Creature Triple Feature 4: Doom (1993), Doom 3, Outlast

Doom (1993)



Welcome to Doom soldier. Now shut up and start fighting because there's no time to waste! We're talking total war against the forces of evil with the only thing standing between civilization and the end of everything as we know it is you- on angry Marine with a hand gun and a bad attitude.

Doom 3



Doom 3 continues the incredible shooter action of the first two Doom games! The Mars Research Facility has been invaded by demons from Doom, leaving only chaos and horror in their wake. You're one of the only survivors - to stay alive you'll have to fight your way to Hell and back.

Outlast



Hell is an experiment you can't survive in Outlast, a first-person survival horror game developed by veterans of some of the biggest game franchises in history. As investigative journalist Miles Upshur, explore Mount Massive Asylum and try to survive long enough to discover its terrible secret... if you dare.

Outlast got me hyped the moment it's been announced, I'm an avid fan of the found-footage-horror subgenre and it came right up my alley. The game itself was kinda eh though. I'd even say it was more annoying than frightening but at least it set the mood in the beginning rather well. It shouldn't take long to complete.

Doom 3 is how I wanted Doom to be. Bizzarre creature design, creepy ambience, awesome weaponry and horror vibes. The Nightmare difficulty had me on the edge till the very end, highly recommend it.

DOOM is great. Played the base game years ago end enjoyed it a lot. I was looking forward to playing the last chapter since now I've got access to Ultimate DOOM via DOOM 3 BFG. For what I've played so far, I like it a lot. More shooting and less hunting for cards.

DOOM 3 I've played only very briefly, so this will be the perfect excuse to finally beat it.

Outlast is the game of this month I'm not going to play, because I've already beaten it. It's a good game. While I didn't find it very scary and the gameplay is just kinda serviceable, the atmosphere is great and it does carry the whole game forward.

Just finished my first play session of Doom and I can see why this is considered a classic and the start of a genre. It is fast responsive and a genuine joy to shoot your way through so many demons. Currently my only gripe is that the game has a big tendency of hiding a vast amount of enemies behind walls and when you hit a level it will open them up. It's a bit too predictable at the moment

I prob should mention that I have all 3 games in my backlog and I will attempt to play through at least one. Biggest problem for me this month is i'm away and won't have time to complete three games (with the amount I play :p)

I ended up finishing the episode I was missing really fast. For some reason I struggled with navigation in the other episodes, but in this one I managed to find the exits just fine.

The Ultimate DOOM is on sale on GOG. Also, The Elder Scrolls 1 and 2 are added for free to your GOG library when you buy it.
https://www.gog.com/game/the_ultimate_doom

DOOM 3: BFG Edition is also on sale for those interested in buying/playing it. This edition of this game also includes a copy of DOOM and DOOM II !
https://www.gog.com/game/doom_3_bfg_edition

I was never a fan of horror games, or FPS games in general. Last time I played a FPS was when GoldenEye was released. I may have also played the first Medal of Honor game on the PS1, but that's it.

I think I might give DOOM a serious try since it's so cheap, and also because it looks like a short game. I have played many many times back in 1993-1994 on my trusty old 486 PC, but I always used the cheat codes and never played "seriously". I don't think I ever played past the 2nd or 3rd level.

So, yeah, I might try a serious playthrough without cheat or maps or guides. I'll probably play at the easy difficulty level tho...

Just finished my first play session of Doom and I can see why this is considered a classic and the start of a genre. It is fast responsive and a genuine joy to shoot your way through so many demons. Currently my only gripe is that the game has a big tendency of hiding a vast amount of enemies behind walls and when you hit a level it will open them up. It's a bit too predictable at the moment

The one thing I always loved about the original Doom games, even though you might get to the point of predicting when and where a "monster closet" might be, what pops out of it can still surprise you. You're running around, expect the walls to open up and a few imps or pinkys to pour out then suddenly you backtrack into a Baron or something. It can feel a bit cheap at times but it really succeeds in that accelerating you from feeling "confidently safe" to "Oh snap how do I get out of this situation" pretty well. To that end Doom can feel a bit like a puzzle at times, almost like a rogue-like as you attempt to manage resources, solving it brings about a level of satisfaction other more modern or story driven shooters can't. Even other arena based shooters just go for linear combat set pieces as opposed to letting you basically free roam the level.

