Reviews VideoGame / Doom

Classic Doom For The I-Pad: Old School Fun

Doom is one of those games that defines a genre (in this case FP Ss), so as a nerd I had to play it. Downloading it onto my device, I was soon knee deep in enemies which I had fun killing with all sorts of gear. Good gameplay, I must say.

However, there are a few problems. First is the weapon balance. Your fists are really just a Hope Spot; even the weakest enemy in the game doesn't go down in one punch. However, the Beserk power-up turns you fists into Superman's. The chainsaw makes the fist useless for obvious reasons. The chaingun uses the same ammo as the starter pistol and fires faster. The BFG is overrated; you will never have enough ammo to fire more than 15 shots, while the weaker but still powerful rocket launcher can be fired 100 times with maximum ammo. While you will use and need everything you can, a good chunk of your arsenal is useless if you have everything, which is a bit disappointing.

Second is the maps. Doomguy does more navigation than a sailor, and many moments will have you staring at the map trying to figure out a route or looking online to figure out the location of the blue key.

Combat is actually pretty easy; as long as you keep a safe distance, you'll breeze through it, but the game's difficulty comes from ammo management. Unlike in other games, where you may get hundreds of rounds per gun with free clips on every dead body, Doom only gives you more ammo sparingly.

The I-Pad controls are thankfully customizable; right now I'm using two "joysticks", one for movement and the other for looking around.

The Satanic imagery and gory violence is not relevant to quality, at least the way I see it, but it is such a big part of the game's controversy that I must speak. I can see why religious folks are offended, but at least it's all just atmospheric (you don't know what the imagery means or anything like that, and the game never teaches you, so it just prevents the game from looking bland) and all portrayed negatively. The gory violence is quite brutal, but the pixelated nature of the graphics makes it more tame than most of today's games. And when I look at it, I simply see Narm.

Overall, Doom is not the best of its genre, but despite being a bit of a trailblazer that doesn't have its kinks worked out, still manages to invoke nostalgia and fun as you battle hellish creatures with a shotgun.