Welcome to a new edition of Modern Gaming Reviews and we talk about the latest Classic Doom port for the Nintendo Switch. Doom is one of those games that will get ported to death across many generations on different systems. It is that much of an influential game since this is the grandfather of FPS; a testament to all of Western design. Id was one of those studios that were bringing this to the forefront. They even created their engines while licensing them to other third parties long before Epic Games did with Unreal. The Switch version came out in 2019 alongside its two 90s sequels and the third game from 2004. A studio called Nerve Software are the ones behind developing this port as well as Doom II. Surprisingly, they were also responsible for producing Doom 3's expansion called Resurrection of Evil and the Lost Mission in 2005. As you can tell Nerve Software has a history with the series which probably the reason Bethesda hired them. For once Nintendo finally got proper Classic Doom editions as this isn’t the first time the Original appeared on their platform. The previous versions were either limited by dated system specs or was censored knowing the company’s history. If you read my review on the Doom Super NES version, this was clearly the case of both limited tech and ridiculous censorship. While the GBA edition was the closest Nintendo got to a proper PC conversion for the time—it’s what the Super NES port should’ve been like. Now we will review this much differently compared to other times of the same title. Gameplay If anyone played a 90s FPS then it follows the familiar kill enemies, find items, collect keys and get to the exit. What makes the latest console port different from previous takes is the quality of life features. Every last gen system (including PS4 and Xbox One) has these features that weren’t in past editions. Thanks to the analog controls of these modern systems, they gave the most precise movements seen yet. I’ll go as far as to say this is better than the ones included in the Doom 3: BFG Edition on the Original Xbox. The controls then weren’t as fluent to what was considered at the time the best version during the mid-2000s. Yes, nothing beats the mouse and keyboard combo for FPSs since that is my go-to set up on PC. However, the fact you can adjust the sensitivity is the best analog movement compared to those classic setups from the N64 and PS1. The quality of life functions breathes life into the first game and its sequels. There is even a crosshair cursor and border options to play around with as well as the traditional cheat menu. All those codes come back, such as God Mode, all weapons and items at a click of a button. You also don’t have to unlock them either as they are available right out of the box or should we say digital copy. The quick hot-button weapon selection really made switching between guns more convenient. It also helped switch guns up when playing on Ultraviolent because of the quick actions needed not to get killed. The best example came from Map 25 of Return to Saturn Episode 1 where the Slayer had to fight all sorts of demons. After destroying a group of Mancubus, a swarm of Cacodemons will show up, and you have to change between the Plasma Gun and Rocket Launcher so as not to get cornered. Now, the second image shows an Arch Vile stationed at the start of a map in the Doom Zero WAD. That was probably one of the annoying things about this WAD, and the modder went crazy with these demons. If you are wondering this is not on Ultraviolent but on Hurt Me Plenty settings. There were even times I ran into these in tight corridors which gave little room to avoid their fire attacks. A challenging enemy should only be placed in a spot like this for the harder difficulties and not in normal mode. Let’s talk about the extra campaigns and their level design choices. The gameplay and weapons are the same as in the Vanilla game and the enemies saw no difference in their challenges, either. The Return to Saturn episodes had the better enemy placement compared to the others, especially in harder modes. It also had the right number of secret areas to find, and most of the time had the items I would need. Then the Zero campaign which was recently released had some questionable enemy placements. Take the Arch Viles as even in the easy settings had the worst placement through the levels. There were even maps where these demons were at the start of a level. A powerful enemy should never be encountered that early regardless how far they are from the starting point. In fact, this challenge needs reservation for Ultraviolet and Nightmare settings and not on Not too Rough and Hurt Me Plenty. Sigil was another one, and like Zero is challenging in its own right, but the difference is the enemies had better placements. Then again John Romero developed this so of course he was going to have a better understanding of Classic Doom’s game design. It’s amazing how the co-creator of the series is designing traditional style maps even today. Rating: 8.2/10 Graphics/Presentation By now modern systems can easily manage the PC Original release without much power. The beauty of this recent release is the game runs at a crisp 60 fps (frames per second) compared to previous takes. Bethesda updated this last year because of many issues and originally it ran at 35 fps. That succeeds any previous edition that