DOOM Review

By Kristan Reed Published 3 October, 2006

Like a fine wine.

Version tested: Xbox 360

Almost every time we post a review of a new release on Xbox Live Arcade, someone inevitably pipes up "what's the point?" - as though old games are somehow exempt from re-evaluation. The attitude seems to be that Microsoft has the right to release anything regardless of quality as long as it's cheap, or that it's somehow 'unfair' to judge an old game. What nonsense. If Microsoft - or Sony, or Nintendo - wants to charge good money for ancient content, we're here to tell you whether it's worth the asking price, whether it's boxed product or otherwise.

Quick review? Doom is definitely worth the asking price.

Unlike a lot of games that came out at the start of that difficult transition from 2D to 3D, Doom stands the test of time thanks to fantastic, memorable level design, a refined control system, a perfect weapon balance, the list goes on. When Bungie spoke of basing Halo on the "30 seconds of fun over and over" design ethic, it was a principle Doom got right from the opening level onwards.

Having gone on my own personal trip down memory lane, playing it on 360 over the past few days has been one of the few escapades into nostalgia that I've emerged from appreciating the game more than I did then. Playing Doom reminds you of so many things that even modern shooters (Quake IV, anyone?) don't realise the importance of. Secrets being one of the main elements.

Mars attack

As any hardened Doom veteran will tell you, you haven't really played the game until you know its secrets - yet so few first-person shooters even bother with them these days. Sure, you can rip through each level in no time, but there's something immensely satisfying about knowing where to find the chainsaws, rocket launchers, partial invisibilities and computer area maps. Often, without them, the game's a whole lot tougher to play, forcing you to duke it out with hugely powerful enemies without the necessary kit.

Doom even includes the little things, like being able to see the downed corpses of your victims scattered around the play area. Things like this tend to be continually overlooked as developers go for glitz over what gamers want. Doom had this in 1993 for gawd's sake. It was also one of the first games of its type to favour the 'save anywhere' ethos - something that it retains, thus allowing you to chip your way through all four episodes at your leisure.

Doom also has atmosphere in spades. Even in the harsh next generation light of 2006, the game sends a chill down your spine when you're wading through the twisting dimly lit mazes, all-too aware of the gurgling imps just around the corner, or anticipating the consequences of flicking a switch. And despite the hilariously blocky bitmapped visuals and rudimentary animation, there's something incredibly stylish about the character design. Limited animation or not, the style is as etched in the gamer's consciousness as Pac-Man or Mario. Just as 2D retro has almost become an art style of its own to cherish and wear proudly on t-shirts, Doom represents 3D retro in just as powerful a way. Seeing it again, and playing through it all over again is a remarkable experience that's actually miles better than you thought it would be. You'll quickly realise just how far ahead of its time it really was, and how in many ways, this particular style of first-person shooter was never bettered - even by id themselves 11 years later.

Durr, da da da DURR, da da da DURR di-di-di-di-di-di di-di

'DOOM' Screenshot 1

Dangerously off targret.

Even the stupid burbling MIDI ditties that accompany each and every level worm their way into your brain, and have you dumbly ba-baaing your way along as you play. It's as though every time you prepare yourself for there to be something crap about Doom, it ends up charming you into submission.

Another happy accident is that the 360 pad - for once - suits this old game better than the original controls ever did. While some of you may have lumbered embarrassingly with the keyboard way back when, the pad provides an excellent means of scampering around each level. With left trigger for sprint, right trigger for fire, and weapon select/use on the main face buttons, everything's always in reach, all the time. And the absence of a Y-axis on its view-control makes it that much more accessible, even if you don't usually get on with gamepad FPS controls. Everything feels supremely fluid. It seems impossible for a creaking relic like this to feel so good, which, again, is a testament to the original design, not to mention the quality of Nerve's port.

The only mystifying flaw about Doom in 2006 is why lag plays such a crucial part in the online play. Given that most old hands will recall the game running just fine over a 28k modem, it seems baffling that such a resource-friendly game as this could cause any problems with 2MB net connections largely the norm. It's not a deal-breaker by any means, but it's something we'd have expected Nerve to have fully nailed before release. Tellingly, a patch was applied the very night of its release last week, so hopefully a solution will be found soon enough.

