Doom (PC, 1993)
Graphics-8 Sound-8.5*/6.5** Control-7.5 Challenge-7.5 Story-5.5
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-7 Fun-7.5 Originality-7
Overall Score-7.5
*GM w/ Arachno soundfont
**Adlib/OPL2
+
2-4 player network co-op and death match modes
Very fast movement
Technically impressive
Running and strafing
Plenty of hidden items
Some cool weapons (chainsaw, chaingun/minigun, rocket launcher, bfg9000)
Some good puzzles
Save anywhere (6 nameable slots)
Window size and sound balance options
Pretty good sound design (lets you know if an enemy is nearby or a trap is triggered - crucial to survival later on, satisfying sfx)
Auto-mapper feature (pretty detailed for the time, can number mark locations as well as remove all markers, can toggle follow mode, can also move around while viewing the map)
Difficulty options (5 levels)
Pretty good art direction
Animated portrait as alternate health indicator (Wolfenstein 3D)
Upgradeable healthbar and armor (can soak up up to 50% damage)
Some interesting power ups/items (temporary semi-invisibility, area map (shows unexplored areas in a different color), temporary radiation suit), ammo capacity upgrade (Zelda 1), berserk power up restores health and makes you do 10x fist damage), temporary invincibility power up (gives you negative colors vision though), temporary light amplification visor (see in the dark))
Online MP was added later
Some new level gimmicks (exploding barrels, radioactive floors (Gauntlet II?), stairs (Ultima Underworld) and elevators (Colony), teleporters (Streaking, Monster Bash, Tutankham), crushing traps)
Popularized fan made levels and other content
Basic ranking system (kills/items/secrets percentages and time taken) - no reward for getting 100% or beating the time record though
Decent bosses
Some large and detailed sprites
Secret levels (four)
+/-
Maze levels (first one is pretty straightforward)
Gore and hung corpses
Partial control config
Forced collecting of keys to unlock several doors in each level
Some unavoidable damage
Automatic vertical aiming (mostly reliable though manual aiming would've been better - added in ZDoom)
Linear structure
Some of the music rips off various contemporary metal bands
No grenades or mines
No NPCs or towns or hub areas
Weapons and stats don't carry over between episodes and you need to pick "start new game" then the next episode to progress after finishing one
Would've been better to be able to type something next to a map marker and to be able to clear one at a time
Sad ending (earth is invaded by demons)
Enemies sometimes start fighting each other (infighting)
-
Can't strafe while turning and strafing is done by holding down a key and pressing l/r (rather than being mapped to A and D for example - added in ZDoom)
A bit repetitive
Trial & error (final boss, fairly easy to miss certain switches, many hidden switch traps that free a bunch of enemies behind you, maps don't show locked door colors, the game doesn't show directly what pressing a switch does in a level but it's generally not a problem, many secrets)
Can't jump nor look up/down
No transparent map screen view (to play normally while viewing the map)
Some text-only cutscenes between episodes
Some levels are too long and/or have too many enemies
Some backtracking
Worse build-up to the final boss than the cyber demon
Only two real bosses
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-7 Fun-7.5 Originality-7
Overall Score-7.5
*GM w/ Arachno soundfont
**Adlib/OPL2
+
2-4 player network co-op and death match modes
Very fast movement
Technically impressive
Running and strafing
Plenty of hidden items
Some cool weapons (chainsaw, chaingun/minigun, rocket launcher, bfg9000)
Some good puzzles
Save anywhere (6 nameable slots)
Window size and sound balance options
Pretty good sound design (lets you know if an enemy is nearby or a trap is triggered - crucial to survival later on, satisfying sfx)
Auto-mapper feature (pretty detailed for the time, can number mark locations as well as remove all markers, can toggle follow mode, can also move around while viewing the map)
Difficulty options (5 levels)
Pretty good art direction
Animated portrait as alternate health indicator (Wolfenstein 3D)
Upgradeable healthbar and armor (can soak up up to 50% damage)
Some interesting power ups/items (temporary semi-invisibility, area map (shows unexplored areas in a different color), temporary radiation suit), ammo capacity upgrade (Zelda 1), berserk power up restores health and makes you do 10x fist damage), temporary invincibility power up (gives you negative colors vision though), temporary light amplification visor (see in the dark))
Online MP was added later
Some new level gimmicks (exploding barrels, radioactive floors (Gauntlet II?), stairs (Ultima Underworld) and elevators (Colony), teleporters (Streaking, Monster Bash, Tutankham), crushing traps)
Popularized fan made levels and other content
Basic ranking system (kills/items/secrets percentages and time taken) - no reward for getting 100% or beating the time record though
Decent bosses
Some large and detailed sprites
Secret levels (four)
+/-
Maze levels (first one is pretty straightforward)
Gore and hung corpses
Partial control config
Forced collecting of keys to unlock several doors in each level
Some unavoidable damage
Automatic vertical aiming (mostly reliable though manual aiming would've been better - added in ZDoom)
Linear structure
Some of the music rips off various contemporary metal bands
No grenades or mines
No NPCs or towns or hub areas
Weapons and stats don't carry over between episodes and you need to pick "start new game" then the next episode to progress after finishing one
Would've been better to be able to type something next to a map marker and to be able to clear one at a time
Sad ending (earth is invaded by demons)
Enemies sometimes start fighting each other (infighting)
-
Can't strafe while turning and strafing is done by holding down a key and pressing l/r (rather than being mapped to A and D for example - added in ZDoom)
A bit repetitive
Trial & error (final boss, fairly easy to miss certain switches, many hidden switch traps that free a bunch of enemies behind you, maps don't show locked door colors, the game doesn't show directly what pressing a switch does in a level but it's generally not a problem, many secrets)
Can't jump nor look up/down
No transparent map screen view (to play normally while viewing the map)
Some text-only cutscenes between episodes
Some levels are too long and/or have too many enemies
Some backtracking
Worse build-up to the final boss than the cyber demon
Only two real bosses