Recently Microsoft have been making classic games from various formats available for download via the Xbox Live Market Place; these include such prestigious classics as Golden Axe, Double Dragon and Sonic the Hedgehog. It was while browsing these games that I came across something from my past, something that still manages to instill fear into me........Doom. The original Doom. Now, Doom is sixteen years old this year and it hasn't aged well, the graphics are blocky, the enemies simply pixelated, the sound effects are basic, but you know what? Its still fantastic. It still has that unsettling air about it, the array of truly bizarre enemies from shotgun toting dudes with crew cuts to free floating giant red...things. The gore and messiness as you cleave a fireball breathing beastie in twain with a chainsaw reminds you that controversy regarding video game violence is not a recent phenomena. It is without doubt the most important video game ever conceived – without it there would probably be no Counter Strike, no Call of Duty, no Quake, No Unreal Tournament; it championed and paved the way, it is the iconic first person shooter, it lay the foundations for network multiplayer gaming and from this spawned the term 'deathmatch' forever synonymous with the first person shooter genre.
From its initial release Doom has racked up the awards and accolades, being named Game of the Year in 1994 and in 2004 was vote as the greatest game of all time. And its hard to argue with this. It is estimated that 4 million copies of the game have been purchased worldwide and has led to sequels (Doom II: Hell on Earth in 1994) and more, across many consoles and game formats even leading to a film released in 2005.
For me Doom was never about stunning graphics ,THX standard audio or a score by a full seventy piece orchestra, it was the atmosphere, the claustrophobic nature of feeling truly alone on this moon, being hunted down, thats always the sign of a great video game, and Doom has and always will be my greatest game of all time.