Doom

"A good port which could have been better."

This review is based on how well the game is ported from the PC version, not as a game on it's own.

Gameplay: 9
This is classic Doom at it's best. All the gameplay elements that made the PC version such a blast have been faithfully converted. One of the best playing versions you can get, which makes up for the many missing features (covered below) such as the simplified levels. I have also ran into some bugs as i've played, such as wrong sound effects being used, colours messing up, etc. However, as it stands 32X Doom plays well with a constant framerate and easy controls.

Graphics: 7
The graphics are quite good but a tad pixilated compared to other versions. There is almost no lighting whatsoever (sure, you get dark rooms, light coming from lights and such, but in other versions the further away a door is the darker it gets compared to stuff nearer to you. This doesn't happen in the 32X version and everything seems to be at the same brightness) Not to mention a large border around the screen. To be honest I don't really give a toss about this but it would be nice if id had done a bit more to make it full screen. The 32X is a 32-bit system after all, and it doesn't really compare well to it's competitors at the time (the Jaguar and the 3DO, the latter having lovely high-res graphics).

Sound: 7
Sound effects are your typical fare (chainguns, monster noises, doors, switches etc.) and have been translated well from the PC version. However the music sounds very simple and bland, and is quite awful having just listened to the 3DO's awesome soundtrack. But in the end, it's better than having no music at all ;)

Presentation: 5
Overall this game is a rush job, and it shows. This port has the least number of levels of any port, missing a total of 10 levels (the whole Inferno episode is absent). So what, you make it through the Phobos and Deimos moon bases and that's it? That's another thing - this game has an awful ending which destroys any sense of storyline whatsoever ("id Software salutes you!!"). There is no story screens in between episodes (or episode/level names for that matter), in the end it all ends up looking like a tech demo more than anything else. The fact that you can choose what level you can start on from the moment you plug the cart in just adds to this. It just makes all those cool, varied levels look meaningless.
And just like every other port since the Jaguar version, this one has those simplified levels that everyone knows and hates. If you don't know what i'm talking about, play Hangar on the PC version, take note of all the computer screens in that second room, then play a console version. All of a sudden, it's a bare room with hardly any computer circuitry whatsoever! The 32X version is far from the only one, but in the end it still adds to the fact that this port could have been a lot better. Another feature mimicked in the other versions is the absence of a few enemies (namely the coolest ones, the Cyberdemon, the Spider Mastermind and the Spectre). Also missing is the BFG 9000, which id seemingly forgot to place in some of the levels. It can only be obtained using a cheat code. This game could have been a lot better had more time been spent on it.

Overall: 7
Considering the fact that only about 11 32X games actually show off the console's capabilities, this makes a fine addition to the 32X library. As a port of the PC version, it's adequate, but there are much better versions out there. Too much stuff missing plus various bugs make this a fairly unattractive port. This is saved by the fast paced gameplay and good controls. As it stands, Doom for the 32X is alright, but it could have been so much more.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/22/04