Doom
Posted on Apr 15, 2008 under sony playstation |
It is the early 90’s. The video game industry and more specifically the first person shooter genre is about to witness something of an ultra-violent transformation that’s still with us in the early part of the 21st century.. Doom released in 1993 for PC proved to be such a huge success that at the peak of its popularity it was estimated that there were over 10 million players of the Id classic. As the 3D era approached the console market development work on the PlayStation and Saturn versions began. Doom’s PlayStation release in 1995 looked set to be on the A-list of the newly arrived console. At the time the graphical standard of Doom was as good as could be expected; simple 3D environments with poorly animated monsters. The first two or three levels of Doom can be completed with relative ease and hold valuable lessons in learning the basics. However soon after levels become much more complicated. The bad guys get bigger and much nastier as do your weapons. The BFG 9000 is an awesome weapon that is incomparable to anything in real life. But there is more to Doom than simple ammunition-based combat. As you progress levels become more confusing with some deviously incorporated puzzles. Many of these involve the player flicking switches that open doors elsewhere in the level. Some are even timed and force a sense of urgency upon the player; an uncomfortable feeling that is rewarded with relief and satisfaction once complete. Doom will always have a place in the history books of video games and it will probably mean that subsequent releases of a similar nature to be labelled as a Doom clone. No bad thing.