Who's a fan of DOOM? I've been playing since I was just a kid since my father was a computer technician, so he was into many PC titles that would eventually be seen as classics of the medium.
My brothers and I would play all the time, reveling in a game built purely on action and atmosphere. This was the one game growing up that truly gave us nightmares. Nothing sends chills down your spine more than the howl of a Cyberdemon that has just spotted you.
The monsters are a fascinating blend of satanic iconography, anatomical horror and technological abomination. The mere concept of hell embracing the very thing that has distanced us from God and the gods of religion past is an almost ironic look at how our society could collapse into hellish depravity.
But, beyond the monster designs themselves, it's the music that really sells the concept of a pure, intense loneliness and despair. You really feel like you're the last living soul fighting a lost battle for humanity because of the music. It's both hauntingly beautiful and hauntingly maddening.
The above poster artwork by brilliant fantasy/horror artist Brom for the game's sequel, DOOM II, still stands as one of my favorite pieces of all time. It perfectly conveys the extreme leap DOOM II took over its predecessor in terms of action, gore and the sense of going up against impossible odds.
While I enjoy the sequel less for the steps it took away from the thematic power of the original, I still give it props for its fast-paced level design and the addition of several new monsters that make the fight even more impossible.
Now, DOOM 3 is something else. People weren't exactly clamoring for a true third installment to the series and in fact weren't expecting one. Everyone was largely satisfied with The Plutonia Experiment and TNT: Evilution, which comprised the Final DOOM map pack.
Still, id decided to revisit the classic game that virtually launched the first-person shooter genre and deathmatch scene. Did this sequel live up to the original? Many would argue not, but it's still very much a fun game with a lot of fascinating themes and concepts.
It's certainly not as fast-paced or open as the original, but it's a horror game that can and will leave you shaking in your dark room when playing at 2 in the morning. It's well worth a play just to see what it's about.
And now we're waiting on DOOM 4. I cannot tell you how long I've been expecting this game. There's been rumors that ZeniMax Media has canceled it due to the lukewarm reception for Rage, but both they and id have denied it. Let's hope the game comes out and rocks the industry as it should.
Any of you guys played the Wolfenstein conversion of Doom2?
