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DOOM Eternal is the follow-up to 2016’s DOOM, and there is a story to this about tracking down and bumping off all the Hell Priests in a bid to save the Planet Earth.
Yes, the world won’t be saved by David Attenborough flying around the world, or Greta Thunberg defecating in a bucket on a $2m yacht, but by kicking ass and chewing bubblegum, regardless of whether or not you’re all out of bubblegum.
However, while there is a plot, when it comes to a game like this, I just like to blast everything into next week.
I first played the original DOOM back in 1993 on a 386sx33 PC, and then upgraded to a 486dx66 in 1994 for its sequel, DOOM II, and while I understand this 2020 game avoided that title so as to not be confused with that sequel, I do wonder why the 2016 game was called DOOM? That is something I would’ve changed, but the same also goes for revamping the Hitman series with 2016’s… Hitman, and doing the same with the Thief series with 2014’s…, yes, you’re ahead of me, Thief.
This is one title where you don’t really need to go into an awful lot of detail for a review because you know what you’re getting with a game like this.
First up, on the plus side, DOOM Eternal has flawless graphics – running buttery smooth – and a great, complementary soundtrack. There’s enemies new and old, and weapons new and old, plus a ton of tips and features, such as:
- Glory Kills: Beat up a baddie within an inch of their life, and they’ll become ‘Staggered’, causing them to flash on/off, at which point you can push the right gamepad stick in (yes, I prefer a gamepad to a mouse and keyboard) and it’ll pluck their eyeballs out, or twist their head off, or shove a blade through their head. Nice!
- Arachnotron: A spider-like creature with a gun turret on top. At first, I tried to skirt around him and blast the gun turret off him, which weakens him, but in the end, I found it easier to confront him with as many bullets and bombs as possible… still dancing around him if I could, but just get stuck in so he quickly dies a death.
- Chainsaw: As long as you’re stocked up on fuel, you can slice your enemies into next week – well, some of them. Not the huge Arachnotron, but the creatures that tend to walk about on two legs… if you can class them as actually having legs.
- Sticky Bombs: Get some of these, and shove one straight into the mouth of a Cacodemon. That’ll make them instantly flash on/off and then you can glory-kill them by pulling out their eye!
- Automap: If you ever get stuck, check your map. It’ll generally give you a hint as to which direction in which you need to be heading, as well as pointing out items such as an extra life. But then again, if you die, you respawn at the last checkpoint, anyway.
On the downside, either DOOM Eternal is insanely difficult – even on the easiest level – or I just suck big-time at this game! Also, there are 13 levels, but they do tend to go on forever, and while I’ve not gone through them all at this point, it does feel like I’m jumping around a load of multiplayer maps for the majority of the time. And yes, while there’s multiplayer in this, anyone who follows my reviews knows I’m a single-player campaign sort of guy.
Along the way, you’ll die a lot, and you’ll repeat the same kills a lot, in order to get to the next checkpoint. While playing, it’s pretty good fun, but it goes on a bit and is repetitive. I know first-person shooters often are, but this really does go on and on and on. Each of the thirteen levels could be split into 3 or 4 individual ones. I know there are many, many checkpoints, but I like a definitive end to a level, so if I have quit out for a while, I know for sure that my progress will be saved. Plus, it gives me more of a sense of accomplishment, rather than wandering about the same environment.
However, if you don’t mind repetitiveness, then since schools are closed from today, the kids will be kept busy with it… what do you mean DOOM is not for kids? It would’ve been for me if the first one had been released whilst I was at school, but then, I’m older than Gandalf.
As such, I think I’m actually enjoyed DOOM 64 more than DOOM Eternal, the Nintendo 64 game (see some gameplay below) being included with this title if you get hold of the “rip and tear” pack. I’ve played some of that, and it’s great to get accustomed with something from back in the day. In fact, given how long DOOM Eternal goes on, the inclusion of Doom 64 makes for a great cool-down.
DOOM Eternal (including a Steel Poster) is out now on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
Also available is the DOOM Eternal Deluxe Edition is out now on PC, PS4 and Xbox One.
You can also pre-order the game on Nintendo Switch.
Important info:
- Developer: id Software
- Publisher: Bethesda
- Players: Single player campaign, multiplayer
My rig:
- Intel i7 Six Core Processor i7-5820K (3.3GHz) 15MB Cache
ASUS® X99-A: ATX, HSW-E CPU, USB 3.0, SATA 6 GB/s Motherboard
16Gb Kingston Hyper-X Fury DDR4 2133MHz (2 x 8GB)
4GB nVidia GeForce GTX 980
250Gb Samsung 850 EVO SSD, SATA 6Gb/s (upto 540Mb/sR | 520Mb/sW)
3Tb 3.5″ SATA-III 6GB/s HDD 7200rpm 64Mb cache
16x BLU-RAY WRITER DRIVE, 16x DVD ±R/±RW
CORSAIR 750W CS Series Modular 80 Plus ® Gold, Ultra Quiet
Creative Sound Blaster Z 5.1 PCI-E Soundcard – OEM
WIRELESS 802.11N 300Mbps/2.4GHz PCI-E CARD
Windows 7 Home Premium 64 Bit w/SP1
Zalman Z11 Plus Black Mid Tower Case
|
GRAPHICS SOUND GAMEPLAY ENJOYMENT |
10 10 8 6.5 |
| OVERALL | 9 |
Reviewer of movies, videogames and music since 1994. Aortic valve operation survivor from the same year. Running DVDfever.co.uk since 2000. Nobel Peace Prize winner 2021.