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DEVELOPER
Midway/id
PUBLISHER
Midway
AVAILABLE
Now
MEDIUM
Cartridge
PLAYERS
One
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 elcome
to America, land of Joe Camel, communist infiltrations, blacklisted leaf
blowers, and of course, Doom. Now for those of you who are new to this
intriguing condition called reality, and are ostensibly gamers, let's look
at an explanation for Doom: find weapons, find keys, kill people, find
the exit.
Now we know what Doom is all about, we've all played it countless times,
so the only thing left to do is list the advantages and disadvantages the
Nintendo 64 version brings to the proverbial formula.
One thing that cannot be denied is the fact the Doom64 looks better
than any version before it. This fact is cemented in unarguable truth.
This is the N64 hardware, and to be inferior to its predecessors in any
way would be a blow to Midway. Indeed Midway has created a stellar graphics
engine, employing many tricks in the N64 arsenal. The only thing less than
revolutionary is the enemy structure -- we still get the banal enemy animation.
While the various creatures remain sprites, the chunk-o-thon we have become
used to in Dooms of the past has been remedied. No matter how close an
enemy approaches, they never lose detail, and although they do have the
fuzzy residuals from the anti-aliasing, at a distance, they are as sharp
and detailed as you could want, especially when considering the fact that
you have little time to even worry about scrutinizing the finer points
of the enemies.
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All the areas have been re-designed specifically with
the N64 in mind.
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A major element of Doom is the portentous atmosphere, and Doom64 continues
this dark tradition. While Midway seems to lack the same penchant for religious
imagery as did id, there is no denying that the newest Doom incarnation
has it's share of brooding imagery. And most importantly, the violence
has remained in full force, delivering liberal doses of gore.
Level design is superbly done, boasting 30 plus stages of unique and
challenging exploration and of course, some of the most intense action
in any game to date. Nothing can compete with having scores of enemies
all bearing down on you at once, with nothing but a small pillar to hide
behind. At times, enemies are so transparent, they seem to literally materialize
from the dark shadows, adding yet more to the anticipation. In any moment
of trepidation, you are toast, which is why Doom fosters an unprecedented
air of tenacity.
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All the enemies are now pre-rendered, thus looking
a little cleaner than Doom 64's PC counterpart.
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With greatly improved graphics, awesome analog control, and relentless
action, Doom64 betters its predecessors by quite a wide margin, although
there still is one area that is noticeably inferior -- the sound. The sound
does not hold a candle to the Playstation version, which can be expected
in bass response and clarity, yet unfortunately the ambient musical score
from past Doom's seems toned down a bit. Every once in awhile, you get
the eery baby cry and various screams, but the frequency is missing, sacrificing
the edginess a bit.
So much good can be said about Doom64, and while a fantastic version
of the classic has made its way to the N64, don't forget that this is Doom,
a game that has been rehashed more than any game before it. At the same
time, don't forget that Doom pretty much kicks ass. Simple words. Simple
game. Simple fun.
-- Brady Fiechter
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