Twenty two years ago an obscure game developer called id Software released a first-person shooter that would have a huge impact on the future of PC gaming, computer graphics and the industry as a whole, that game was Doom.
At the time I was 10, and while I can't exactly recall if my first encounter with the game came right then or a few years later, it certainly left a mark as it did to millions.
The Doom rendering engine is the core of the game engine that powers Doom and its sequels, and that is used as a base to power other games by id Software licensees, notably Heretic, Hexen, and Strife. It was created by John Carmack, with auxiliary functions written by John Romero, Dave Taylor, and Paul Radek.1 Originally developed on NeXT computers, it was ported to DOS for Doom's initial.
Compiled on October 4th, 1993, the Press Release Pre-Beta was a teaser for the final product. It still has its differences, however. It should be noted that this refuses to run after October 31st, 1993. Fortunately, there is a utility that overcomes this time-bomb. Also, in order to run the demo, you need to include -pressrelease. The DOOM franchise has long been one of the most well-received, critically-acclaimed first-person shooters in the entire gaming world. In fact, the first game, which released way back in 1993, was considered one of the forefathers to the entire shooter genre. Back then, the game was highly pixelated and an odd mixture of 2D and 3D graphics, but it was still an immersive, entertaining,. Graphics: 10/10 The graphics for this game are awesome, even if it is in 1993. Of course, since then, games with better graphics have came out. The enemies have been designed nicely, and you can easily pick out which enemy from which, since they all look different.
One thing I do know is that there is a significant divide between the 1993 sci-fi horror game and id Software's 2016 reboot. As a young kid I couldn't imagine playing this latest version of Doom, which is probably why it has been rated M for mature players over the age of 17. Even with that in mind, this game should not be played by the squeamish. It's what you might call a bit.. gory.
Then of course, this is what die-hard fans of the franchise are after, violence is part of the Doom DNA. The action seems to be centered around fast-paced action and some newly introduced finishing moves, dubbed 'Glory Kills' which are scripted animations. Basically you touch up the demons with your various range of projectile weapons and rather than spend more ammunition finishing them you can move in for the glory kill where you stomp on their head, naturally causing it to explode. Alternatively, you might rip off an arm, the action is random so it's a lucky dip of bloody violence.
Helping to make the gore all the more real and enjoyable for the twisted folks that enjoy that kind of thing is the id Tech 6 game engine, designed specifically for the Doom reboot. The engine supports OpenGL, while Vulkan API support will be patched in at a later date.
For those of you out of the loop, Vulkan is the successor to OpenGL, offering an open-source alternative to Microsoft's DirectX API. Player unknown sale. Vulkan is cross-platform, meaning it isn't limited to Windows and other Microsoft platforms, and will be supported by Google's Android and Valve's Steam OS.
Coming up soon.. Doom running on Vulkan (watch below)
Gamers got their first taste of Doom a month ago when a portion of the multiplayer mode entered a brief open beta. The beta provided access to Team Deathmatch and Warpath game modes on the Heatwave and Infernal maps. Many came away disappointed with the lack of tweakable game and graphics options along with the 60fps frame cap. Gamers weren't enthused after the brief look at the gameplay aspect either.
Historically, id's beta tests have served as a broader test for games' multiplayer capabilities, graphics optimization, and scaling. Thankfully, the beta was just that and now that the game is officially out we are pleased to find a good number of tweakable options including an unlocked frame rate. And although there are no full reviews of the game just yet -- Bethesda didn't give away any advance copies to the press -- 48 hours after release Steam's user reviews can give a pretty good indication that the game delivers: 92% positive scores out of 6,500+ reviews so far.
So then Doom isn't a crappy PC port, phew!
In fact, this is a gift to the PC Master Race. The 4K visuals are amazing, excellent high resolution textures cover every surface, the lighting and shadows are on point and this all comes together to make those glory kill animations look insane. The question that remains now is, what kind of hardware do you require to enjoy those glory kills in all of their gory glory?
Testing Notes
Doom doesn't feature a benchmark tool and there aren't any good pre-scripted sections of the game to test either. After playing for a few hours I decided to go back near the start of the game and benchmark the first main room that you enter full of Arch-Vile demons. Upon entering the room, we move left and then complete a number of laps before the 60 second test completes.
For testing the 'Ultra' preset was used with the exception of 'Decal Filtering' which was set to Anisotropic 16x from 8x. The game has been tested at 1080p, 1440p and 4K using the latest AMD and Nvidia drivers. This means the AMD Crimson Edition 16.5.2 and GeForce Game Ready 365.19 drivers were used.
Again, the benchmark pass was kept simple: we recorded 60 seconds of gameplay from the first level, we took the same path each time and we simply ran past any enemies.
Test System Specs
- Radeon R9 Fury (4096MB)
- GeForce GTX Titan X (12288MB)
The DOOM franchise has long been one of the most well-received, critically-acclaimed first-person shooters in the entire gaming world. In fact, the first game, which released way back in 1993, was considered one of the forefathers to the entire shooter genre. Fnaf fusion maker. Back then, the game was highly pixelated and an odd mixture of 2D and 3D graphics, but it was still an immersive, entertaining, and sometimes shocking experience to enjoy. I mean, my grandma even played the DOOM games up until the third one. Despite the horror within, the shooter is basically for everyone.
DOOM (1993)
DOOM originally released back in 1993 by developer id Software, who helped to bring the first-person shooter genre to the entire gaming world. Players took on the role of an unnamed space marine in his battle against the demons from Hell. The original game was enjoyed by between 15-20 million people when it released as shareware, which included nine levels of the game.