Lagging behind

'DOOM' Screenshot 2

Now here's something the PC original never offered.

Whether you play four-player deathmatch or two-player co-op, the same problems seems to persist. Thankfully, each player has a connection quality meter, so filtering out particularly laggy offenders ought to be straightforward enough, but quick-match players beware. Happily, those that do get a decent online match going can also use the headset - particularly useful if you're playing a co-op match, while those who can't be bothered to deal with online issues can always settle for two player co-op split screen or four-player deathmatch split-screen. Post-pub heaven!

Perhaps one of the best things about Doom's release on XBLA is the thoughtful way Nerve has used the online leaderboard system to compare player's offline performance in each and every chapter of every episode. Measured in terms of the percentage of kills, items and secrets, you're given the opportunity to see how your friends did on every level, with an overall score awarded to give you an overall ranking. And with a total score given to your cumulative level scores, you can even work towards proving yourself as the world's best Doom player. Shame that the current friends leaderboard appears to rank in reverse order, and that post match score-boards don't list the player's name (very confusing) but you can't have everything.

In case there wasn't enough love expressed towards Doom in this review, let me say it again for emphasis - Doom is the rarest of retro games, in that you can enjoy it just as much as you did when it was first released. Better still, you can appreciate it with the benefit of 20-20 hindsight, and see not only how enormously influential it is, but how perfect its design was from the very beginning. Were Nerve to find a remedy to the online multiplayer niggles we'd be looking at a must-have 10, but for now, a nine sounds fine to me. Go treat yourself to a true gaming masterpiece.

9 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Kristan.

About Kristan Reed

Kristan is a former editor of Eurogamer, dad, Stone Roses bore and Norwich City supporter who sometimes mutters optimistically about Team Silent getting back together.

Read more articles from Kristan by visiting the Kristan Reed archive page.

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Comments (94) Latest comment 5 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Rambaldi #1 5 years ago

    It really is better second time round. Puts a lot of new tat (Doom 3 included) to shame. Level design is stellar! It's amazing too how, after the first few levels, you never even notice the graphics. 1080p my arse :)
    Edited by 1 at 03/10/06 @ 08:15

  • Laserbream #2 5 years ago

    Without a keyboard, how can one use IDDQD?

    Nice review though, a lot of people still dismiss DOOM as an example of selling by hype. It deserves more kudos than that.
    Edited by 1 at 03/10/06 @ 08:19

  • jonnyreb #3 5 years ago

    Woohoo

    DL'ing this now.

  • #4 5 years ago

    Holy cow, a 9 even today?

    Gwan then, I love it too!

    The lag sucks though, two online games and both laggy as hell. What gives?

  • ccfb #5 5 years ago

    "Another happy accident is that the 360 pad - for once - suits this old game better than the original controls ever did."

    Meaning...? The pad is not suited to gaming, or that no other adaptation has done the controls for DOOM as well (like, say, the xbox 1 pad in the packaged doom we had with Doom3)?

  • Darren #6 5 years ago

    At last, Xbox Live Arcade gets a true classic with better controls than the version that came with Doom 3 on the Xbox. It would have been nice to have had the options for widescreen support (the menus are in widescreen so why not the game?) and some N64 texture filtering (to disguise the blocky graphics) but apart from that it's great value and is still enjoyable to play after all these years.

  • jlaakso #7 5 years ago

    I played through the first episode in one sitting, completely enthralled. You don't really need retro glasses to enjoy it in this day and age. You just need to be able to see past the no-jumping, no-Y-axis (I'd like to see this implemented in a modern game, actually), and blocky bitmaps. The lighting and overall style just puts you right in the midst of it.

    And the sound... Doom's music and sound effects are fondly remembered for a reason.

    I did love Doom as a kid, but I believe I appreciate it even more today.

