A long time ago, in a home office long forgotten, I fired up my very first PC, inserted a newfangled thing called a CD-ROM, opened up a DOS command prompt (anyone remember DOS out there?) and became a man. Well, at least that’s how I remember it, after all, I was a young, impressionable lad back then. DOOM single-handedly introduced me into the world of PC gaming, first-person shooting, and intense blood and gore-ing. When the idea was getting kicked around here to do a DOOM preview, I immediately raised my spiked-knuckled hand in excitement. After all, I’m always ready to take a trip to Phobos. So grab your BFG 9000, and let’s get into it, shall we?
A few years back, id Software had announced DOOM 4. I gotta be honest, I love DOOM and DOOM II, but DOOM 3 didn’t have that good ol’ DOOM feel to me. Some people liked it, I really could have passed on it. To me and my understanding of what DOOM is all about, it seemed more survival horror and less edge-of-your-seat runnin’ and gunnin’. So anyway, DOOM 4 was announced and we all somewhat eagerly awaited its release. But that didn’t happen. DOOM 4 got canned. The reason? The developers felt it just wasn’t DOOM. I believe the phrase was “It just felt like Call of DOOM or BattleDOOM”. So it was back to the drawing board, and the reboot of DOOM was announced.
So why does this mean anything? What is the difference between DOOM 4 and the all-new DOOM? It seems developer id Software along with Bethesda really want this to be a service to the fans. The move from DOOM 4 to DOOM is a call back to DOOM’s roots. The developers spent a lot of time really digging into what makes DOOM what it is to all of us who grew up chain-gunning Cyber Demons and double-barrel shotgunning Imps. Back into the mix are fast and frantic firefights and open landscapes. Also returning are countless on-screen enemies and more blood splatter than you can shake your chainsaw at. Don’t be fooled though, the team at id Software has some new tricks up their sleeves, not the least in the form of execution moves. Sounds squishy! It seems the premise of the whole game design is “What would the original DOOM be like if we made it today?” To this guy, that is a promising approach to a series I’ve grown up loving. Check out the trailer above if you haven’t yet and get excited, just get the women and children out of the room first.
So are you guys excited to be DOOMed all over again? Or is this just one more reboot to add to the pile we have seen in recent years? What do you want to see in the new DOOM? How about hidden Wolfenstein levels? The trailer shows promise, but at the end of the day it all comes down to getting your blood-soaked hands on the game. For all of you PS4, XBOX One, and PC gamers out there, Spring/Summer 2016 is going straight to Hell. I’ll see you there with my plasma rifle in hand!
