On Friday 13th May this year after nearly a decade in development the eagerly anticipated and awaited new instalment in the long running franchise that is responsible for popularising the genre of First Person Shooters will erupt onto PC, Xbox-One and Playstation 4.
Doom is, yet another, reboot of the franchise developed by id Software and published by Bethesda Softworks, retelling for a third time how teleporters developed on Mars by the UAC open the gates to Hell itself, unleashing countless demons upon the barren planet.
Originally this new Doom was to be a sequel to 2004's Doom 3, the first reboot of the franchise, and a remake of 1994's Doom II: Hell on Earth. Unsurprisingly the game was to feature the demons of Hell laying siege to cities on Earth in a return to the fast paced, action packed gameplay that made the property so massively popular in the 1990's. After the release of the heavily marketed Rage in 2011, it was decided that Doom 4 just didn't have enough personality and the project was shelved.
This past weekend saw an open Beta of the games multiplayer available for free across all three platforms, showcasing new features to the series such weapon loadouts, armor customization and the all new demon power up which gives players the ability to transform into one of the franchises iconic demons. Heavily armed and armored these behemoths can turn the tide of any match, obliterating the enemy into little more than a splash of blood on the scenery. Much like its predecessors Doom is excessively violent and brutal, with lightning fast action and chaotic battles for survival.
Another new feature for the game is a built in editor called 'SnapMap' for all three platforms, which will allow players to create their own custom maps, infinitely extending the games 9 multiplayer launch maps.
With Unreal Tournament enjoying great success and a whole new barrage of high octane competitive shooters en-route such as Overwatch and Battleborn the revival of the arena shooting game is truly upon us, but has Doom still got what it takes?
