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Written by Dustin Murphy
QuakeCon 2015 was home to one of the most anticipated hands-on experiences of the year. The game? DOOM. Having been in production for half around six years, DOOM has been a game that has gotten heads to turn when the name is mentioned, which has caused a lot of stir since the initial release of DOOM 3 back in 2004. This year at QuakeCon we got to see DOOM in action for the first time outside of the hands of the developers over at id Software. Sitting down with it was just as exhilarating as it was to watch on the large screens from gaming events.
Sitting down at QuakeCon’s booth for DOOM was an interesting ordeal as we were lead in by groups of six to set up our teams, which were named Alpha and Bravo in order to take each other out. Here I was told to put on the Turtle Beach headphones that were DOOM themed (trust me, we need these somehow), set our loadouts, and even adjust the sensitivity for mouse or controller to our needs. Having done so I found myself grabbing the Super Shotgun, Rocket Launcher, and the Personal Teleporter in order to keep out of the way of other enemies. As the countdown began as we are introduced to the map “Heatwave”. Entering into this lava filled factory like setting, the team I was apart of began to communicate, which lead us to quickly taking advantage to moving as fast as we could to get to the Demon Spawn, which eventually allows for one of us to become the revenant in this six minute match. Trying to adjust to not being able to toggle run, I found my character taking to the classic idea of sprint becoming active after a moment’s notice, which felt right for this style of game as I adjusted to it. Much like how I had to adjust to Glory Kills and even grappling onto walls by double jumping or simply jumping up to them.
When moving across the ledges I was trying to maneuver, I found myself quickly unloading my super shotgun into an enemy’s torso before tapping the melee button when he began glowing red, only to find my character sweeping his legs from underneath him, grabbing his arm when he hit the ground, and brutally curb stomping his face in. After having walked away from the glory kill, it was time to head for the Revenant spawn, which our team coordinated to quickly after pushing the enemy back; never go backwards, it will get you killed. As we got into the nitty gritty action, I felt myself naturally reaching for the controller instead of the mouse and keyboard, and once more rushing back into action. Getting my hands on the Revenant was an astounding ordeal as I found my screen turning read, the team turning around and backing me up, and letting the battle ensue. From here I was learning how to glide with left trigger and shooting with right while using the normal controls to maneuver. While rushing forth I found myself shooting rockets off, annihilating the enemies, and then moving off to once more enjoy my time as this brutal enemy that stirred nightmare as a child.
Having been killed as a Revenant, I found my teammates quickly rushing to pick up the drop, and to much of our dismay we found ourselves grouped up around an enemy Revenant who did not hesitate to shoot the floor beneath him in order to dispatch us from around him and gain the multi-kill we provided him with. With a last minute chance it was time to use that Personal Teleporter I had equipped only to find myself very quickly being drawn to an area behind him, but to my disadvantage? An enemy was waiting with a heavy amount of armor pick-ups, the Quad Damage while a team mate was near by using the Invisibility pick-ups. With the six minute timer on a short leash? It was time for the match to get even more chaotic than before. With the Revenant once more having spawned, our team found a heated battle as rockets flew, secondary fires from our plasma guns went off and we watched the enemy teams bodies glow red once more so that they could be glory killed, but it was our team members turn to pick-up the Revenant spawn and turn the enemies team into a bloodied heap of gibblets.
When the timer ran out I found myself staring at the game that could easily redefine a genre it once helped create. Known as a hyper-kinetic game, we once more saw DOOM step away, break the cliche that titles such as Call of Duty and Battlefield have created by once more becoming a visceral, large-weapon filled, and fast-paced title that feels just right for its 2016 release while running at a buttery smooth 60fps at 1080p, which is just what this game delivered on during its hands-on pre-alpha demo at QuakeCon 2015. All we can say? If this demo is just a taste of what’s to come, the bigger image is going to be beautiful, and something that will set a new par for the first person genre as it dances a fine-line between oldschool and contemporary mechanics we’ve become used to. DOOM will be a must have when it launches March of 2016. Are you ready for Hell to be unleashed?
About the Writer:
Dustin is our native console gamer, PlayStation and Nintendo reviewer who has an appetite for anything that crosses the boarders from across the big pond. His interest in JRPG’s, Anime, Handheld Gaming, and Pizza is insatiable. His elitist attitude gives him direction, want, and a need for the hardest difficulties in games, which is fun to watch, and hilarity at its finest. You can find him over on Twitter, Google+, and or you can find him on PSN with RaivynLyken.