Now that I've explained the reason for this Beta review (I'm disappointed in myself, remember?) of the Doom beta, we will get into something that I'm pretty sure I wasn't disappointed in.... The Doom beta that ran this last weekend on XBOX one and PS4. I say pretty sure I wasn't disappointed in it because I changed my mind dramatically after a few rounds but you'll see what I mean as we proceed .
Sunday afternoon after a thorough face palm for forgetting the day before, I downloaded and started the Doom beta, I have been seeing the ads for a while and have been blown away by the look of the game. Something about the trailers so far has vaguely given me the feeling I had the first time I saw quake, Yes I know Doom is not quake but as far as the campaign side Quake has not been Quake since the first game. You see Quake was my first love, it was the first time I had ever really dived into a real pc game and had that sort of obsession you get every once in a lucky while with a game, That all encompassing infatuation that is constantly overshadowing your time at work, in class or even sex..
Yes sex.. When I say it was my first love do not think I am overstating it, I was sixteen years old and I am not lying that I tell you I clearly recall thinking about Quake sometimes in the middle of sex with my first long term girl friend. Oh don't look at me like that, unless you are just entering the perplexing world of engaging the opposite sex in life and death genital combat (in which case you ought not be reading a disreputable site such as this at your age, kid!) you've caught your mind wandering during the act occasionally yourself. oh man have I digressed... Anyhow, I will still need to wait until the full game is released to find out if the campaign captures my attention like the campaign in Quake.
The Multi player however is very reminiscent of the death matches in the Id software games in the 90's. Very, very, very similar as a matter of fact. The big question being, Is that what we want in 2016? A game that, while having better graphics and tighter controls, feels just like a game from 20 years ago? And now we get to why I'm only pretty sure I'm not disappointed. My first match I was looking at the game and kept asking myself what was missing, I didn't have quite the same feeling I get when I play the newest Halo or newest COD or a dozen other triple A shooters. While the Graphics are good they aren't incredibly detailed, The camera motion doesn't give you that realistic bounce that gives you a sense of actually running, And the arenas ( the few the Beta features at least) feel like arenas, That is to say they aren't truck yards or space ports that happen to be the scene of a battle, they are a series of rooms and stages with armor and ammo strung about and weapons placed in central locations just as befitting for an altar or shrine as a . for a few minutes I felt like this was off putting and then it clicked... Suddenly I got it, Doom has reached a happy middle ground between standard AAA shooter and the hardcore PC arena shooters that (to me at least) feel like more of a test of who can get to the rocket launcher or Gauss rifle the fastest.
Players start out with load outs containing both weapons that are traditionally single shot kill weapons such as the double barrel (super) shotgun or rocket launcher and the more standard machine guns and sniper rifles. There is still super weapons available in the arena but the don't feel as crucial to victory as they do in other arena shooters. You do Have a jet pack but it is more akin to the simple double jump we have all become used to rather that the jet packs in titanfall or Black ops 3.
What this game does well is provide a great option for people who just want to jump into a couple of ten minute rounds. You don't have to be especially good at shooters to play Doom and get a few kills and have some fun. You may not come out on the right side of the K/D stats but that wont stop you from enjoying the sight of an opponent fly apart in chunks. Even my wife, who doesn't who almost never plays PvP had fun for an hour fraging other super generic space marines (not a complaint mind you, it would be Doom if the protagonist had a personality) and hopping around the arenas like a kangaroo wasted on jagerbombs. As I said before, I'm fairly sure my family will be enjoying the bloody antics of Doom's multiplayer when the full game is released, at least for a while. It's yet to be seen if this back to basics shooter will hold our attentions do to its easy to play style or if it will quickly join so many other games as dust catchers because it lacks depth.
I hesitate to give a grade to a beta until we see the finished product, especially with the beta giving us such a small sampling of multiplayer and leaving us total virgins to her main draw, which is, in my opinion her campaign, but from the way she rubbed up against us I'll bet she is definitely worth taking under the bleachers now and then... even if she doesn't have enough going on give her you varsity jacket..
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