The Doom 64: Total Conversion For Doom II - Classic Doom or Classically Doomed Download?
Written: Aug 17 '07 (Updated Aug 28 '07)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: More than 30 of the best Doom levels ever conceived, great gameplay, it's free!
Cons: Might be a little TOO oldschool for some, not much new over the N64 version.
The Bottom Line: Doom 64: Absolution is one of the best Doom mods available, and a must-download for any Doom fan who's never played the N64 original.
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| marty1982's Full Review: Doom for Nintendo 64 |
Note: This review is for the Doom 64: Total Conversion download. For those of you who don't know what this is, it's an almost pixel-to-pixel port of the Nintendo 64's Doom 64, using the Doom 2 engine. As long as you have the DOOM2.WAD file available with all versions of Doom 2, you can download and run this conversion absolutely free of charge. The download is available at this website: http://www.doom2.net/~doomdepot/abs-about.html
Midway Entertainment's Doom 64 has gone down in history as being, along with Yoshi's Story, one of the most disappointing Nintendo 64 titles ever released. Many were eagerly anticipating it as both the best version of Doom on the market, and a showpiece for what Nintendo's 64-bit wonder could do. It certainly got the former right but was still for all intents and purposes just Doom. A game that had already been dethroned by more recent first person shooters like Duke Nukem 3D, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter, and ID Software's own Quake. The gameplay used the standard "find the switch, shoot the demons, use this keycard for that door, search for the exit" style ID Software had been using since the original. A style that was growing increasingly out of date as more sophisticated, strategy-oriented first person shooters were hitting store shelves.
Nearly seven years later, after the game became more-or-less abandonware, a team of Doom 64 fans (in conjunction with a couple of the game's original programmers/developers) created and released Doom 64: Absolution (a little trivia: This was going to be the title of the long-scrapped sequel to Doom 64), a free (provided you own Doom 2) but legal Total Conversion for the PC. Fortunately, this once disappointing little ditty has held up remarkably well. Doom 64 on the PC (despite being the same game with a few minor tweaks) is perhaps the most fun freeware game you can download this side of America's Army.
You may be asking: How is this so? If Doom 64 was already a disappointing game on the Nintendo 64, wouldn't it be equally disappointing more than ten years later on the PC? Well, on the PC, Doom 64 has quite a few added benefits:
1. It's free, as long as you own Doom 2. And seriously, if you don't have to pay anything for it, what have you got to lose by downloading it?
2. Because it's running on the Doom 2 engine, the game fully acknowledges what it is (a beefed-up Doom game), rather than misleading you into believing it's more than that.
3. The graphics, thanks to a higher resolution, have been improved considerably over the Nintendo 64 version.
4. The sound, despite being nearly identical to the N64 version's, has been improved with a much higher sound quality and 3D support.
5. Despite just being another Doom game, it's a heck of a lot of fun!
That's right. When you strip Doom 64 of all the pre-release hype and subsequent disappointment it had on the Nintendo 64 more than ten years ago, you'll find one of the most fun and thrilling retro gaming experiences you can have on your PC. The levels, despite the obvious technological limitations of the game's time period, are some of the most well crafted Doom levels ever. Traps are well placed, puzzles are interesting but logically laid out, and there are even a few scripted events (one of the most overlooked novelties of Doom 64 on the N64) in several levels. One especially important feature this version of Doom 64 has that the original N64 version didn't have is the ability to save anywhere at any time. In the N64 version, you could only save after every level. And in order to save, you needed to buy a $20.00 memory pack.
The controls are, of course, identical to Doom 2's. Which means they're very responsive and intuitive. They work even better on the keyboard than they did on the N64, as the keypad is much tighter than the Nintendo 64's somewhat clumsy analog stick. Cycling through weapons and using items is also much easier and more intuitive. Granted, the fact that you can't jump (that is, until you beat one of the secret maps - at which jumping is unlocked) or crouch is a little unusual in this day and age. But the remaining controls are so flawless, that this one fault is easily overlooked. Besides, it helps to make the game all the more challenging. And, thus, more eerie/spooky.