would either be at 30 fps as seen on GBA or as low as 10 fps on the Super NES for Nintendo. Some gamers might get bothered by it running at 60 fps since they were used to 35 fps according to them. That straight up annoys me to no end that some try to make these types of arguments. Nothing makes a game running at a higher frame rate jarring in any way. That’s like saying you are used to playing Doom on Super NES and now find it jarring for the PC version to run faster. However, claiming this is a flaw when in reality that's their preference is not the same thing as most want to believe. There are a few games where the frame rate is tied to certain mechanics that could hinder the player; however, those examples are the exception and not the rule. At the end of day most games should run at 60 fps especially if the system can handle it without performance being a problem. The Classic game looks the same between the textures, sounds, and sprites. Even the music with its tense and action tracks haven’t seen changes either. After listening to other versions from the PS1 port and Andrew Hulshult’s rock rendition—I just wish these were officially available. Bethesda should consider adding the horror theme PS1 music and even contact Andrew Hulshult to include these as an option. The images shown here from the Zero, and the Return to Saturn episode maps remind me of the Plutonia Experiment. The left picture depicts the Slayer going through a hall of a building as an abandoned city is shown as the sky box. I love the vibe the creepy abandon environment gives off as it is different from the ruined city in Doom II. While on the right is a cavern level from Return to Saturn Episode 1 as the Slayer walks into a water filled area surrounded by a cave system. Those modders from the BTSX Studio went the extra mile between the foliage hanging from the walls, and a cave system with water flowing from them. That actually goes beyond the concept the Casali Brothers for the Plutonia Experiment could do. The reason for this is based on the textures in those old WADs being flat. The BTSX modders went out of their way to push the Doom Engine beyond what it could do. With new environmental layers and extra textures, none of these were found in the vanilla assets. That's because the designers and their community had years to perfect the game engine. It's the reason; we are seeing so much effort in texturing and environmental design. If everything's the same as before; what else is there to bring up, you ask? Well, thanks to the add-on installer, now you can download custom WADs chosen by Bethesda. If some are unaware of what a WAD is, it’s a file that contains an entire game made from the level editor. Now, Id or Bethesda did not create these mods, but by dedicated fans who know how to program game design. There are several available to download and feature probably among the best designs post Doom Engine. Half of these use the vanilla assets as seen by Double Impact and Zero. While others use assets not found in the vanilla game at all with Return to Saturn Episode 1 and 2. Then there is Rekkr; its environments were based on fantasy settings from both Norse and Celtic lore. The settings were brilliantly put together showcasing places you would expect to appear even in natural areas. Rekkr’s strengths also come in the enemy designs which reflect a Lovecraftian concept. Of course, it’s hard to ignore the soundtrack that captures the right tones of the Norse-Celtic theme. Those were the best ones I saw the most effort from as there were textures that are new. Just seeing maps of the levels in holographic screens or where the WAD took place really takes the visuals beyond the original assets. Even a detailed sky of what I assume is Saturn and one of its moons is shown. There wasn’t any difference with the enemies, but the music did see the best change. For these mods, custom tracks were produced that sounded absolutely different from what Id designed years ago. I enjoyed most of the songs that would feature some instruments you would never expect to appear. The first image showcases the new sky map in Return to Saturn Episode 1 as Saturn and one of its moon is spotted in orbit. I just love seeing what the modders could really do beyond Id's ideas in the 90s. Most of the time, we always wondered what the original developers could've designed from previous engines if they continued working on sequels. That is why I enjoyed Zelda: Majora's Mask and even fan games like Zelda: Parallel Worlds, and Super Mario Bros 3 Mix. For the picture on the right, this is from the first map of Return to Saturn Episode 2 showing a bay near a temple. BTSX Studio really went out of their way to create these original assets of mystical themed environments. However, there are few issues we need to bring up, and that is the crashes that happen. These occur randomly for no reason, and I doubt it has to do with the number of sprites or effects on the screen at once. It’s not like this is a graphical intense game like Witcher III where a crash could happen. There is another minor issue compared to the crashes as there are times the screen will freeze while music plays for a couple of seconds. It must be a program issue with the coding and scripts from Unity that is probably the reason this occurs often. The port was already updated a few times so; it’s unknown why the publisher has