1997

Doom 64

"An exclusive to the console in what is a relatively small-scale franchise, Doom 64 has been unfavourably compared to Rare's masterpieces when it's a great FPS in its own right. An abundance of well-designed levels, monsters, secrets, and weaponry is wonderfully coupled by the haunting soundtrack and dark, atmospheric scenery. This is still a joy to play and, personally, the best in the franchise."

8/10 - Steven Smith ⁶⁴

#nintendo64x64

User Reviews (2)

"This was my first N64 game purchase, and is still one of the best. Great atmosphere, lots of secrets, superb gameplay and lots of content ensured this is a game I still play today. It is my favourite Doom game by far, and is more importantly accessable to newcomers to the franchise. Insanely difficult in the later levels, this is not to be missed!"

9/10 - THENAMESNORM ⁶⁴

"Doom 64 could almost be considered the true Doom 3. It uses the tried and true gameplay of the first two Doom games but with more detailed graphics and a huge collection of brand new levels. The tone is more dark and ominous than the original games which can be hit or miss but either way Doom 64 is still a must play game."

8/10 - Mystemo ⁶⁴

1
Falk_Sturmfels
Sat 13th Sep 2014

Well, I agree mostly with Stevens opinion. The game has an outstanding atmosphere, and the idea of a soundtrack with noises of crying babys is still frightening.
But it is very hard to find all the parts from the Lasergun, which is very important to beat the final boss. And that part kills the game, because without a guide you can get a hold of maybe one of the four parts from the Lasergun. The other three are hidden behind nasty leveldesign. For example: destroy all oil-barrells in a level exept ONE particular. Then you reach other exits to further levels. If you don´t know it (like almost everybody without a guide) you suddenly make a leveljump forward (around six or seven levels, if I remember right) and miss Lasergunparts.
As a result you stand in front of the final boss and can´t do s...t. That kind of gamedesign destroyed back in the days the great and dark game for me.

Edit: Mmmh, I searched through youtube and found a video from a guy killing the final boss without the Laser. Mmh. I might try it again someday ... closing that old open file.

2
SKTTR
Sat 13th Sep 2014

The lasergun wasn't worth it. I thought it was a lame wpn. You should have saved rockets and some BFG9000 energy for the final boss. Don't need to follow the cryptic path to the games most hidden secrets. And definately don't need the lasergun for the final boss.

Anyway, great game! Probably the best in classic fps (before GoldenEye changed the game).

3
Falk_Sturmfels
Sat 13th Sep 2014

@SKTTR: As I said, I might try it again. I guess I still have a save file on my old N64 savecards.

4
Kirk
Sat 13th Sep 2014

This was actually a really good version of the game. There's maybe something not quite as classic about it as say Doom 2, maybe it's some of the level designs or something (can't quite remember why it never quite bested say Playstation Doom for me*), but still a very good fps however you look at it. I always loved the more ambient and atmospheric soundtrack of the PS1 and N64 games over the originals though.

Might go and give this another go now actually.

I've been really enjoying going back and playing a lot of these N64 games since this article started

*Edit: I think maybe it was because the levels started being a bit tooo confusing and maze like a bit too soon for my tastes. They need to ease you into that sh*t.

5
HawkeyeWii
Sat 13th Sep 2014

Best in the franchise... please....
DOOM was and still is the best first person shooter. DOOM64 is good but it is missing all the fantastic music of the first two games. It is kind of the oddball of the franchise.

6
unrandomsam
Sat 13th Sep 2014

Doom is to FPS's as Super Mario Bros is to platformers.

If Wolfenstein : The New Order was the test run Doom 4 will be brilliant. (And almost certainly outsell everything other than Mario Kart so far on the Wii U).

7
ogo79
Sat 13th Sep 2014

now this would be a good virtual console choice.
the only 64 game ive ever considered getting

8
Kirk
Sat 13th Sep 2014

@HawkeyeWii

If you ignore people's preference for either mouse and keyboard or controllers for a second, then Playstation Doom was arguably the best version of the lot; combining both Doom 1 and Doom 2, with slightly enhanced lighting and other visuals touches over the PC version (if I recall correctly), a much more sophisticated ambient soundtrack rather than silly rock tunes (just like the great soundtrack in Doom 64), and some extra little bonuses such as the secret nightclub level. I'd say Playstation Doom was the best version of the bunch. Regardless, Doom is pretty great whatever version you play.

9
Kirk
Sat 13th Sep 2014

@unrandomsam

Apart from it's very linear scripted gameplay which goes against basically everything that made the original Doom games so great, with their brilliant intricate level designs that most modern fps games still fail to match, I'd kinda agree.