    There's something wonky with the leaderboards, though. It doesn't give me stats for anything but the first couple of missions, whereas I'm at 50% of the whole package by now. That sucks, because increasing my score is a major incentive to replay levels.

    Edit: Oh and thank God they haven't touched the graphics. They're just fine as-is.
    Edited by 1 at 03/10/06 @ 08:36

  • Dirtbox #8 5 years ago

    I'd love to reveiw something as classically definig as this.
    Edited by 1 at 03/10/06 @ 08:41

  • Beano #9 5 years ago

    Played thru the first two episodes yesterday... agree with EG on this one: still a great game :)

  • morriss #10 5 years ago

    @krudster: Agreed.

  • morriss #11 5 years ago

    Anyway, I've played online Deathmatch twice and a good hour or so of online co-op: no lag whatsoever.

  • Dizzy #12 5 years ago

    I am loving this all over again. A 9 might be very high (I would say 8) but I hope this is a start for MS to bring Quake and Duke to XBLA!

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #13 5 years ago

    9/10 my bollocks. Whoever implemented the controls on this game needs to be fucking killed, and in almost every other way it's the laziest, sloppiest port of Doom you could ever imagine. It SHOULD have been great, but isn't.

  • Kilters #14 5 years ago

    Totally agree with the score. Couldn't get over how much I still enjoy it. All in glorious Dolby 5.1.

    Chaingun cha cha FTW
    Edited by 1 at 03/10/06 @ 09:03

  • morriss #15 5 years ago

    "9/10 my bollocks. Whoever implemented the controls on this game needs to be fucking killed, and in almost every other way it's the laziest, sloppiest port of Doom you could ever imagine. It SHOULD have been great, but isn't."

    n00b :p

  • bauhaus #16 5 years ago

    downloaded

    played

    deleted

  • Der_tolle_Emil #17 5 years ago

    I downloaded the demo just to see. And it played great. The lack of a y-axis helps a lot because you can instantly enjoy the game without getting used to the controls first.

    And now being a few years older than when Doom originally came out I might enjoy it the way it was meant to be - without iddqd and idkfa all the time. And writing this I remember Doom 64 too, that was in my opinion the best Doom version (except Doom 1 and 2).

    I guess I will buy it when I'm finished with TDU

  • Kuma #18 5 years ago

    Doom still rocks, unlike so many other nostalgia trips this is one well worth taking!

  • pjmaybe #19 5 years ago

    Doesn't the quote go..."A fine wine - but even the finest wine's arses turn to vinegar eventually"

    Really wish you wouldn't score these fucking old pieces of crap. It just makes the whole scoring system look idiotic when you suddenly compare it to, say, the latest and greatest PC FPS with whistles and bells.

    Still it does confirm what we already knew - Doom is better than Halo :)

    Peej

  • old_boy #20 5 years ago

    Did anyone see the Doctor WHo episodes "inspired" by Doom (the Impossible Planet/The Demon Pit). There were loads of sound effects that had a striking similarity to Doom.

    Only me then.

    Oh and this was the game that got me into PC gaming. £1000 for a 486 33Mhz PC with a 1GB harddrive. ANd that was when £1000 was a lot of money.
    Edited by 1 at 03/10/06 @ 09:21

  • DrDamn #21 5 years ago

    Plays great, but for 800MSP I expect Doom 1 and 2 considering the extra effort which would be required to include it.

  • alpha-0ne #22 5 years ago

    the trial version was so short it annoyed me into not buying it may change my mind now..

  • Mr_Whacker #23 5 years ago

    I'm not arguing with Doom's ability to still put you under its spell but I really can't be bothered now that I know the levels inside out. If I wanted another blast on it I'd fire up the PC version I already own, not buy another. I can even use a gamepad now.

    And surely the Laziest Sloppiest Doom Port Award goes to the GBA version.

  • morriss #24 5 years ago

    I don't see a problem with the score: This is reviewed as an XBLA game worth about £7. In this context and compared to other releases it's easily a 9/10.

    It's silly to start saying, "better than [full release title]" as the context is completely different. I'm sure if Halo was £7 on release they'd've given it at least an 8.5. :)

  • #25 5 years ago

    Kneel!

