Doom 3 - BFG Edition

I played ID Game's Rage some time ago and got to finding some Easter eggs that related back to Doom and Wolfenstein.  It had me reminiscing fondly about those old games.  Lately, ID Games came out with the Doom 3 BFG edition...which includes old doom.  For $5.50, it was worth it to download from Steam. 

As well as having both Doom 3 and it's expansion RoE (which I owned but were not loaded on my current machine), BFG includes a 2nd expansion.  Also included were all of Doom and Doom 2 (and an expansion for it as well).

I remembered in Doom 2 there was a secret level that was a tribute to Castle Wolfenstein.   It was 15 levels into the basic game.  Getting there, I find that The walls are blank.   No Nazi symbols.  No Nazi soldiers.  Hell...even the dogs were just fucking pinkies.  I don't recall all that much from the original Wolfenstein...but one of the thing that I remembered specifically is that the dogs were NOT wearing Nazi uniforms!  I fought 15 levels into an archaic game to see Castle Wolfenstein and all I got to see were blank walls and bullshit.  Not cool, ID.  What's next?  Hogan's Heroes?  We going to revise all the old 'Call of Duty' making the Nazis all neutral-uniform-of-non-specific-origin in a war of 40's esque theme. - Rant for another time.

So what next?  Well, Playing RoE, there is a place in that game where you have to go through a sewer area.  The place is full of poisonous gas so you have to use a oxygen to get by.   So, on top of having to fight enemies, you have to worry about oxygen.  It's hard...but it's fun.  Well the 'executive' decision was to remove the need to worry about oxygen.  Why!?  Also there was a mini game that was 'Sarges duck hunt' that was removed.  Now all mini games are 'Turkey puncher'.   Why!?  Someone spent money to make changes to a mediocre (at best) game to make it more bland.   BFG!?  Try BFD.  

Simply put, ID games were the creator of the 'first person shooter' with their release of 'Wolfenstein 3D'.  A couple of years later, they came out with 'Doom' which was revolutionary for it's time.  Heretic and Hexen came out soon after and were were fps of the Midieval fantasy genre.  Doom 2 came out very soon after Doom and had only new weapons, monsters and levels.  They used the same engine that was in the first Doom.  There was no mechanic for looking up or down...jumping, crouching.  If something was higher or lower than you, the 'Auto-aim' would adjust your shots accordingly.  Compared to the games of today, it would be considered laughably archaic yet us old time gamers still have a fondness in our heart (and space in our hard drive) for old Doom.  Yet this game is 20 years old!  Leave it alone!  It does not need modifying; it would be like Ford going back to redesign the Model-T after all these years.   A Model-T doesn't go fast.  It's poor with braking and acceleration.  It's terrible on gas.  It's hard to drive.  The only reason to buy a Model-T is because it IS a Model-T...and the idiots at ID Games are taking even THAT away.   So what is going on, ID Games?  Mathew Costello get a promotion from writing and is now making bad decisions in everything?

I picked up Doom BFG for $5.50.  Not a bad deal for old time gamers looking to complete our collection with some retro stuff.  Anyone who does not remember the old Doom may find it to be dry, linear and lacking in story and variation.  Compared to today's games, the AI is predictable which meant also the guns had to be nerfy... and the enemy doesn't seem to be really bothered all that much from getting shot...until they die of terminal lead poisoning.  The SMG in Doom 3 feels like the name 'Airsoft' should be engraved on the side.  Though it seems with light and sounds...they managed to make Doom 3 even more scary than I remembered it.