Hello, fellow gamers. Recently, a little game known as Doom has graced us with its release and I have been slaying all kinds of demons, devils, and players, or a combination of the three.

What do I mean? Well, let’s start with the campaign.

Doom, for those that have lived under a rock, is a first person shooter. Not just any action shooter, but the one that goes to the gym and works out for six hours, seven days a week, and twice on Sunday. That’s to say this is an AGRO shooter; no action set pieces where you’re going down a mountain on a bike and jumping off a cliff. This is straight in-your-face run-and-seriously-gun action, true to its origins of the earlier installments. The game doesn’t ask, but demands that you charge head first into the fray.

I know what your thinking? Won’t I die?! No, man up!

Doomguy is no punk at all. You awake in a coffin like object that you’re chained into. The moment you break out of your chains, you start to put the ‘W’ in whooping. Doomguy is a rough-tough mofo that doesn’t take shit from anyone. You start with a pistol as you start to learn the mechanics of the game. Unlike other games of this type, there is no auto heal. You have to stun and stagger your enemy. When you do, they glow blue or red and that’s your cue to run up to them and inflict melee damage that only Doom has delivered on thus far.

The kill animations are over the top and bloody as all hell; they would make Jason Voorhees proud. As the bloody heep, that was your enemy, hits the ground you are given a med heal and that’s the only way you can boost your health, other than finding it. Later in the game you get a ridiculous arsenal of shotguns, machine guns, the BFG 9000, and a freaking chain saw that releases ammo when you cut apart an enemy. The action, of course, is fast paced, set to a dark and hellish backdrop with the perfect soundtrack. I found myself actually jamming to one of the tracks that was playing on the start screen. It perfectly complements the heavy action. Boss battle are heart pounding tons of fun and there are also secret locations that are at the end of nail-biting platforming areas which adds great replay value.

One downside is that the single player Doom can be a one trick pony. Most, if not all of the time, you will be running and clearing all the enemies until the next door opens. You do this for eight-and-a-half hours and needless to say that you will want a break, and that’s where multiplayer comes in.

The multiplayer is where things start changing a bit. All the Doom-ish aspects of the single player start to take on a more formulaic approach to the multi player component, which is to say that you have the regular signs and symptoms of most F.P.S games of late. Like it or not, you will find it here.The PvP action is fast-paced and rewarding when you get a kill. There still is no auto heal, so you have to make sure you pick your fights carefully until you find a health pick up. You can also collect demon runes that will transform you to a oversized, and some will say overpowered, creature in order to rain death and gore upon your helpless victims. Trust me, it’s as cool as it sounds until your on the wrong end of it.

You also have loadouts to choose from and can customize your player’s appearance to your preference. This adds a RPG-ish upgrading system that is now so prevalent in these type of games today. You can also do cool dance moves and taunt your enemy team on the victory screen, if your into that sort of thing. In short, it’s a really fun time, but if you’re into the older doom feel, then single player would be where you want to spend your time.

We give Doom an 8.0 out of 10. Our advice? Get the game, turn up the volume, and jam out to a single player gore-fest or take on other players until you start running away from a 10 story tall demon like a little girl… It happens.

Happy gaming.