DOOM (PS4 Review): The Best FPS ever?

18/5/2016

By Gemma @Juicy Game Reviews / TheGebs24

DOOM (PS4, Xbox One and PC). Are we loving it?

If I were to transport back to the mid-nineties I’d be stood in a computer shop called Gordon Harwoods. I would have been the only girl in our little group of friends. We’d stand for hours playing Doom on the PC during the school holiday’s and every now and again we’d ask the store clerks to put the cheat code in for us. What a ton of fun we had! Ever since then I have been a huge fan of the Doom franchise. Even in Doom’s worst moments (ahem the Panasonic 3DO Port) I’ve still enjoyed picking up the super shotgun and hunting imps.

Doom, developed by Id Software in 1993 had been embedded within hearts of gaming community ever since so it it didn’t surprise me that fans (including myself) felt a little apprehensive on whether Id Software would get it right. There was something about Doom; the atmosphere, the heavy music and vibe that I felt was missing from Doom 3 on the original Xbox. As the announcements poured in that Id were developing a new Doom game I started to question “will it be a disaster?”. Even the great John Romero hasn’t worked on a Doom game since Doom 64 (1997 Midway Games).

DOOM - Ready up!

So where does this leave us? Here in 2016 with a brand new Doom game on the PS4, Xbox One and PC. Should you be dipping in to your pockets to buy it though? Doom (2016) has, so far exceeded my expectations. Immediately I noticed at just how agile our main protagonist feels. No matter what type of movement; agility is a massive strength of the gameplay mechanics in Doom. Granted, I am playing on the Playstation 4 so I cannot vouch for the Xbox One and PC. I’ve heard some reports of glitches on the Xbox One in the comments section of this recent video of mine. Either way my personal experiences have been incredibly fluid and I can only hope that it continues this way. Why is this important? I’ve longed suggested that Doom games are very fast paced and I fondly remembering trying to master the strafing actions on the Super Nintendo. It was a crucial move to nail down in order to avoid multiple attacks from enemies. Fortunately, we don’t have that same issue on the new Doom thanks to analogue sticks at least. Joking aside, I took to the controls like a duck to water. Feeling Doom from the get-go felt like our protagonist was skating on ice with 100% control. Now before we go any further, I am yet to complete Doom. I’m talking about my initial thoughts. As I write this I’ve spent around six hours on the main campaign and there’s no sign of a slow down. I feel Id have done a remarkable job of nailing the overall mechanics.

DOOM - There's some familiar faces here

The shift between indoor and outdoor level design is on a ratio of 70/30 respectively. The levels are, as you would expect packed full of enemies, twists, turns, easter eggs and pick ups. I’ve read certain comments that feel Doom’s level design is sloppy as items are clearly visible within the maps. The alternative would be to hide them well then right? I can agree with this completely. One thing that I’ve always been terrible at when playing the Doom on the PC and Doom 2 were finding Easter Eggs. Oh and weapons! They were so well hidden. Items such as armour shards and meds packs seemed plentiful back in the original game. This is the case in the 2016 version of Doom. There are a very generous amounts of ammo and armour littered all over the place. Think trash bags on the sidewalk in NYC - they’re everywhere! Even when I’ve been getting low on ammo a box of shells were easily within my reach again. What does that mean? There’s not a lot of emphasis on Melee in the new Doom. It’s all about guns which is fine by me as I’m a more effective player that way. Like I mentioned previously I am only six hours in to the main campaign and already the levels seem to take a little bit more time the further in you go. Time wise you can expect to grind for forty five minutes to an hour on each level. I’ve also taken the time to complete Rune Quests*. Upon completing a Rune Quest you are awarded with that rune. If you want to step away from the main Doom campaign for two minutes then Rune Quests are great to gain armour, weapon and player perks! What I loved about these quests was the pace. My personal fave was the Dazed and Confused quest whereby you had to shoot out thirty barrels before the timer expires. Each barrel shot gave you a few more seconds to play with. It was fast, furious and definitely provided a welcome break from the main campaign. Nice add Id!

A large aspect of the Doom franchise has been about enemies or rather monsters from the boughs of hell. Imps are back and in full force. I noticed that they move with immense speed and agility! Whilst imps are one of the weaker breeds in Doom they are quite hard to kill. Their speed is more of a weapon than their crazy fire balls! There’s also a lethal cocktail of trickier monsters to slain in Doom. So far I’d say the Hell Knight poses a pretty large threat due to their power and prevalence. From around level three and upon tearing apart every Gore Nest Hell Knights seem to spring up like wild fire! Fortunately, Id supplied Doom’s code with plenty of kick ass weapons!

Is Doom (2016) the best First Person Shooter ever?
Doom gets a lot right. The deep riffs of the music, the satanic vibe, the monsters, the pace and more. Okay so the map and menus need some tweaking but these don't really affect the in-game action right?! Right. Doom is definitely a contender to be one of the best first person shooter horror games of this generation. I'd go as far to say that this could also include the last generation too! That's a bold statement but given how well Id have managed to establish a deep nostalgic connection in me, Doom has to be be right up there with Half Life 2. What would the gaming world be without Doom? I'm going to let you answer that one in the comment section below. Now go and suit up. Your Super Shotgun awaits you!