As much as this sounds like some chintzy fan mod project and how your expectations likely only dropped further upon seeing it's a Java/J2ME cellphone offering, I encourage you to put aside your negative preconceptions about what a mobile game, particularly one from that era, can bring to the table. This goes unbelievably hard. The switch to the grid-based movement and turn-based combat systems of old-school dungeon crawlers actually proves to be a clever way of bringing the franchise’s action over, while working around the technological limitations of the hardware which made all of the attempts at a traditional FPS that I've personally experienced basically unplayable. What's more is that it manages to do this without sacrificing any of the intensity the brand is known for. There's still nothing quite like that feeling of walking into a room full of tough demons, taking inventory of your gradually draining supplies of health, armor, ammo for power weapons, etc., and thinking "how the heck am I going to pull this off?!" even in this new format.

The swap in genres also leads to a greater emphasis on more engaging storytelling. Although the plot itself is nothing to write home about, the methods used to tell it are. I genuinely enjoyed interacting with the various NPCs and supporting cast members while reading every computer terminal scattered around for extra contextual information about the situation. I could have done without all of the fourth wall breaks and self-aware jokes as they make the tone more lighthearted/silly at points than I would prefer, but this different approach goes a long way towards making exploring and fighting through the world of DOOM feel for the first time not so empty (in terms of human life) or lonely a process. The property's longtime fans might also get a kick out of the variety of original additions to the player's arsenal they won't find in any other entry, with exception to maybe RPG's own direct sequel. The highlight, in my eyes at least, being the special collars that let you take control of canine foes.

The amount of content is surprisingly pretty decent as well. Seems as if the vast majority of these retro cellular romps can be completed in anywhere from under an hour to mere minutes. This however can keep you playing for upwards of 2hrs+ depending on if you strive for full 100% completion or not. Admittedly, part of that is due to the potential need to level grind. Eventually I found that going back to previously beaten areas to boost my stats and stock up on resources made a lot of sense to better prepare myself for the challenges ahead. Normally, this is something I'm fairly strongly against because of repetition and often the perception of padding, but here it didn't bother me so much since prior stages always contain many hidden secrets you could have missed the first time through and whole new sections that can open up upon acquiring different colored key cards. Everything comes together to create an outing truly worthy of the series and one that I was just as addicted to as the 1993 classic masterpiece.

9/10