Doom

Doom is my favourite game of 2016. Full of everything a Hardcore gamer could want. The main character of the game is a totally awesome badass. I was cheering when I was smashing a demon head to pieces. Blasting demons with a shotgun, slicing them with a chainsaw. Oh, it was glorious great fun. Doom has returned, this game is excellent. I highly recommend it for fans of First Person Shooters and Doom fans.

Doom 2016 is near excellent. Let me break down the pros and cons real quick.

Pros:

• Adrenaline Pumping Combat that feels like the old school Doom games with some new mechanics, like jumping and weapon mods
• Sick Weapons
• Great Graphics
• A story that's short and simple, and barely has any cutscenes.
• Doom Guy is still great. His personality is told through his actions, and the game keeps him silent like the originals.
• An upgrade system that makes the game more replayable.
• Tons of Secrets and Collectibles
• Top Notch Sound Design
• Good Creature Design
• Fun Boss Fights
• An excellent soundtrack that makes the combat x1000 more intense.
• Snap Map is cool.

Cons:

• Mediocre multiplayer. It aims for a classic Quake/ Arena Shooter feel, but the class system ruins it.

Verdict: Doom 2016 is a great game for any Doom fan and fan of old-school shooters. It's a must buy. The multiplayer is not that great, but you don't play a Doom game for the multiplayer. Overall, this game is insanely good, and it's the Best Shooter of 2016, and also one of the best shooters I've played in a long time.

No shooter can give you the same rush as the 2016 reboot of DOOM does, at least for me. In an age in where first-person shooter are almost only about the multiplayer, it's a relief to know that when single-player ones are created, they still kick ass. After development hell, a fitting title to a game centred around hell. The combat in the game is fast, and absolutely bloody. Every weapon, excepting the basic Pistol, is powerful enough to be viable in any situation, but are more useful some times than others. Each one of the dozens of demons is unique in its own way, and some, like the Possessed Engineer can be a life-saver in some situations, while others are annoying pests, such as the Summoner, who teleports around the place, spawning enemies to overwhelm you. Other factors heavily, and positively, improve the combat for me, such as the removal of reloading, which saves you from slowing down or glory kills, which is one of the only ways to last on higher difficulties. The soundtrack is one of the most unforgettable in a video game, containing incredibly heavy guitars, strange pedals, in-your-face synths and even a choir when need be. Just to think what the music for this game would've been if Bethesda's idea of no metal in the DOOM soundtrack had gone through. Another thing that the DOOM franchise has been pushing since the first game is graphics, and my god does this game look gorgeous. The locales are all wonderfully textured, and you'd be hard pressed to find anything that looks horrendous in this game. Secrets are littered across the world; and in every level weapons that are introduced in the next level can be found, and also Classic maps, which let you explore older maps from the first two DOOM games, and the jarring difference between the pixelated background and the beautifully rendered demons is almost comedic. The story is nothing much to worry about. It's a normal Science-Fiction story, with humans finding a new type of energy, trying to extract it, not noticing the massive repercussions that are bound to ensue. If you still crave some more out of the game, there are a couple options, although this game's campaign is quite a good-deal long, and extremely re-playable, especially for its miniscule price. SnapMap is a handy feature which allows you to create your very own map, and also explore other player's creations. The game does a good job teaching you, and you can probably read every tutorial in the seven years it takes to load SnapMap. There is also multiplayer, which died quicker than a honeybee. And at least the honeybee was useful. Whereas DOOM's multiplayer wasn't. And if you don't want either, well, kiddo, you're outta options. To recap, DOOM is certainly my favourite shooter to ever be released, with its high-octane combat, unforgettable demons and even less forgettable soundtrack. I'm certainly excited for DOOM Eternal.

Anyone who was even somewhat aware of pop-culture in the 90's knows about "Doom." Developed by id Software, the original 1993 release became an instant icon and an overnight success. One of the earliest examples of a first-person shooter, "Doom" was just a ton of bloody, visceral fun as you took control of an unnamed marine forced to wage war against the forces of Hell itself. Sequels and spin-offs were aplenty, but that original game is still something that gamers of its time continue to cherish. Especially with 2004's "Doom 3"- the last major installment in the series- taking the series in an all- together different direction that favored slower, methodical chills and thrills over the ferocious "rip and tear" combat of prior entries.

But in 2016, "Doom" came back in the most pleasant (and delightfully unpleasant) of ways possible. Teaming with the phenomenal Bethesda Software, id has effectively rebooted the franchise with "Doom" 2016- a sort-of old-fashioned callback to what made the original game so much fun. This latest "Doom" makes no qualms and is very upfront about what it is- an old-school, guns-a-blazing first person shooter experience that aims solely to entertain and enthrall the player with non-stop action and fast-paced gameplay. I'm literally in awe of just how much fun this game is, and how wonderful a continuation of the franchise it turned out to be. This is without doubt the ideal continuation of the classic franchise.

