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ID Software´s 2016 edition of “DOOM” is bloody, brutal, and god damn fun to play. And the game offers you the chance to feel what it´s like to be a bad-ass space marine. As “Doom” once again allows you to enjoy stuff such as power armors, guns, guts and a kick-ass attitude. And let me tell you what, “Doom” flaunts all of that by the bucket load. And I have not enjoyed an FPS game as much as I have enjoyed “Doom” for a very long time (the game actually works as a great stress relief kind of thing).

“Doom” is a bit like Ronseal. As it does exactly what it says on the tin, all out visceral action, blasting satanic beasts to bad-ass music, with enough blood that would turn an entire planet red (I guest that would explain the part about Mars being the “red planet” then). The gameplay in “Doom” is on point, as the game captures the essence that made the original games so good (the moment to moment combat is fast paced, frantic and incredibly enjoyable). And the variation in enemies makes each encounter a fight to the death experience.

You also feel like a complete bad-ass too. And it´s all thanks to the glory kills (when you weaken an enemy you can get in close and personal by ripping their face-off with your bare hands!). And classic weapons like the chainsaw, gatling gun and BFG make a comeback, along with a few new ones and weapon mods giving you a variety for each encounter. For example, the Gatling gun and be upgraded to a mobile turret, or you can fire an explosive shot from your shotgun!

There are a few awesome boss battles in “Doom”, and while it consists of firing everything you got. Some of the boss fights do require some thinking and a strong focus on maneuverability. The difficulty is best played on Hurt me plenty (in my opinion), but if you’re a complete sadist, Ultra-Nightmare is a challenge that might be simply impossible. You have one life, no check points and all of hell to go up against. And “if” you die, then it’s back to the very start of the game for you. Of course, there are collectables, secret areas and power-ups (which encourage exploration). You will travel through open areas to confined corridors, but no matter the current environment. It would be a very wise idea to keep your shotgun (or whatever weapon you have at your disposal) close to your body at all times. Well, at least if you intend to stay alive.

Visually, “Doom” looks great on the PS4, while it does lack a little graphical finesse that you see on PC it holds up fine, and the frame rate is solid at 60 fps. So I didn´t notice a single drop while taking fire from all directions while trying to rip the head off a Hell Knight. The environments are dark gritty and covered in a lot of blood. Mars looks like hell, and hell looks like… well hell. The sound design is also on point. The weapons sound meaty. The demon’s screams will keep you awake at night, and the music is incredible. The soundtrack in “Doom” is some of the best battle music I’ve heard in an FPS. It complements the fast and frantic gameplay keeping you in the zone.

The Story in Doom is pretty straight forward. You take on the role as the Doom guy, and he just happens to be the one thing that hell fears. And you’ve been awoken from your slumber, and you do the only thing you know, and that is to kill demons like there is no tomorrow. There are a few other characters you meet in Doom, mainly a few crazy scientists who are trying to harvest hell for free energy. However, they don’t interrupt the gameplay too much. I considered any type of story exposition as a short break from the action.

The Online side of “Doom” is also pretty good, while the Multi-player has divided the community, I found it quite refreshing compared to most FPS games I’ve played recently; it’s fast frantic and kicking other players in the face feels great, when you’re not a bloody pulp on the floor. There’s lots unlock, especially a huge amount of cosmetic armor, taunts and hacks. The community content is also growing (thanks to Snap Map enabling to create your own content). And Mind games and survival modes will keep players coming back for more when they’re done with the single-player campaign.

Unfortunately, Doom falls short in one place, and that would be the game´s ending. It almost feels like they didn’t finish the game (it’s some of the worst sequel bait I’ve seen in a video game, and it feels unfinished). Sure, the prior boss fight is pretty cool, but it didn’t have that end game feeling. So I was expecting one last fight pitting me against everything Hell had. However, that was not the case. As the game just ended so suddenly leaving me feeling pretty disappointed, which slightly spoiled a fantastic game. Nevertheless, Doom is not for the faint-hearted (“Doom” is rated an 18 for a reason). As the game offer tons of gore and brutal “in your face” combat moments (think “Brutal Doom”, but withid Tech 6 graphics). Personally though, I love all of that. And the bad-ass music make the game a brilliant experience that’s breathed new life in a stale genre.

Pros:

+ Bad-ass gameplay

+ Bad-ass Music

+ Bad-ass gibbing

+ Awesome graphics

Cons:

– Awful ending

– Love/Hate Multiplayer

Gameplay: 5/5

Graphics: 4/5

Sound/music: 5/5

Controls: 5/5

Replay value: 4/5

Verdict: 4/5

“Doom” is an FPS worth playing, as it’s fresh frantic and nothing beats ripping a demon’s head off with your bare hands.

Title: DOOM

Developer: ID Software

Format: PS4

Genre: FPS

Resolution: 1080p 60FPS

Release date: 2016-05-13

Difficulty: Easy to OMG KILL ME

Spent time: 12+ hours

Average grade internationally: 79.56% Gamerankings.com

PEGI age rating: 18

Price: £40

Credit:

Robin Ek – Editor



Sharn Daniels

The Gaming Ground

Twitter: @SharnOfTheDEAD

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Tags: Doom, Doom 2016, Doom PS4 review, ID Software, PS4, PS4 review