Developed by iD Software
Ported by Nerve Software
Published by Bethesda Softworks
Released for Xbox Live Arcade (5/2010)
Also on PC/Mac/GBA
Doom II, released on PC in 1994, was the much anticipated follow up to the best-seller originally released just a year before. At first glance, the game looks basically unchanged and in many respects it is very similar to its predecessor, but further inspection will reveal a very different style of level design and some nasty new monsters to kill.
Doom II ditches the episode format of the first game, rather just running the player straight through thirty consecutive maps (plus two hidden maps). One positive aspect to this is that when playing on the harder difficulties you won't have to start over with only a pistol after every episode. The first part of the episode will have you battling the demons on Earth, with the later levels taking you deeper into the depths of hell. The city environments definitely show their age and many times are a bit abstract, but for the most part the level design is solid and is much more wide open than the original title. There were a few maps I got completely stuck on, forcing me to resort to the internet for maps in order to figure out where I was supposed to go. I don't recall ever having to do this on the original Doom except to find secrets, which is the one reason I prefer the level design in the original game. That's not to say Doom II has bad level design at all as there are definitely some solid maps to be played in this title.
In addition to the 32-level main campaign, Doom II includes a new 9-level episode "No Rest for the Living" that was created exclusively for this version. New Doom maps are definitely a welcome addition however the quality of the map design is not quite up to par with the original Id Software maps. They are still fun to blast through but on the harder difficulties ammo and health become scarce effectively sky-rocketing the difficulty. You can tell they took advantage of the new hardware and really packed these levels full of monsters. As stated previously, these levels are definitely fun just not quite as good as the originals.
The new weapon, the super shotgun, is a superb addition to an already incredible arsenal. You'll need to use this weapon frequently too, because the new enemies are far more brutal and deadly than any you've encountered in the previous game. They all fit in well with the original cast and will make it hard to go back to the first title after you've experienced the ferocity of these new enemies. The original crew were pushovers compared to these guys! The final boss encounter is very original and tough as nails.
Deathmatch and co-op modes are present as they were in the first game, allowing for up to four players to join up online or locally via split-screen. There are also leaderboards featuring replay clips. There are some avatar awards you can unlock through playing the game which is always a nice little feature. Overall, Doom II is an excellent sequel to the classic franchise and definitely delivered in giving the players more of the same but on a larger scale with the difficulty raised up quite a bit. Like the original Doom, Doom II was removed from XBLA once the Xbox One received a port of the game in July 2019.
Final Verdict: Doom II still holds up well in modern times and is still a great shooter. Those new to the series should start with the original before playing the sequel.
Related Links:
Buy Doom II - Microsoft Store
Doom XBLA Review - Xbox Overview
Doom II - GameFAQs
Doom II Achievement Guide - Xbox Achievements
Doom II - True Achievements
No comments:
Post a Comment