Ziad EL Zein

Sadly I don’t feel excited for a new doom that have a medieval based theme. It just doesn’t fit with DOOM’s universe … I think it can be a very good idea to release a new Heretic or in id software’s case a brand new release with a new title but not DOOM.

1. Doom 1, 2 (It's like one big game ) 2. Quake 3 Arena (Single & Multi) 3. Doom 3, I guess (debatable ...)

Speed of Doom, please ...

But such games (Tekken/Streetfighter etc.….) are much deeper than Doom Eternal in terms of gameplay design and re-playability! It is not even comparable! Fighting games are basically PVP duels… which sadly is not truly applicable in Eternal. Even in the Multiplayer segment, they had to have PVE elements and couldn’t make a direct PVP (duel) work. It just didn’t click. The abilities are too messy to be balanced out in a PVP (1vs1)! so it had to have players controlling monsters vs a player controlling the Doom slayer! It can be fun for a while but no ... no way near a Tekken match! Look at Quake Champions for Duels (Rapha and the likes) this is a deep gameplay level, combat, and arena design at its finest… a display of the 25-year evolution of classic FPS multiplayer dueling!(Movement +Aiming+ Item control + Map control + Anticipation & Positioning) Not Eternal!!! No way …Eternal has simpler movement mechanics … yes you can double dash and double jump but anyone can do it. While less than 5% of the quake live players completed the obstacle course! I mean yes fighting games have unique and engaging fights but this fact has nothing to do with Eternal which doesn't have Duels in the first place. Fighting games can be compared to Quake champions if you truly want to make this comparison! Yes, it is unique and challenging for a while, but I felt overpowered halfway through (playing it on nightmare) and that feeling didn't go away... towards the end, it was a chore! It offered a nice experience that was fun and engaging but ultimately it burned me out! In combat, my internal dialogue was like this: Switch to the ice bomb ...Now to the grenade...Now do a glory kill... Oh, wait one second it is time for a blood punch ...low on ammo let me use the chainsaw on this imp I shall burn it first to get the shards ...My ice bomb is recharged let's repeat. On the other hand, playing something like project brutality(the old version) kept me much more engaged. I discovered new monster variations on every level! I found a new weapon on almost every level, I felt that I had more choice & freedom and the levels kept me hooked! In Eternal, I saw many monster variations in the purple areas early on in the game which felt like an anti-climax! Plus the fights in the purple areas felt better than the ones in the levels just odd… It is a great game but in my eyes, but the classics are much more superior and offer more ground to build on. They allow for more gameplay scenarios for the player overall. Using the classical approach the powers can be replaced by many different timed pickups and an arena fight in Eternal can be easily replicated and surpassed using the good old tools of the originals, without losing the environmental richness and variety that I felt lacking in Eternal.

this exactly this ... The game is like a wave mod but eventually, you get too over-powered (even on nightmare) …And it is not about id software balancing the abilities in-game or creating tougher enemies to keep the player challenged, or getting good at the game and learning the loop, near the end of eternal it felt like a chore a hybrid action slash 'em up shooter a SFPS!

Using Guns is almost never the most efficient way to kill your enemies … Yes you need your guns to carry on with combat but you generally don’t finish your enemies with guns but with glory kills and chainsaws (reload function !) … which is not a bad thing just saying … Nightmare difficulty was the only setting that I played ... Played them both once and never looked back. Although I might replay Eternal it is very good.

I am a big fan of all the Doom titles played all from The Ultimate Doom to Doom Eternal. I must say that the originals are my personal favorites. I have beaten Doom 2016 and Eternal on the nightmare difficulty settings, Doom Eternal is better than 2016 in terms of gameplay, it is a better action game overall but it is not a pure shooter. The basic formula in shooters is simple you aim with your weapons on demons then things die! The player can feel the strength of his weapon and evaluate their efficiency and importance based on the damage & Carnage. This is the first law in shooters it is the foundation of gameplay and combat. It is the very definition of FPS combat design all that follows is complementary to this core… if you mess with the core then you are basically creating a new genre/subgenre! In Hack and slash action games the player usually has to engage closely in melee combat. Usually the player has to move close to his target/enemy and at distance zero he has to attack! Generally speaking in shooters melee is kept as a last resort! It is here that things change radically in the new DOOM games… The most efficient way to kill enemies in Doom Eternal is via melee combat … This is the big elephant in the room! I am not saying it is a bad design but it is a different design that not all shooter fans might like! I personally enjoyed it but I still prefer the old simple and pure shoot to kill formula it is why I don’t feel that this is a new DOOM… DOOM 3 was the last in my eyes. In DOOM Eternal the most efficient ways to kill are 1. Glory Kill 2. Cut enemies with the chainsaw…. after burning them with the flame thrower 3. Freeze them with the bomb or demolish them with the grenade whichever is charged and ready 4. Cut them into 3 chunks with the red-bladed sword! 5. Blood punch them! 6. Burn them while flying around like Spiderman with your shotgun meat hook! 7. Use a combination of these to cause devastating damage! It is fun for a while, I really enjoyed it but ….No this is not DOOM. You still use the traditional weapons by the way to soften up your enemies…You still can hit sensitive spots to radically reduce the enemy threats but it is almost never the most efficient way to kill an enemy by simply shooting it !!! This is why the new Dooms are not pure shooters. This is why they FEEL different. I entered the FUN Zone and I liked it but I love the old combat loop much better… Thank you very much! One more thing the new level design is open arena design it is simply much easier to create and less engaging overall! The level design in the originals was simply brilliant. This was my 7 cents … Bye now …