  • Ryuken #26 5 years ago

    What a rip-off if you see what the Doom Collector's Edition package holds.

  • morriss #27 5 years ago

    /kneels

  • ProtoformX #28 5 years ago

    "Did anyone see the Doctor WHo episodes "inspired" by Doom (the Impossible Planet/The Demon Pit). There were loads of sound effects that had a striking similarity to Doom."
    Yeah, I noticed that. Me and my flatmate loved it. :-)
    I don't have any problem with the score either. It's exactly the same great game, but now only costs £7 and also has co-op and deathmatch, both either in split screen or online. Bearing in mind that the original Doom would still cost about £5 on the high street, £2 extra for multiplayer and the privelidge of having to download straight into your console is fine by me. A good move to stick this on XBLA - I still play some version of Doom at least once a week, even after all these years.

  • Vin #29 5 years ago

    This man is correct.

    Just buy the SE edition of Doom 3 - loads better value for money.

  • p3rks #30 5 years ago

    Great review. One of the most influential games of all time. This game got me into online gaming & FPS, still my favourite ways to use a computer... but it's not just the nostalgia, it really is a brilliant game.

  • Bitkari #31 5 years ago


    While Doom itself is great, this implementation is awful. There is no excuse for such a lazy port. Nothing of value has been added to the Xbox version, indeed there are a variety of superior PC engine ports available that by far eclipse this offering available for no money, the game itself (often including many more game levels and multiplayer maps) being widely available for less than the asking price of this paltry offering.

  • bauhaus #32 5 years ago

    /wipes floor

    /kneels

    Whats going on?

  • #33 5 years ago

    You kneel before the King, don't you?

  • bauhaus #34 5 years ago

    Bit Bill Clinton for me my old mukka

    /gets up

    /backs off

  • Killdare #35 5 years ago

    It's good - in fact it's very good - but for me the best version of Doom is still the Playstation incarnation (especially with link up). The pad worked even better than the 360 pad (and much better than keyboard) and the grinding guitar-style music was replaced by a sonic background of wails and moans that was genuinely unsettling.

    Anyway, back to that cyberdemon

  • Ikari2001 #36 5 years ago

    To be honest, I've enjoyed this game more than any game for ages... it's just great fun playing a game I have so many fond memories of... and it's actually still a great game!

    admittedly the first three episodes dont seem as hard as I remembered... though Ep4 "Thy Flesh Consumed" steps up the difficulty proper ^_^

    and co-op splitscreen, excellent... fully worth the score, although for me it's a 10 ^_^

  • gazareth #37 5 years ago

    Quake1 was better.

    Oh yes, I went there.

  • asphaltcowboy #38 5 years ago

    Awesome! I played Doom 2, but only ever had the shareware of Doom 1 - now I can finally play the other 3 episodes! (as soon as my internet is sorted :/)

    How many points does it cost btw?

  • mechamonkey #39 5 years ago

    Absolutely fantastic. Had so much fun with this its untrue.

    XBL is shaping up wonderfully.

    Now, Quake 1 too please :)

  • lord_swede #40 5 years ago

    You're having a laugh ... lag !! and it still got 9 out of 10.

    Unbelievable :(

  • Der_tolle_Emil #41 5 years ago

    It's 800 points.

  • thefilthandthefury #42 5 years ago

    Couldn't agree with this review more. I've had more fun with Doom over the last few days than I have with most games in years.

  • Mr_Brown #43 5 years ago

    Couldn't agree more. The online modes can be hard to join (haven't been able to join a deathmatch for ages keeps 'timing out' but the ones I had were not laggy and very fun. Specially online co-op. This is exactly the type of game I wanted to see on XBLA, real classics with online multiplayer bolted on. Lets hope there is more to come.

  • Pooley #44 5 years ago

    It's weird, we all have access to next gen gaming, and everyone's going nuts about a game thats 13 years old!! Just proves I suppose that it's all about the content and how well it's done. I always remember playing this to death back then, then going to bed, closing my eyes, and seeing the walls and monsters running around in my vision. I always slept lightly during those nights... /shudders

    XBLA has some great titles, does anyone know what the ratio of new games being played to XBLA titles being played is?

