Developed by id Software
Ported by Nerve Software
Published by Activision/Bethesda
Released for Xbox Live Arcade (9/2006)
Also on PC/Jaguar/32X/SNES/PlayStation/3DO/Saturn/GBA/iOS
Backwards Compatible with Xbox One
I'd be shocked if you hadn't at least heard of the Doom games at some point, seeing as if you're reading this you must have at least a passing interest in video games and the game has been ported to what feels like just about everything that can play video games at this point. Doom was one of the biggest gaming hits of the '90's and many would swear that it was one of the greatest games ever made. As a kid growing up back in those days, I saw firsthand the huge impact that this game would leave on video games as a whole. So, after all these years, how does Doom hold up and would somebody that has never played it before enjoy it?
This version of Doom for the Xbox Live Arcade is a very straightforward port of the PC classic, featuring all three original episodes plus the fourth bonus episode that came with Ultimate Doom. The game looks and sounds exactly as it did originally on the PC, with no hiccups in the frame-rate and the classic Doom midi soundtrack. Graphically, as long as you take into account the year the game was released, everything still looks quite good. You can easily identify everything and the enemies still look as hellish as they ever did. The enemy death animations, while there is only one for each enemy, are still satisfyingly brutal. The sound design is excellent as you'll always be able to identify the monsters you're up against by their unique noises. It never fails to make me panic when I hear the sound of flesh tearing as an imp sneaks up behind you. The music design is heavily influenced by heavy-metal/rock groups of the 90's and it fits the satanic theme perfectly.
The control scheme is laid out well enough but trying to switch out weapons in a hurry can be a pain. You have to use the Y and B buttons to slowly scroll through your weapons, where on the PC version you just had to press the corresponding number to bring up the desired weapon. I did notice after I'd already finished the game that they mapped your weapons out to the d-pad. I think we all know how lackluster the 360's default d-pads are but it's better than nothing. Doom's weapon selection is iconic and pretty much set the standard for the genre. The shotgun, mini-gun, rocket launcher and plasma launcher are all great weapons and all serve a purpose in certain scenarios. The chainsaw is still great for those tight corridors and the BFG-9000 is amazing on special occasions, though you can't use it too often as it drains your ammo heavily! Doom really nailed the weapon diversity the first time around and the only weapon you won't care to use is the pistol you start out with.
The level designs are solid in Doom and for the most part still hold up pretty well even today. The progression of difficulty is good as well and the game will get pretty tough towards those final levels. If you want the true Doom experience, make sure to play through the game on the ultra violence setting. This version of Doom also retains the co-op campaign and deathmatch modes from the computer version as well, which is awesome and definitely adds loads of replayability to the title. Local co-op or deathmatch is allowed for 2-4 players. Online play is also still available at the time of this writing as long as you have a subscription to Xbox Live. There are also leaderboards with replay clips so you can check out some of those insane speed runs. This is definitely a welcome feature and I wish it would become more of a standard with these older titles being re-released on newer platforms.
If you've never played a Doom game before, the enjoyment you will get out of it depends on the player. I would imagine to the younger generation, these sprite-based graphics are pretty ugly, but if you don't mind the old graphic style there's still a great experience to be had with the game. I would definitely start with this one over the sequel as I feel the level design is more focused and the difficulty is far more fair in the original.
Doom was de-listed from the Xbox games marketplace for a while presumably due to the fact that publishing rights for iD Software games changed hands from Activision to Bethesda, but the game did return to XBLA under the new publisher. Doom would be de-listed once again from XBLA, this time for good, once the Xbox One port of the game was released in July 2019. Doom can also be obtained in physical media form via the Doom 3 BFG Edition, which also includes Doom II.
Final Verdict: A solid port of the PC classic, Doom is recommended for anybody who likes first-person shooter games. It's always good to learn the roots of the genre and see how we got to where we are today.
Related Links:
Buy Doom - Microsoft Store
Doom - GameFAQs
Doom Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Doom - True Achievements
Digital Foundry Retro: Every Doom Console Port - YouTube
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