Doom 64

Genre: First-Person Shooter

Players: 1

Game Company Bad Behavior Profile Page: ZeniMax Media Inc

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Review:

(Note: This game is included in the Compilation Doom Slayers Collection, along with Doom (1993), Doom II Classic, Doom 3, and Doom (2016). All of these games are also included in the physical-only Compilation, Doom Anthology, along with Doom Eternal.)

Doom 64, a direct sequel to the original Doom and Doom II, is a First-Person Shooter released on the Nintendo 64 in 1997, and it is a game that has since then remained exclusive to that platform (aside from fan conversions like Doom 64 EX, with some of the designers of that game moving on to work on this one). Now, over 20 years later, Doom 64 has finally seen an official release on platforms other than the Nintendo 64, including a version for the Nintendo Switch. The game’s release on the Nintendo Switch is somewhat bittersweet though – on all platforms, this game was offered as a free preorder bonus for reserving a copy of this year’s Doom Eternal, which nearly five months after other platforms have received the game still has no set release date on the Switch. However, at the very least Switch owners wanting a bit of first-person nostalgia can still take part in this game with or without the Doom Eternal preorder, as buying this game separately will only cost you $5.

There is of course a reason for the low price – being over 20 years old, this is a game that has clearly aged quite a bit, with visuals from the era that videogames were taking their first baby steps into polygonal graphics. To be fair, this game is a graphical step above Doom and Doom II, being the first game in the series to use 3D hardware acceleration rather than the previous titles’ 3D rendering which was all done in the software. This can be seen in some of the slightly more complex environments in the game, as well as in some good use of lighting (for the time, anyway). This game also features redesigned sprites for enemies and power-ups, with improved graphical fidelity. However, despite these improvements, this game is much like Doom II in that it looks close enough to the original Doom that players only catching a glance of the gameplay could easily mistake the two games for each other.

That’s not to say that this game doesn’t boast visual enhancements over the original game. The original’s 30FPS framerate has been increased to a solid 60FPS here, with the resolution increased to 1080p in docked mode and 720p in handheld mode. While this isn’t quite as impressive as the 1440p resolution the game can achieve on the Xbox One X (evidently the first game to hit that resolution on the platform), it is more than sufficient to play a game that otherwise looks as dated as this one does. Suffice it to say, this is an excellent upgrade to an outdated-looking game.

For those who missed out on Doom 64 in its original release, I feel the sound here also deserves mention, as this marks a tonal shift for the franchise, with the rockin’ tunes of the prior games replaced with more moody and atmospheric music (which has been faithfully reproduced here). It works well, but it definitely makes for a very different atmosphere in this game, even making things seem a bit creepy at times, despite the outdated graphics.

That said, the gameplay here is much the same as prior Doom titles (i.e., no vertical aiming, collecting color-coded keys and fighting lots of zombies and demons), albeit with level design that can be at times a little tricky, such as one early section where players must deduce which button to press to get a key, or a section shortly after where players must work their way through a corridor with sections of ceiling that do the Galaxy Quest thing and try to crush the player. However, on the whole, this is still largely a good old-fashioned fast-paced First-Person Shooter, and a fine example of the genre in its early days.

I should note that seemingly each version of this game brings its own bells and whistles – while the Xbox One version has the aforementioned 1440p resolution and keyboard and mouse support, the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch versions include gyroscopic motion control and touch support on map screens (the PlayStation 4 does this using the DualShock 4’s touchpad, while the Nintendo Switch of course uses its touchscreen in portable mode). To be honest, neither of these features are really all that special – the map doesn’t overlay over the gameplay, meaning you likely won’t spend much time looking at it, and gyroscopic aiming seems less compelling in a game where players only aim along one axis. Still, it’s nice that these features were included, nonetheless. Oh, and on top of this, all versions of the game get a new episode created specifically for this version of the game.

However, while there’s a lot that this game adds to the original, one part of the game that remains bare is its multiplayer – like the original, there isn’t any. I’m kinda’ torn on this – it would’ve been nice for multiplayer features to be added to this game, and that would have kept it in line with Doom and Doom II, but on the other hand, I can’t be too critical of this game for not including a feature that was never present in the original, and with a price tag of $5, I feel even less justification for taking it to task here. That said, both Doom and Doom II are also $5 each, so players looking to enjoy multiplayer on these games would find their money better-spent on one of those.

Despite its shortcomings, Doom 64 is still a classic game worthy of a spot next to the original Doom and Doom II, and fans of classic First-Person Shooters should find this to be a $5 well-spent. It’s still a very old game with archaic (though improved) visuals, and the lack of multiplayer is disappointing, but the classic Doom gameplay is still strong in this title and well worth the low price.

tl;dr – Doom 64 is a First-Person Shooter that follows directly in the footsteps of the first Doom and Doom II, and features some minor improvements and tonal differences over those games that sets it apart. It’s still a 23 year-old game and very much looks it despite the improvements to framerate and resolution, and the lack of multiplayer is disappointing, but for $5 it’s still a good deal on a classic entry in the genre.

Grade: B-

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