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Pardon the dust! This page includes some jargon that hasn't been added to the site's glossary yet. I'll be around to fix this later, but sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime. |
Review: Doom (1993)
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:This depends on the source port youre using. The original game only had a manual save using save slots, and even then it only recorded your progress at the start of a level. Newer source ports can feature autosaves or allow you to save in the middle of a level. Time needed per session:How long youll need depends on what you plan on doing - ten minutes is more than enough to complete a level or two, while it can take roughly thirty minutes or more to finish an episode (eight levels). Plan accordingly.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | Yes While theres a lot of violence, gore, and demonic references in this game, its important to remember that the player is actively trying to contain the forces of Hell, not support them. Whether this context is enough to excuse the everything else is a matter of opinion. |
Screenshots
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/doom_0.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/doom_1.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/doom_2.jpg)
Game Overview
In the distant future, laboratories on the Martian moons Phobos and Demos were attempting to develop working teleporters. These experiments eventually succeeded, but they also created a much larger problem than anyone anticipated. During an experiment, one of the teleporters malfunctioned, opening a gateway into Hell itself. To make things worse, it seems that the denizens of Hell were expecting this, and had already prepared to invade. The research base was swiftly overwhelmed, though somebody managed to send a distress signal before the facility was completely overrun.
In answer to the call, a group of elite marines were sent to the moons to secure the laboratories and contain the breach. While most of these soldiers rushed into the fray, one lone rookie was left behind to guard the transport ship. Soon, the sounds of the fighting stopped, and the radio links fell silent. Alone and without orders, the rookie decided to investigate the situation, and if necessary, complete the mission himself. Thus began one of the most famous adventures in gaming history.
This adventure also proved to be one of the most controversial stories, and its not terribly hard to see why. Doom was one of the bloodiest games on the market at the time, and its demonic themes only made it more disturbing. Its still somewhat controversial today, though a lot of people have shifted their focus to other titles, including other games in this franchise.
Yet, despite the controversies and bad press, Doom has maintained its popularity. More than twenty years later, its still being sold and played by a large and active playerbase. Simply put, Doom just does a lot of things right, making it a very tough act to follow.
This is definitely NOT a game little kids should be playing, but if youre mature enough to handle in the imagery and concepts features in this game, Id highly recommend giving both Doom and its sequel a go.
In answer to the call, a group of elite marines were sent to the moons to secure the laboratories and contain the breach. While most of these soldiers rushed into the fray, one lone rookie was left behind to guard the transport ship. Soon, the sounds of the fighting stopped, and the radio links fell silent. Alone and without orders, the rookie decided to investigate the situation, and if necessary, complete the mission himself. Thus began one of the most famous adventures in gaming history.
This adventure also proved to be one of the most controversial stories, and its not terribly hard to see why. Doom was one of the bloodiest games on the market at the time, and its demonic themes only made it more disturbing. Its still somewhat controversial today, though a lot of people have shifted their focus to other titles, including other games in this franchise.
Yet, despite the controversies and bad press, Doom has maintained its popularity. More than twenty years later, its still being sold and played by a large and active playerbase. Simply put, Doom just does a lot of things right, making it a very tough act to follow.
This is definitely NOT a game little kids should be playing, but if youre mature enough to handle in the imagery and concepts features in this game, Id highly recommend giving both Doom and its sequel a go.
Points of Interest
Non-linear levels
One of this games less talked about features is the non-linear level design it uses. Most levels lack a set path, so youre free to explore the map as much as you want. Leaving the path is also encouraged, as youll often be rewarded with secret areas containing weapons, ammo, armor, or some other useful goodies. On the other hand, youre also free to run through a level without stopping to pick up anything or fight any of the monsters. I personally wouldnt recommend doing that, but theres nothing stopping you.
Modding friendly
Doom was one of the first games to openly support and encourage modding. Since the games engine and content are entirely separate, its possible to replace one or both portions of the game to fully customize your in-game experience. Custom engines are known as source ports, and while they are most often used to make this old DOS game compatible with modern systems, they can also be used to add features or tweak the gameplay in various ways.
Additionally, players can create and distribute their own levels and other game content. Unfortunately, this has led to some problems in the past, as as show below.
Additionally, players can create and distribute their own levels and other game content. Unfortunately, this has led to some problems in the past, as as show below.