    I'm looking forward to this facility with the Wii and PS3 too. Maybe I'll finally get to play all of the Donkey Kong Country games.

  • foxy2006 #45 5 years ago

    C'mon , you can't seriously give this a 9. its just a bit silly.

    Everyone knows how good/influential Doom is/was but this is taking it a bit too far. Its over a decade old, you can't stick it in amongst a scoring system with current gen software, it just ridicules the whole system.

    Why not do scoreless reviews in future for these older games. Words alone should be enough to sum up the experience.

  • Yossarian #46 5 years ago

    I agree. I powered through the first two episodes last night in one go, giggling most of the way

  • krudster #47 5 years ago

    "I don't see a problem with the score: This is reviewed as an XBLA game worth about £7. In this context and compared to other releases it's easily a 9/10."

    At least Morris gets it.

  • thefilthandthefury #48 5 years ago

    I'd rate it a 9 even against modern releases. It's easily still one of the most fun games ever made. I'm certainly enjoying this infinitely more than the dire Dead Rising.

  • Gurgeh #49 5 years ago

    The original networking code in Doom tied everyone to the speed of the slowest PC / connection, there was no client - server setup or client side prediction. Presumably they've updated the net code for this release.

    Is there an option to have sprint on all the time? Back in the day we used to have to wedge the sprint key on the keyboard down with a 2p piece.

    The weapons are only balanced in deathmatch until you meet someone who understands the crazy way the BFG works out damage :)

  • Azazel #50 5 years ago

    Agree with this review 100%, even before I read through it was a solid 9 for me, this in many ways is the essential XBLA purchase. I love playing it with the 360 pad, I love the multiplayer and I love Doom :D

    On another note: No No NO - I wouldn't have Quake 1 ported to a console. As a single player game it was nowhere near the quality of Doom, although its style remains something of an aborted oddity - like two games colliding.

    The only thing that was groundbreaking about Quake 1 was the online game. In fact I humbly contest that as a deathmatch game it has never been bettered.

    Download EZQuake now and learn to bunny: [link url=http://ezquake.source forge.net/
    ]http://ezquake.source forge.net/
    [/link]

  • Dizzy #51 5 years ago

    "The only thing that was groundbreaking about Quake 1 was the online game. In fact I humbly contest that as a deathmatch game it has never been bettered. "

    Well that is why it should be on XBLA.

  • banjo21 #52 5 years ago

    Oh look - no Southpaw/leftie support.

    How many games does MS think it can keep away from 15-20% of the popoulation before we just scream and go play with our wives/girlfriends instead?

    The 360 is worse for this than the Xbox.

    SIMPLE MESSAGE - THERE ARE LEFT HANDED PEOPLE THAT PLAY GAMES AND THUS YOU MAY SELL MORE GAMES IF THEY TOO CAN PLAY THEM.

    (roll on flames from righties and the odd leftie who think its easy to change after 20 years of playing preference).

  • TreeFrog #53 5 years ago

    If only this wasn't such a lazy port - no customisable controls; weapon switching which requires you to cycle slowly though all the weapons to get to the one you want; not even partial WS support (if you overlaid the OSD, you could easily make it somewhat WS without affecting the original aspect ratio); Doesn't run at 60fps; and to really rub it in, the demo is piss-takingly short.

    I'd happily give the game 9/10 and buy it, if only it didn't feel like a rushed, cynical product.

  • Mashum #54 5 years ago

    ...that pissed me off too. It would be nice if Microsoft forced FPS games to comply with the 'southpaw' setting under your 360 profile, especially as they went to the bother of setting it up in the first place.

    ...and don't get me started on the FEAR demo :(

  • Mr_Brown #55 5 years ago

    My uncle is left handed and he's been using right handed controls for decades without any trouble. So I wouldn't say its all left handed people just a minority who cannot adjust.

  • brainbird #56 5 years ago

    "So I wouldn't say its all left handed people just a minority who cannot adjust."

