@Thrillho Ah. 112% is somewhat more than I thought. It’s a little annoying to leave it at 98% so I think it’s just the charms left to get in the base game and I totally missed Brooding Mawlek somehow. Plus the flower quest thing.
DOOM is the only game I’ve played that makes my Pro’s fan take off like a jet plane. It’s only when I die or it loads in the level for the first time. Just bizarre. I think I’ll play to the end of the Argent Tower then put it down for the week, to allow you lot to catch up!
I finally was able to get enough time to at least start DOOM today. I have mixed feelings —
First of all, there are only a few types of games that I play only sparingly, and first person shooters are one of them. And horror games are another.
So it’s quite a shock to my customary gaming habits to even be playing this game. But it has come so highly recommended, nearly universally so, that I’m glad to have a chance to try it out. And I’m always trying to broaden my horizons and round out my gaming experiences with things that might be on the edge of my comfort zone from time to time. I really enjoyed REmake a couple months ago, for example, and I never thought I would have; So much so that I really look forward to playing RE2 in a few weeks.
So with optimistic blind hope I waltzed into the shoes of Doomguy and have had a bit of a wake up call after coming from several weeks of strict third person open world tactical action gameplay with Ghost of Tsushima. DOOM’s snappy movement, first person perspective, and shooting control scheme took some getting used to. My last FPS I played was Battlefront 2, and this feels a little different. I’m such a peasant at FPS skills that I had no qualms with playing on the easiest difficulty setting (“I’m too young to die” I believe it’s aptly called). Even on easy, I struggle at times. My aim is rubbish and I constantly get flanked by enemies because I can’t effing see behind me! Its maddening!
But I think I’m adjusting and I’ll be alright. As for the horror, so far it’s not too scary, but it is gruesome and bloody in over abundance. And I thought Ghost of Tsushima was gory. Beheadings, burned and charred prisoners, and impaled corpses have got nothing on exploding skulls and visceral splatter of bodily fluid and entrails with every kill. But the gratuitous violence still has a way of coming across almost comical, so it’s not too disturbing so far. This is my first ever Doom game, so it’s like seeing this all for the first time takes a little adjustment.
There is a really nice smoothness to the game’s control, and it looks pretty nice. Although it appears to function fairly well, the load times seem a little long for what it is.
These are very early impressions that I figured I’d record for amusement; I’ll certainly update as I progress.
I just defeated the Cyberdemon. Easily the best boss fight in the series to date, with proper phases, tells before he unleashes his attacks, etc. It threads the needle nicely between DOOM 3's mostly easy bosses and the impossible BS bosses in older DOOM games that force you to hug cover and take potshots around corners.
And I still have, like, 1/3 of the game left.
@Th3solution One recommendation I'd give, above all else, is to NEVER stop moving when you're in battle. That's basically the single most important aspect of DOOM: stuff is always in motion, and you're always a second or two away from a demon jumping on you, so stopping means dying.
Also, try to get in close when you're shooting demons. There's really no benefit to trying to pick off far off demons. Run up and shoot the ruddy %^&$#@%* as quickly as possible. That should help with aiming as well. Aiming at specific body parts isn't too awful important. You mainly just want to hit the things. The shotgun is really good in this respect at a close distance.
@Ralizah That’s really good advice. Thanks! It goes against all the habits I’ve formed in years of cover based shooters and action-stealth games where you try to keep your distance and pick people off from afar, with headshots being so heavily emphasized. Even the other FPS games I’ve played usually have some build that emphasizes sniping or stealth. I have rarely taken the ‘tank’ role, so I’m a novice at the playstyle of shooting and melee up close and personal and I kept wondering why I’m having such trouble hitting enemies from afar. It’s good to know that’s not the intended approach in this game. I think I’ll enjoy it since I’ve never really been particularly good at sniping and headshots anyways.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
@Th3solution Yep, just don’t stop moving and strafing. Especially on the difficulty I’m on, the imps can murder me in a couple of seconds if I’m not careful!
@Th3solution It's one of the reasons the game so feels so different as it's all about movement and fluidity, rather than hiding behind cover and taking potshots. And having health and armour levels is more old school than regenerating health but also suits the play style.
