Slink

Lovely piece! Reminds me a bit of Julie from Heavy Metal F.A.K.K. 2.

As in, a single play-through without saving your game? I can do it with the first three episodes of the original Doom. I can't make it far through episode 4 (and I hate this episode in general).I can also beat Doom 2 on Ultraviolence, but I'm not sure I could do it in a single sitting.

I've had the unfortunate experience of opening a door, firing a few rockets inside, and then eating a rocket as the door closed right in front of me. Happens a little more often than I'd like to admit.

The Doom monsters sometimes still scare the crap out of me, especially revenants, archvilles, and cyberdemons. I can't make it through TNT on Ultra-violence without cheating. I can't make it through Plutonia on any difficulty without cheating, period. I sort of like the Doom novels. Well, the first two, at least. I don't particularly like Doom 3. I think it somehow feels generic and lifeless compared to the original game.

It's a real toss-up between revenants and chaingunners for me, but I think chaingunners are more annoying, especially when they snipe you from far off places and you have nowhere to take cover, or when they ambush you from the flank or rear.

Agreed. Personally, I like the name Flynn Taggart, myself. I think it's a heck of lot less portentous sounding than John Grimm, John Kane, John Stalvern, and the like. It has more character. Plus, it's somewhat evocative of old-school sensibilities. Flynn makes me think of Errol Flynn, and Taggart makes me think of various westerns, etc. I also like his nickname, Fly. Somehow, it works for me.

Hmmm, I forgot to mention Highway to Hell (1992), which plays like a cheesy, low-budget cross between Road Warrior and Army of Darkness. Otherwise, it's a re-telling of the myth of Orpheus and Euridice. The hero must rescue his woman, who has been arrested by a cop from hell, and chase her into the netherworld. To aid him in his quest, he is equipped with a sawed-off, double-barrelled shotgun.

I think some of that was incorporated into the novels as well, at least the Earth-like gravity and partial atmosphere around the Phobos gate. Otherwise, it handled the moon bases a little more realistically than the game.

There's no point in listing the Doom movie, since there are other movies (which inspired the game itself) that do what the Doom movie tried to do, and do it much better. The two most obvious influences are Aliens and Evil Dead 2. In my opinion, they are the best sci-fi action movie and the best horror/comedy movie ever made, respectively, so this is fitting. Other similar movies might include: Event Horizon: obvious parallels about an experiment in space going awry and a portal to hell being opened. The ship disappears, just like Deimos, and it likely went to hell. Ghosts of Mars: Similar Lovecraftian premise about an ancient evil "awakened" near a martian base. People are possessed too. Predator: Jessie Ventura has a really cool minigun, and there is a shimmering monster, just like in Doom. Dog Soldiers: A blatant rip-off of Aliens, Predator, Evil Dead, and a bunch of other movies that involves werewolves this time, but at least it delivers the goods. Dawn of the Dead (1978): Gruesome, black-humored zombie movie that contains unsettling social commentary. Reminds me a little of Doom 2, actually, with a theme involving zombies and the breakdown of society. The authors of the Doom 2 novel had obviously seen this movie. Dead Alive: You thought chainsaws rocked? Try lawn mowers! Re-Animator: Fittingly based on another Lovecraft story, so I thought I'd include it here too. Forbidden Planet: Another movie about a scientist who utilizes alien technology on a remote planet, and this knowledge is too much for one human to comprehend. He unwittingly summons monsters from his id. No joke. Total Recall: Very violent, paranoid, and fast-paced adventure that's a feast for the eyes. Involves lots of shoot-outs and dismemberments on Mars. Also involves a plot concerning ancient alien tech that can create an atrificial atmosphere for the planet, sort of like the moon bases in Doom. Starship Troopers: A brilliant political satire that stands Heinlein's novel on its head and shows us the brutal truth about military sacrifice, but so cynical and condescending towards its characters that it shies away from greatness. The futuristic commercials and propaganda are funny enough to sometimes make me wonder how the UAC might be represented in a smarter Doom movie.

No, not better accuracy. Just better range.

I HATE chaingunners beyond all reason. I hate how they have much better accuracy than you do, and I hate it when they snipe or teleport in on you and tear you to shreds before you can figure out where they are. I also hate revenants, but they aren't as frustrating.

Definitely. What's the point in saying that Flynn Taggart doesn't exist when Doomguy obviously doesn't either? Anyway, while the novels aren't cannon, they are sometimes useful for comparison. His age is never mentioned in them, though I think he's supposed to be a 4 year man at the rank of Corporal, so for that reason I assumed he'd be about 26 (as a former poster mentioned). He can't be of any higher rank in the game, either. Of course, as Myk pointed out, he could well have been demoted for assaulting that superior officer who ordered his troops to attack unarmed civilians. The face always suggested an older man to me, about 5 - 10 years older.

I made a CD mix for the sole purpose of listening to as I play Doom. All of the songs remind me of Doom in some way or another. It has the following songs: 1. Morbid Angel -- Dominate 2. Behemoth -- Demigod 3. Soilwork -- In a Close Encounter 4. Cephalic Carnage -- Enviovore 5. Death -- Vacant Planets 6. Carcass -- Heartwork ("Go to Hell" would have been more appropriate) 7. Kreator -- Total Death 8. Cryptopsy -- Adeste Infidelis 9. Nile -- Burning in the Pits of the Duat 10. Darkthrone -- Cromlech (covered by Emperor) 11. Slayer -- Altar of Sacrifice 12. Suffocation -- Reincremation 13. Dimmu Borgir -- Blazing Monoliths of Defiance 14. Morbid Angel -- This Means War (before I got ahold of "Formulas Fatal to the Flesh") 15. Kreator -- Replicas of Life 16. Cryptopsy -- The Pestilence that Walketh in Darkness 17. Nile -- Lashed to the Slave Stick 18. Slayer -- Reign in Blood 19. Children of Bodom -- Hellion (this was before "If you want peace..." was released, which would have worked better) 20. Judas Priest -- Painkiller (covered by Death) Of course, there are many other bands that would be appropriate for Doom as well, and some of these I didn't have any albums of at the time. These include the Berzerker, Dismember, Gorerotted, Bolt Thrower, Immortal, Old Man's Child, Rotting Christ, Krisiun, Messhuggah, Divine Empire, Origin, Necrophagist, Sepultura, Exodus, and Dark Angel. But this was before I was introduced to any of them, or even some of the better songs of the previously mentioned bands. Most of the songs on that Doom mix bore me now.

So there weren't any half-assed variants in the game? What about multiplayer, where each guy is in a different color uniform?

Wow, you sure do seem violently opposed to my suggestion for a suggestion that would probably never see the light of day. One Doomguy would probably be sufficient, but just consider all of the weaponry you have available in the game. He'd come with what, eight weapons? Maybe they could have a few Doomguys with slightly different uniforms or something, like Crash and Phobos from Quake 3. I wonder what scale the Cyberdemon and Spider Mastermind would have to be?