Doom Thoughts · 12:14am May 8th, 2020
Okay, so over these past few mad months, I've been keeping myself mostly sane. How, you may ask? Well, by playing the modern take on one of the most recognizable series of gaming.
Yeah, you know what it is. Doom.
There's a reckoning of lead coming. Okay, so yeah. Just really wanted to see what the fuss was about, why certain people I know -thanks Josh- wouldn't shut up about this series. Yep, it was Gaim all over again.
Okay, so 2016. I will be the first to admit fault and admit for a while I hadn't fiddled around with the brightness settings and so yeah. I was a bit too in the dark really. Yeah, the darkness works well for a horror game, but there has to be a balance between, well that and actually being able to see where you're shooting.
And oh the shooting. I was doing plenty of that. Took me a bit to find my rhythm, as let's be honest here? My experience with shooters is with Halo type stuff. Find a spot to hole up and let the enemies come to you. Doom forced me to adopt a different approach, as a good source of cover was often all but non-existent.
Run, shoot, run, shoot, run, shoot. The Doom Dance, as I'll call it. Took me a bit before I felt like a badass actually, as they don't toss you into the thick of it quickly. Things build and build, but eventually, you feel like a super-soldier. I don't know exactly when, but around the type of the Cyberdemon I felt like an animal systematically hunting down my prey. Shadow's been playing Doom as well, he can probably give you a more vibrant description.
Mine can boil down to click click, boom boom. A flurry of gore and guts splattering my screen every odd minute or so as I became the only thing they fear. I was at times often wondering where the next challenge was. Tempting fate much, as I usually got my answer soon after. For example, one of my least favorite moments was five Barons of Hell, one right after the other. Not fun. Also, the game loved to throw Mancubi in droves at you in the endgame levels. At first, it was cute, then it got old real quick.
I admit, shutting down Vega hit me like a punch to the gut. He was arguably the most human out of all the game's cast. Yes, perhaps more human than Hayden. Hayden was an interesting enough sort. He was... well, he was a piece of shit really, even if he made a few good points about the energy crisis. And his arguments with Olivia showed off at times, that yes, he did have some standards.
Yes, I did enjoy smashing Olivia's face in. Why do you ask? Also, S. Hayden. Sound it out. Give a moment to sink in, and if you know anything about Eternal's plot alarm bells should be ringing. But speaking of Eternal, this is where things started to get... interesting.
Unlike with 2016, you're thrown into deep waters almost right out of the bat. You either learn to swim or you sink really quickly. And I understand this game is really meant for those who played 2016, but what about newcomers? The sudden spike in difficulty at times wouldn't be fun. And oh lordy there is a difficulty spike. Anyone who read my post on the Marauder will know exactly what I'm talking about.
Granted, once painful enemies like the Mancubi are now less scary, given it's a hell of a lot easier to do some real damage. Or at least give yourself some breathing room. Yeah, I'm not a fan of the Mancubi. Why do you ask?
Eternal is revelation after revelation. 2016 is basically a bare-bones plot. Here are some demons, they're on Mars, and no why should you care about the specifics? You've got big guns and you've got bigger guts to rip open. Go nuts. Eternal... well, okay most people who play Doom don't come looking for a plot. They just want to kill demonkind and look like a badass. Which is fine. Perfectly excusable. But I don't mind some semblance of a plot. Maybe it's the writer in me.
Sure, some stuff is shoved into codex entries and the like but there's obviously more a plot off the back with the trio of Hell Priests. It's not just running from one room to the next to kill demons. Eternal does feel like an entirely different game at times, what with the aforementioned plot and more linear levels. Replay wise, they do find more ways for you to come back for more. With both games, there's plenty of secrets to look for. Some in obtuse places, some... not so much.
There's also Snapmap and for the life of me, I don't understand why that wasn't carried over to Eternal. There's some DLC on the way apparently, so maybe it'll show up again there. Final thoughts? Yeah, the hype is understandable and it definitely lives up to it. Though seriously, screw the Spider Mastermind and the Marauder. I never had more frustrating enemies in my life.
What are your thoughts? Please do tell.
I got DOOM 2016 as a present from my big sister, from when she was working at a Family Video store. Still took me a good while to actually load the damn thing though... but when I did, I had a blast with it. It was a superb game in a ton of ways, being incredibly basic in plot but incredibly rich in execution; I love the way that Doom Slayer has an actual personality that you can discern through the littlest things (brushing aside Hayden's monitor when the guy tries to introduce himself; copying VEGA; punching out the intercom in response to Hayden's justifications; the collectibles! XD) and the gameplay is just killer.
