Doom 64

"Best Doom ever"

We've seen the same re-hashes of Doom and Doom II released on consoles time and time again. However, with Midway at the helm of the Nintendo 64 adaptation, we got a completely new game. New levels, new monster designs, a new weapon and a new demon inhabit this cartridge, but is it worth checking out, even six years following its release?

Graphics: 10/10

Yes, compared to Halo, Perfect Dark and GoldenEye, this looks like child's play. But compared to every other Doom title released, this is the best-looking of the series. The levels are designed well, and have a very intense mood to them. Enemies are re-designed, and the sprites are excellently drawn and breathe new life into the same tired old enemies. The sprites are still paper-thin, but it's a minor nuance.

Music/Sound: 8/10

For the most part, it's recycled from past Doom games, but they still sound good. Besides, nothing's wrong with a nostalgia kick, right? The background music in this game is different from the others, and further enhances the mood.

Control: 7/10

Everything's responsive and feels nice, but the controller set-up does not work well with the functions. No matter how you hold the controller, at least one necessary button will be out of reach in the default setting. Fortunately, you can configure it completely to your liking, so there isn't much room for complaint in this regard.

Gameplay: 8/10

It's the same Doom you've all come to love: kill demons, grab keys, find the exit, repeat ad infinitum. If you grew into the FPS genre on GoldenEye and Halo, you'll despise the stupid AI and the repetitive levels. However, if you're just looking for a shooter, there's plenty of things to shoot. In the end, it all comes down to preference. The lack of multiplayer hinders the game, though. This is one game which people will enjoy one at a time.

Replay Value: 6/10

You can go through it as much as you want, and there are hidden stages to access, but with a dire absence of multiplayer modes, there isn't much reason to go back.

Buy/Rent?

You can get it dirt cheap at most game stores, so it won't burn a hole in your pocket if you pick it up. There are much better first-person shooters out there, but for a cheap thrill, you can't go wrong with the best Doom out there.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/07/03, Updated 05/07/03