There are a lot of good things coming this week, but I only have eyes for Doom.
It easy to forget how big an impact the original Doom had on the gaming world. Id’s journeyman venture into the realm of first-person games was so iconic that it not only spawned an entire genre, but a new pejorative to describe its would-be successors: The Doom Clone.
Without Doom, there would be no Half-Life, no Bioshock and, most importantly, no Duke Nukem. It's tempting to say that without Doom there would be no puritanical bluenoses telling us that video games make us bad people – tempting, I say, but it's pretty clear that such claims would be a cottage industry with or without Id software’s behemoth. Someone is always outraged about something, after all.
Nobody's outraged about Doom anymore, except maybe for game curators who now have to start adding (1993) and (2016) to all of their databases after this week. These days it’s tempting to dismiss Doom as just another first-person shooter. I, however, saw the new Doom at Pax East. It may be another first-person shooter, but it is an Id first-person shooter, and it got me excited enough to preorder a full-priced game, even though the system requirements have yet to be released as of the time I'm writing this.
My game of the week is Doom – which, by the way, releases on Friday. The thirteenth.
Never change, Id. Never change.
Felix “Half-Tuck” Threepaper
The Uncharted series set a bar for Tomb Raidering games that Tomb Raider itself has only recently cleared. How will Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End keep up? By opening up the levels to multiple pathways for success, improving stealth and melee and adding driving. It probably won’t deliver an open-world action/stealth smorgasboard on the level of Metal Gear Solid V, but its story will be more digestible and it will look more gorgeous. Game of the week.
Chris "C" Cesarano
That this new Doom is going back to being more about fast-paced action actually has me less interested than I had been in Doom 3. I liked the direction the previous one had gone, including the limitation of using either a weapon or the flashlight. That's not to say that Doom doesn't look like fun, just that I have other preferences for the month of May.
Unfortunately, none of them release this week. In fact, this week looks like items worth tallying in preparation of the Steam sale. Dungeon Rushers is a retro-JRPG style dungeon-crawl where you can also build and share your own dungeons. Khimera: Destroy All Monster Girls is an 8-bit side-scroller in desperate desire to be the next Shovel Knight, with a more Otaku spin (set that aside to gift to Mantid). Neon Drive has a tasteful 80's aesthetic where you shift your car along four paths to avoid obstacles. Starbreak looks to be an interesting experiment as an action-oriented, side-scroller MMO.
If I had to choose, however, it'd be Insincere. A first-person shooter with 90's graphics and terrible voice acting? That's definitely being gifted to Greg once it's on Steam sale.
Erik "wordsmythe" Hanson
I'm tempted by Shaolin vs Wutang, largely for non-play reasons, and I get the feeling that Moonstone Tavern could hook me, but there's a Paradox game out this week. Stellaris is my pick.
This week:
PC
- Assassins vs Pirates
- BattleSouls
- Crush Crush
- Desire
- Dr. Spacezoo
- DOOM
- Dungeon Rushers
- Dyna Bomb
- Elite vs. Freedom
- The House in Fata Morgana
- Impossible Geometry
- Innoquous 5
- Insincere
- Khimera: Destroy All Monster Girls
- Madness Cubed
- Meld
- Moonstone Tavern
- Murasaki
- Neon Drive
- Orc Assault
- RefRain - prism memories -
- Rocket Fist
- Shaolin vs Wutang
- Sins Of The Demon
- StarBreak
- Stellaris
- The Temporal Invasion
- TransOcean 2: Rivals
- Trawl
PS4
- The Binding of Isaac: Afterbirth
- DOOM
- Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
Xbox One
- DOOM
- Raiden V
- Solar Shifter EX
Wii U
- The Book of Unwritten Tales 2
- Super Meat Boy
3DS
- Disney Art Academy
Vita
- MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies
Vive
- Orc Assault
Comments
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If I ever get added to the list of GWJ personalities, it would basically be a copy-paste job of Allen's profile, except replacing the words "southern comfort" with "walking cautionary tale," and replacing "weird" with "bad."
