Doom 64 in the Test

After what seemed like myriad of ports of the original 1993 MS-DOS, published Doom (for Sega 32X, the Atari Jaguar [1994], the SNES and the PlayStation [1995]), with which id Software the First-Person-Shooter Genre has revolutionized, it was, of all things, the Nintendo 64 with a new standalone entry into the series attracted. In 1997 we were able to thanks to the Doom 64 by 32 completely new Level of sprinting, and hordes of demons crap shoot. 23 years later, we are now in the enjoyment of the Remasters, this is for several reasons worth playing. Pre-order of Doom Eternal get the game as a Bonus, all the others can now, via the respective Download Stores for about 5€, re-tighten.

Doom 64 came out in 1997, so after the sequels , Doom II: Hell on Earth (1994) and Final Doom (1996), and thus, at a time when 3D Realms with Duke Nukem 3D id Software on their own Terrain, the beaten to rail, and id Software with Quake already on to the next Revolution of the genre, and thus the successful counter-strike get had. The previous oddities, however, still not enough signed up for Doom 64 , not id Software, but Midway, so an Arcade title and not least the Mortal Kombat series of well-known developers. As a last curiosity is that Doom 64 to Doom Eternal is a Nintendo 64 exclusive titles remained. 23 years later, it has to have the title now as a Remaster, a port of which the Nightdive Studios, in cooperation with id Software, also officially on the PC, the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and, not least, Switch managed.

The 64-bit Mission of the nameless Marine

The canonical arrangement of the story of Doom 64 is due to the lack of information in the original User Manual (Yes, in the 90s, there was such a thing yet, today we have to digital Downloads, be grateful that, in the case of the Remasters to Weariness, but also lack of it) and the perfect recess during the game action – not free from doubt. Some of it seems to speak to that Doom 64 directly to the events of Doom and Doom II followed. After the Doom Guy both the bases on the moons of Mars Deimos and Phobos (Doom), as well as the earth (Doom II) of the legions of hell had freed, provided the military with the atomic bombing of the Mars bases for a radio-active closure of Phobos, daimos becomes and the of you all around the planet.

The goal was to prevent a further spread of the demonic brood by all means. All of these measures, however, should have the effect – in spite of or even because of their excessive nature – the opposite of the intended result. In the protection of the horrendous levels of radiation an even more dangerous entity-escaped, in a non-specified Basis (the Handbook approaches to the N64 Original speaks of a “planetary strategy” and a “planetary Emptiness”, which would suggest that the location of the event is to be the Mars base, a not-too-strictly astronomical interpretation of the term would exclude, however, the two moons as a theater of war nor), the military-detectors: the mother of all demons. And you don’t remain idle.

Unchallenged by any military supervision, the demon mother makes it the rotting and rotting to bring the Remains of the demonic invaders, as well as the former science staff a new life. And how could it be otherwise: The result of this heretical Creation of the dea maligna – this shameful goddess – is still disastrous and devastating than anything the world has ever Seen; the demonic upstarts of the satanic Genesis prove to be far more brutal and bloodthirsty than the underlying cell material, the scraped, the mother of the demons from the walls and bottom, to give it new life.

New it is now to areas on the nameless Marine this apocalyptic sort of thing from happening. At the risk of his life, and his mental health – how to fight post-traumatic stress disorder effective to prevent the fact that you are triggering trauma to the past – he needs to move out to save mankind from certain extinction. Or, to use the new manual, the order is clear: merciless destruction (all without official terrestrial photo ID)!









From the everyday life of the Doom Guy

“The game play [sic!] for Doom 64 is quite simple. There are Demons. The Demons are bad. They stink, they’re vicious, they eat human flesh and if they get the chance, they’ll show you just how much they like Marines.” If the Marketing Department of the game, respectively, at least the authors of the accompanying booklet, make no secret of the simplicity of the basic gameplay, then there must be almost something. So for the record: The demons are evil. They stink, are vicious, they eat human flesh and if you get the opportunity to do so, then you are going to show you how happy you have Marines. So much must suffice to our basic Motivation, then. And it does also!