Active fanbase
Its rare that you could say this after five years, let alone twenty, but this game still has a large and active fanbase. Deathmatches are still pretty popular, and many source ports include built-in support for setting up multiplayer games with people all over the world.
Fans have also found other ways to keep the game entertaining, such as sharing their speedrun attempts or inventing challenges. One of the harder challenges thats popular is known as a pacifist run; basically, the player attempts to clear levels without fighting the games monsters -- not exactly an easy thing to accomplish.
Fans have also found other ways to keep the game entertaining, such as sharing their speedrun attempts or inventing challenges. One of the harder challenges thats popular is known as a pacifist run; basically, the player attempts to clear levels without fighting the games monsters -- not exactly an easy thing to accomplish.
Very, very controversial
While this game is pretty fun, the sheer amount of controversy over it is staggering. Its important to remember that some of the complaints people have with this series are grounded in reality and shouldnt be dismissed too easily. For example, the violence and demonic imagery present in this game has been known to make many Christians pretty uncomfortable. If youre undecided, you can always try the shareware version -- not only is it free, but youre free to back away if its too dark or intense for you.
Concerns and Issues
Blood and gore
Theres a lot of both throughout this game. Aside from the remains of the monsters you personally killed, you can also find the dead bodies of your former teammates in many of the levels. This is taken up a notch in any of the levels that take place in Hell, as youll frequently be walking around rivers of blood, piles of skulls, and other remains. Bodies of damned souls can also be found nailed to the wall, hung from the ceiling, or even crucified, making Hell the sort of place where you clean your boots before you go outside.
Certain actions or situations also produce a larger mess. For example, crushing traps will turn any body into a bloody smear, and anyone caught too close to an explosion will be blown into a pile of meaty chunks (known as gibs) rather than show their characters normal death animation.
Certain actions or situations also produce a larger mess. For example, crushing traps will turn any body into a bloody smear, and anyone caught too close to an explosion will be blown into a pile of meaty chunks (known as gibs) rather than show their characters normal death animation.
Moderate swearing
When you leave the game, a short message is displayed that mocks you for running away. These statements are random, and several of them contain profanity. Not all source ports display these messages, so you might not even see them.
That said, some bad language can still be found here and there. Examples include the f-word being used in the name of the games most famous weapon and the story portions shown at the end of a chapter include words like badass or bastards.
That said, some bad language can still be found here and there. Examples include the f-word being used in the name of the games most famous weapon and the story portions shown at the end of a chapter include words like badass or bastards.
Demons and satanic imagery
Since the entire premise of this game revolves around stopping demons from invading our world, dark and occult themes are a common sight. Pentagrams, for example, are shown in numerous places, as are the faces of various demonic beings. Additionally, in areas controlled by Hell, the multicolor keycards you use to unlock doors have been replaced with colored human skulls.
An important thing to remember about all of this is that the demons and their world is always shown as alien and wrong. At no point are the demons or their things treated in a positive light.
An important thing to remember about all of this is that the demons and their world is always shown as alien and wrong. At no point are the demons or their things treated in a positive light.
Connections to school shootings
One of the darkest moments of gaming history came in 1999, when two teens opened fire on their classmates at Columbine High School. In the aftermath, the world discovered that one of the teens was extremely obsessed with violent games, including Doom, and is on record saying how the shooting would be like living out some of his favorite games. It doesnt help matters that he also designed and published some custom levels for Doom. Knowing what we now know about his mind set, these custom levels are very disturbing and most repositories that distribute custom levels outright refuse to host his content.
But, as much as people want to say games corrupted these teens, it doesnt look like that was the case. Instead, it looks like it was the other way around: these troubled kids frequently searched out violent entertainment, and this morbid fascination with dark subject matter continued beyond their gaming habits. According to the Wikipedia page on them, they also had an unsettling interest in events like the Oklahoma City Bombing and the Waco siege.
For more reading, Id suggest having a look at the Doom Fan Wiki, which has a page covering the incident.
But, as much as people want to say games corrupted these teens, it doesnt look like that was the case. Instead, it looks like it was the other way around: these troubled kids frequently searched out violent entertainment, and this morbid fascination with dark subject matter continued beyond their gaming habits. According to the Wikipedia page on them, they also had an unsettling interest in events like the Oklahoma City Bombing and the Waco siege.
For more reading, Id suggest having a look at the Doom Fan Wiki, which has a page covering the incident.