Kindly note that I finished both games DOOM 2016 & Eternal on the nightmare difficulty and fairly enjoyed them both… The game is just too action oriented … it leaves no room for a tense and horror like atmosphere like Doom 3… which basically was following up the main guidelines of the originals but fell short in the combat section. Doom 1 & 2 are heavily focused on combat but they can be very atmospheric and scary at the same time… this is what Eternal is missing! It has good combat but it lacks atmosphere. It just feels too arcade like …Doom 2016 had a better atmosphere but less effective combat. Originals remain the most versatile. I mean you cannot feel excited to get a pickup in Eternal when your health is 3% like in Doom 1 & 2 it just doesn’t happen. Those games can provoke different feelings in gameplay by the virtue of their simple design. They can make you feel scared, threatened and/or they can make you feel the heat of combat. Doom 3 nailed the atmosphere but missed the combat part… Doom 2016 & Eternal had great Combat … but to a certain extent missed the atmosphere… After playing Doom Eternal I started pressing the shift key in my Quake Champions sessions; then wondered why my DOOM Slayer isn’t dashing! LOL … By the way DOOM Eternal Feels like playing many champions at the same time … You are fast like Anarki You can burn Enemies like Death Knight, etc.…. too much to count u are basically all in one

Doom 3 because it has a better overall sp and far better mods (Phobos, In hell, The Last man standing) to name a few plus hundreds of sp maps ... & different feel to the multiplayer Quake 4 on the other hand is good for one playthrough but not as immersive and I didn't find myself coming back multiplayer is a reskinned Quake 3 ...

LETS SIMPLY PUT IT THIS WAY DOOM & DOOM 2 ARE BETTER BECAUSE They give you more room to breathe in terms of level design! Thus they have more creative levels and Better overall gameplay and atmosphere. Why .....? Because it is not an arena open….arena closes …. arena open….arena closes …. Rinse & Repeat. No matter how creative you are using this structure is not as good as the old period. Even if they manage to create a better level segmenting it into little arenas messes up the experience altogether Plus I really do not like to chainsaw an enemy in order to reload! Why! See gameplay in the modern Dooms is built around the arena-based combat which is not as versatile and varied as the original …. Still Doom 2016 & Eternal are good By the way, I finished Doom 2016 on nightmare back in 2018 (when I finally got the chance to play it) halfway Doom eternal ... simply not finding the time :(

With the release of the new titles Doom 2016 & Eternal I found myself appreciating and missing Doom 3 even more!

It just doesn't feel like a pure shooter it is like a new hybrid hack and slash shooter! blood punch this enemy glory kill for health and chainsaw for ammo what the f!!!!

Doom Eternal is not DOOM … It is a good game that puts all the focus on combat. Gameplay suffered badly, although an extraordinary effort was put to create the environments and it shows … it looks much better than the environments in Doom 2016. Hell is more creative and darker than Doom 2016… still Doom 3 had a better Hell… in terms of level design and feel The Gameplay flow goes like this: arena opens, kill demons arena closes repeat…. This is NOT DOOM. In the originals, the Level design was more abstract, had brilliant puzzle-solving, and rewarded exploration in a more meaningful way. This is what I miss in the original… Eternal tried its best to replicate many elements in the environment and bring in the bright and Doom Like colors and feel to the items and the space it created, and it was brilliant… but sadly with the combat-focused system and movement mechanics adopted it couldn’t be as expansive and deep in terms of gameplay and level design like the originals were… The originals are able to make you feel afraid at times, DOOM Eternal can’t ….. The originals are able to play on the scarcity of ammo and resources where you have to double think your next step save your ammo…The originals can leave you wondering about the effect of the switch you turned…and the fear of the upcoming demons you unleashed somewhere in the level although you can’t see that yet, or maybe the secret resources that you unlocked or the alternative route than could lead you to a new secret level or area … Eternal can’t… The originals can make you smile when you see a health pack after a fierce battle Eternal can’t… I mean the pool of possibilities and situations that the originals put you in, is bigger and better than Eternal …. Eternal added so many items and classical design elements to its assets to make you feel that this is DOOM … but to those who know, it is not. I loved the game it is an evolution when compared to DOOM 2016 and both are really good but DOOM remains unmatched … I didn’t like some elements in the story: Demons are supposed to be demons … you know the ones we learned about as kids the Hell beings that scared the shit out of us….not this.