DOOM Collectors Edition Review

Overall Rating

The original and best, plus DOOM II nad Final DOOM.
Cheap as chips (around £10).

None.

If ever there was a series that should be released as a collector's edition, then DOOM is surely it.

The game that spawned a thousand imitations and the true grandfather of games such as Far Cry, Half Life and, of course, the awesome DOOM 3.

Well done to ID Software for finally re-releasing this classic for the PC. It's been out for a while now, but this collectors edition contains everything any DOOM fan could want - the original DOOM, DOOM II and the rock solid Final DOOM, all with fully customisable options (weapons, monsters, levels etc).

There's not really much you can say about DOOM other than it is a superb first person shooter. If you've never played it (???), you are the last space marine sent to a base on Mars where the UAC Company have been conducting secret experiments and unwillingly opened a gateway to hell. Your comrades have been slaughtered by the demons that have been released and you must battle through literally hundreds (all 3 games) of maze like levels blowing baddies away with shotguns and other weapons.

In light of todays technological advancements (namely DOOM 3 and Half Life 2), The original Doom games look ridiculously dated. The graphics are pretty basic, with sprite based enemies and no rooms above rooms, but that is where the unmistakable DOOM atmosphere comes from. If DOOM didn't look as shoddy as it does, it just wouldn't be the same.

The sound is quite good for a 12 year old DOS game - there's plenty of music and the sound effects are meaty (the double barrelled shotgun in particular), and the game play is as solid and 'edge-of-the-seat' as it's ever been.

DOOM does employ a number of cheap tricks to heighten tension (like having a pickup in the middle of an empty room that fills with enemies when you pick it up), but it's all part of the original horror experience.

As an added extra in this pack, you also get an exclusive DOOM 3 bonus disk that includes interviews with the developers, wallpapers and such like for your PC. DOOM 3 has been out for a while now so this isn't really much of a selling point, but for the completist out there, this pack is everything you could ask for.