Knee-Deep in the Dead

The infamous id logo.

During my younger years, I played a little computer game called "Doom." I never thought this simple game would be much of a life changing moment at that time, but as time progressed, I learned to realize I had and still have a excessive amount of passion for gaming. Not only that, it made me discover my love to the company who made Doom, id Software.

After playing the Doom games, I became really interested in other games they had developed like Wolfenstein or Quake. They have made other games that aren't first person shooters, but they're known for being godfathers or the pioneers of first person shooters. I never seem to have too much interest in their non first person shooters games from what I've seen on Youtube. After playing and studying their games for many years, I come to realize there are so many things that makes me really love this company and why I am still a fan to this day.

I love how their games have been so action-packed and fueled with so many meaningful design structure whether it's how the levels are designed or how the game's have so much replay value. I find it crazy that a lot of their well recognized first person shooters are generally from the early to late '90s, and they still hold up so extremely well. There are many first person shooters that try to make players feel like your typical '80s action hero like Rambo. Someone who's fearless, dominant, independent, and most importantly, lethal. Id on the other hand just seems to nail it down with their games if you really want to have that kind of experience.

KILL OR BE KILLED!

You're generally alone, you are given with a lot of weaponry, you have access to some unorthodox weapons, there's a lot of shooting to be done, and there's always something that just keeps enhancing the one man army vibe throughout their single player driven games. It could be certain power ups or just the feedback you get when you kill a hostile target. There's just too many to list and these guys are just masters at doing this kind of job.

There were many memorable combat sections where id really showed off how talented they are when it comes to creating fun and interesting firefights. The one that comes to my mind is Doom II's seventh level: Dead Simple or MAP07. This level was one of the most memorable levels in Doom II because it introduced two new enemies to the series. They were the Mancubus and Arachnotron. However, the combat really shined by the well and proper placements of these enemies and it had somewhat of an arena feel to like going into a gladiator arena. Once you kill the all the Mancubi, the game surprises you by throwing an abundance amount of Arachnotrons to keep you on your toes again. There were many of these kinds of great combat throughout Doom II.

I am mostly focusing on the single player aspect so far, but I also do enjoy the multiplayer component too. Quake 3 Arena was actually my first multiplayer driven first person shooter I've played back when I was really into single player driven first person shooters. Quake 3 Arena may seemed fairly simplistic compared to other big multiplayer games at that time like the original Unreal Tournament, but I always loved how the game played. It had a great movement system, the maps were well done, and of course, the shooting felt great and satisfying just like the games they made before this one. Just like their single player driven games, you can feel like a walking force; only if you're able to play the game well though.

The Longest Yard: first map I played Quake III on.

It is a shame that these kinds of games don't seem to be too popular nowadays. Both on consoles and PC seem to favor the more "military and realistic" kinds of shooter. There isn't anything wrong with those games as long they play well, but I hope to see it come back one day because it was really my first love for multiplayer in the first person shooter genre. It's where I come from and I do believe there is still room for these kinds of shooters to be successful.

Rage got the looks, but lacks substance.

I've always believed Id's glory days were around the early to late '90s. Let's say it started with Wolfenstein 3D (1992) and their last excellent game was Quake III Arena (1999). Their other games like Doom III and Rage has been okay in terms the enjoyment factor, but I do feel like they're not in the same league as the games they made in the '90s. Rage left me with concern because I thought the game was a disappointment and it didn't live up to the standards of the Wolfenstein, Doom, and Quake games as it was a new IP from id. There was so many questionable design choices I had with the game whether it's the main missions, side objectives, the balance between the player and AI and many more.

Their older games always felt like they were pushing the boundaries of what first person shooters can be and also setting up benchmarks of what excellent first person shooter design is. Rage just didn't feel like that unfortunately, but I do hope they will continue the series. There's definitely potential and I do believe there will be a future for this series to be just as good as their older games.

They are currently working on the new Doom which I am extremely excited for. I've been pleased with all the news that I've been keeping up with. I was also fortunate to be a part of the closed alpha and I hoped the feedback I gave to Id Software meant something to them because I truly did enjoy every moment of it. I can't wait for May 13 because I know I'm going to be playing until my eyes bleed. I really hope this game will bring massive success whether it's commercially, critically, to new and old fans. I just want to this game to succeed. It does hurt me when I see a lot of gamers nowadays generally look at id Software to be a "relic of the past" when I truly believe they can still make good games deep inside. They just need a sense of motivation and I believe Rage's disappointing sales and success will allow Id to truly deliver the next Doom game with a lot of heart and soul.

Ultra Violence.

Wolfenstein: The Old Blood was my favorite one out of the two.

I do want to mention a bit about Wolfenstein: The New Order and it's expansion, The Old Blood. Both of these games were new installments to the Wolfenstein series, but id didn't make them. A new company called MachineGames did and they did an astounding job! I do believe the fact that these guys rebooted the series and made it successful also brings a lot of positive energy to Doom. Doom is being publish by the same publisher who published the last two Wolfenstein games, Bethesda. However, Doom is in the same situation like Wolfenstein was: a old first person shooter series trying to stay relevant to the new age gamers, but stay true to its roots at the same time. It's very possible it could end up following the same footsteps too.

As a long time fan of this company, I feel like id Software as a company is a friend I never met or know personally, but at the same time, deep down in my heart, I feel like we can get along with each other so easily. I say this because the style and design that these guys strive for in their games makes me realize I think similarly too.

Selfish advertisement...A video I made for Doom's 20th anniversary.