Remembering to get chainsaw attacks for ammo and glory kills for health is crucial too, and you'll learn which weapons and mods you like. There is a mod for the heavy assault rifle for a scope which can be used for distance and precision shots but on the whole, precision is not what you need to worry about; just get those hits on target!
@Th3solution You're not alone in having to fight against decades of engrained FPS tactical thinking. My modern dedication to being a "pick off enemies from a distance, aim for the head" sort of gamer is at odds with my upbringing on the classic DOOM games, and often causes me a few early headaches whenever I go back to play one. It's good to hear that the new DOOM retains that unique approach to its gunplay but, rest assured, it'd catch me out as well.
"We want different things, Crosshair. That doesn't mean that we have to be enemies."
So, I beat the game, but I'm nowhere near done. There's still so much stuff to do: mission objectives to complete, secrets to find, weapon skills to unlock; and as I'm doing this, I'm replaying all of the levels on the harder Ultra-Violence difficulty setting.
The last level and final boss on Ultra-Violence are... something else. My eyes have watered so much when playing this. The combat is so fast, brutal, and rhythmic. And... is it synchronizing the sound effects with the OST, or visa versa? I swear to god, the cacophony of battle — guns firing, bones crunching, demonic roars — feels like it meshes perfectly with the music.
And the sound design in general is awesome. They may have retreated a bit from the more 'foreboding' vibe of 64 and 3, but it's still creepy when you're running around destroyed levels and can hear monstrous noises emanating from all around you.
@Ralizah Yeah the way the music and gameplay are tied into each other is awesome. There are a few vids on YouTube with the music producer Mick Gordon which I highly recommend, including a liver performance! Shame things soured between him and Bethesda after Eternal. On the plus side it means he is not potentially locked to X Box.
Quick question — do the different weapons all come naturally or are there some that are hidden off the beaten path.
I’m having trouble with the labyrinthine maps and muted environments so far. The maps are about as good as they can be for the 3 dimensional layers and pathways involved (reminds me of the holomap from Jedi Fallen Order) but it still makes it hard to plan a path. So far I haven’t got completely lost (still in the second level) but I’m pretty sure I’m missing parts of the map as I travel through and don’t want to miss out on a major weapon that I might only have one chance to obtain.
The environments have a lot of items (computer consoles, dead bodies, boxes and canisters, etc) and pick ups and collectibles have that glow but it’s subtle enough that I’ve walked right past things not realizing they can be interacted with.
“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.”
I know weapons are located in multiple places in this game in case you miss them on your first go. With that said, it's worth exploring as much as possible.
Also, there's a suit upgrade path that will, when maxed out, reveal every secret on the map. I HIGHLY recommend prioritizing that upgrade path for your praetor suit.
So I’ve made it through the 4th level now in DOOM. It’s starting to come much easier for me, after a steep learning curve of reacquaintance with FPS controls and training myself to move and strafe better.
The game has become pretty fun in the process. At first I wasn’t sure I was going to make it through this one, but I have like 5 different weapon options now, several mods, and have upgraded my ammo capacity and health.
I’ve had the most difficulty with the shield enemies. Any tricks on how to bring them down more easily? I’m using grenades and the grenade launching mod to the shotgun, but it still seems to take several hits to take his shield down and he’s only exposed for a second and then regenerates the shield again. I’ve had more luck just shooting and darting past him in hopes he’s stunned for a sec. so I can get one or two open shots at his back. That works mostly, so long as I don’t get swarmed by enemies in the process.
And any clues on doing the Master level upgrading to the weapon mods? I fully upgraded my launcher on the shotgun and it says something like get 20 direct hits to Imps for the Master upgrade - and I feel like I’ve hit tons of Imps with it and I’ve yet to register a single kill toward the upgrade. Is there something I’m not doing right?
@Th3solution on Eternal, plasma weapons eat through the shields. You can probably still use the chainsaw on them too. Alternatively, explosives from behind like grenades or the remote detonation mod on the rocket launcher (I’m sure that was in 2016..) and then hit them hard and fast when stunned.
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