Jump to content
Search In
  • More options...
Find results that contain...
Find results in...
DAXXCALRISSIAN

Doom 64 Thoughts

Recommended Posts

I'm in agreeance with the crowd saying "Crappy sound effects, plastic monsters, too dark." This game literally sits directly in between Doom 2 and Doom 3. HOWEVER, this is by no means all bad. The game kicks butt to play (In large part thanks to Kaiser, seriously screw the n64 controller for anything that isnt Mario Kart) and is far more atmospheric/creepy than the early stages of Doom and Doom 2.

That said, I'm a huuuuuuge fan of color, and the old Dooms bring it where Doom 64 lacks it. Darkness and creepyness is good, but I dont need it 110% of the time.

Also there's hardly any soundtrack to speak of. In my honest opinion, as a rock/metal/industrial/general music lover, D64 and PSX Doom seriously took the easy way out and just recorded people with the sink on in the far distance, occasionally making some strange sweeping 'woosh' sounds and stuff. Nothing compared to the action-packed feel of Hangar's music, or the dark moody ambience of tracks like E1M3 and E1M8.

Overall, definitely a worthy Doom title, but nothing beats the sheer fun factor of blasting through Doom2's abstract and interesting mapset (admittedly, some of Sandy's maps are ugly.. But they're all fun!)

4/5. A well earned score.

Share this post


Link to post
Doomkid92 said:

I'm in agreeance with the crowd saying "Crappy sound effects, plastic monsters, too dark." This game literally sits directly in between Doom 2 and Doom 3. HOWEVER, this is by no means all bad. The game kicks butt to play (In large part thanks to Kaiser, seriously screw the n64 controller for anything that isnt Mario Kart) and is far more atmospheric/creepy than the early stages of Doom and Doom 2.

That said, I'm a huuuuuuge fan of color, and the old Dooms bring it where Doom 64 lacks it. Darkness and creepyness is good, but I dont need it 110% of the time.

Also there's hardly any soundtrack to speak of. In my honest opinion, as a rock/metal/industrial/general music lover, D64 and PSX Doom seriously took the easy way out and just recorded people with the sink on in the far distance, occasionally making some strange sweeping 'woosh' sounds and stuff. Nothing compared to the action-packed feel of Hangar's music, or the dark moody ambience of tracks like E1M3 and E1M8.

Overall, definitely a worthy Doom title, but nothing beats the sheer fun factor of blasting through Doom2's abstract and interesting mapset (admittedly, some of Sandy's maps are ugly.. But they're all fun!)

4/5. A well earned score.


Actually the PSX and DOOM 64 Sound Tracks reminded me of early industrial. Zoviet France, Dead Voice on Air, Throbbing Gristle, Severed Heads, Skinny Puppy, Psychic TV, Terminal Cheesecake, etc. At least in relation to the more atmospheric and less abrasive tracks that those bands put out.

Share this post


Link to post

I would have liked it if not for the boring and dreary soundtrack. It would have been nice to redo the music from Doom 1 & 2 with a more realistic heavy metal soundtrack, which the N64 was perfectly capable of. When I replayed it on Doom64Ex, I muted the music and played Sonic Clang's Classic Doom remasters. My enjoyment increased ten-fold.

Maybe the ambient noise was intended to make the game scary for little kids, but it sounded annoying to me.

Share this post


Link to post

heavy metal would have completely destroyed the ambiance and darker nature that PSX Doom and Doom 64 brought. try playing through 64's The Terraformer and imagine such music blasting through the entire stage. it wouldn't have fit at all.

Share this post


Link to post

heavy metal would have completely destroyed the ambiance and darker nature that PSX Doom and Doom 64 brought

Good. It's supposed to be Doom, not Resident Evil.

The heavy metal Doom games makes the player (at least me) feel as if they're a real badass, whereas the ambient 'scary' noise makes the player feel as if they're a victim in a survival horror. That just not what Doom was supposed to be about.



However to give Doom 64 credit where it's due, I must say I like the redesigned enemy sprites much more in Doom 64, especially the Pain Elementals and Arachnotrons. See, it's possible to be creepy without taking the music in a different direction.

Share this post


Link to post
brainstewx said:

Good. It's supposed to be Doom, not Resident Evil.

The heavy metal Doom games makes the player (at least me) feel as if they're a real badass, whereas the ambient 'scary' noise makes the player feel as if they're a victim in a survival horror. That just not what Doom was supposed to be about.



However to give Doom 64 credit where it's due, I must say I like the redesigned enemy sprites much more in Doom 64, especially the Pain Elementals and Arachnotrons. See, it's possible to be creepy without taking the music in a different direction.


