What DOOM Needs to Live up to its Legacy

DOOM is one of the oldest first-person shooters and the new game has a lot of hype. When a game series is this popular, and it has been such a long time since the last game, it becomes hard to live up to expectations.

The original DOOM came out in 1993 and featured 3 episodes that were 9 levels each. You played as an unnamed space marine stationed on Mars. Teleportation experiments went wrong and demons started to come through the gates on one of the moons, Phobos. You job was to fight through the hordes of demons to escape.

DOOM II: Hell on Earth was a direct sequel in 1995 that had the main character going to Earth to stop the demons. DOOM 3 was basically a retelling of the original game with an updated engine and better graphics in 2004.

There are a few core things that the new DOOM game needs to live up to its legacy. Let’s go over them.

Gore and Demons

Something that DOOM is known for is how violent the game gets. You fight your way through demons by any means necessary, leaving a bloody mess in your wake. Sometimes, this means taking a chainsaw and going to town.

DOOM is certainly not for kids, it needs to basically be an FPS version of Mortal Kombat. From what I have seen of the single player, and played in the beta, it will not disappoint in that department.

Speed and Intensity

Something that was common in previous DOOM games is the speed at which you went through the game and the adrenaline rush players felt around every corner. The new games needs to have that and it appears to, for better or worse, accomplish it.

This is definitely welcomed in the single player, though in multiplayer it is easy for things to go wrong. I’m all for classic style FPS action, but I still want to feel like I’m shooting people and have a reason to use something other than the Super Shotgun. 

BFG

Anyone who know about DOOM, knows about this gun. It has to be in the new game, and thankfully it is. This is the most popular gun, and most powerful, in the DOOM series.

You should pick this up, look at demons, then blast them into oblivion. When you get the BFG, you know something is going to die hard.

Multiplayer and Player Created Content

DOOM was also very popular for its multiplayer and had plenty of mods created by players. The new DOOM needs to put a good focus on making all multiplayer modes solid experiences.

The good thing is that the developers were preemptive and added a SnapMap feature. This allows players to create their own levels and content, which gives the game a lot more replay value and variety.

It is also hard to make an FPS in this age stand out while keeping the core of the game feel like it always has, but it can be done. They need to make sure they don’t fall into the Call of Duty trap that most FPS’ end up imitating. 

Fun

In the end, DOOM needs to be fun and offer the sense of excitement the original had. You should want to stay up all night playing the game and feel like no time has passed at all when you’ve actually been playing for around 20 hours.

This may not be the healthiest thing to do, but it is a good sign that the game is fun and that is ultimately what the new DOOM needs. The new DOOM beta coming out soon will gives us a better idea of what to expect.