Jonman Wrote:
Yes, you can cancel Darksiders, but only by using your Sony Golds. Which, while pretty good, aren't a patch on Zelda.
I'm A Steam Curator!
I see my reputation precedes me again.
But not it wasn't in relation to MegaTagmension Blanc + Neptune VS Zombies? Out for real this time!
Uncharted 4's all I'm getting this week. I really shouldn't though, I'm still buried in about 3 other games.
Same here...but it isn't going to stop me from buying it tomorrow.
I'm gonna be honest I totally missed there was a Vita game coming out.
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Games are releasing the same week as Stellaris? What fools! They'll all flop thanks to the power of the Blorg!
How did I live before digital distribution of old, cheap games?
MilkmanDanimal wrote:You did live before digital distribution of old, cheap games. Now you just play games.
This is Stellaris week.
the National Center on Domestic and Sexual Violence's list of hotlines
What he said. My xenophobic reptilian pacifists are not going to...pacify their...xenophobia...by themselves?
That hurt.
I'm curious about Uncharted, but I haven't watched the last three yet. I'll probably wait for it to hit Netflix and then binge watch them all.
This week is all about Disney Art Academy. Art Academy is a really neat series, and tying it to DIsney is a smart move. I'm really looking forward to getting a copy.
Professionally offended. Does not understand jokes. Needs a man to explain them to me.
I thought about giving that one a quick nod, but I'm far too outside that loop to know what's good about it.
Words... are a big deal.
Jill Lapore wrote:Editing is one of the great inventions of civilization.
The Art Academy series are smartly-made interactive art tutorials that walk novice artists through projects step-by-step to build skills and introduce concepts that can be used both within the game and in real life with real media. Disney Art Academy uses that foundation, but instead of teaching people how to draw or paint still-lifes and landscapes, it teaches them how to draw a variety of Disney characters as well as introducing the fundamental concepts of cartooning.
Professionally offended. Does not understand jokes. Needs a man to explain them to me.
How does pacifist xenophobia work?
"We don't like other planets, but by golly we're not going to do anything about it!"
Jonman Wrote:
Yes, you can cancel Darksiders, but only by using your Sony Golds. Which, while pretty good, aren't a patch on Zelda.
I'm A Steam Curator!
Stellaris didn't even get a mention? WTF?
Disappointed.
Seriously, WTF. Id Software has been releasing the same game over and over for TWENTY YEARS, with the exception of Rage, which was garbage. They are the definition of a one-hit wonder.
When people have lied to themselves for that long, the truth feels like an attack.
—from Frostbitten by trichy
It looks a lot like when Minnesotans don't like you.
Words... are a big deal.
Jill Lapore wrote:Editing is one of the great inventions of civilization.
Okay, I apologize. You hid your pick in the last four words of the article, though.
I think my vision was blurred from the irrational rage brought on by witnessing id Software worship. Also, the sun was in my eyes... because I was trying to watch today's Mercury transit. Yeah, that's it.
When people have lied to themselves for that long, the truth feels like an attack.
—from Frostbitten by trichy
Friendship is mandatory!
You bastard, Tanglebones. :)
ClockworkHouse wrote:Yay! My Sony bone is getting tangled!
thrawn82 wrote:Tanglebones is a better man than I, in tears at my desk.
Gravey, I'm never sure, on a scale of 1-10, just how serious you are when you post. – Minarchist
I've been excited for Uncharted 4 for a long time, but I was a bit worried with all of the rumors regarding Amy Hennig's departure and other team members dropping off. Thankfully, reviews have been stellar. Bring on the Naughty Dog.
I need an "I'm with Dyni" t-shirt. -- Localgod54
I... didn't... did I worship them? I mean, Greg picking Doom is like "no duh", but I focused more on how I preferred the direction of Doom 3 over the new one, which seems to be an unpopular opinion. Granted I could have just skipped it like I did Uncharted, but I skipped Uncharted because I found 2 wasn't to my liking and have felt "meh" on the franchise. As Stellaris isn't in my wheelhouse, it also receives a "meh" and therefore gets no mention.