    You're right, I'm right-handed and playing southpaw and don't want to adjust.

  • UmBongo #57 5 years ago

    how can microsoft charge us again for titles we already have?

    those guys are like printing money....

  • Azazel #58 5 years ago

    Well that is why it should be on XBLA.

    Well maybe. I suppose I was speaking purely from my perspective - someone who has been playing it using a keyboard/mouse for the last 8 years. I don't see how you would be able to replicate the same kind of movement techniques and stuff on a controller. Of course that stuff takes a long time to *get* anyway, so perhaps it would be a non-issue. It's just that for me it's an integral part of the game.

  • MrAtheist #59 5 years ago

    Quake with a joypad, that would be so...wrong.

  • Mashum #60 5 years ago

    @Mr_Brown

    It's just about having the choice to play it the way that suits you. Different people like to use different settings so because one person likes one setup it does not mean that everyone will. Games are for fun, yes?

  • rhinoxious #61 5 years ago

    Oh look - no Southpaw/leftie support.

    Agreed, but it's not just about lefties, I've played console fps's with aiming on the left stick ever since goldeneye, I just prefer it that way round.

  • getinthereson #62 5 years ago

    What's wrong with the FEAR demo?

  • banjo21 #63 5 years ago

    Mr Brown - how can you say its "just a minority who cannot adjust."? How do you know how many can or cant adjust after decades of playing? Are you saying your uncle has easily adjusted after decades of playing one way to another way just recently? Or have you just confirmed my point - i.e. its NOT easy to change after decades of playing?

    Why not do the obvious thing and make it an option in every game? How hard can that be? How expensive can that be versus the cost of lost sales? I guarantee that I would buy tomorrow Doom, BFMF2, Graw, Hitman, and Fear [OK when available] if they had a southpaw option.

    Dont our friends at EG have some mighty voice into the industry to help their leftie audiance?
    Edited by 1 at 03/10/06 @ 12:09

  • jimbob101 #64 5 years ago

    I have recently been playing DoomX (with legit wads!), makes me realise I got a bargain many years ago when I bougth the complation pack (Doom/Doom2/Wad Disc). In my top 5 most played games.

    "Oh and this was the game that got me into PC gaming. £1000 for a 486 33Mhz PC with a 1GB harddrive. ANd that was when £1000 was a lot of money."
    A 1GB harddrive? My parent's P75 only had 650mb.
    Edited by 2 at 03/10/06 @ 13:55

  • spookyzombie #65 5 years ago

    EG's 9/10 would suggest this title is a must have. It isn't.

  • stormuk #66 5 years ago

    I played the original when it came out - so expected to be all rose tinted in my views.

    Hated it!

    Where will it stop mazogs?

  • belziah #67 5 years ago

    9/10

    so its better than Halo 2 then............

    /taxi for 1

    /grabs coat

  • old_boy #68 5 years ago

    A 1GB harddrive? My parent's P75 only had 650mb.
    A p75....

    /is green with envy. Mind you I remember upgrading to a 2GB HD and my manager (the IT specialist) laughing like a drain as to what i would do with so much disk space.

    He was kind of innocent...

  • Xerx3s #69 5 years ago

    Quick review? Doom is definitely worth the asking price.

    'Kthxbye! ;p

    This game is great! \0/ And all this fun for less than the price of two burgerking menu's!

  • TheMoonRat #70 5 years ago

    "how can microsoft charge us again for titles we already have?"

    UmBongo - because this is on a console that you can lie back on your sofa to play. You do NOT have to pay for it to enjoy the title you already have... hey get your PC with TV-Out, stick it under your tv, and you can enjoy the same game for free. Or for convenience you can buy it again for xbox360. Your choice.

  • Garibaldi #71 5 years ago

    To echo other thoughts - 9/10 for a multiplayer lagged version of Doom which doesn't run in full-screen ratio or at 60FPS? You keep rewarding efforts like that with high scores and they'll keep cutting the corners.