Of course, by today's standards, the game has not held up quite so well. People aren't overly interested in the simplistic nature of the 2D/3D graphics or the flat HUD that once was enjoyed so thoroughly.
Speaking of those graphics, the shooter was one of the first to utilize immersive 3D graphics in a video game. While most may not compare that to what we see today, you cannot lie to yourself or others and claim DOOM didn't start an entire revolution.
Despite being well received, DOOM did experience its fair share of controversies - thanks in no small part to the graphic violence and satanic imagery that stems from demons rising from the depths of Hell. The ESRB gave it a Mature rating for all of the violence, which makes a lot of sense. Religious organizations criticized it, claiming the game to be a 'mass murder simulator.' (Players stopped demons, though!)
Sadly, the Columbine High School shooting on April 20, 1999, did not help, as the two shooters were avid lovers of the game.
DOOM II: Hell on Earth (1994)
DOOM II: Hell on Earth was the sequel to the original 1993 release by id Software. It was initially launched for MS-DOS computers in 1994 and then later on Mac computers in 1995. Due to the immense popularity the franchise had gained up to this point, the sequel was later released on Game Boy Advance in 2002, the Tapwave Zodiac in 2004, and on the Xbox Live Arcade in 2010.
The game really sold well due to the name alone, honestly. The sequel changed very little when compared to the predecessor. id Software did not indulge in new technological developments, graphical improvements, or any massive gameplay changes that would shock critics. Instead, they took advantage of the new advances in computer hardware to do more with the original game engine. That was not a huge problem, though, as the game was still well received.
For the second game, the pioneered multiplayer gameplay was vastly improved over the original -- mostly just in terms of the functionality of the entire system. The 'out of the box' support for new dial-up modems helped more players get their demon-slaughtering on with others quicker.
Reviewers at the time claimed this iteration was a highly refined version of what the original DOOM did well. Critics gave it a positive rating, with most scoring it over 90 percent. Some touted it as mindless fun, but that wasn't a major complaint at the time.
Final DOOM (1996)
Final DOOM was often referred to as a harder version of both the previous two entries in the franchise. Released in 1996, this third game features the same engine, items, and characters we all saw in DOOM II: Hell on Earth, but it was still received rather well at the time.
The game consisted of two 32-level megawads, which are level files. The first set, TNT: Evilution, was developed by TeamTNT; the second set, The Plutonia Experiment, was developed by the Casali brothers. The former used a brand new soundtrack, which was the major difference, while the latter rehashed the same one from previous games.
Some consider Final DOOM to be nothing more than an expansion for DOOM II, but it was still released as a standalone game. The PC version was considered to be way more difficult than anything gamers had previously seen from the genre, though the PlayStation version was mostly identical to the original DOOM.
Of course, being the first DOOM game on a PlayStation console, the official magazine at the time scored the release as a 9 out of 10, calling it an 'essential' game to play.
For those who had played the previous two, however, it was just more of the same with a new soundtrack and some new levels to explore. The gameplay was not changed whatsoever, which was a major critique point for many.
Doom 1993 Download
DOOM 3 (2004)
Doom 1993 Graphics Wallpapers
It took almost a decade for the next game in the franchise to release, but developer id Software was finally back at the helm to bring us brand new gameplay elements and an all new engine and graphics. DOOM 3 is probably considered one of the very best in the entire franchise, despite how old it is now.
Published by Activision, this was the first game in the now long-running series to feature full 3D graphics. The developers considered this to be a reboot of the old franchise. In fact, critics praised the graphics more than anything -- though some were a bit divided on the overall gameplay, which focused more on fighting through waves of demons than anything else. That still sounds pretty good to us, though.
Foregoing the criticism for the gameplay, DOOM 3 received critical and commercial success. Over 3.5 million copies were sold, and most ratings from magazines and publications were well over 9 our 90 percent.
Blizzard entertainment warcraft 4. The environments were the biggest factor for some. A few reviewers claimed they were 'convincingly lifelike.'
DOOM (2016)
DOOM 2016, the most recent release in the long-running franchise, was announced way back in 2004, but underwent a seriously delayed development timeline since then. id Software once again took control, but the game was published by Bethesda this time around.
The game is entirely in first-person, of course, with players once again taking on the role of the unnamed space marine, which fans have taken to calling 'Doomguy.' This time around, id Software decided to implement quick-time-like events for 'glory kills' so the player can get up-close-and-personal with their executions. These can even be done in the multiplayer mode, which many are likening to Quake Arena.
Prior to the game's release, a multiplayer beta was launched for the community to experiment with. Many critics and fans called this underwhelming and disappointing. It was thought to be less of an 'arena shooter' and more of a modern shooter that simply failed to follow through entirely. On Steam's review system, the beta received mostly negative scores.
Following DOOM's official release, the game received rather high scores, with most people forgetting that the multiplayer had not been changed whatsoever in the short period between beta and launch.
In Comparison
As the development has continued throughout the years, the DOOM games appear to have remained consistent in quality. Critics and players absolutely love the games, despite quite obvious shortcomings. Part of this could be due to the nostalgia and respect from what the game did for the first-person shooter genre. Overall, though, the games can be seen as lackluster in some cases.
Take, for example, this year's release - specifically the multiplayer. This competitive mode was touted as a major portion of the game, and yet it is mediocre at best. Honestly, I cannot remember seeing any marketing material for the single-player campaign. Bethesda and id Software were casually tossing out multiplayer tidbits and images for everyone. They really wanted it to be the focus, but DOOM has always been a single-player game at heart.
Despite the improved graphics, gameplay elements, and features, DOOM may have been better off as a classic shooter instead of rebooting the franchise for a second time within the 2000s.
