What really can't be looked over...is the cover. It's generic. It's lazy. Just a static shot of the Doom Guy in his updated armor for this game. It's gone to the point of being an internet meme with people replacing the title with half a dozen other franchises ranging from the most obvious to the bizarre, just showing how hilariously simple it is to mock. And before someone says it isn't an issue, look back at that review that I shamelessly linked into this one for page clicks and look at the cover art of the original Doom. Doesn't it look so much cooler? Doom Guy surrounded by demons and filling as many of them as he can with lead while they all reach up to try and drag them to Hell.
It immediately gets the attention and draws prospective players in, making them want to buy it. But this? This is just lazy. It speaks to just completely having stopped caring at all and springing for the generic gold metal.
Pity then that it's not reflective of the rest of the game at all, because the game is actually pretty good.
The plot is very similar to the original Doom in that there's a portal to Hell that's been opened on Mars and some serious shit is going down as a result that you have to stop. And how do you do this? Well, as I said in my review of the original - "Guns." And guns you get, having the usual tasty variety from the original. After apparently having pulled a Rip van Wrinkle in Hell for a while (thus providing my confusion as to whether you're the original Doom Guy or a newbie - I've been told both by multiple sources), Doom Guy is up and at it again in a Martian facility that has been completely overrun by the Army of Darkness.
...yeah, I wish it was that one.
Combat is actually very involving, and enemies can swarm you very quickly even on the Normal difficulty, which I am happy to admit I did play on. In such situations, it can get both fusterclucky and very, very fast-paced, I found my heart racing at certain points in on the lower difficulty setting. I can hardly imagine how much of a heart attack Nightmare would have given me. The Glory Kills as well - pre-rendered sequences in which Doom Guy seeks to rip and tear the guys of his foes - are astoundingly visceral and gory as all get out, which lends itself to the reputation the series has garnered for its uber-violence.
I admit and I have admitted several times in my reviews that I am not really a First Person Shooter person. I have played several games in the genre, most notably the Halo series up to the point where the third one threw off my understanding of the plot and thus my interest, but I'd hardly call myself skilled at it. So, coming from my perspective, is this game good? Yes. It's definitely different from my usual benchmark for shooters (as I've been told, not a great benchmark, but it's subjective), with a difficulty curve straight out of Hell itself.
I really can't sit and play it (yes, even on Normal) for more than perhaps an hour before I get too wound up to play. Any time that enemies are attacking, I find myself panicked and firing with reckless abandon (which I can do with the pistol thanks to unlimited ammo and no reload time) and I am unable to enjoy the environments that Id has so carefully designed.
...which, by the way, I had to actually turn up my gamma to see. Seriously, after the first cutscene I found myself fighting in near-complete darkness with only the occasional realization that I'd actually been hit by something. Mind you, this wasn't a problem once I'd actually left that room, but it's important to note enough. There's a difference in creating horror between "something I can't see" and "I can't see a freaking thing!", this falling into the latter category and thus not creating a horrifying atmosphere in the least.
So, for what it is meant to do, it does good. For once, I'd say don't judge a book by it's cover and give it a shot. Some gamers who cut their teeth on more recent shooters may be a little off-put by the pace that will definitely not see you ducking behind cover to manage the hordes of Hell, but otherwise it's what Doom is known for. The original FPS is back to school everybody once more.
...oh, and then John was a zombie.
Doom (2016) is now available from id Software and Bethesda Softworks for Windows, Playstation 4, and Xbox One.
This review is based on the Playstation 4 version.
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