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A Diffent Point of View

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: February 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

If you browse the reviews just like I did before I bought the game, then you notice one thing in peticular: Most reviews compare this version of Doom to others (most commonly the PC). I never owned any other version of Doom. I never even played any of them before. So I hope some words from a non-expieenced Doom player will help you.

I own many GBA games, but this is by far my best game. The graphics are AMAZING, considering this is a GBA. The sound is EXCELLENT, all the moans, grunts, shrieks, gunshots, doors, and other effects are crisp and clear, and by far the best sound I've ever heard on a GBA. The movement is very fluid (I thought a first person shooter on a handheld system would be slow and jerky). So overall, this is a great game will no flaws.

This game is one of the best I have ever seen for this console. I recommend this game to anyone who wants a great time (it is violent, and you must be able to stomach the carnage).

good much fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 15 / 19
Date: December 16, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Quake, Unreal Tournament, Half Life--and even Bungie's Halo--owe their prominence to a single early 1990s PC game: id Software's Doom. Although prefaced by Wolfenstein 3D in 1990, id's 1993 release of Doom defined the archetype for all subsequent first-person shooters. Texture-mapped surfaces, mazelike levels, gory monsters, and seamless multiplayer gameplay helped Doom and its sequels leap onto no less than 10 different gaming platforms. Now, thanks to Activision and David A. Palmer Studios, the game that coined the term deathmatch is now available on the Game Boy Advance.
On the Martian military colony of Phobos, a horde of hellish demons has obliterated the entire human population, save for one lowly space marine--you. Stranded alone, you're out to reap some revenge and flee with your hide intact. The single-player portion of Doom features 24 full levels of shotgun-toting, plasma-blasting 3D shooter action--but that's not all. Each level also supports four-player deathmatch or two-player cooperative modes with the use of a link cable. Despite a few minor alterations from the PC version, this handheld port contains the same gory gameplay that helped its ancestor launch a genre.

To be fair, Doom isn't an exact port, nor is it flawless. Although the majority of the game's 24 levels are straight out of the PC version, three were axed and one was heavily edited in order to cram the game onto a single cartridge. The massive Cyber Demon and Spider Mastermind bosses are missing as well. Other changes include green-toned blood and enemies that dissipate after death. Generally, the music is the same, although some selections are played out of order. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Doom and its progeny, this means action-packed, stylized MIDI and tons of synthetic bass. The sound effects are loud and ugly--highlighted by shotguns, grunts, growls, and an assortment of samples you've probably heard in recent car commercials.

In terms of setbacks, the game's overall resolution is somewhat pixilated, similar to the PC version on its lowest setting. There is also a noticeable amount of slowdown and choppiness in large areas, and it's compounded further in spots loaded with monsters. The presence of brightness and lighting toggles is a welcome addition, although the muddiness of textures is more obvious with dynamic lighting disabled. The GBA's button layout presents another obstacle to overcome, mainly because it's not as responsive as a mouse or analog controller. However, the controls generally lend themselves to Doom better than they would its successors--mainly because the game itself predates the vertical aiming of modern shooters.

Regardless of its shortcomings, Doom's strength lies in its raw gameplay. There are eight weapons to use, including your fist, a chain saw, the pistol, a shotgun, the chain gun, a rocket launcher, the beautiful plasma rifle, and the beautifully devastating BFG-9000. Conversely, there are seven monsters present in various quantities just waiting to absorb your ammo. They include former humans, zombie sergeants, ghoulish imps, pudgy demons, ghostly lost souls, floating cacodemons, and the Minotaur-like barons of hell. Even though the aim of most levels is tediously searching for keys, the cathartic release of blasting heads is a great equalizer. On the game's toughest difficulty setting, nightmare, there are more than 3,000 enemies to obliterate.

Cool 3D visuals and violent gameplay aside, the best way to play Doom is to enlist a few friends and take part in its multiplayer features. All of the game's single-player levels are available in both deathmatch and cooperative varieties--provided everyone has his or her own cartridge. Even with four human characters and scads of monsters onscreen, the frame rate never stutters any more than in a single-player match. There aren't any onscreen indicators in the multiplayer modes, but the action is so fast and the overall effect so priceless that you won't mind.

For those of you who are totally burned out on everything Doom has to offer or who have totally abused the GBA's multiplayer capabilities, Doom may be a bit too dated and/or simplistic to draw you back in. However, if you appreciate the beauty of straightforward gameplay, happen to have a few feisty friends, and absolutely adore your Game Boy Advance, Doom is an excellent choice.

