Final Doom

"This should've been a no-brainer."

Back in the days when people still knew the difference between sequels and expansions, neither were taken for granted. Only successful games were honoured in this way - and in the mid-90s, Doom was seriously successful. With the PlayStation version, Ultimate Doom, having rightfully sold very well, too, the decision to port Final Doom from PC was a natural one, but the game fell short of the expectations of the fan base. While not terribly flawed in any way, Final Doom felt rushed and uninspired, and the cohesive spirit that permeated the original was noticeably absent - facts that were clearly reflected in the sales figures.

Programmers at Williams in particular must have felt that after having ported Ultimate Doom, their work was done as the game's engine remained unchanged regardless of the fact that the levels in Final Doom are evidently more demanding. Not only does the engine sag under the workload occasionally, when looking at the two games side by side, it's obvious that very little was done about ironing out the few flaws that pestered the original game. Indeed, the mouse support was added but with the PlayStation controller being so beautifully suited to playing Doom, I feel that slowdown, the lack of "Nightmare" difficulty level, and the issue of saving should've been addressed before that. With all the great work that had previously been done in porting Doom to PlayStation, it would be difficult to accuse Williams of incompetence, so laziness is probably closer.

These admittedly minor issues pale in comparison to the fact that the PlayStation owners have been scandalously short-changed in terms of the number of levels included. The PC version of Final Doom spans 64 levels whereas the PlayStation port has, contrary to what the game's back-cover and manual claim, LESS than half of this number. Apparently, many of the levels were too complex for the PlayStation to cope with but with most of the original levels having been simplified anyway, this is hardly an excuse, especially when there were so many to choose from: three 32-level episodes - "Master Levels" in addition to "TNT: Evilution" and "The Plutionia Experiment" - served as the basis for the port. Also, one can't help but wonder why the designers didn't opt for any original levels as they did with their original release (which itself has 59 levels); this alone would've turned Final Doom from a poor relation appreciated only for its relative rarity into a worthy addition to the Doom library. Unlike most other reviewers, however, I appreciate the fact that no new monsters were added. Each of the existing ones is a true classic, and any newcomers would most likely have felt out of place.

Had underneath it all still been the good ol' Doom, it would've helped the matters somewhat...but EVERYTHING seems to have taken a step back. The level design that really stood out in PlayStation Doom, is very uneven and decidedly second-rate most of the time, except for the final episode, which is brilliant (but, somehow fittingly, also the shortest). The controls feel less accurate, plus it's easier to get stuck around corners and wall seams, which really is one of my pet peeves. There is another problem relating to collision detection: often, items you walk over don't get picked up, which, in the right circumstances, can prove fatal. Finally, Final Doom fails to deliver proper challenge, and with the majority of the game's target population most likely being hardened Doom-veterans craving more brutality, I'm sincerely baffled at the fact. I understand that the respawn feature of the "Nightmare" setting may be difficult to implement on the PlayStation, but having larger and deadlier hordes of monsters surely isn't too much to ask. I don't mean to brag - and I'm not sure if it even is bragging - but I was able to complete most levels already in the first attempt. This means that the game is not only too easy (and uncharacteristically fair) but that it won't last you very long, either.

Final Doom isn't a complete turkey. I enjoyed...well, strolling through it, and it does contain a few truly epic levels. Unshaken in my opinion that in all its simplicity, Doom is still the ultimate first-person shooter, at least in the realm of 32 bits, however, I do feel that it simply wasn't done justice with the release in question. Final Doom therefore leaves a bit to be desired and with relatively little preventing it from being an much more enjoyable game, a slightly bitter taste in the mouth, as well...or is this acid eating through my environment suit?

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 02/28/06