This entry is not technically worthy of being here. I did play the Doom multiplayer beta back in April, an experience I was not too fond of. Although I have heard many positive things about the campaign, I had mostly avoided the game. The reason why is as silly as it is real: I don’t enjoy first-person shooters like I used to.
I was a huge fan of the FPS back during the original Doom on PC. In the time between games, my skills in the genre have dwindled. When my son started routinely facerolling me in Halo, I knew I was washed up. All subsequent attempts to rekindle the FPS bug with the have met with futility. The last game I legitimately tried to play was Call of Duty: Black Ops. I wasn’t impressed.
After playing the newest iteration of Doom, I wouldn’t say my FPS fire is rekindled. But it sure as hell has left a spark.
The two things that most modern FPS games lack are attitude and personality. Looking back, I see plenty of both. Doom, Duke Nukem 3D, and Serious Sam had tons of attitude. Sure they were forced sometimes, but I appreciated the attempt. Meanwhile, games like Hexen, No One Lives Forever, and Black had personality. In the latter’s case, it was not in its protagonist but in its fully destructible world and LOUD gunfire.
Most FPSes nowadays have the attitude of a rock and the personality of a door knob. Doom is the rare exception, and it is quite the exception.
It begins and ends with the Doom Marine himself, named the Doom Slayer by the demons who rightfully fear him, and who is the prototypical mute badass. From the moment he emerges from stasis and dons his armor to the final blow he lands on the final boss, the Doom Slayer is 100% badass. He never speaks, preferring to let his weapons and anger speak for him.
His anger speaks volumes. When demons are weakened by his attacks they stand stunned. This gives the Demon Slayer the change to grab the demon and dispatch him in a variety of gory and vicious ways. Whether he crushes their skulls, twists their necks, or flat-out decapitates them, the finishers are carried out with a palpable anger that establishes his place in their short lives. To him, they are mere roaches; he is the can of RAID.
The campaign’s story is actually pretty good and carried out well. The main NPC you hear from, UAC facility director Samuel Hayden, fills you in on what needs to be done in order to save the research facility. The Doom Slayer, however, has neither the time nor the inclination to save the research center. I love it when Hayden attempts to explain to the Doom Slayer how to save important objects from destruction, only for him to destroy them himself in apathy. As the story progresses, his contempt for Hayden and the UAC becomes more evident.
During my playthrough of the game, I figured I would grow tired of the close-quarters kills and petulant attitude of the Doom Slayer. I was wrong by a country mile. With each melee kill, I found myself grunting in satisfaction. When I found the foot stomps and haymakers got stale, I had a huge arsenal of boomsticks to poke large holes in my enemies. Everything in the game, from the running around and jumping to the combat, was visceral. Throughout everything, the Doom Slayer’s silent snarl was present, echoing a mute, “FUCK YEA!” in his head.
Doom is the FPS throwback that a crusty old gamer like me needs. If my son kicks my ass in THIS game, I ain’t giving up on it. I’ll just beat his ass in person, then make him play me with one swoll eye and four broken fingers.