Ten/Eleven years ago, people were drooling over the many screenshots Midway posted of Doom 64. Unfortunately, the graphics in the final product left something to be desired. While there was little question that this was the best looking Doom game yet, many complained about the game's use of two-dimensional sprites for its enemies, as well as its horribly jerky animation. However, Doom 64's graphics had a big secret: Contrary to what almost everybody was lead to believe in 1996/1997, they were not done in true 3D. Yes, Doom 64 was actually a two-dimensional game, just like the previous Doom games. In fact, it was actually running on the exact same engine that powered Doom, Doom 2 and the long-forgotten Final Doom. Except with a few enhancements and a lot of texture changes/modifications. Plus, through a then-newly discovered glitch in the Doom engine's code, the developers figured out a way to make rooms exist on top of each other. Something that wasn't possible in previous Doom games.
In spite of the horribly dated technology (after all, this is an almost 14 year old engine!), Doom 64 is a pretty good looking game. The weapons are well modeled (despite the fact that some of the original's animations, such as your shotgun being pumped, were taken out), the monsters detailed and creepy, and environments much more believable than they ever were in previous Doom games. What's especially notable about Doom 64's graphics is their intricate usage of lighting. Of course, lighting effects were relatively primitive in 1997, but the game brilliantly makes the most of what it has. Using lighting and darkness in just the right spots to both add atmosphere and increase tension/drama.
Doom 64, much like Doom for the PSX, sacrificed the rocking MIDI score of previous Doom games in favor of a more ambient soundtrack. Consisting of background screams, sound effects, and the occasional string section. In other words, there's no real "music" to speak of (except in the title screen and after completing a level). Surprisingly, however, this then-novel approach to sound design actually works as it, once again, adds to the game's spooky/chilling atmosphere. There's nothing more satisfying than to be alone in a corridor, with little background noise beyond a few odd sound effects, and no company other than a lurking Cyberdemon who can easily kill you with one shot of his Rocket Launcher. Meanwhile, the sound effects are just like they were in previous Doom games. Believable but also a little exaggerated.
Sometimes, the circumstances in which a game is released can make or break its success. Doom 64 had the unfortunate luck of being released right when first person shooters were becoming much more advanced and sophisticated. Hence, it was unfairly expected to compete with games like Quake and Goldeneye 007. The game's initial $70.00 price tag didn't help matters much either. Today, however, with first person shooters being somewhat stagnant, it's much easier to appreciate Doom 64 for what it is rather than what it isn't. It is a fun and visually enhanced throwback to the classic Doom games of yore. It certainly can't compete with games like Half Life and Far Cry. But it isn't supposed to either. And running into a Zombie-filled room with chaingun in hand blasting everything in sight is still fun even today. The icing on the cake is, of course, the fact that the game is now absolutely free for download provided you have Doom 2. Which you can now get for as little as $5.00 if you don't already own it. Installation of Doom 2 isn't even necessary to play this game, as you can simply copy the Doom2 WAD file from your Doom 2 CD rom onto your computer, and you'll have everything you need to play. Put everything together, and you have one heck of a good deal.
If you've never played Doom 64 before and you still play Doom 2, then you MUST download this mod. If you don't own Doom 2 and want to play Doom 64, get this version rather than the N64 original (and, of course, pick up your five dollar copy of Doom 2 while you're at it). On the other hand, if you own and have already played through Doom 64, then there's probably nothing new enough here to warrant the download beyond curiosity. Nevertheless, Doom 64: Absolution is easily the better of the two versions in almost every way. And a great download for those who want a throwback to the classic Doom style of gameplay, as well as a chance to finally appreciate Doom 64 for providing just that. For no extra charge!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
marty1982
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Location: Ferndale, MI
Reviews written: 169
Trusted by: 15 members
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