yet to patch that up. Like I said that was a minor issue and none of these screen freezes ever crashed the game. By now this shouldn’t even be a problem anymore for something from the 90s especially on modern consoles—my advice, I suggest having the quick save function in mind. Next is the DRM situation when this version came to the current gen systems in 2019. There is good news as the publisher in the last update also got rid of asking the player to always sign in or create an account. It is understandable why such a feature annoyed some as you don’t need the internet to play old DOS titles. I still had to create an account from the publisher so then the add-on Installer was accessible to me. Why this company simply didn’t use my Nintendo account to sign me in is anyone‘s guess. Rating: 8.4/10 Features/Content Multiplayer as you see today started with the series in 1994 where four players connected through a dial up modern. Even when Quake, and later on with Golden Eye on the N64 were around; split screen four player gameplay was the norm. What’s been missing in previous versions since the PS1 edition has come back. The difference is the four player mode is traditional split screen gameplay where each one controls their Slayer. Unfortunately, online multiplayer got omitted and only leaving local play between Switch users as the only option. Even co-op in the regular campaign and other WADs was left for local play. Of course, this is a port of the Ultimate Edition which includes the episode called Thy Flesh Consumed. One of the greatest things about this Quality of Life release is playing the extra-WADs. That was the game changer for me into buying the first entry again as I put in so many hours into these extra campaigns. My favorite ones come from the Return to Saturn episodes with the first having 25 maps and second included 31. Even then Bethesda continues adding more with the Zero campaign that came out back in December 2020. The most surprising thing is how they also added the Final Doom missions for the first game. Final Doom was more like an expansion off the second title than a true sequel, so seeing them here is surprising. It’s a shame other companies like Nintendo, Capcom and Sega don’t do this often. These companies should start taking Bethesda’s example with releasing older legacy titles that feature new content. Rating: 9.2/10 Bethesda might be many negative things but letting NightDive pick the extra-WADs was the best thing about the port. Even though you could always download GZDoom on your PC and play these WADs unless you had the base games; it’s always a welcoming feature. I say this because most casual gamers won't go through the steps to get GZDoom and look for these files. On the consoles makes it much easier to access without knowing software jargon we dedicated gamers would look into. The left image shows one of the maps from Return to Saturn Episode 2 and the attention to detail was really ramped up. It shows a stone throne in a temple with Satanic symbolism and Mayan references. Of course, we can't forget the Norse-Celtic influence of Rekkr and its mystic style adventure from the right photo. It wasn't the first time the Doom Engine was used to create this type of theme with magic as Hexen and Heretic were designed in the same manner. The second image shows the warrior overlooking two lovecraftian monsters in Map 3 as he wields the Iron Shot Cannon, the Super Shotgun of Rekkr. Final Rating Even though the first Doom has aged considerably for almost 30 years, this is the best porting yet. No doubt the dated gameplay mechanics and labyrinth level design is very noticeable. In the extra campaigns to download, it is still noticeable despite being original maps built by dedicated fans. With accessible cheats and weapon selection through a simple sprite design were features that gave this version the boost needed. The visuals showcase traditional 90s sprite designs with pseudo-3D environments. Any changes in graphics were mostly noticed in WADs like the Return to Saturn episodes and a couple of changes to the sky boxes in the others. It’s amazing seeing what the mod community can do beyond the old developers of Id. I found this even better seeing more details in holographic screens and improved texturing in the maps as seen with the architect. As stated, it’s a shame the PS1 port wasn’t considered and not to mention switching to a more rock based alternative. Adding a rock remix should make this easy to provide alternative albums on the Add-On Installer. Speaking of the Add-On Installer, this is what really sold me on getting the first game again for the Switch. I already have numerous editions of Doom with one on Steam (despite being glitchy) and another from Doom 3: BFG Edition on PC. The thing is these extra-WADs were only available on the modern consoles compared to previous ports. If anyone is on the fence with the older titles, then at five dollars a pop will give you more value. Gameplay: 8.2/10 Graphics/Presentation: 8.4/10 Features/Content: 9.2/10 Final Rating: 8.6/10
0 Comments
|
Retro Gamer has over 25 years of gaming experience and played many classics since the Golden Age. She has been an avid fan since the day the NES graced her life and changed it forever.
ArchivesCategoriesThe social media icon images and Vector Designs by Vecteezy, Medium and Onextrapixel
FOR MORE PLEASE CLICK BELOW |