I actually had a fairly easy time fighting the Spider Mastermind. I remember though that the big demon battle beforehand really gave me trouble. Didn't enjoy fighting the Hell Guards though. The Cyberdemon was really tough but so awesome it made up for any frustrations.
Sadly, I haven't yet gotten to play DOOM Eternal but I've heard about it. I do like that it has more of a plot, and the whole "Doom Slayer IS Doomguy" is a pretty fascinating twist in my opinion!
5258015
Yeah, the Doom Slayer looking at the dead guard while Hayden's spewing out his justifications will forever remain one of my favorite moments in gaming. So much character conveyed in so little of an action. Just watching the Slayer treat corpses with the respect they deserve is a joy to watch, it shows he's not all rage and murder.
The Hell Guards? I didn't find them all of a challenge. Not sure if they make a nice breather after the Cyberdemon or a letdown. But their design is soooooo stupid. Meat armor? Like, what the hell?
And yeah, Doom Slayer being Doom Guy is possibly one of the best moments in all of gaming.
Not sure if you were aware before making this, but the community actually refers to the rhythm of battle in Doom as the "Doom Dance". Once you learn the steps, it becomes almost muscle memory.
5258022
Of course they do.
But it does basically become second nature to you once you figure out. Run, shoot, run, shoot some more and run like hell.
5258020
Agreed. There's a lot of really clever little touches that went into the game's characterization. It could have just been a HD remake of the original but they put a lot more thought into it, and I love that.
I didn't think that they were a challenge per se, but they just weren't much *fun* compared to some of the other bosses. Nor memorably tough either. There were just *there* and I didn't find them that engaging, really.
You said it. That was a great way to bridge the different games together. XD
Like you, I didn't put my hands on the 2016 until a year later, but benefited by purchasing the complete edition. Since I wasn't able to purchase Eternal and the hype has passed, I'll wait till all DLC are out and wait if also a complete edition is announce.
Here's the music.
Here's a little something to overcome the trauma. Or not. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VR43zee6gQI
5258027
Yeah, that's exactly it! They weren't anything memorable. The Cyberdemon was putting you through your paces and seeing what you've learned. The Spider Mastermind? Giving you one more nightmare. The Hell Guards were sorta just... there.
5258038
Good plan, and Hell to Pay is exactly the music to drop some bodies with in this game. Seriously, it felt like it was ripped out of the score.
5258049
Yeah... I don't mind that the developers tried to put in a new boss compared to tried-and-trues like Cyberdemon and Spider Mastermind, but I think that the Hell Guards were an experiment that just didn't pan out. Maybe in a different kind of game they'd work better, but something about them didn't quite *mesh* with the rest of DOOM '16.
Not to mention some of the...interesting implications they gave Dr. Hayden:
Dr.Hayden giving the Slayer the first Argent Cell in Doom 2016: "It's a gift. Take it, it'll give you strength, help you on your journey."
Seraphim giving Doomguy his power in Doom Eternal: "I offer you a gift. Take it, it'll give you strength, help you on your journey."
ARC Scientist: "We, ah, we don't know how to access his main cortex, it's all...alien."
VEGA: "Dr. Hayden is transfering himself into into your ship's mainframe. The architecture (VEGA) is similar to his own."
Dr. Hayden: "I assure you, all of this could have been avoided under...different management."
VEGA after connecting to Urdak: "Am I the Father, Dr. Hayden?"
5258052
They felt like a Metroid boss honestly.
5258053
I'm calling it, he's the game's reincarnation of Lucifer.
5258054
Metroid, yeah that's it! They'd be much better suited to a Metroid game than Doom. XD
5258061
This isn't a bad thing, but you're not in Metroid, are you? It's such a drastic change of pace from shooting and running. You have to wait for a moment of attack and then blast them. It slows down the normally fast pace. Interrupts your little dance.
And when you think about it its also a good way to merge the old games excluding doom 3 into the story. Not to mention that they also had him speak for the first time as well which is something that he has never done
5258075
Dude, spoilers.
5258077
Oh crap sorry but hey at least eternal offers a much more greater challenge for new and old fans of the series
5258070
Well said. In another game, like Metroid, they'd be very appropriate bosses, but in the frenzy and fury of DOOM, they stick out like sore thumbs.
5258479
I'd have to agree with all of this, replay wise Eternal feels like the better game. It's more straight-up fun in how insane it is. It feels completely over the top on a good day, such as charging into a battle and unleashing a massacre of micro missiles. Plus, with the new Dash mechanic, instead of feeling like a slow lumbering titan... this time you've got speed and strength. Much harder to get caught in a corner.
The ammo thing is annoying, yeah, but you learn quickly. And going back to collect everything with Infinite Ammo turned on... well, you can really enjoy yourself.