As already anno 1993 whet we are also in Doom 64 at a breathtaking pace through the maze, which is structured in Level and clean up on our constant search for red, yellow and blue Keycards to the mostly narrow and dim lit corridors of the existing Level architecture of the demonic brood. In 1997 32 levels, so we are in the now appeared to Remaster to a total of 39 Maps in use. After a successful battle against the mother of all demons in the Remaster seven more levels unlocked, the so-called lost levels , Doom 64, Doom (2016) and Doom Eternal (2020), the story also link together to.

A Shotgun! A Shotgun! My Kingdom for a shotgun!

For our cleaning action available to us from Doom and Doom II was well-known types of weapons – chainsaw, fists, pistol, Shotgun, Super Shotgun, rocket launcher, Plasmagun and BFG available to Imps and the likes, belonging to turn up the heat. As a particularly responsive – in terms of hit feedback, Sound, and General oomph-factor is the Shotgun, and its Super-variant. Hardly a series was able to characterize a class as Doom, the shotgun. For the first and last Time in the series there are in addition, the BFG9000 (Big Fucking Gun) übertrumpf the end of the weapon: the red laser beam welding to be cast, and your enemy penetrating Unmaker. Like the BFG and the Plasma Gun, the Unmaker of energy cells used as ammo. The demons laser can rate it with three demon keys with regard to its fire, its damage value and the number of missed laser beams can be improved.

Many switch puzzles slow down the pace of the game again and again and want to be solved in order to progress or to find one of the numerous Secret areas within the Level. Because Speedruns through the atmospherically flickering corridors are only one component of the ongoing Leading of Doom. At the end of each Level is then dealt with mercilessly: Here we learn how the earlier offshoots of the series – how many enemies, Items and Secrets, we shot, and found to have collected or not. That the Gameplay already in 1997, not more dewy was a witness to the parallel appeared to be cult classic, this time, such as Turok: dinosaur Hunter (1997) or GoldenEye 007 (1997), which is the Doom formula not just to a – for its time – cinematic staging (especially GoldenEye) advanced, but Jump’n’Run passages implemented (Turok), hit zones on enemies introduced (GoldenEye), the vastness of the Level significantly increased and, above all, with fully 3D rendered environments and character models in the globe.

Doom 64 Doom, and then again (refreshing) is typically different

Doom and Doom II feature a liquid control, a quick speed of play, hordes of monsters, and a driving Score, the entire game is wearing. Who knows it not, the now iconic tune of the first Level of Doom, Knee-Deep in the Dead – Hangar? (The catchy song is thrown in for free; you’re welcome!) While Doom 64 all of the known elements of the series also brings to the table, keeps the game in terms of Score significantly covered. In the foreground is not driving music, but the background noise, the ambience of the Levels themselves, mainly consisting of the Groan of the different enemy types and moving Elevator platforms, or open stands and closing doors. As a result, the entire atmosphere of the game, the sets more clearly than his predecessors on the use of horror elements, without therefore losing some from the frenzied pace that characterizes the series. And yet we must enter in Doom 64 is still on the brake, in order not to run into one of the numerous ambushes.









The muscles of the Nintendo 64

Graphically, the potent Hardware, the Nintendo 64 was, in turn, is noticeable. So captivated Doom 64 in 1997 by a significantly prettier and more detailed crafted Sprites of the completely revised opponent models. But the Doom 64 already at the time of its emergence in technical terms obsolete in the years to come, Doom-Engine, the developers significant barriers with respect to the 3D Renderings imposed. In addition, the new small animation of the phases of the sprite led to the well-known jerky movement of the opponent processes. In addition, the game is well aware, is considerably darker than the immediate predecessor. Even the fog could tickle the developers still have the old Engine out. On the Nintendo 64 it was, accordingly, often even literally in the dark. Although this contributed to a purely stylistically considered well to the Horror atmosphere of the game, and still today, eerily beautiful to contribute. Here, the Remaster is now in an exemplary manner. If the game happened to dark precipitates, which now has the possibility in the menu – two different Controller – the in-game brightness to personal preference, what works great. The game menu is still a bit too dark, what to Navigate to me, and, respectively, of each of the menu Identify difficult points again and again.