For reference, this review is based on my experience playing several hours of the game on a Playstation 4 Pro. From a first-impression standpoint, the game is quite stunning. The graphics are wildly detailed and very immense, with majestic and open environments that stretch as far as they eye can see with great detail and absolutely exquisite and smooth creatures and enemies that hold up under scrutiny even when viewed up close and personal. The game runs incredibly smooth, and there's no sign of lag or lowered frame rates during even the most intense of encounters with dozens of monsters all at once. The sound design is top-notch and everything from the background music to the voiceovers to the howls of agony as you tear your way through the hordes of Hell is crystal clear and very nicely stylized for maximum impact. Both visually and audibly, the game is near-perfect, and it's one of the more impressive releases of 2016 that I've had the pleasure of witnessing.

The controls are just a dream. Everything is fluid and responsive and you never feel like you're being cheated out of anything or that you're not in complete control. Every single button on the controller is assigned a function that feels optimal for the gameplay, and even the most inexperienced of players will quickly find themselves having memorized and mastered the control-scheme. I myself have some trouble with hand-eye coordination and usually take several hours to fully "comprehend" the controls for most games... but I had it down perfect by the end of the first mission. The game's difficulty is also great, giving you multiple levels to chose from that all seem to function very well for any given player. Even if you're stuck on easy mode, you'll still feel accomplished at the end of each mission because it's not too easy, and feels perfectly balanced for new players.

The game's story seems more like an afterthought, but it's there for those who care about narrative. Cleverly however, the developers have structured the game in such a way that the plot never bogs down the gameplay, so those who want to dive headlong into battle will never feel like they're being held back. You're given snippets of story here and there, but it's doled out in small doses and generally results in immediate combat or the opportunity for our unnamed hero to do something fun and entertaining. Ex. The first real "exposition dump" is delivered via computer monitor, and we hear just enough to understand what's going on before our latest "Doomguy" simply knocks the monitor away and runs into the next room to combat some more demonic creatures. Not only do you get brief and concise story establishment, but it also informs the character of our hero's mentality and attitude.

If I were to point out any flaws, it's that early on in the game, as you get used to the controls, the game can be a bit unforgiving. Especially as button-prompts appear very small (it took me minutes of staring at the screen to figure out that I had to push down the right thumbstick to perform the new "Glory Kill" mechanic, because even on a 60" screen, the button-prompt was barely the size of a dime) and the game doesn't always give you the best context clues as to what you're meant to be doing. Also, the multiplayer mode is pretty weak.

But beyond those minor issues, "Doom" 2016 emerges as one of the most entertaining and enthralling gaming experiences of our time. It successfully re-invigorates the franchise with incredible modern visuals, expert sound design, tight controls and an anemic but fun little storyline. In many ways, it is the ideal way to re-introduce the iconic series to new fans, while never losing focus on what made the original game so magical. This is "Doom", plain and simple. Just on steroids and with a really nice face-lift. There's no other way to say it, for me, it gets a perfect 10 out of 10. Rip and tear!

A incredible return to form for both the DOOM franchise after so long and id software as they prove once again that they are the kings of first person shooters. At its core is the same excellent base that is the original DOOM yet has been updated to fit today's industry perfectly without sacrificing it's identity and compromises every mechanic in place to work in tandem with one another, rather than cluster it together trying to be like everything else that sells, because it knows that its DOOM and it knows exactly what people want from it so it doesn't try to be anything and instead offers a fully realised campaign of pure carnage, mayhem and gore over 10-15 hours with every moment feeling intense and exciting. Well paced as well with simple puzzles that don't break up the action heavily and are spared enough to not become annoying, guns and combat feel incredible with the sound design and control being light and responsive, beautiful environments and monster designs, great OST, Surprisingly strong characterisation with DOOM Guy himself expressed through his actions which are genuinely funny and loads of contents within the single player alone. The only issues within the actual campaign is that there are a few moments where the game does stop you for a cut-scene and while they are far apart and generally quick they can be slow for DOOM and the Glory Kill system in place, while its done extremely well here for what it is as it does also lend itself to a great risk and reward system with the health encouraging players to head on to get health rather than hide away, can break the pace slightly as now you have to land the kill otherwise the monsters are fine and that can be annoying.

However with all that said DOOM isn't amazing in every area as then there's the multiplayer which has potential from a game play standpoint overall as its still the basic control and weapons from the single player, but at this moment is horribly unbalanced and plagued by weapon load outs which just don't work in DOOM and its fast paced nature with picking weapons on the fly as now its restricting you to select weapons so it feels unfair as new players with have terrible weapons in comparison to those with higher levels so the multiplayer needs a lot of work, but like stated the core is fine its the mechanics around it that ruins it.

Finally there's the Snap map feature which is alright for a easy map creator but is NO match for the legacy of Original DOOM Mods. It is very simple to pick it up and design a level from a base standpoint and people have done some interesting levels but its horribly restricted in comparison to the amount of ridiculous fun that people have had modding the original as it was open for anything while DOOM 2016 is more restricted overall with what players can accomplish. Not bad for what it is and has potential like the multiplayer but is still restricted.

But overall despite the Snap Map and multiplayer being weaker, the single player campaign is so solid and em-composes everything that is DOOM so well that i can rate it highly on the campaign alone, as there is so much to do and find with secrets and challenges (id as well have been saying that they would fix the multiplayer soon as well and already adding more content to the Snap Map). A amazing return to form for DOOM and shooters in general.