virtual guns that look , sound and feel outrageously powerful and chunky , and Doom stylishly upholds that tradition with pride . Every time you discover a new weapon it ’ s a momentous event , the Doom Marine admiring it as though there ’ s nothing in existence that ’ s more important or beautiful than this freshly-found death-machine .
New to the series is the concept of Glory Kills . These are vicious melee finishers that you can execute on foes once you ’ ve whittled down their health enough . When id first revealed the Glory Kills , I was concerned they ’ d break Doom ’ s flow and just get in the way of the game ’ s core guns- ‘ n ’ -demons design . Thankfully , not only is using Glory Kills actually brutally gratifying , but they also serve a strong strategic purpose . Glory Kills cause enemies to erupt in a shower of health ( and eventually ammo and armour ) drops , and on the higher difficulties this is essential to staying alive . It creates a wild sense of momentum as you bounce from one Glory Kill to the next , vacuuming up precious health that ’ ll keep you alive throughout the tougher , more chaotic combat zones .
Familiar foes make a welcome return , and some fresh new ones have been added to the mix as well . Cacodemons , Hell Knights , Pinkies , Imps and more are all in there , and the monster designs are every bit as imaginatively grotesque and intimidating as you ’ d expect . The Imps are a favourite of mine . I love the way they use their speed and the environment to gain the upper hand . They hang from walls , leap onto crates and generally cause a great big ruckus , flinging fireballs in your direction the entire time .
Anyone who ’ s played the original Doom will remember its penchant for secret areas , and how it masterfully hid valuable items throughout the nooks and crannies of its various levels , consistently rewarding anyone who took the time to find them . Doom rolls with this design philosophy , going a step further by making it a core aspect of its system of progression . Finding secrets not only rewards you with new items and Easter eggs ( like classic Doom maps that can be played through in their entirety ), but it also unlocks points and tokens that can be spent to upgrade weapons and your Praetor Suit ( the Doom Marine ’ s iconic armour ), letting you customise the way you approach combat . One key difference is that new Doom highlights secrets on the map whenever they ’ re nearby ( and it ’ s made even easier to spot them if you upgrade the Praetor Suit to increase its detection range ), which does remove some of the joy of accidental discovery – but it ’ s still no less satisfying finally finding the correct path to the many secrets in the game . Beyond the secrets , the levels are generally impressively well-designed . Exploring them is a ton of fun , and the various combat arenas have been carefully designed to ensure that skirmishes take place in a thrilling blend of vertical and horizontal space .
Technically , the game is a visual and auditory powerhouse . The id Tech 6 engine is put to excellent use , and despite the fact that the game is mostly a mix of reds , browns and
40 The OverClocker Issue 39 | 2016