First-person shooter Doom is back and better than ever, buy it right now

THE latest instalment of Doom was released last week and the game has returned to its glory days. Here is why it should be added to your collection.

EVEN though I was only six years old when the original Doom was released in 1993, I distinctly remember watching in awe as my dad played the video game on our PC.

With the sequel released the following year, I couldn’t wait to blast the shit out enemies in the video games, which some would argue were far too violent for someone of my age.

Thankfully, the old boy wasn’t a prude and allowed me to experience what would become some of my favourite games of all time — just to clarify, the violence had no detrimental impact on my development, I turned out fine ... depending on who you ask.

While the first two games in the franchise offered a similar sense of excitement, by the time Doom 3 was released in 2012, the magic of the original was lost and the franchise felt stale.

This all looked to change when Bethesda previewed the latest Doom during its E3 showcase last year and like many others in attendance, I was ecstatic for what awaited me.

With the release date imminent, I couldn’t wait to get my hands on an early-release review copy of the game. Except, I found out there wasn’t any.

I wondered if this was a sign of the game destined to be a failure, with the developers trying everything they could to avoid a plethora of seething reviews prior to release date.

Thankfully I was wrong.

From the very moment I logged into the campaign mode, I was greeted with all too familiar difficulty levels of “I’m too young to die”, “Hurt me plenty”, “Ultra-Violence”.

Obviously, I chose the easiest option because I wanted to enjoy the experience and not spend endless hours respawning.

The fast-paced nature of the original is back in the new Doom. It also looks much better.

Similar to its predecessors, the game has minimal narrative and revolves around the hero trying to destroy every single demon on Mars.

The game begins with your player breaking free from the shackles holding him on a surgery table and once free, you must slay a number of demons located in the room.

After a suspenseful few moments, you think you will finally have a chance to regain your composure before facing the next onslaught of enemies.

Unfortunately, there is no time to prepare yourself for what’s ahead.

From the very first time you destroy an enemy, you are thrust into an exhilarating and slightly exhausting challenge of trying find health pick-ups, ammunition and whatever else you need to help you survive the endless waves of demons you have to defeat.

The AI in the game is not the smartest, but the sheer number of opponents means players have to either run into the mix and hope for the best or retreat backwards, picking off the demons as they come to end your life.

For me, the heavy metal soundtrack that plays during combat inspired me to pick the former.

This decision was also assisted by the diabolic glory kill system, which allows you to perform brutal finishers on wounded demons.

Not only do glory kills offer some badass blood and gore, but they provide players with health bonuses — a much-needed boost during gameplay.

To see some of the glory kills featured in the game, check out the clip below.

Other than glory kills, the game offers a small arsenal of weaponry, which can upgraded to perform more damage to the enemies.

While the BFG - Big Fragging Gun — makes a triumphant return and allows players to vaporise every demon in the nearby radius, the hero of Doom is the chainsaw, which literally slices enemies in two right before your eyes.

As expected, the power of weapons increases to match the ever-evolving monsters from Hell.

For the most part, combat in the game is very sporadic in the way it leaves players anxiously running around trying to avoid attacks.

However, the bosses in Doom require slightly more finesse as they are almost impervious to the fire damage that drops other demons in the game.

This means players are required to analyse movements in order to pick their moments of attack.

When you do encounter a brief moment of peace, the game encourages players to explore surroundings in hope of finding secrets hidden throughout the environment.

In addition to a 10 hour campaign, Doom had a multi-player mode, which feels similar to Halo and Call of Duty.

A number of different game options are available, but I had the most luck when searching for a Team Deathmatch.

For me, there was nothing overly standout about the multiplayer mode when compared to other shooters available on the market.

There is also a map creating elements players can use to create their own levels.

However, it must be noted that most of my time spent playing the game thus far has been the campaign mode.

All in all, the latest instalment of Doom the franchise back to its glory days.

If I were to describe the experience, I would say playing Doom feels like playing the original, just with much better graphics and smoother gameplay.

If you’re looking for suspense, action and gore, buy this game right now.

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