Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

100 or More Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Masterpiece"

For me, the Doom experience began when I was about ten. I brought home a copy of the shareware version on a flash-drive and I played it many a time. No matter how old I grew, I still played Doom, over and over again. It had the graphics, it had the sound and it had the awesome gameplay... and of course, id... the best, in my opinion.

The first episode set the stage clearly, this was no 'kiddy' based game, it was for adults and the older fans. From every gunshot came cries of pain and blood. Monsters lurked around every corner and one could hear their cries and moans off in the darkness.

By today's standards, the graphics are far from mediocre, but one has to understand the time when it was made. For it's time, Doom, was outstanding in nearly every way. One thing that this game brought into the gaming-world, was the sense of true fear, making one not want to go into the next room... due to the grunts and groans of the upcoming demons. To this day, even I am still startled by the monster on the other side of the door.

The sound was solid, giving the basic blast of the gun, and the impact on the enemies. One thing that stood out the most, for me... and many others apparently, was the amazing soundtrack. The first level introduced me to some of the best in-game music I have ever heard. The following levels deal more of an atmospheric approach, with sad-harmonies and low pitched guitar notes. All in all... the sound was a great package.

So if you haven't played this game, shame on you... I recommend finding a copy or downloading the shareware version to at least try it out. For modern day computers, there are numerous Source-Ports, as the old DOS programs tend to struggle on today's machines.