E3 2015: Doom Kicks Off The Bethesda Press Conference With A Bang
Ted Hentschke
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I was skeptical about the Bethesda Press Conference. Usually, E3 is defined by the battle between Sony and Microsoft, Nintendo having decided to do its own thing a while ago. Massive companies like EA and Ubisoft are obvious choices for developer conferences, but Bethesda? They only have like 8 titles, and those titles don’t do annual installments, so it didn’t seem to me like they would have much to talk about aside from Fallout 4. Then, the lights dimmed and Doom happened.
Official Trailer:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NteAPGprDJk]
Floor footage courtesy MKIceAndFire:[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JpejIwm9Sfw]
Sitting in my seat in the Dolby Theater, I didn’t have enough hands to wipe the tears of joy from my eyes, pick my jaw off the floor, and claw rowdily. All I could think was, “wow, they made Doom insane again!” Brutal kills, exploding bodies, fast paced run and gun action, distinct and devastating weaponry, and heavenly proper lighting. Now, I didn’t dislike Doom 3, but the slower and more serious tone they went for with that game left many fans wondering why they just couldn’t tie a flashlight to their guns and go heavy metal murder mode.
Their talking points hit all the right spots in the cockles of my demonic heart. Doom means fast, fun, demon killing action. Check, check, and check. It also means a return of the iconic id Software brutal multiplayer. As someone who grew up leaping rocket strafing people in Quake 3, I think we are long overdue for a return to the days where reflexes and skill trumped being shotgunned by a racist 12 year old.
To give the multiplayer legs, they announced the game will be released with a feature called Doom Snapmap. Snapmap is basically a simplified map creator and modding tool, allowing easy player driven content creation. Doom has lived well past its shelf life because of mods like Brutal Doom, and the people over at id Software clearly know this. Multiplayer looked fast and fun, and promised diverse game modes and power-ups to keep things interesting.
I was really not expecting this from Doom. I mean the game lets you rip open demon heads with your bare hands. It lets you worry more about aiming your rockets than managing your inventory. Weapons evolve with parts you pick up as you play, and I can think of 0 reason not to integrate a cluster rocket launcher onto an assault rifle. It is great to see a major company focus on fun for a change.
It was far from the last announcement of the conference, so check out my E3 coverage for all the scoop!
Categorized:Horror Gaming News
