Doom 64 Review

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(More customer reviews)i dug out my old nintendo 64 this past week, and this humble little cartridge was the first that i pulled out.i've been playing it almost non-stop since.how is it that this game is almost 8 years old?amazingly detailed and jaw-dropping environments, excellent control, totally updated enemies, and a pitch-black ambience flow freely through this game.perhaps the most striking feature is the soundtrack.i remember playing this game when it first came out in 1997.i was still pretty young, and it scared the living hell out of me.playing it now i can understand why; the soundtrack is largely comprised of long, ambient organ swells and industrial sounds.far-off cries of terror and garbled, distorted radio transmissions are mixed with the soundtrack during the second half of the game.in some levels, the effect that this has on you can be too strong and will distract you from the game ("breakdown" and "dark citadel" are probably the best examples).turning out the lights and cranking up the sound is a truly immersive experience that is rarely matched, even with modern games.although some parts of the soundtrack can tend to resemble a broken air-conditioner ("staging area" and "the terraformer" for instance), the effect is well suited to the early levels amid the dreary industrial complexes of the base.the levels in hell are designed with one thing in mind: complete terror.the replay value of this game is beefed up by a plethora of secret levels, hidden exits, easter eggs, and a cheat menu that unlocks three "fun" levels that can't be opened any other way.

another reviewer mentioned how small the levels seemed and how there were no wide open areas.this doesn't make much sense to me; some of the levels in this game are absolutely huge and span an amazingly large amount of space; "pitfalls," "spawned fear," "blood keep," "unholy temple," and "dark citadel" are practically endless.the size of many levels dwarfs those on the PC versions.the lack of wide open space, on the other hand, is very intentional.most of the action in this game involves intense, close quarters fighting.the overbearing, crushing sense of claustrophobia is designed to give the player a feeling of no escape; truly a feeling of doom.this is a goal that is rarely missed.

one thing that is instantly noticeable about this game compared to the "classic" doom is the renewed emphasis on puzzle-solving and brain-teasers rather than constant run and gun carnage.make no mistake about it, there is plenty of action in this game.but some of the puzzles in the later levels ("unholy temple" comes to mind) are maddeningly complex and extremely puzzling.all of the enemies sport new, terrifying models and are often tougher to kill than in the PC versions of yore.the pain elementals now release two noticeably more aggressive lost souls at one time and arachnatrons fire double blasts of plasma.these updated enemies cannot replace the chaingunner, spider mastermind, arch-vile, and revenant that were canceled from this game at the last minute during the development phase, however.even in the words of the developers, most of the classic elements of doom save for the single-player game had to be left out due to cart space issues.i recently read that a multi-player function for doom 64 was dropped at the last possible moment in an interview with the original developers.add a multiplayer mode, and this is a five star game.during the media blitz preceding the release of doom 3, much ado was made over the quantum leap between the carnage of the older dooms and the ambience and atmosphere of doom 3.doom 64 is the underrated, oft-neglected missing link between doom II and doom III.the new generation of doom fans never had the chance to play and experience all three of these as they came out like i did, and unfortunately the impact of those separate revolutions can't be duplicated playing these games today.as it stands, doom 64 is definately an acquired taste.if you're an open-minded doom fan, this one is worth a shot for sure.some hardcores might like it, as well.i'm a long-time fan of the PC doom series, and this one fit me just fine.give it a shot...you can pick up a copy for about $20 at most used/vintage video game specialty stores.

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