Doom (1993)

Doom for PC, X360 and GBA is arguably the most famous first-person shooter in the history of computer entertainment. The game, although it was not the first representative of the FPS genre, put it on a pedestal and raised the standards for all companies trying to compete in this field.

Story

In the near future, humanity has made a significant progress in the conquest of space; among other planets, we were able to colonize Mars and its two natural satellites: Phobos and Deimos. A military research facility was established on the surface of the Red Planet, intended to significantly contribute to further progress in the exploration of the solar system. The facility is controlled by UAC (Union Aerospace Corporation), which, on behalf of the army, quietly runs some super secret projects. Given the huge importance of the facility, permanently stationed on Mars is a large garrison of soldiers, able to respond quickly to any, even the most surprising, threats. Player plays the part of a member of a space division of marines who was sent to Mars to serve his punishment. A few months earlier, the soldier refused to obey a superior officer ordering him to shoot civilians, attacking him instead. The officer was sent in a coffin to be buried in Pearl Harbor, while you were waiting for a ship to take you to the Red Planet.

For a long time the UAC company has been experimenting with gates leading to other dimensions, intending them to become the means of ultra long distance space travel in the future. At first, everything went flawlessly and the company quickly managed to achieve satisfactory results. First items began to "journey" between Phobos and Deimos and similar experiments with living tissue were a matter of time; that's when the accident happened. Scientists from the base on Phobos sent a message that something terrible has escaped out of the gate and soon after the communications were lost. The military's response was swift. A squad of marines was dispatched to Phobos to conduct reconnaissance and eliminate any potential threat. You can guess who was ordered to lead them...

The problems begin in the hangar, the main gateway to the complex. Initially, your job was to hold the only escape route from the base, but after a few hours, it turned out that whatever seized the facility did not plan on leaving it anytime soon. Echoing cries of the murdered soldiers and uncontrolled shots from heavy automatic weapons were the best sign that something was definitely wrong. If you want to live, you have to enter the facility and survive. There is no other way...

Gameplay

Doom for PC, X360 and GBA is divided into three episodes, consisting of eight levels each. Including hidden stages, it gives a total of 27 levels. In every level you have to find an exit. It is often sealed by a door, to which you must first find a key of corresponding, one of three available, colors. Our hero is equipped with an impressive set of tools of destruction, including guns, rockets, energy weapons, bare fists and a chainsaw. Excluding the latter two, all other weapons require ammunition that can be found inside the complex. During the exploration, the player will also encounter a variety of bonuses to increase his life and armor. The number of enemies as well as their varied repertoire is are one of Dooms trademarks. Apart from ordinary soldiers who, thanks to an intervention from the outside, were turned into zombies, there are also beasts from hell, with fancy shapes and dreadful weaponry. At the end of each episode awaits a boss, whose extermination is necessary to complete the level and, in the long term, the whole mission.

Technology

The game had a phenomenal audiovisual setting. Its engine, although not fully three-dimensional, could generate sophisticated architectural constructs. A large number of tasteful textures (both futuristic as well as strictly hellish) allows the players to fully immerse themselves into the overwhelming atmosphere of doom. Another advantage is the game's sound setting, featuring suggestive sounds of weapons and monsters, as well as great, depressing music. The strength of Doom for PC, X360 and GBA lies not only in the carnage that can be unleashed on the screen, but above all in its claustrophobic atmosphere that many survival horrors can be jealous of.

Last updated on 11 January 2016