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I'm surprised Doom 3 won this month, usually people think lesser of it but I am glad it won and that people might get to experience it. I think one draw back going in is if people are going to play Doom 1 and Doom 2 beforehand, to at least approach 3 with an open mind. It's not like the others, but if you gel with it it can be a lot of fun. Personally I love Doom 3 for what it is, it's like some awesome sci fi B movie that might not be that impressive today but still has this enjoyable quality about it. Just hope those that play it give it a fair chance.

if anyone's interested in extending the life of the original Doom a little more, I can't recommend the Brutal Doom mod highly enough.

It basically adds everything the game needs to feel more like a modern title, like mouse-look and better lighting. It doesn't change the game so much that it's unrecognisable, but it breathes a whole new life into the game.

https://www.moddb.com/mods/brutal-doom (there's a bit of a process to get it working, but plenty of good tutorials on the site)

The Ultimate DOOM is on sale on GOG. Also, The Elder Scrolls 1 and 2 are added for free to your GOG library when you buy it.
https://www.gog.com/game/the_ultimate_doom

DOOM 3: BFG Edition is also on sale for those interested in buying/playing it. This edition of this game also includes a copy of DOOM and DOOM II !
https://www.gog.com/game/doom_3_bfg_edition

I was never a fan of horror games, or FPS games in general. Last time I played a FPS was when GoldenEye was released. I may have also played the first Medal of Honor game on the PS1, but that's it.

I think I might give DOOM a serious try since it's so cheap, and also because it looks like a short game. I have played many many times back in 1993-1994 on my trusty old 486 PC, but I always used the cheat codes and never played "seriously". I don't think I ever played past the 2nd or 3rd level.

So, yeah, I might try a serious playthrough without cheat or maps or guides. I'll probably play at the easy difficulty level tho...

Thanks for the heads up for the people who don't own the game.

As for the people wondering what editions of the games include what, I did my homework a while back and posted it in the forum. I'll repeat it here.

There is no reason to buy Ultimate Doom if you already bought Doom 3 BFG, as it is included. Modding it it's a bit more work, but all the Doom 1 + expansion content is there. BFG also includes Doom 3 and expansion, plus an extra episode (lost mission) you can't get anywhere else.

There is also Doom 2 included in BFG, whith an extra episode you can't get anywhere else. But it doesn't include any of the two expansions. One you get when buying standalone Doom 2 and the other has to be bough on it's own.

There is also the whole "is the original Doom 3 better or BFG?", but I won't answer that one as I don't have enough experience with them.

The biggest change in the BFG edition is the flashlight being attached to your armor instead of being a usable item / weapon that you would have to switch to. Made the game more accessible and more fast-paced.

This article seems to have all the details about DOOM 3 BFG Edition: https://doom.wikia.com/wiki/Doom_3:_BFG_Edition

DOOM and DOOM II are also slightly improved in this edition. On GOG (URL provided in my previous post), it does feel like the BFG Edition of DOOM 3 is a nice package to buy. I might still only grab Ultimate DOOM since it's a lot cheaper and I'm no FPS fan like I said before. So this GotM with DOOM might just be an opportunity to try a classic FPS again and maybe get in peace with the FPS genre. Also, it looks like a short game and most modern reviews seem to say that the game is still fun today, it is fast paced action fun, and has somewhat aged well.

The difference with the torch/flashlight between BFG and regular edition of Doom 3 is a big one - it really changes the way that the game is played like TheOro44 said above - BFG edition is more fast paced and action oriented.

I remember at the time a lot of people complaining that you could only have the flashlight or a weapon in your hands - but not at the same time. I actually prefer the original for forcing you to decide between seeing what's in front of you (as the game is super dark in places) or being ready to fire. It made for some really tense moments where you're searching for any kind of movement before switching back to your weapon with limited ammo in case you need it. It was a much slower and intense experience, which I think is more what the original vision for the game was.

