For anyone who was born in the 80’s/90’s and played video games, it is very likely Doom has some significance for you. For myself (and i’m sure many others), it was the first time getting behind the eyes of a player in a game and being able to run, shoot and be shot at (while seeing how more pissed off you got when you were taking damage). Once DOOM (2016) was announced almost 2 years ago, I was ecstatic and could not wait till until the release. If it was possible I might have frozen myself and gone through a Cartman situation but unfortunately was not possible :(. I mean for Doom it makes sense, but for a Wii, that is just fucking stupid. I will say though, after waiting for years from when Doom 3 came out, I think ID hit the nail on the head. So lets break it out….
Plot: Your character wakes up on Mars, and hell is running loose (quite literally). From there it is your job to figure out the cause of the problem, kill the demons and make sure the hell portal is shut down. The beauty of Doom is that the idea of opening a portal to hell and then killing demons is enticing and not much more back story is needed. There is more depth added to why the research was being done on hell (and it’s a very stupid and highly illogical one), but I will leave it at that, no spoilers here. With enough development and a few characters to follow, you see enough evolvement but they don’t try and make it anything more then it is. I would compare it to a great action film, like John Wick. DOOM’s plot isn’t trying to be something it’s not. It knows what it is, and that is a bloody, fast paced, first person shoot em up.
Gameplay: HOLY SHIT! This game feels fast when you first pick it up. Is this character on speed or does he just love to run?… all the fucking time. You can bet your ass he is getting in his 10,000 steps (thats a FitBit joke, and a bad one at that). I played the multiplayer beta for about 6 hours, and while I didn’t like it, I appreciated the pace and feel of how reminiscent it was to the original. The ability to switch between guns freely while slowing the game was well done, and the selection of weapons (I think 8/9 in total), leaves you constantly switching but never feeling bored.
Whenever you are about to get into a demon killing frenzy, the game will rely on it’s heavy metal soundtrack to ready yourself. Then you will be running, jumping, glory killing and shooting every which way (did i mention punching demons in THE FACE!). The first hour or so will feel fast but overtime you adapt to the game play. The creation of weapons like the chainsaw and BFG are both reminiscent and a welcomed part of your arsenal, because there are moments when you COULD make it through the fight without them but they give you a nice buffer if your struggling at all.
Multiplayer: As others have written before me, multiplayer is where DOOM fell off. As mentioned above, the pace and feel from carries over from the campaign but it leaves the multiplayer feeling lack luster and frustrating. A rocket launcher which should blow your opponent into pieces, does meager amounts of damage. The maps are nothing special but I haven’t played through every single one at this point. The beast mode is a cool feature and having four options to choose from is a plus, but it’s just a feature and doesn't make the actual experience any better.
Summary: Doom has gone through many iterations since 1993, and some have been better then others. DOOM (2016) has taken lessons from its predecessors and the result was a fast paced, blood filled happy walk down memory lane. While the multiplayer was not on point (and I didn’t even touch on snapmap), the campaign has plenty of replay value with secrets to find (the best one being how you can find then play through original Doom maps but with updated weapon/demon graphics). Final Question, would I recommend you buy it? Yes