DOOM is a first person shooter from id Software (and currently published by Bethesda) that has a lineage going back over 20 years. DOOM broke ground back in 1993 introducing 3D spaces and graphics using mapped 2D sprites, and networked multiplayer. While Wolfenstein 3D preceded DOOM with 3D FPS experience, DOOM took it to another level with levels of varying heights instead of being on a flat plane. Fast forward to 2015, past the sequels and the third game which was sort of a remake, and Bethesda has revealed a new chapter in the DOOM series. From the looks of the gameplay footage shown from their E3 2015 conference, DOOM looks simply amazing.
The video jumps right into the action as the player dons his Space Marine helmet and enters a facility overrun with the possessed inhabitants and demons. Some platforming has been added to DOOM as the marine has the ability to vault over cover and obstacles and jump to ledges.
The weapons in DOOM will make old school fans and new players happy as they are beefy and powerful. Fan favorites like the Super Shotgun (double barrel), Plasma Rifle, Chaingun, and Chainsaw return. All the weapon produce results characteristic with DOOM as they tear enemies to pieces! Also new the the series is a “finisher” move that allows the marine to performs a melee based kill move on a near-dead enemy. The animations of the finisher seems to be unique per enemy and allows the player to save some ammo while looking like a complete badass doing it.
As the marine fights through the level and attempts to open a door, it was locked by a handprint reader. Instead of the old way of hunting down the keys all over the level, a bit of Batman detective skills have been added to DOOM as the marine pulls out a robot that scans the area and re-creates the last few moments in time of what happened in the room. Now able to reconstruct the last moments of the guy with the key (or in this case, the handprint), the player can track down key items a lot easier than before.
Level design from what was shown looks very impressive. Some of the “Hell” level was shown with amazing look of a destroyed city with demons swarming everywhere.
Old school FPS rules return with DOOM as the player cannot regenerate health by hiding in cover, like most current FPS games. Players in DOOM will need to collect armor and health from killing enemies and collecting dropped items.
Bethesda also revealed some multiplayer for DOOM. It has some frantic gameplay and new ideas. Players can now play as demons like the Revenant. Also, a new feature of the game called DOOM Snapmap allows player to create custom maps and gameplay types. Anyone can now create maps to share with other players and modes can be even customized with level based triggers to manipulate the AI to provide a custom experience.
DOOM is coming Spring 2016 for XBox One, Playstation 4, and PC.