Doom

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: October 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Many a year have a dreamt of the time when I could play my all time favorite game anywhere, anytime. So maybe I still can’t play it anywhere (like in the dark), but still this is close enough to make me very, very happy. A direct port of the original doom this is not, but very close. Any long time doom fan will notice right away that details from the original PC doom are missing, a pool of blue goo here, a pillar there, but nothing to cry over and it is still very close to the original. That said, the game is amazing! I had my doubts that the GBA could handle Doom but it seems to just fine (though I have yet to try the multi-player mode). Every once in a while you might notice the frame rate drop but it is nothing that will hamper the players enjoyment. The game has always been dark, but the developer has addressed this issue very well by give player the ability to lighten or darken the game to suit there lighting situation and also by allowing you to turn of the in game dynamic lighting. I will post an updated review as soon as I have a chance to beat it and try all the features.

Impressive graphics; basic gameplay

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: October 28, 2001
Author: Amazon User

If you're a fan of the Doom series you get exactly what you've wanted -- no more, no less. The Game Boy Advance continues to impress in the graphics arena (Tony Hawk 2 was the first indication) and the port is pretty darn true to the original Doom. Somewhat grainy visuals (direct from the original game) and very basic gameplay bring the game down a notch, but it's still as fun as ever.

If you were a fan of the original, or want to see what really started the Quakes, Unreal Tournaments and Counter Strikes of the world, get this game.

Excellent Port!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: October 30, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I can't believe they did it...and did it well! This is actually a fantastic port of the classic game. Anyone buying it should be aware that it's a ported version of the Atari Jaguar code and levels which means it's not an exact port of the classic PC version but it's very close. The levels are modified a bit and I believe they've taken out the Cyberdemon and the Spider Brain but it's still an excellent shoot em up and it's multiplayer. Also the blood is green to achieve a "Teen" rating. The game runs suprisingly smooth and has smart additions like a brightness adjustment (why don't all GBA games have this??). If you fell in love with the classic or just want to show what your little GBA can do, buy it...NOW!

Watered down version of Doom, good if you never played

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 29, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Ouch, everyone will buy this expecting the standard of Doom, a lone soldier in a first person shooter against monsters of Hades, then they will play the game and see the violence, challenge and secrets are turned down! The blood is now green, and moments after killing an enemy it disappears, along with due to the Gameboy Advance not being as powerful as someone's computer (original platform of Doom), the game tends to move slower, and there are less enemies, barely any decor items like pillars and meat, and finally no lighting effects (flickering, strobe light)! Several traps have been removed, such as you can now no longer fall into a deep pit of lava or acid, as well as every single huge room with lots of enemies has just been removed all together! Speaking of removed, the Spider Mastermind and the cyberdemon have been removed! The two biggest bosses in Doom are no longer there, along with Holodemons have been removed (transparent demons). The controls are unique, I have yet to find a way to change weapons, but the B button is run and it is to open doors and pull switches. The A button is to fire. There are four slots to save your games and four levels of difficulty.

DOOM

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: January 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

My personal favorite game on the gba. its the original at its best, most of the levels, creatures and weapons are still hear in its choppy looking blurry glory. while the graphics may suc by todays standards its the gameplay that counts. The game dosen't stutter or slow down a bit. Blasting demons has never been so much fun. and once you beat it you can do it again and agian. If you liked doom then, you will love it now.

Not exactly the same as.....

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: May 31, 2005
Author: Amazon User

....running Doom on a 486DX 80Mhz 4Mb RAM 14" like I used to when I was only 22 and together with three other chaps "re-allocated" time from our engineering classes to blast each other either with pistols or rocket launchers.

Who doesn't remember endless nights in front of your PC fighting fire-launching monsters, grunts and bosses, checking your map trying to find the secret passages, desperately looking for medi-kits and ammo....ahhhh...those were great days!!

I won't lie to you, it's not the same on a GBA screen (some scenarios are way too dark) but nevertheless this has brought-up so many great memories that only listening to the score is great fun.

Long live to FPS's.

Enjoy.

Doom on the move

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Doom was the original first person shooter, and although it looks dated now, it looks fantastic on the GBA.

Thanks to the power of the GBA, the FPS style and graphics are nearly the same, and all the original levels are there.Being an old game, most people won't be familiar with Doom at first, but you'll soon notice some similarities with the Quake series, run on a very similiar engine and by the same developers. The ever popular Shotgun, Plasma gun (best known in Quake 3 arena) and the infamous BFG are all here, with the cliched enemies that make ID so well known in the FPS genre. Theres 28 levels and 4 difficulty settings, so you get a lot out of it, plus there is a deathmatch mode, for people lucky enough to have a link cable.

Buy this game now, definitley one of the finest Game Boy Advance games about.

Very Very Nice, But...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 30, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I love the game, but it just loses "something" in translation to GBA. Maybe it is no longer aas special an event as when it first arrived for PC, but it does not hold my interest as it did on the PC. The graphics are good, but I want them to be better.

There are still times when it is nice to settle in and blow away greasy monster guys for a while and it is in this that the game excels. I have only had the opportunity to play linked once and loved it.

The game grows tiresome more quickly than I remember the original doing so, but I still heartily recommend the game.

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