothing but multiplayer modes, but hey, if you ever wanted to experience classic Doom with your friends, there you have it.
I really don’t have any huge issues with the original Doom, or at least, none that bring down the game as a whole. Even from the beginning, they had a solid formula that could be improved upon further and made even better in future games. But, if I had to get extremely nitpicky, I guess you could find the gameplay to be pretty repetitive. There isn’t much else that you will be doing through the entire game other then going through these levels and slaughtering demons, which is all good in my book, but if you are the type who wants more variety in their games, and different guns and demons just won’t cut it, then you probably won’t get too invested in this. In addition, obviously, future games would take what was established here and improve upon it even further, which does make this game feel somewhat hard to come back to, but the core gameplay is still solid enough to the point where I don’t really even care about that. It is still classic Doom at its bloody, demonic core, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Overall, despite being repetitive and not having too much over other installments, the original Doom is still an incredible FPS from the early 90s, and a great way to start off what would become one of the most iconic and legendary FPS franchises of all time. I would definitely recommend it for those who are Doom fans, as well as fans of FPS games in general, because if you somehow haven’t played this game yet, then… what are you waiting for? Besides, it's available on all modern platforms, and not just video game consoles either! You can play it in your car, on your smart fridge, on your microwave, and you can even play Doom INSIDE of Doom! Hell, I would say that, if you managed to somehow implant a screen into the palm of your hand, and you managed to load up the game in there, you could play Doom on your hand as well. That is just the magic of Doom, folks.
Game #399
DeemonAndGames
5 months ago