  • Chtulie #72 5 years ago

    Quite a lot of these posts remind me of people who hate any old movie because it's black and white with mono sound, no maater it's actual quality, and prefer to put on once again a DVD of a Shumacher film.
    Or the even younger generation, the now teens who think the original Star Wars trilogy is ugly as hell, therefore sucks and thinks the prequels are totally awesome and just soooo much better.
    Yeah, you original Doom haters, you are the same sort that loves modern Lucas.

  • smelly #73 5 years ago

    So you guys are going nuts about a game with crap yestyear graphics, etc.

    I'm wondering if these are the same people who are slagging off the wii for being underpowered.

    Not making accustations.. just wondering :-)

  • Azazel #74 5 years ago

    *Tsch*... teh graphixs are nowhere near as good as - say - Unreal 2.

  • bunglebonce #75 5 years ago

    It's good - in fact it's very good - but for me the best version of Doom is still the Playstation incarnation (especially with link up). The pad worked even better than the 360 pad (and much better than keyboard) and the grinding guitar-style music was replaced by a sonic background of wails and moans that was genuinely unsettling.

    I don't have a 360, but the PS1 version is definately the best console port I've come across of it. The graphics weren't great, but when I turned the light off I was completely immersed. And shit scared.

    Boooo to the GBA version, and pda/phone/psp versions.

  • pjmaybe #76 5 years ago

    PS1 version was superb. Still is, in fact.

    So what's next for the ole rose coloured treatment? Can we expect a 10 for Sensi? I'd put money on it.

    Peej

  • KraftWerk #77 5 years ago

    2 MB net connections? 2 Mb, perhaps..

  • GAT #78 5 years ago

    Agreed on the PS1 version, it was easily the best of the ports. I actually played it before I played the PC original and was surprised at how much more atmospheric the console version was. As well as that music (which I don't think has been bettered in ANY game) most of the sound effects were changed and/or made 'beefier', and coloured lighting was introduced.

    In fact, I'm going to dust down my PS2 and play it right now. I recommend anyone that hasn't get hold of a copy.
    Edited by 1 at 03/10/06 @ 16:29

  • vegard #79 5 years ago

    excellent review. my flatmate downloaded this last night, still a lot of fun. just got the urge to get back to it now:)

  • squeakyg #80 5 years ago

    Is it Doom or Ultimate Doom (ie. is it three chapters or four)?

    Can you change the resolution, or is the pixel resolution 320x240 like your screenshot?

    Can sprint be toggled?

    How is the frame rate?

    If it's no better than the version that came with Doom 3, I won't be bothering. It really needs to be 1280x720 and 60fps to be worth spending money on.

  • Dr.Mott #81 5 years ago

    I've only got 895 points left, and I can't afford anymore for a while. Is this worth it?

  • paulust2002 #82 5 years ago

    please release a patch for the playsation soundtrack, so scary at the time and beats the crap on there now, the original music, the babies crying was raw

  • Der_tolle_Emil #83 5 years ago

    Dr.Mott, if you ever liked Doom, then get this. Especially if you never really seriously played Doom before (meaning cheat whenever you felt you got stuck or cheated in the first place). There are ony a few things that bother me:

    You cannot set up the controls in your way. The standard controls are fine, but I prefer forward/backward/turn on the left stick and strafe on the right stick instead of forward/backwars/strafe on the left and turn on the right stick (like it was with Goldeneye for example).

    Weapons chaning is sequential and you have to know the order of the weapons because there is no display of the weapon's order. But this may not be a problem because I still remember the order after all these years and I guess many still do.

    There is no option to constantly run, you have to hold down the L trigger all the time if you want to sprint. Not a big deal though but I know some who really run all the time.

    These are the points that struck me when I was playing singleplayer, I haven't had the time yet to try out multiplayer. The rest is true to the original (thank god!), which is why I like it so much. I really look forward to getting lost in levels and wandering 10 times from one end to another just because I overlook something. Good old times.

    I guess, if you have enough time on your hands, this game definetly is worth the points. For some few minute sessions, it might not.

  • Fatnick #84 5 years ago

    Its Ultimate Doom :D

  • GitSomE_UK #85 5 years ago

    ARSE!