Sometimes we'll reach out to the head honchos if we know something notable to them is releasing, but this was a difficult weekend and we didn't have time to contact Elysium. However, I'm certain it will be discussed quite a bit in the Conference Calls, and it already has its own dedicated front page post, so it's hardly like the game is being shunned.
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Sounds great!
Words... are a big deal.
Jill Lapore wrote:Editing is one of the great inventions of civilization.
Come on, now - we can't expect every game studio to be Paradox, whose diverse catalogue of JRPGs and cartoon platformers has been the envy of the entire industry. Some standards of excellence simply aren't attainable, lest we fly toward the sun like Icarus and shed our wings in humble deference to greatness.
"@OzymandiasAV No, you're just indicative of the sjw infestation in the gaming media." -- Brad Wardell
I wish Criterion was still releasing the same game over and over for twenty years.
Gravey, I'm never sure, on a scale of 1-10, just how serious you are when you post. – Minarchist
No, not you, Greg's "shooters wouldn't exist if id hadn't invented them" spiel. Nobody remembers Marathon, developed around the same time as Doom, but on Mac instead of PC. Nobody worships Jason Jones, even though Marathon has more elements common to modern shooters like free mouse look, networked multiplayer with voice chat, and an actual story driving the gameplay. Unfortunately for gamers, after Bungie sold out to Microsoft, they too developed the same game over and over for over a decade.
Anyway, ignore me, I'm in grouchy grandpa mode.
Also I think I pick on Greg too much. Sorry, I don't mean to. The whole Doom thing just pushes my buttons.
When people have lied to themselves for that long, the truth feels like an attack.
—from Frostbitten by trichy
Doom released: December 10, 1993
Marathon released: December 21, 1994
I mean, that about sums it up. It doesn't matter when a game was developed, Doom hit the market first and literally shook up PC gaming.
But otherwise I agree about them having an inflated reputation. One that I think is mostly gone nowadays. I could be wrong there.
Wolfenstein 3D is usually the odd man out on the love given to Doom. Doom was just so much cooler though.
How did I live before digital distribution of old, cheap games?
MilkmanDanimal wrote:You did live before digital distribution of old, cheap games. Now you just play games.
Doom is treated as a magical golden child of FPS in much the same way that assholes like me claim the best Zelda, Final Fantasy, and Metroid were all on Super Nintendo.
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ID also built it's reputation around having really cool looking 3D graphics. The Doom art-style and character design were much more consistent and cooler looking IMHO. I really liked Marathon but it really did look like a box of crayons.
Was Marathon built to sell an engine the way DOOM was? In terms of impact on future games, I feel like that direction (and marketing within the industry) could mean a lot.
Words... are a big deal.
Jill Lapore wrote:Editing is one of the great inventions of civilization.
Except you're wrong.
How did I live before digital distribution of old, cheap games?
MilkmanDanimal wrote:You did live before digital distribution of old, cheap games. Now you just play games.
No, Marathon was just built as a game that turned into a short series. Jones was inspired by Wolfenstein to create a 3D engine on Macintosh, and that spawned Pathways into Darkness (which was a dungeon crawler somewhat like Wizardry), and then Marathon.
I didn't realize the DOOM engine was purpose-built for licensing. I do know it was likely the first licensed PC game engine, and that after later iterations it was redubbed "id Tech 1," but I always thought it was just a fortuitous result of the popularity of DOOM. It does make sense if it was intentionally built for licensing, because that sort of thing is ideally engineered into a framework from the start.
When people have lied to themselves for that long, the truth feels like an attack.
—from Frostbitten by trichy
Well look who made Doom controversial again!
Boo yah!
Jonman Wrote:
Yes, you can cancel Darksiders, but only by using your Sony Golds. Which, while pretty good, aren't a patch on Zelda.
I'm A Steam Curator!
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