| Doom 64 | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Midway Games |
| Publisher(s) | Midway Games |
| Series | Doom |
| Platform(s) | Nintendo 64 |
| Release date(s) |
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| Genre(s) | First-person shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
| Rating(s) | BBFC: 15 ESRB: M OFLC: MA15+ |
| Media/distribution | 64Mbit Cartridge |
Doom 64 is a video game for the Nintendo 64 released by Midway Games in April 4, 1997.[1] It is part of the Doom first-person shooter video game series.
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Key differences from the computer games in the series include:
All the weapons from the original game are present (Fist, Chainsaw, Pistol, Shotgun, Super Shotgun, Chaingun, Rocket Launcher, Plasma Rifle and BFG 9000), but redrawn with new sprites. The chainsaw was given two blades instead of one, the fists have bloodstained gloves on instead of brass knuckles, the plasma rifle has an electric core that emits a sparking sound when equipped, the rocket launcher has a small kick when fired, pushing the player back a bit, the shotgun's reloading cock is at the handle instead of under the barrel and the Super Shotgun reloads faster and causes recoil.
A new weapon known as the Laser, or "Unmaker", has been added, using the same cell ammunition as the plasma rifle and BFG. It was first mentioned in the Doom Bible and was planned to be featured in the computer Doom games but never appeared. Its appearance in Doom 64 is its only official appearance, and with the power of three ancient artifacts found in the game, it becomes more powerful by shooting three laser beams (at a quicker rate than default) instead of one, the first artifact increases the laser speed, the second artifact adds a second laser and the third artifact allows the weapon to fire three simultaneous lasers which can automatically aim separately from one another allowing the weapon to attack three different enemies at once.
Following the conclusion of the original Doom series, the sole Marine who survived the horrors of hell had returned to Earth, reclaiming it from the invasion that almost eradicated the human race. Demons still lingered within the abandoned halls and complexes of Phobos and Deimos. As a last-ditch effort, the military decided to bombard the moons with extreme radiation in hopes of killing off any remaining demons. Initially it was successful, however something survived the exposure. The radiation blocked the military's sensors and allowed something to slip past them undetected. A Marine strikeforce was ordered to contain the advancing armies of hell but was mercilessly slaughtered within moments. The player's character is the sole survivor of this group.
Midway's original title of the game was "The Absolution", but the name was changed to "Doom 64" for brand recognition. ("The Absolution" was reused as the name of the last level of the game.) Midway wanted to include every demon from the original games, as well as a few extra levels, into the final product, but deadlines and memory constraints of the small capacity of the N64 cartridges made them scrap the levels and leave a few demons out of the game.
The music and sound effects were done by Aubrey Hodges, who also did the original sound and music for the PlayStation port of Doom two years earlier. The original Doom 64 team was working on a potential Doom 64 2 not long after the first game was released, but decided to scrap it due to the "Doom engine looking dated", and players' attention focusing on Quake and other, more modern 3D shooters.
IGN gave Doom 64 a 7.4 out of 10 overall, despite little criticism of the gameplay, stating the game lacked the ability to look up or down, crouch and jump, and lacked a multiplayer mode.[3]
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