====================

Go and buy this game now. It feels like what Half Life 3 would feel like, takes you back to the DOOM universe and throws in the same amount of fun as you'd get in Duke Nukem 3D. GET. IT. NOW!

Short Version
--------------

Long Version
--------------

Gameplay

Doom's gameplay is simply outstanding. It has somehow become the the sweet fusion of the oldschool Doom games and new age gameplay styles. That being said, there are no moments where the player is handheld through "push X to win this game". The cinematic moments are short and sweet and facilitate the gameplay nicely. There is a superb mix of different gameplay styles and at no point throughout the very long campaign did I feel bored or have that "oh now I have to do the same thing over again" feeling.

The game itself, particularly when compared to Doom 1 and 2, is surprisingly easy. I played through on Nightmare and although some sections required some thought and a few run throughs, it was well with in my modest ability. A friend of mine put it very well. This game makes me feel awesome, powerful and like I'm here to kick some ass. You do not fear the demons of hell, they fear you!


Graphics

I won't harp on about the graphics too much. This game is about gameplay and not how pretty it is. That said, there has been real love, skill and attention put into the look of the game. Without giving too much away, I always felt that the setting was extremely well designed to actually make me feel I was where I am (if that makes any sense at all :P ) I ran the game comfortably with a 970 (and later SLI'd with it's twin 970) on max settings and it was a treat to watch.

Sound

I played at different times with my headset and with 5.1 surround speakers. The sound is not anything particularly ground-breaking, but it supports the gameplay well. There is a place for using environmental sound to gain an advantage and to scout out secret areas, but the gameplay is so fast-paced that all you're listening to most of the time is demons being blown to bits! I am a fan of metal, so the well timed metal shreds to complement my demon shredding was totally awesome.

Story

My comments on the story will be as short and sweet as the story was. That's not to say that the game was short, but more that the story imbetween gameplay didn't take up plenty of time. The cutscenes were short, to the point, meaningful and on occasion, humorous! I thoroughly enjoyed the story and having played the previous games, appreciated all of the clever references all over the place. Again, plenty of love and care went into the design and without giving anything away, I am really looking forward to where we go in the next Doom game!

Replayability

My first playthrough was on Nightmare difficulty, so I suppose the scope for replaying is much less in my case. If you started out easy just to get to grips with the game then the challenge of moving up to Nightmare (or even Ultra-Nightmare!) is well set to make it worth playing again. I probably completed about 90% of the challenges, collectibles etc on my first playthrough and it was great fun to go back and try to find the things I'd missed. The Steam Achievements could have been a bit more interesting but at least they weren't a massive pain in the ass to get. As an aside, the replayability is certainly more viable if you're interested in multiplayer. I played a bit and it was fun!

Is It Fun?

Speaking of fun... Oh boy, did I have a good time with this game. I skipped the beta and so I went in with no expectations. I did hear a lot of negatives about the multiplayer but it was really the single player I was interested in. THIS GAME IS SO MUCH FUN, and it's the kind of fun that didn't get old. I thought perhaps the glory kills might get old... nope! In fact, the more entrenched in the level challenges glory kills were, the more fun I had trying to hit the right ones. There is no doubt about it, the point of this game is to have a great time and they designed everything to make it as fun as possible! Bravo!!

[h1]SINGLE PLAYER REVIEW[/h1] ==================== Go and buy this game now. It feels like what Half Life 3 would feel like, takes you back to the DOOM universe and throws in the same amount of fun as you'd get in Duke Nukem 3D. GET. IT. NOW! [b]Short Version[/b] -------------- [table] [tr][th]Gameplay[/th][th]Outstanding[/th][/tr] [tr][th]Graphics[/th][th]Pretty Good[/th][/tr] [tr][th]Sound[/th][th]Good[/th][/tr] [tr][th]Story[/th][th]Pretty Good[/th][/tr] [tr][th]Replayability[/th][th]Good[/th][/tr] [tr][th]Is It Fun?[/th][th]Oh hell yeah![/th][/tr] [/table] [b]Long Version[/b] -------------- [b]Gameplay[/b] Doom's gameplay is simply outstanding. It has somehow become the the sweet fusion of the oldschool Doom games and new age gameplay styles. That being said, there are no moments where the player is handheld through "push X to win this game". The cinematic moments are short and sweet and facilitate the gameplay nicely. There is a superb mix of different gameplay styles and at no point throughout the very long campaign did I feel bored or have that "oh now I have to do the same thing over again" feeling. The game itself, particularly when compared to Doom 1 and 2, is surprisingly easy. I played through on Nightmare and although some sections required some thought and a few run throughs, it was well with in my modest ability. A friend of mine put it very well. This game makes me feel awesome, powerful and like I'm here to kick some ass. You do not fear the demons of hell, they fear you! [b]Graphics[/b] I won't harp on about the graphics too much. This game is about gameplay and not how pretty it is. That said, there has been real love, skill and attention put into the look of the game. Without giving too much away, I always felt that the setting was extremely well designed to actually make me feel I was where I am (if that makes any sense at all :P ) I ran the game comfortably with a 970 (and later SLI'd with it's twin 970) on max settings and it was a treat to watch. [b]Sound[/b] I played at different times with my headset and with 5.1 surround speakers. The sound is not anything particularly ground-breaking, but it supports the gameplay well. There is a place for using environmental sound to gain an advantage and to scout out secret areas, but the gameplay is so fast-paced that all you're listening to most of the time is demons being blown to bits! I am a fan of metal, so the well timed metal shreds to complement my demon shredding was totally awesome. [b]Story[/b] My comments on the story will be as short and sweet as the story was. That's not to say that the game was short, but more that the story imbetween gameplay didn't take up plenty of time. The cutscenes were short, to the point, meaningful and on occasion, humorous! I thoroughly enjoyed the story and having played the previous games, appreciated all of the clever references all over the place. Again, plenty of love and care went into the design and without giving anything away, I am really looking forward to where we go in the next Doom game! [b]Replayability[/b] My first playthrough was on Nightmare difficulty, so I suppose the scope for replaying is much less in my case. If you started out easy just to get to grips with the game then the challenge of moving up to Nightmare (or even Ultra-Nightmare!) is well set to make it worth playing again. I probably completed about 90% of the challenges, collectibles etc on my first playthrough and it was great fun to go back and try to find the things I'd missed. The Steam Achievements could have been a bit more interesting but at least they weren't a massive pain in the ass to get. As an aside, the replayability is certainly more viable if you're interested in multiplayer. I played a bit and it was fun! [b]Is It Fun?[/b] Speaking of fun... Oh boy, did I have a good time with this game. I skipped the beta and so I went in with no expectations. I did hear a lot of negatives about the multiplayer but it was really the single player I was interested in. THIS GAME IS SO MUCH FUN, and it's the kind of fun that didn't get old. I thought perhaps the glory kills might get old... nope! In fact, the more entrenched in the level challenges glory kills were, the more fun I had trying to hit the right ones. There is no doubt about it, the point of this game is to have a great time and they designed everything to make it as fun as possible! Bravo!!