Doom 64 in 1997, and 2020

Not only in terms of the brightness adjustment, the Remaster of Doom 64 more than see. The image was provided with a higher resolution, which gives the game a much sharper overall impression; the ends, however, at the latest, in the extremely coarse-grained stricken opponent models. The background noise all the blood in me freeze in the veins to be just a matter of seconds due to the adrenaline rush during the brutal fire, hordes of demons, battles against innumerable army of newly thawed. The Remaster of Doom 64 stingy also not with additional setting options, such as individually adjustable field of view (field of view), and anti-aliasing. Even the button layout on the controllers and the PC can be customized according to your own Gusto.

The Highlight of the Remasters, an unexpected point for me, however. So it was announced before the Release that both the PS4, as well as the Switch-Version of the game should be equipped with a motion controller. So what in the HD-Remaster of Resident Evil 4 criminally neglected (why?), you should now be at a 23-year-old first-person Shooter for the first time implemented. “Doom with a motion control… what?” was my first reaction. And the first Go-, respectively, in an attempt to rail my bias to confirm that The control of the Doom Guys by means of in the Joy-Cons processed gyroscope Sensor managed in a similar joint, such as former Attempts to Doom the mouse to control (I confess I did the Experiment at the time, daring). According to a first welcoming the supposedly successful confirmation of my pre-verdict, I noted with astonishment that the movement control is not able to replace the Analog Stick, since the Navy has the turning circle of a Two-ton truck, the fine adjustment of the shooting direction by the movement of the wrist, however, much more accurate from Hand than I would have using the traditional control mode, the possible. In this sense, the most valuable recommendation on my part for the movement control for the targeted termination of the unwelcome guest from hell, which leaves almost a light gun-atmosphere of advent (but only almost, so much to restrictive to be added).









CONCLUSION

At the time of his Release, because of obsolete technology and hardly any innovations in the Gameplay, largely unsuccessful, Doom 64 soon a large fan base gathered, and some, in the meantime, as one of the best series offshoot. Brutal firefights against hordes of undead and demons, eerie Horror atmosphere and the Doom of its own Flow to make Doom 64 , even today, to a game of values part series. The Remaster has a higher resolution and additional graphics settings (FOV, anti-aliasing, brightness), is in addition, but without any great technical innovations. For Nightdive and id Software have been waiting for the Remaster of seven new Level given at the end of even a new Boss monster on us.

The Manual is not as a digital Booklet to Download has been resolved, or at least the Story content as text panels have been inserted interferes with the game play, the story of Doom 64 , so subordinated, they admittedly may be – a bad thing not at all to understand. Because in the Original version the story has been swapped out fully in the attached Manual. Although the Sprites of the Nitnendo 64-offshoot of Doom to be much larger, so the same just on the big screen but very muddy and the movement animations, because of the small animation of the phases, as in 1997, very choppy.

Doom 64 remains in spite of the faithful porting of these shortcomings, even 23 years after the Release of a successful entry in the Doom Franchise. Not only includes the Remaster is a gap in the accessibility to a historical curiosity – the Doom 64 certainly is – but also allows for a excellent part of the series new to discover. Especially the movement to control the Switch Version has done it to me, it gives me the impression of rudimentary – with a light gun through the floors of the demon-infested UAC base to storm.

What is Doom 64? The Remaster of the original 1997 First-Person shooter for the Nintendo 64.
Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch
Tested: Switch
Developer / Publisher: id Software, Nightdive Studios/ Bethesda Softworks
Release: 20. March 2020
Link: Official Website