MadCap's Game Reviews - "Doom" (2016)

...okay, Bethesda. Id. I'll bite. Why could you not come up with a title for this one? I mean "Doom"? Just going back to bare basics, I guess, seeing that it's a reboot (or, depending on who you ask, isn't). If it's a reboot, then I guess that's fine, but if it's not, you're recycling the title and everyone will once again have to specify that they're talking about the Doom from 2016 rather than the original one (which I've also reviewed, by the way). Still, that's a minor complaint and something that can be overlooked in the grand scheme of things.

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.

For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, be sure to follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.

MadCap's Game Reviews - "Doom"

What can be said about Doom? Well, a lot, actually.  It's a child of the 90s, not unlike yours truly, and it definitely shows as being from that era.  What's the main tell, besides the pixelated graphics? Guns.  Over the course of the game, the player is handed enough of an arsenal that would make Deadpool, Cable, and Lobo weep in joy at the sheer destructive force they possess.  But if that's not enough, it's even possible to shout out your best "I AM A MAN!" and punch the hordes of Hell itself into bloody, bloody submission.  Really, it's just delightful...and it also has caused a great deal of controversy about violence in video games and their effect on the general populace, as well as worries from the wholesome American Right about the evil grasp that Satan has upon the young people of the world through the "vidja games".

Of course, all of these things are astoundingly ridiculous  Yankee Rose and have absolutely no founding in any actual studies done on the subject.  Really, you'd think that those Christian activist groups would approve of a game where you pick up weapons and send Satan's backup dancers to Hell again...

It's not over 9000...and doesn't need to be!!!

Regardless, in spite of the beliefs of many, this game actually does have a plot.  As the nameless marine known only as "Doom Guy" (by the fans), you've been assigned to the most dismal duty station in the Union Aerospace Corporation - and are dropped off their just after some experiments on the moons of Mars, Deimos and Phobos, go horribly wrong.  Hell itself has been let loose, and it's time for Doom Guy to liberally apply his boot to some demonic ass before the demons turn their sights onto Earth...

And apart from that, it's all about shooting everything in sight that's shooting, clawing, or throwing energy bolts at you until they're dead. The game gives you, again, a tasty variety of weaponry to do so with.  There's, naturally, your bare fists that can hit as quickly as you can press the attack button and with little delay, but also do the least damage.  There's the starter pistol, which is good early on, but you'll soon want to drop it for later weapons.  Then there's the chainsaw, shotgun, chaingun, rocket launcher, and the plasma rifle.  But, believe it or not, this is not the apex of Doom Guy's arsenal.

Yes, Virginia, there is a weapon even greater than the mighty chaingun.

The one...

The only...

The B.F.G. 9000!!!!

And really, the thing is just as beautiful as all the tales tell of it, my friends.  With all this destructive power at your beck and call, one would imagine the journey into Hell to give Lucifer a swat on the nose would be ever so easy, right?  Not so, it seems, depending on which difficulty setting you're up on.  The easiest one ("I'm Too Young To Die") will see you sailing through most enemies with ease, while the highest ("Nightmare!") will see the unprepared filleted and served up faster than the main course of the Dark Souls Bar and Grill.  I found "Hurt Me Plenty" to be a good balance between skill and difficulty and it worked out pretty well for me by the end.

And, as I don't normally judge graphics anyway, I'll say that they haven't exactly aged well, even with the HD polish that Bethesda and Id have given it.  However, a lot like Star Wars:  Dark Force (a game that was made, ironically, as a Doom Clone), I find myself getting a bit motion sick from the graphics and the constant switch between a 3-D environment and the 2-D objects around it.

Though, since I brought it up, Doom doesn't have several of the features that Dark Forces had, namely the ability to duck.  A common thing in First Person Shooters now, but in Doom this was apparently not even thought of.  You also can't jump, again another staple of such games now that we overlook.  However, you do have a dash...which works well in long, straight areas and doesn't help at all in close quarters or in wider areas unless you've got a massive area to run through.

Really, in spite of the whole "Rip and Tear! Rip and Tear Your Guts!" crack I was making before with the melee attack, it's really best to keep enemies at range unless you've got no other choice, and that often doesn't even help, as all enemies have ranged attacks.  Remember, kids! Strafing is your friend.  Unless you have the BFG, then just hold down the trigger until everything is dead.