Notes on two rumors
Since Doom was at the center of many controversies in the mid-1990s, there were a lot of rumors floating around. Two of these are still going around today, so I felt it would be best to address these rumors directly.
The first and perhaps most popular rumor about Doom is that the player is assisting Satans attempt to take over the world. Such a game would indeed be troubling, but it also wouldnt be Doom. In this game, youre explicitly trying to stop the demonic invasion, and all demons you see are enemies to be fought against. Additionally, Satan doesnt appear in any game in the Doom franchise; the being behind Hells invasion is either a powerful demon known as the Spider Mastermind (Doom 1 & 2) or a human that decided to side with Hell for one reason or another (Doom 3 & 4).
The second common claim about this franchise is that youre encouraged to kill innocent people. At the time, this rumor was completely false: there arent any humans in the first two Doom games. All of the humans you see are actually demonically possessed human corpses, and the games even call them former humans. However, this changed in Doom 3, where there are other people who survived the initial invasion and you can choose to kill them. This is only way to acquire certain optional items, which takes the third game in the series into some questionable territory.
The first and perhaps most popular rumor about Doom is that the player is assisting Satans attempt to take over the world. Such a game would indeed be troubling, but it also wouldnt be Doom. In this game, youre explicitly trying to stop the demonic invasion, and all demons you see are enemies to be fought against. Additionally, Satan doesnt appear in any game in the Doom franchise; the being behind Hells invasion is either a powerful demon known as the Spider Mastermind (Doom 1 & 2) or a human that decided to side with Hell for one reason or another (Doom 3 & 4).
The second common claim about this franchise is that youre encouraged to kill innocent people. At the time, this rumor was completely false: there arent any humans in the first two Doom games. All of the humans you see are actually demonically possessed human corpses, and the games even call them former humans. However, this changed in Doom 3, where there are other people who survived the initial invasion and you can choose to kill them. This is only way to acquire certain optional items, which takes the third game in the series into some questionable territory.
Where to find Doom (1993)
Since Doom has been around for twenty years, its not really surprising that it has also been re-released in different ways over time. Additionally, since Dooms engine and content are separate, you have even more choices for enjoying this game.
Dooms content is stored in the file named doom.wad (or doom1.wad for the free portion of the game). In order to play the game, you just need a source port of your choice and a copy of this file. My favorite source port is Zandronum, but there are many others out there.
Now, finding a copy of doom1.wad is pretty easy: its available from a lot of different websites. The Doom Wiki includes a link to the file on its article about it, making it the best place to look.
Be careful when looking for the shareware copy of Doom; many places only offer the games original DOS program. This will get you the files you want, but the original program is a 16-bit executable, which cant be run directly on most modern computers - Windows traded the ability to run this kind of software for other, more useful features. Youll need to install a tool like DOSBox and run the program inside of its virtual environment.
On the other hand, if you want the retail edition of the game, be sure to search for The Ultimate DOOM, which was an enhanced version of the game that features an an additional fourth chapter. Alternatively, you could simply purchase Doom 3: BFG Edition, which comes with Ultimate DOOM and Doom II: Hell on Earth as bonus content. Doom 3 tends to run around $10, which is less than the average price of Doom and Doom II together.
Also, be aware that there is a game called Final Doom; this is a set of additional levels for Doom 2, not the original game.
Dooms content is stored in the file named doom.wad (or doom1.wad for the free portion of the game). In order to play the game, you just need a source port of your choice and a copy of this file. My favorite source port is Zandronum, but there are many others out there.
Now, finding a copy of doom1.wad is pretty easy: its available from a lot of different websites. The Doom Wiki includes a link to the file on its article about it, making it the best place to look.
Be careful when looking for the shareware copy of Doom; many places only offer the games original DOS program. This will get you the files you want, but the original program is a 16-bit executable, which cant be run directly on most modern computers - Windows traded the ability to run this kind of software for other, more useful features. Youll need to install a tool like DOSBox and run the program inside of its virtual environment.
On the other hand, if you want the retail edition of the game, be sure to search for The Ultimate DOOM, which was an enhanced version of the game that features an an additional fourth chapter. Alternatively, you could simply purchase Doom 3: BFG Edition, which comes with Ultimate DOOM and Doom II: Hell on Earth as bonus content. Doom 3 tends to run around $10, which is less than the average price of Doom and Doom II together.
Also, be aware that there is a game called Final Doom; this is a set of additional levels for Doom 2, not the original game.