I’ve got DOOM on my mind. Again. Every few years or so I have to gush about DOOM here so bear with me. For the first time in years, a DOOM title has kept me up well past my bedtime. It’s far from the first time ever.
Here’s Kotaku’s article on the beauty of DOOM 3’s source code, which even I found fascinating, despite my lack of programming skills. Be sure to check the comments because there’s a reply by John Carmack himself.
As I said in my last post, I reinstalled DOOM 3 (not the BFG Edition, mind you) and, surprisingly, had more fun with it than I ever did in the past. Yes, I was one of the many people who purchased computer hardware specifically to play this game ten years ago. Now that computer is collecting dust in my closet with three or four other obsolete systems. I’ve beaten the game at least twice, but that’s nothing compared to the bazillion times I’ve played through the preceding titles, with and without mods like Brutal Doom. I’ve played vintage DOOM games on PC, a Super Nintendo emulator, Sega 32X, Nintendo 64 (a surprisingly fantastic version), XBLA, and even had a version of the original on my Android phone several years ago, minus the awesome music. So I haven’t been as familiar with DOOM 3 as I was with the other titles.
Nor have I been as fair as I should have been.
I guess I was too nostalgic for the previous titles to see just how good of a game DOOM 3 really is… at least if you look at it as a standalone title. Compared to the controls and rapid movement of the original engine, DOOM 3’s combat is a lot slower, though a little more realistic. And to be honest, we couldn’t have expected id Software to release more of the same “outdated” frantic action of the previous titles. Nonetheless, I would pit DOOM 3 against a lot of the shit that came out last year, that is to say pretty much everything but the surprisingly great Wolfenstein: The New Order and Shadow of Mordor.
I’m disappointed the developers have said the next DOOM game is a reboot, considering DOOM 3 itself was a reboot. Kicking ass on Mars again was pretty awesome, but wouldn’t it make more sense for the new one to follow Hell on Earth’s plotline? Considering it’s been ten years since the last installment, I wonder how many decades it will take to see the series brought back to Earth.
Reinstall DOOM 3 if you get the chance. Here’s a simple guide to getting the game to run in modern resolutions.
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