I know that the original Doom is arguably the most important shooter ever made, but it was released before I was even born and I never went back to play it when I became older. Now with the new Doom released, I wanted to play it and see what makes this franchise so unique.
The first thing I noticed about this game is that it’s fast. It’s unlike any other shooter I’ve played in recent memory, because the game forces you to keep moving and unloading bullets into the swarms of enemies that are coming at you. Movement is the key to staying alive. Most shooters today want you to hide behind cover and protect yourself while slowly sniping enemies from a distance. Doom is the exact opposite. The best way to eliminate demons in this game is to just run straight towards them and unload a few shotgun shells into their chests.
This idea of constant movement and close quarters combat was such a breath of fresh air. Too many shooters require you to take cover and be patient instead of going all out and spraying bullets everywhere. If I were to play other shooters the same way that I played Doom, I would surely die instantly.
Another thing I loved about Doom was the health system. While having a health bar isn’t necessarily unique to Doom, the way in which you replenish your health is unique. The best way to heal yourself is to simply kill more enemies. If you’re low on HP, then you should probably start killing demons and hope that they drop some health in the process. Compare this to many other shooters – when you lose health, typically the first thing you do is run and hide in a corner. You wait for your health to replenish before once again charging into battle. This slows down the combat and forces you to have to sit and wait before engaging in the action again.
But the Glory Kill system in Doom ensures that you will always get health when you kill a staggered enemy with a melee animation. However, this means you’ll have to get up close and personal with enemies, which could force you to lose health yourself. The risk/reward system is great.
I also absolutely love that 95% of the shots I fired in this game were from the hip. Most shooters have you aiming down the sights and lining up shots. Doom is less about precision and more about firing as many shots you can in the direction of the enemies that are rushing at you. Ammo isn’t very scarce, and the more you fire your gun, the better you’re going to do.
Doom does a fantastic job of keeping you in the action. The game is always subliminally forcing you to engage in some sort of combat. Low on health? Kill enemies. Need to progress to the next area? Kill enemies. The main goal of this game is to make sure that you are always moving and shooting as often as possible.
For this being my first experience with a Doom game, I would say that I wasn’t let down. I loved how different it was from every other shooter I’ve played and most importantly, it was just fun. With a quicker pace and a disregard for cover, Doom keeps you engaged in the action which is exactly what a first-person shooter should be doing.