But altogether, this game isn't bad.  Dated? Yes.  Probably nothing something I'd take a crack at again? Probably.  But still, enjoyable and one does have to appreciate one's history, especially gamers.  So, for all of those that think Halo is the alpha and omega of all First Person Shooters, or that Call of Duty is the only game where picking up a gun and riddling everything in sight with bullets is worthy of any attention, I'd suggest you take a look back in the history books.  If only a fleeting glimpse.

And I've just checked my reviews...it looks like next time will be my 75th review! I can't believe I've made it this far!  But what to review on such a momentous occasion?  I can really think of only one game that will properly fit the bill.

Stay tuned!!!

Doom is now available from Id Software, Nerve Software, and Bethesda on the Xbox Live Arcade.

For the latest from the MadCapMunchkin, follow him on Twitter @MadCapMunchkin.

MadCap's Game Reviews - "Ib"

Start Menu

Well, further reaching for my indie cred, I’ve played Ib.  What is Ib? You might ask? A pretty big deal in the indie community, it would seem.  Developed by “kouri” using the RPGMaker 2000/2003, it’s a freeware horror game in which you take over the body of a nine year old girl in order to be freaked the hell out at various points inside a demonic art gallery that Tim Burton and Vincent Price are vying for as a summer home.  One major bit of praise that I will give this game is that it excels at creepiness.  Not necessarily scary at points, but it does have its fair share of downright creepy and unnerving moments.

The plot starts out with young Ib (seriously, “Ib”?) being brought to an art gallery by her dear parents who, apparently not thinking letting an oddly silent nine year old run amuck in a public place could possibly go wrong, let her run amuck in a public place.  Walking among the various exhibits and portraits, Ib eventually finds one that causes the lights to flicker and makes everyone else in the place seemingly vanish.  From there, Ib must figure out how to get out of this crazy Van Gogh and paint her way to a happy ending.  Well, actually, one of several endings and only one of them is “good” (and take a wild guess which one I didn’t get!).

The game plays rather simply on your PC – oh, that’s right, I haven’t done a strictly PC review yet.  Applaud me…okay, moving on. – using the directional keys to move Ib around, the Z or Esc key to access your inventory and the shift key allows you to return to the main menu (at the cost of all your unsaved data being lost).  Ib can interact with objects, which she must do to solve various puzzles ranging from simple to rather complex.  I applaud the creator for coming up with several puzzles I actually had to think about, regardless of the fact that puzzle games are not generally my forte.

And luckily (for me, at least) the puzzles don’t run on the insane adventure game logic of old. It’s really as simple as getting a key to open a door instead of, shall we say, trying to fashion a handle for a trap door while carrying a sledgehammer that you could have used to just smash it open.

And that brings me to the combat.  There is none.  You’re a nine year old girl trying to fend off the forbidden love children of Picasso and Lovecraft.  To me, this brings the game closer to ‘scary’, and thus is a lot better.  If I were a nine year old girl packing a BFG à la Doom or Dead Space, it would make the “horror” elements of the game a lot less horrific, if not entertaining for an entirely different reason. I’d put this more akin to Amnesia.  You can’t fight, you can only run around and avoid as best you can.

Your health is measured by a rose that Ib acquires. When enemies hit you, the rose will wilt.  Ib can take up to five hits before you must restart from your last save point, which are books you can find within the world.  Ib’s rose can be restored using vases that can be found usually near the save points or in areas were puzzles might require you to take a few hits.

All in all, this game is good and the puzzles can be quite challenging.  I’m going to put up a bit of a spoiler warning before I spill what my only real gripe is with this game, and that’s this – there’s no explanation.  Throughout the entire game, there is literally no explanation for how what’s happening is happening.  You do find out over the course of play just who is behind it and what’s happening, but there’s no explanation as to how.  Of course, the game doesn’t really think it needs to explain anything, and I suppose it is kind of me nitpicking, but that sort of thing bothers me.

All in all, though, it’s a great game.  Definitely gets a recommendation from me, and best of all, it’s free!  What more could you ask for?

Ib is now available for download from the internet. Just Google it!

This review is based on (what else?) the PC version.