Having said that - enough people complained that they changed it, so it stands to reason that the BFG edition would be more appealing to more people =)

I beat the first three episodes of DOOM earlier this year and really enjoyed it. Last episode seems like a hell of a difficulty spike based on what I remember, but it's still as fun as it always was.

Haven't played DOOM 3 or Outlast yet, but both were games I planned on checking out eventually.

This article seems to have all the details about DOOM 3 BFG Edition: https://doom.wikia.com/wiki/Doom_3:_BFG_Edition

DOOM and DOOM II are also slightly improved in this edition. On GOG (URL provided in my previous post), it does feel like the BFG Edition of DOOM 3 is a nice package to buy. I might still only grab Ultimate DOOM since it's a lot cheaper and I'm no FPS fan like I said before. So this GotM with DOOM might just be an opportunity to try a classic FPS again and maybe get in peace with the FPS genre. Also, it looks like a short game and most modern reviews seem to say that the game is still fun today, it is fast paced action fun, and has somewhat aged well.

They touched up the doom 1 and 2 versions for BFG, but it's still better to grab a sourceport and play them that way. Since the versions included in BFG are still really basic (no options for resolution, UI scaling...)

EDIT: I forgot to say that for people who own OG Doom 3, but prefer the way BFG uses the flashlight, there is a mod for that.

Nothing beats a good shotgun and Doom has a Goooooood shotgun

I bought The Ultimate Doom on GOG today and downloaded GZDoom. I'm in the process of trying to tweak the settings to my taste. I want to play the game as closely as possible to the original from 1993 so the first thing I did was to disable the free look feature. I've also disabled the filtering to bring it closer to the original look with pixels for sprites, but it still looks a lot better for the environnement at higher resolution (1920x1200 in my case).

And yes, you can shoot me, but I'm also tweaking the settings to find a way to play with my PS3 Controller (recognizes as a XBOX360 controller on my PC). I've always been a console player and the WASD controls with mouse just kills me and feels so uncomfortable. I think I'm getting there. I just need to find the right sensitivity that feels right for me and a good button mapping that fits my play style.

Any other setting I should change ?

I bought The Ultimate Doom on GOG today and downloaded GZDoom. I'm in the process of trying to tweak the settings to my taste. I want to play the game as closely as possible to the original from 1993 so the first thing I did was to disable the free look feature. I've also disabled the filtering to bring it closer to the original look with pixels for sprites, but it still looks a lot better for the environnement at higher resolution (1920x1200 in my case).

And yes, you can shoot me, but I'm also tweaking the settings to find a way to play with my PS3 Controller (recognizes as a XBOX360 controller on my PC). I've always been a console player and the WASD controls with mouse just kills me and feels so uncomfortable. I think I'm getting there. I just need to find the right sensitivity that feels right for me and a good button mapping that fits my play style.

Any other setting I should change ?

I'll say, give freelook another chance. I know it's not mandatory, since Doom doesn't do real heights; but it comes in real handy when enemies are really close to stairs or flying really close but above you. Not that many times throughout the game, but it's better to have freelook and not have to fire blindly.

Beat Outlast last night, game looks great but sometimes the controls just didn't work. I would slam a door but be on the wrong side or the game refused to let me vault. I was playing on a XBone controller so maybe there are issues with that controller idk.

Also modelled penises, theres that as well. :/

Not technically the game for this month, but I've beaten the extra DOOM 2 episode that was released with Doom 3 BFG. A solid episode and worth it for people looking for more DOOM.

It gets really intense by the end, but I found it really fun.

