QCF: DOOM (2016)

ou ever heard the term, lightning doesn’t strike twice in the same spot? Well, it’s true, and the connation behind the idiom is meant to infer just how hard it is to reproduce the impact of something memorable like that lightning strike; so to add to that, for the sake of this argument, let’s just say that this “lightning strike” we’re referring to is the original DOOM that released way back in 1993.

The original DOOM was monumental, it forever changed the landscape of video games, and what anyone could ever perceive out of them—as you kids would say, “that shit was straight LIT.”

Needless to say, the DOOM franchise became a household name, and has remained one for years to come, regardless of how hard it’s been for the series to successfully transition into the modern age of shooters—a shit ton of shooters mind you.

While Doom 3 failed to do that, this new eponymous reboot has not; in fact…

Doom (2016) is one of the most refreshing breaths of fresh air that you can experience out of a shooter in today’s saturated climate, like, this game has no business being as good as it is.

When you think of the modern day shooter, what do you think of? Auto-aim, cover-fire, twitch fire, sprinting…the list goes on. DOOM however stays away from all of that sans a few exceptions, it’s a game that very much returns to its grass roots—moving and shooting, a lot.

Granted, the premise of the game’s sci-fi occult setting is definitely what gives the game its charm, but this factor was always at its best when it simply served as an impetus to the core of DOOM’s gunplay, it’s really not all that endearing of a world to explore or get wrapped up in. Id Software recognized that with this approach; a frenetic exercise of violence and gore with the only goal that matters is staying alive until the end, the game works to a really gratifying end in that respect.

The genius behind the gunplay’s energy is how seamless and flexible the weapons system in terms of both utility, and enhancement. Seriously though, the design to this system is just remarkably immaculate, and I don’t think I have resonated with a gun arsenal so well as I have with this one since the original Bioshock.

While we’ve all been privy to a large variety of guns in shooters before, large enough to include guns that you’ll either continually use, or never bother to touch; I can safely say that I cycle through my entire arsenal of firearms at least twice within each stage, and the increasing roster of demonic foes you’ll encounter only fuels a natural desire to strategize with your entire gun set even more.

So big whoop, lots of cool guns that make the monsters go ker’splode—what’s the big deal you may ask…oh I don’t know, how about the wicked cool gore kills;  a technique that takes the saying “the best defense is a good offense” to a whole new level. Every single enemy you take on will have a “breaking-point” where they’ll start flashing, and when they do, striking them with a melee attack will initiate graphic execution upon them, rewarding you with some health back as a prize. This maneuver in itself changes up the entire dynamic to combat where heading into a fight guns a’blazing is most tactful strategy to deploy, no matter how big the baddies from hell may be.

If the combat weren’t engaging enough at its core already, DOOM adds loads of incentives that artfully motivates players to strive towards the best performance that they can pull in the most seamless of ways.

In every stage you’ll be challenged with three meta-objectives to accomplish in exchange for a weapon upgrade point that can be spend towards any number of secondary-fire modifications, complete with their very own skill-trees for each of the available lot of weapons acquired. In addition, mastering the skill-set for a specific mod can’t simply be done through point purchases alone, as the last step to master it contains a unique meta-objectives similar to those stage challenges that I mentioned earlier. Not to mention that players can also gradually build up a score based on their performance in combat that can convert towards additional weapon points at completion of each stage, offering the possibility of 8 possible points per stage.

The potential for growth through your weapons alone is overwhelming, and yet chasing each and every opportunity to progress just one of them forward is viciously addictive. I haven’t even mentioned the suit upgrades, and Rune perks either; they’re obtained through discovering collectibles and skill trials, which offers its own flair of fun as well.

When it comes down to it, the best part about this reboot of DOOM is that it doesn’t try to take itself seriously with narrative, or atmosphere—it’s that it drops you into a setting where the only thing that matters is shooting, and moving, in game that puts the rest of its energy into building the rest of the game off those two simple principles in the most stellar way that it possibly can. Seriously, I had a harder time finding something that I DIDN'T like about the game, and the biggest gripe I could cite would be the brutally long load times, but even then, these moments did nothing to detract from the enjoyment that this modern rendition of the classic had to offer.

Let me put it this way; if you could only play one first-person shooter that releases in 2016, and only one—make it DOOM, because this wonderful surprise of a title just put the every other notable contemporary on notice, and the genre feels refreshing all over again for it.