Doom 64
| Doom 64 | |||
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| Studio |
 Midway Games San Diego
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| Publisher |
Midway Games (USA) GT Interactive (Europe) Bethesda Softworks
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| Erstveröffent- lichung |
Nintendo 64: April 1, 1997 September 1, 1997 Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch: March 20, 2020   |
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| platform | Nintendo 64 , Windows , Xbox One , PlayStation 4 , Nintendo Switch , Google Stadia | ||
| genre | Ego shooter | ||
| control | Gamepad , mouse , keyboard | ||
| medium | Cartridge , download | ||
| language | English | ||
| Age rating |
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| information | Approved from 16 years of age after re-examination by the USK. | ||
Doom 64 is a first-person shooter from 1997 and part of the Doom franchise . The game was developed by Midway Games San Diego in coordination with id Software for the Nintendo 64 game console . In terms of play, it did not contain any significant changes compared to its predecessor Doom 2: Hell on Earth , but brought some technical innovations to the series.
On March 20, 2020, Bethesda Softworks released Doom 64 for Microsoft Windows , Xbox One , PlayStation 4 , Nintendo Switch and Google Stadia . The new edition was developed by Night Dive Studios. Doom Eternal pre-orderers received Doom 64 as a bonus.
In contrast to its predecessors, Doom 64 was never indexed and was released in Germany without youth approval.
action
The story takes place after the events of Doom 2 , in the course of which the player saved the earth from a demon invasion. The military then bombed the bases on Phobos and Deimos extensively with nuclear weapons in order to eliminate the danger of another demon attack. However, the radioactive contamination also prevented more detailed investigations, so that a new demon, called "Mother Demon", can repopulate the Martian base, which has just been freed from monsters, completely unnoticed. When this becomes known, a troop of soldiers is sent out, but all but one soldier is wiped out. The player takes control of this last survivor. The aim of the game is to eliminate all monsters.
Gameplay
Doom 64 playfully continues the development of its predecessors. The player controls his character from the first person perspective through labyrinth-like levels populated with enemy creatures . Areas that are initially inaccessible must be made accessible by finding key cards or by activating switches, which encourages the player to explore the area. He can also discover hidden rooms (so-called secret areas ). On his way, various monsters attack the player, which he can defeat with his weapons. Ammunition, armor and first aid kits to freshen up vital energy can be found in the area. At the end of the level, you can enter the exit that leads to the next level.
Doom 64 includes 32 levels specially created for the console, new textures with higher resolutions, as well as new graphics for the weapons and monsters that could use the capabilities of the Nintendo 64, such as antialiasing .
The new textures, in conjunction with the colored lighting of the individual rooms, led to their own graphic design, which was supplemented by various religious or occult motifs, such as pentagrams or crosses , similar to the previous ones . Many monsters received a completely new design. In addition to a new variant of the Imp, there was the "Mother Demon" as the new boss .
The well-known weapons from the second part have been adopted and some have been given a recoil. New is a demonic laser cannon called "Unmaker", which can be upgraded with three artifacts hidden in the levels. This weapon was mentioned in the Doom Bible (a kind of script during the development of Doom ) but was not used in the PC versions at the time.
development
Development of the game began towards the end of 1994. Midway Games San Diego was responsible for development, id Games only had a supervisory function. Midway's original title for the game was The Absolution , for the release the title of the series was chosen with the addition of "64" to underline the exclusivity for the Nintendo 64. In the game itself, the old working title The Absolution can still be found as a name for the last level.
Technically, Doom 64 is based on an advanced Doom-2 engine. For the first time in Doom, the possibility was used to place rooms on top of each other, to illuminate the surroundings in color or to animate the skybox. Since the storage space on the cartridge was not enough for all innovations, it was decided to forego monsters like the "Arch-Vile" or the "Spider Mastermind".
An originally planned multiplayer mode via split screen was ultimately not implemented, mainly because, according to Midway Games, Nintendo did not provide the necessary development tools in time. As a further reason, Midway provided that with a split-screen mode, the positions of the other players could be seen at all times for each player and thus a great attraction of the game would be lost.
The soundtrack and sound effects were composed by Aubrey Hodges, who was already commissioned for the PlayStation porting soundtrack . This time the background music no longer consisted of MIDI-based rock music , but of gloomy ambient soundscapes.
reception
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The game received mixed but mostly positive reviews ( GameRankings : 73.47%).
“Rotating machine guns, roaring chainsaws, hard-hitting splatter action - in Doom 64, in the long-established tradition, everything is more perfect in every respect than ever before. Although neither the gameplay nor the wealth of innovation are brand new, Doom 64 is a lot of fun. "
“Unfortunately, Doom 64 does not quite reach the high level we had hoped for in most N64 games. The two-dimensional bitmap opponents could have used a few additional animation phases, and the far too dark graphics are not the yellow of the egg either. Despite these limitations, Doom 64 offers a real new challenge to all genre fans who have played through Turok . Especially on the higher levels of difficulty, the game becomes more exciting, and the huge hordes of opponents hardly give the player a breather. So if you are into hard action with interspersed puzzles, you will get exactly the right thing. After all, Doom 64 is the best Doom version ever. "
A sequel was originally planned, but was discarded because the Doom engine was getting on in years and newer games like Quake were being devoted to.
Fan ports for PC
Doom 64: The Absolution describes a conversion of the console game for the PC . The name is derived from the original working title of Doom 64 . The PC implementation was started as a modification on the Doomsday Engine and now uses a separate sub -version of the same. The goal was to be able to play Doom 64 on the computer without an emulator . The implementation was created by fans. The game is a largely detailed implementation of the console game, but six new levels have been added and the function of the "Unmaker" has been changed.
There is also a sequel called "The Outcast Levels" which is also based on the modified Doomsday Engine .
The implementations are open source and can be downloaded for free, as the project has changed from a Doom 2 modification into a stand-alone game. However, the DOOM2.WAD file of the original game or, alternatively, the FreeDoom version of the same is still required.
With Doom64 EX was the developer of Doom 64: The Absolution , Samuel Villareal, developed a reaction which unlike Doom 64: The absolution on the Doom3D based storage engine Kex uses storage engine and to play the Nintendo 64 version only original data is used which has to be extracted beforehand from a ROM of the console game using a tool that is also provided. Thus, Doom64 EX a true 1-to-1 conversion of Doom 64 with no changes in the level sequence and function of various weapons that others by developers porting were made.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Williams Makes Jaguar, Ultra 64 Plans . In: IDG (Ed.): GamePro . No. 66, January 1995, p. 210.
- ↑ IGN editors: Doom 64 News . IGN . November 11, 1996. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
- ↑ IGN editors: Doom 64 Gets the Multiplayer Ax . IGN . December 29, 1996. Retrieved July 8, 2013.
- ^ Doom 64
- ^ Doom 64
- ^ Doom 64
- ↑ a b Total , edition 8/1997
- ↑ a b Tests: Doom 64
- ↑ a b game rankings
- ↑ Doom 64: The Original Game ( Memento from August 26, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Doom64 EX: A recreation of a N64 classic
| Main series |
Doom • Doom 2 • Doom 3 • Doom (2016) • Doom Eternal |
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| Offshoot |
Final Doom • Doom 64 • Doom RPG • Doom Resurrection • Doom 2 RPG • Doom VFR |