    Guys wake up yes it's got a special place, history, respect and all that BUT it's had it's time.

    Once again Microsoft have hypnotised you all into buying OLD GAMES whilst they fanny about trying to find the elusive killer game for the 360. What's worse you all buy into it and coo how lovely it all is... guys you can get Doom for your PC for 50p and a pound of grapes nowadays.

    7 quid a time for a port of a game that's been ported to practically every console, PDA, a few phones and so on. Microsoft are pissing themselves at how easy the 360 can print money out for them.

    I understand that some of you may not have played this when it first came out etc. etc. fair enough enjoy, even a quick bit of nostalgia... enjoy but for the love of god when will MS bring something to the table that makes me want to take the XBox 360 and look at it with respect instead of Microsoft's version of Mame.




  • spookyzombie #86 5 years ago

    A lot of you would get excited if 'Manic Miner' appeared on XBL. Doom WAS a great game. These days it's just not worth 800 points. That's about £7. I can see how some people may like to re-live the experience, but 9/10? Nah.

  • toy_brain #87 5 years ago

    "Oh look - no Southpaw/leftie support. "

    I'm a leftie and I've always played with a right-handed configuration. In fact, given that all joypads are designed right-handed, its never occured to me to even try switching.

    Well, apart from playing DS games...........

  • S.J.Rogers #88 5 years ago

    Still scares the poo out of me..!

    All i see at night are Imps running down tunnels after me again...

    Edited by 1 at 04/10/06 @ 09:31

  • DNM #89 5 years ago

    Do the rose-tinted spectacles come free, or are they another £7? :)

  • S.J.Rogers #90 5 years ago

    There free with your copy of Misery Guts Monthly..!

  • Samtallic #91 5 years ago

    while i agree there is a whole lot of nostalgia to be had with doom, its seems like you should criticize the game for ripping off its sound track more than you praise it if you're giving the game an entirely new review.

    http://ww w.doomworld.com/linguica/doomco...

  • Fatnick #92 5 years ago

    Was networking ever so easy on the PC? It's great to finally be able to play some doom multiplayer. I think i had a 2800 baud modem when the game was new.

  • Tomo #93 5 years ago

    I agree wholeheartedly with the review. Doom and even Wolfenstein which I'm playing at the moment, really are as playable now as ever. Good work.

  • Beano #94 5 years ago

    "A lot of you would get excited if 'Manic Miner' appeared on XBL. Doom WAS a great game."

    No, you are wrong.

    Very few retto games on XBLA are worth the money, but Doom is for sure - a classic!

  • banjo21 #95 5 years ago

    Quake 1 would be so good.

    Anyway lefties I've found this southpaw controller at long last on ebay. I have ordered one and I'll post back here if/when received and if/when works.

    [link url=http ://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ih=005&item=150042 872591&rd=1&sspagename=STRK%3AMESE%3AIT&rd=1
    ]http://cg i.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...[/link]

    I'll be able to play GRAW, BF2MC, Doom, Lara, Hitman, Fear, Saints Row, Dead Rising :)
    Happy times.......

  • neuroniky #96 5 years ago

    I was pretty skeptical about paying for a 10+ years old game that has spawned a genre that's gone thousand of miles ahead in the meantime.
    So I downloaded the demo, played the first level and...
    I bought the full game.
    Almost finished the first episode in a single run, it is even better than I remembered. It is actually so much better than a lot of FPS recently spawned, it is fast, engaging, difficult, adrenalinic... it has everything one expects from a FPS, but the graphics. And its shotgun is just so much more empowering than a lot of shotguns we've seen after it.
    Get it, you won't regret it...

  • smelly #97 5 years ago

    >Very few retto games on XBLA are worth the money

    Well on one hand i'd agree that i'm pained to pay money for retro gaming.

    On the other hand, the only reason i decided to buy a wii at launch is to play old nintendo games which i missed out on first itme around (due to not owing a console, and getting a ps1 over n64).

    Dont care about the full priced games.. get me some retro platforming fun!