thoughts on DOOM 64?

[Malefication]

I had never played DOOM 64 until the official re-release with DOOM Eternal. Always had it on my to-do list, but never got to it. Now that I've tried it a bit, the controls feel really off. Much floatier than the original DOOM games, like the player is skating on ice. I constantly got stuck on little pieces of walls that were sticking out due to the game's movement not feeling very responsive. Is this a general 64 thing, or would the experience be better in Doom 64 EX?

[Devils950003]

On 4/24/2020 at 5:22 AM, Malefication said:

I had never played DOOM 64 until the official re-release with DOOM Eternal. Always had it on my to-do list, but never got to it. Now that I've tried it a bit, the controls feel really off. Much floatier than the original DOOM games, like the player is skating on ice. I constantly got stuck on little pieces of walls that were sticking out due to the game's movement not feeling very responsive. Is this a general 64 thing, or would the experience be better in Doom 64 EX?

 

I've played both the original on the N64 (right after it came out back in 1997) and I've been playing the download on Switch (currently on my second playthrough).

 

I find that the controls are generally solid for walking/running around and shooting (I love the dual stick controls), but definitely not great for platforming, and you're asked to do a fair bit of platforming in D64.  There's times where I have to attempt certain maneuvers (like a switch-induced secret that requires running to get it) waaaaaay more times that I really should have to, due to the floatiness.  The results of certain moves don't always feel like they're consistent. 

 

D64 has its share of minor little flaws/annoyances, but when it works, it WORKS...the whole package manages to make up for the more frustrating moments.  And the game does get better with repeated playthroughs (as you're better prepared for some of the cheap traps that this game throws at you, and don't have to meander around as much trying to figure out what to do next).  I've come to like the fact that a Demon Artifact Powered-Up Unmaker is a bit overpowered, because just like Indiana Jones didn't feel like flighting that swordsman and opted to just one-shot kill him instead, sometimes there's sections that you just want to be done with, and the Unmaker with 2+ Demon Artifacts can mow down just about everything with relative ease. 

 

And with the graphics (and frame rate) for this latest D64 release getting a nice bump, it really does look damned good.  One complaint re:  the levels is that they can feel a bit derivative.  At the start of certain levels, I find myself saying "Oh yeah...another moat level."  And in general you have your share of multiple columns rooms and very squarish design.  The large area with the lava in Pitfalls makes me wish that there were some more irregular areas than there are.      

Edited April 25, 2020 by Devils950003

[Rymante]

I only recently played DOOM 64 thanks to the new re-release.

 

At first, I found it off-putting with it's seeming love of crushers, more frequent death pits with no way out other than reloading a save and that damn Yellow Key puzzle in Final Outpost.

 

However, as I progressed into the Hell levels, it grew on me, the different atmosphere provided by the unique visual style & the PSX version sounds & music, the difficulty of the combat ramped up & kept me on my toes, I acquired the Unmaker & the 3 keys (tho admittedly I would not have found the Demon Keys without outside help....) & overall I now feel it's a forgotten gem that has seen the remastering it needed, which is what Nightdive Studios tends to specialize in.  The new levels added in the re-release are pretty good too, a noticeable step up in combat difficulty.

 

Despite coming around on the game, a couple of aspects rubbed me the wrong way, the first being DOOM 64's tendency to require switches to be activated & then have no idea what that switch did because it did something on the whole other side of the level, led to me getting lost quite a few times.  Also the upgraded Unmaker is absolutely overpowered, a friend of mine did not find the Demon Keys & was barely able to defeat the final boss, whereas I managed to beat it effortlessly in under 1min 15secs simply because I had acquired all 3 Demon Keys.

 

So yeah, despite a few problems, I like DOOM 64, it even has me contemplating making maps for it, maybe once I've finished my current project.......

[Devils950003]

4 minutes ago, Rymante said:

I only recently played DOOM 64 thanks to the new re-release.

 

At first, I found it off-putting with it's seeming love of crushers, more frequent death pits with no way out other than reloading a save and that damn Yellow Key puzzle in Final Outpost.

 

However, as I progressed into the Hell levels, it grew on me, the different atmosphere provided by the unique visual style & the PSX version sounds & music, the difficulty of the combat ramped up & kept me on my toes, I acquired the Unmaker & the 3 keys (tho admittedly I would not have found the Demon Keys without outside help....) & overall I now feel it's a forgotten gem that has seen the remastering it needed, which is what Nightdive Studios tends to specialize in.  The new levels added in the re-release are pretty good too, a noticeable step up in combat difficulty.

 

Despite coming around on the game, a couple of aspects rubbed me the wrong way, the first being DOOM 64's tendency to require switches to be activated & then have no idea what that switch did because it did something on the whole other side of the level, led to me getting lost quite a few times.  Also the upgraded Unmaker is absolutely overpowered, a friend of mine did not find the Demon Keys & was barely able to defeat the final boss, whereas I managed to beat it effortlessly in under 1min 15secs simply because I had acquired all 3 Demon Keys.

 

So yeah, despite a few problems, I like DOOM 64, it even has me contemplating making maps for it, maybe once I've finished my current project.......

 

You definitely do your fair share of aimless wandering on a first playthrough (some things from many years ago came back as I was playing, but some definitely did not).  I've mentioned it, but it does feel like some designers wanted to be a little too clever and obscure for their own good, when it came to some of the puzzles and secrets.  On this second playthrough, it's nice buzzing through some of the levels in half (sometimes even less) the time that it did on the first go-around.  And being ready for some cheap Lost Souls traps (they're the worst).  

 

I like the new levels too, except for the final one (Final Judgement).  Feels way too much like a mailed-in mashed-up rehash of No Escape and The Absolution...at the very least, I would've loved a new final boss (maybe a new Spider Mastermind?)...with the way Final Judgement is laid out, the Sister/Mother Demon Part Deux is even easier to take down with a fully upgraded Unmaker than in The Absolution.  But I get that a re-master is only going to go so far...for $5, the game is still a steal, and even with a very anticlimactic end to the Lost Levels, those levels themselves are still a hell of a lot of brand-new content.