In the last 6 years or so, gamers have had the privilege of seeing several reboots of 90s FPS games. Some of these titles have included Duke Nukem Forever, Shadow Warrior, Wolfenstein: The Old Blood, and more recently Doom. Doom is a fantastic game that should appeal to anyone who likes the series or enjoys FPS games. What is it about this game that makes it so great? Should gamers buy it on console or PC?

I wasn't that excited for Doom when I first heard about it a year ago. I got into the beta on PS4 and I was pleasantly surprised. The multiplayer was fast and furious, and I felt like I could keep up. The multiplayer put an emphasis on keeping players constantly moving and getting back into the game quickly. At that point, I was sold and decided if the multiplayer was this fun, the single player should be interesting.

I picked up Doom a few days after release and the single player is good. Unlike Doom 3, I don't find myself getting frustrated with the enemies or weapon placement. Doom 2016 has an interesting back story, it's very similar to the other games, the Doom Marine has to close the portal to Hell. The game starts out with players waking up to a facility in chaos. The narrative voice of a living scientist explains what has happened and provides direction for players.

Doom’s biggest assets are the graphics and weapons. The graphics look amazing on a PC and looked pretty good on PS4. The atmosphere is dark, there are hints of an outside cloaked in a Mars like wasteland. The music and sound effects brought back a rush of gaming nostalgia. I felt like I was 10 years old again and playing Doom on my old 486. The weapons in Doom are beyond fun. There is an extensive upgrade system to the weapons. I enjoyed hunting down the secrets and easter eggs. Doom utilizes these secrets to pay homage to the series’ roots, the game has classic doom levels gamers can unlock.

The list of weapons is decent and gamers should find ones that fit their playing style, the list includes two shotguns, a plasma rifle, chaingun, rocket launcher, gauss rifle, and a heavy assault rifle. Weapons can be modified to do more damage, and have an 1-2 secondary fire options. Some of the fun upgrades include mini missiles on the assault rifle, multiple rocket lock ons from the rocket launcher, and a stun blast from the plasma rifle. These upgrades are obtained by spending points, which gamers can earn by hunting down secrets in each level as well as completing challenges in each level. I found myself using the plasma rifle and the chainsaw.

Gamers will be cycling weapons as their ammo runs low as the hordes of enemies drop in. Melee combat is impressive as well, do enough damage and players can do one kill melee attacks. These attacks vary depending on the enemy and the angle of the attacks. They are ultra gory and shower play with more ammo and health.

During my time with Doom, I was never bored. Many times I stopped and looked at the level and marvels at what id has done with modern technology. My only complaint is the shortage of ammo that happened once in a while. Most of the time players should be getting ammo from enemies, but there were a few situations where I was out of ammo and had to face a boss or a horde of enemies. This forced me to use unconventional methods, such as a charge pistol shot and my melee attack. The game is fun and I highly recommend it for anyone looking to play an FPS. If you have a PC that can run the game, I would recommend that.

Final Score 4/5

Doom Review