So back in the 90s, ID Software gave us a game that would start the hugely popular genre of gaming that is the first person shooter. This would be known as Doom. A simple shooting game that was so revolutionary that just like how Beauty and the Beast convinced everyone that animation can be a serious medium, Doom convinced the world that first person shooters are a thing of the future. That's right people, Call of Duty and Battlefield two very popular first person shooting games, wouldn't exist if Doom was never made. Now naturally the first person shooter game nowadays has lacked in quality and is more on multiplayer than anything else. But it was Doom that started it. Now I haven't played every single Doom game, but I have played a fair few of them (some being varients of main games) so today's series review will be only on the ones I have played (including the new game). So let's get to it:
Ultimate
So most of you will know the story well, but for those of you who don't, its basically a sci-fi/horror themed adventure where you play as an unnamed space marine who is sent to one of the moons of Mars to take down some mutated aliens after hearing about the marine's team getting presumably killed. Now I played the Ultimate version of the original game which gives players 4 episodes to play with. Just like with Rayman 2, this is one of those games that is ported to death to practically every single console known to man. Its pretty fun and it takes full advantage of using a combination of 2D and 3D elements with what was available at the time and it still looks great to this day. So if you need an education in first person shooters, this is a good one to start with. 9/10
II
So like anyone will know, when you get a hugely successful game like Doom, of course there will be a sequel to it and while this game is not much different to the original Doom, it was however sold commercially as opposed to how the original Doom was sold. Not only that, but the plot involves the unnamed space marine travelling to Earth to stop hordes of monsters and ultimately put an end to them once and for all. But seeing as this is a sequel, everything is bigger and better. The maps are bigger, the hordes of enemies are larger and you don't have to follow a singular path. Instead you can do other things besides following the path. Another great entry in the series and more so with the addition of the master levels and what you get in Final Doom too. 9/10
III
So here we have the first reboot for the series which follows a near identical story to the original Doom. At the time of its release, it became the first for the series to be in full on 3D thanks to technological advances at the time. In addition, the game now features NPCs, was one of the first ever games to use online multiplayer and the story combines elements from the two original games and merges them together to create this game. There isn't much else for me to say here, just check it out. It is the weakest of the series, but its still pretty good. 9/10
2016
So finally, we come to the present where its been roughly 12 years since the last Doom game and we now get the franchise's second reboot with ID Software wanting it to go back to the series roots with minimal story, fast paced action and everything taking place on or near Mars. Like its predecessors, it would also take full advantage of modern technological advances such as HD gaming at 60FPS, an online multiplayer mode with dedicated servers and a whole host of other things. Did it succeed? In a way yes. While the multiplayer is a bit been there done that, the second reboot manages to bring the series back to its roots and gives us the Doom reboot we've all been waiting for, for many years since 3. It may now be published by Bethesda, but with ID Software still at the helm, the future of the series is in good hands. 9/10
I like this series. It may feel a lot like playing other first person shooters, but let us not forget that such a genre wouldn't exist without this series. I mean yeah it may very well have come even if Doom was never made, but it probably would not have had the same impact in the gaming industry. 9/10
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