PC Doom's metal midis would have been more out of place in D64 than an NRA rep at Woodstock. Also, these maps take on average 10-15 minutes to beat. Couple that with a Megadeth midi that loops once per minute and you've got a recipe for a headache in my book. PC Doom's audio was always it's weakest aspect IMO, and before I found the PSX audio .WADs I tended to play either with music disabled or with something else on the stereo. Compare that to pieces of dark, amelodic ambient sounds which usually barely loop once per level and never really get in the way, and I know which I'd rather have.

Not to say that all the PC music was grating. The more orchestral tunes suited the game really well (E1M3, E1M5 & E1M7 stand out), but for the most part I couldn't stick it for more than a few minutes.

Share this post


Link to post
brainstewx said:

Good. It's supposed to be Doom, not Resident Evil.

The heavy metal Doom games makes the player (at least me) feel as if they're a real badass, whereas the ambient 'scary' noise makes the player feel as if they're a victim in a survival horror. That just not what Doom was supposed to be about.



However to give Doom 64 credit where it's due, I must say I like the redesigned enemy sprites much more in Doom 64, especially the Pain Elementals and Arachnotrons. See, it's possible to be creepy without taking the music in a different direction.

actually, i'd say Doom works as a quite multi-faceted game; it can have bombastic, epic firefights with heavy metal MIDIs blasting in the background, and it can take a darker tone; with sparser encounters, darker, ambient music, and generate a sense of dread in the player. i think Doom 64 and PSX Doom confirms that.

also, wasn't Doom supposed to have horror elements in it, at first? i mean, the lightning in some parts of the original Doom episodes kind of hint at that... not to mention i'm sure the game's generated some level of fear in some players here.

Share this post


Link to post
brainstewx said:

However to give Doom 64 credit where it's due, I must say I like the redesigned enemy sprites much more in Doom 64... See, it's possible to be creepy without taking the music in a different direction.


Yeah, if you're scared of cheap plastic-looking spiders, balloons with inexplicable and cliché 'shackles of evil' on their stubby arms, and some drunk goatmen. Throw in some weird and wonky animation for all of these and you have a real horror show on your hands.

tl;dr -- Doom 64's redesigned enemies look like they were redesigned by children. They wouldn't feel/look like so much of a let-down if they didn't have anything to directly compare them to, but that's not the case.

Share this post


Link to post
Doomhuntress said:

actually, i'd say Doom works as a quite multi-faceted game; it can have bombastic, epic firefights with heavy metal MIDIs blasting in the background, and it can take a darker tone; with sparser encounters, darker, ambient music, and generate a sense of dread in the player. i think Doom 64 and PSX Doom confirms that.

I don't get what stops people listening to whatever music they want when playing Doom, or any other game.

I always preferred Hodges' work, and I can't imagine playing Doom 64 with any other music than what was made for it. But it's not like you're forced to listen to it if you really hate it that much. It's as if people don't know what volume sliders do.

Share this post


Link to post
BaronOfStuff said:

cliché 'shackles of evil'

I thought it was a nice touch, actually. Besides, most of the Doom imagery was clichéd already.

Share this post


Link to post

I definitely also prefer the PC version audio, but honestly, I don't really hold it against Doom 64; since it's basically an entirely new game anyway, why not have new audio, too?

Not a huge fan of the arbitrarily changed audio for the PS1/Saturn versions, on the other hand, but I can't really hold it against those who prefer it.

Share this post


Link to post

To me, Doom I and II are pretty cartoony games. When I play them, I rather have the silly sound effects from monsters or stuff. I would also have Heavy/Speed/Thrash Metal midis blasting out of my speakers, or sometimes I open iTunes and I play some Exodus, Kreator, Megadeth, Evile, etc. In my opinion, the more ambiental, "scary" sound effects and music of the PSX/Saturn Doom don't really fit the graphics. Vice versa with Doom 64, I really would think of it as silly to hear Doom I(I)'s sound effects and soundtrack in that game.

Share this post


Link to post

Glad I see some more Doom64 players. But I totally understand the complaints too.
the controls are awkward, but I was really happy that i could custom the button layout to what I want. Cause some of the buttons didn't seem to match the action, so I had to change that around. Which is an awesome extra otherwise it would have more issues than I do. One thing I was happy with compared to south park, armorines, or even goldeneye (I think, can't remember) but the vertical adjustments was always a problem. South Park especially, not as much to others but changing your aim back to center was a pain in the ass to me. Doom just stayed center like always.
It's a different kind of beast than the usual of time because it is more horror and atmosphere based. Not a bad thing.
I do like the mother demon though.

Share this post


Link to post

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×