Doom: Collector's Edition

The Good
In 2003, to herald the coming of the long awaited Doom 3, The Ultimate Doom Trilogy hit the PC. And for only $10, players could play windows compatible versions of Ultimate Doom, Doom II, and The Final Doom. As an added bonus there was preview content for Doom 3. Great for those who no longer had there copies of Doom for DOS, and for those just discovering the legend of Doom.

In The Ultimate Doom, the denizens of hell have overrun the UAC on Mars. As the only survivor you must travel the base blast the beasts back to hell. You only real goal is to survive, but, before the game is over you will have single-handedly stopped the demon hordes.

Ultimate Doom is essentially Doom, with an added episode. So now with 4 episodes, and over 30 levels.

Doom II takes us to Earth, where the minions of hell have returned, to find the warrior whom defeated them on Mars. The stakes are higher this time, as the whole Earth is in danger, as well as your life. Doom II is also much harder than it’s predecessor. And further ups the ante with new monsters, more levels, and more intense gameplay.

Final Doom, which is no longer the “final” doom, is quite possibly the hardest FPS ever made! With 32 levels of run and gun gameplay, it will require all of your gaming skill to complete. And with new monsters, and challenge, it will have you playing for a while.

The gameplay is still intact. And as we have come to expect plays just like it did the first time. And just like the first time it is still lots of fun. The longer that it has been since playing these games will of course add to the joy of blasting demons again, or is it the first time?

In all three games, you blast monsters, either with shotgun, chain gun, or fan favorite BFG. Or forget guns and give hell to the creatures with a chainsaw. The goal in levels is of course to stay alive and find the exit, all the while you find secrets, new implements of doom, and slay unholy beasts of the underworld..

The Graphics in the games, get slightly better with each version. But are still dated, after all the game is over 10 years old. That is not to say that the graphics are so bad to render the game unplayable, besides no real gamer would refuse to play a game just based on the graphics. Hell there are Playstaion games with worse graphics, and no I am not kidding.

The sounds from the rocking midis to the roars and death cries of the demons and blast of your shotgun still hold up. After all, Doom showed an generation of game designers how to do sound effects right. The music does not hold up as well as the sound effects, but that is due to the fact that it is done in MIDI format, which is so early 90’s.

The Bad
If you did not like Doom the first time, chances are you will not this time.

This excellent collection makes me wish that other classic PC games would follow suit. A Police Quest collection anyone? There are dozens of other games that I would like to see get new windows approved collections, alas they will likely never happen.

The Bottom Line
For former and new Doom gamers alike The Ultimate Doom Trilogy is the perfect way to get doomed old skool style.