DOOM (2016)

I want to play this, I'd just rather not spend 100 Canuck bucks on it.

"It took me too long on my first arch-vile encounter to realize the fucker was spawning in limitless enemies and I needed to track him down asap"

trying to FIND these suckers when they spawn in can be another panic. doesn't help that they don't have a particularly distinctive silhouette. i save my crucible charges for these guys exclusively.

https://games.avclub.com/why-does-doom-eternal-play-like-a-mario-game-in-hell-1842497854

https://youtu.be/Oz3IfG38F30

Id’s creative lead talking about inspirations. Endearing.

I really like the direction Eternal took. 2016 was sharp as hell, but it was safe and within AAA aesthetics. Fun to see a big property just going full 80’s adolescent geek. Feel like Bethesda was pretty hands off, just let them run with it. Kind of a rare thing.

The last two levels of this are dope.

Got some Alien/Moebius and Die Hard/Ghostbusters feelings respectively. Game continually pulls from that sorta VHS aisle but doesn’t get too DO YOU SEE with it.

It's more than just aesthetics that have changed, though. I watched a bit of a play through, and not only does it look more (intentionally) cartoonish and dayglo and vibrant, the game play does seem like a totally different animal. More platforming, more actions, more things to keep track of of, plus more ... plot, which seems like a gamble for a game already designed to be exhausting. But one of my least favorite aspects of the first game (which I played a bit of from the start again on PS4 the other day just to remind myself) was just getting around. The frame rate on the Switch, even after it got somewhat patched, really made it hard for me to gauge jumps and stuff, combined with the kind of weightless movement of the doom suit, but jumping on the PS4 still felt weird. Throwing in evading obstacles and swinging on poles and double jumping over chasms and climbing walls, I don't know if I could handle that, in addition to what appears to be an increased emphasis on, well, aiming.

Heh, I just watched that influences video, I was thinking how much tonally different (and perhaps more fun) this new game (again, at least what I've seen of it) would be if instead of another badass Reznoresque score it had a galloping Maiden-like score.

The game is a very different beast. It’s a lot more of everything, in some ways to it’s detriment (do we need all of those upgrade trees?). Significantly more cerebral, you have a ton of tools and you need to use just about all of them to make it through, so you’re constantly juggling and keeping an eye on timers. And it moves even faster than ‘16. Like piloting a fighter jet. Requires a lot more precision too, taking out enemy weak points is pretty much necessary early on. Less so in late game.

I have a feeling this will be a real struggle on Twitch unless they tweak it specifically for that system. Gonna be a tough time running at 30 FPS and using the joy cons.

I guess some people are struggling with the platforming, but it hasn’t been a problem for me. If you fail it just teleports you back to the beginning of the obstacle minus a little bit of health. I appreciate breaking up the arenas, the moments to breathe are welcome. Can be janky sometimes though.

I’m playing through Eternal a second time and it’s like a whole new game. I struggled through a lot of it the first time around because I wasn’t utilizing some tools. Mostly frag grenades (was using freeze ones almost exclusively, need to switch between the two frequently) and the super shotgun mastery with the hook shot that ignites the enemy for instant armor shards. Armor is crucial. And the acrobatics you can pull off with that hook shot is really something I didn’t get to explore the first time around.

Game is WAY complicated and I don’t think most can even get a solid handle on all of it even in one play through, but once you master the arsenal it feels suuuper fucking good.