I've officially started Doom (1993) today. I'm playing at the "Hey, not too rough." difficulty setting because I'm never been a fan of the FPS genre at all and this is actually the first time I'm trying to play a FPS without cheat, and with the intention of actually completing it. Of course, like a lot of people, I played Doom and Doom II and Hexen and Heretic and all those games when they came out. But I would always use cheats and would never make it past a few levels. And back in those days when I was like 12-15 years old, these games were revolutionary but I never played them seriously. I would just run through the levels and shoot whatever and wherever. These were the days when Doom was actually a three floppy discs game ! ;)

Now that I'm older, I can actually take the time and appreciate the game. I'm taking it slowly, looking in every corner of each level, turning the corners slowly and I try to be prepared for whatever will come at me. So far, I've played through three levels and I'm enjoying it. I don't have a lot of FPS games as a reference, but I don't feel like I'm playing a 25 year old game at all. I'm using GZDoom with customised settings that I see fit for me, but I've disabled pretty much all extra features like jump or crunch. I have kept the free look feature but it's not a necessity in this game. I feel like this game as aged quite well somehow...

fun fact with floppys - the first game I ever saw "pirated" was a copy of Doom II that a friend and I got from someone - it was 16 floppys of a Windows Backup image that had the game and took us all afternoon to figure out how to install, but my friend had just bought a SoundBlaster 16 and we were keen to hear those sweet 16-bit grunts from the imps... it was worth it

fun fact with floppys - the first game I ever saw "pirated" was a copy of Doom II that a friend and I got from someone - it was 16 floppys of a Windows Backup image that had the game and took us all afternoon to figure out how to install, but my friend had just bought a SoundBlaster 16 and we were keen to hear those sweet 16-bit grunts from the imps... it was worth it

My very first PC (486 DX 33 MHz with 8 MB of RAM) was a computer that we bought used from one of my mom's coworkers. I was probably 13 or 14 years old back then.

I think I was the only one at school that had more than 2 or 4 MB of RAM. Made a HUGE difference back then. The guy who sold it to us also had tons of "pirated" games on floppys, both 3 1/2 and 5 1/4 inch floppy discs. I don't remember them all, but there was Doom 1 & 2, The Incredible Machine, Reb Baron, and other classics like Kyrandia and early King's Quest games. I think I had the original Alone in the Dark. A few years later, I also remember playing Warcraft II with a friend over a 9600 bps modem connexion. Good memories.

The oldest PC game I still own and have a complete in box copy, and in very good condition, is Dune II. I spent soooooo much time with this one ! Another game I spent a lot of time with was Tie Fighter. I think I still have a backup of my save somewhere. I'd have to check but I think I 100%'d that game back then.

Coming back to the main topic... Since I've never been a FPS fan, all I remember of Doom from then was that I used to play will all those cheat codes and always going through the same 3-4-5 first levels. I'm actually happy to play this game seriously this time. Maybe it will help me like FPS games a little.

My very first PC (486 DX 33 MHz with 8 MB of RAM) was a computer that we bought used from one of my mom's coworkers. I was probably 13 or 14 years old back then.

I think I was the only one at school that had more than 2 or 4 MB of RAM. Made a HUGE difference back then. The guy who sold it to us also had tons of "pirated" games on floppys, both 3 1/2 and 5 1/4 inch floppy discs. I don't remember them all, but there was Doom 1 & 2, The Incredible Machine, Reb Baron, and other classics like Kyrandia and early King's Quest games. I think I had the original Alone in the Dark. A few years later, I also remember playing Warcraft II with a friend over a 9600 bps modem connexion. Good memories.

The oldest PC game I still own and have a complete in box copy, and in very good condition, is Dune II. I spent soooooo much time with this one ! Another game I spent a lot of time with was Tie Fighter. I think I still have a backup of my save somewhere. I'd have to check but I think I 100%'d that game back then.

Coming back to the main topic... Since I've never been a FPS fan, all I remember of Doom from then was that I used to play will all those cheat codes and always going through the same 3-4-5 first levels. I'm actually happy to play this game seriously this time. Maybe it will help me like FPS games a little.

without falling too far down memory lane... a friend and I used to play red alert over a 3600bps connection... so many memories of scheduling calls to each other's modems lol good times... but things are so much better now! haha =)

Now that I've had a bit more time to play them...

Doom 3 (original version) is pretty good. It doesn't particularly feel like the original, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. It's a fun little shooter which reminds me a lot of Half-Life and Bioshock.

Outlast is great so far. It doesn't necessarily make me jump, but it does make me constantly tense and on edge in a way that's really satisfying.