8Bit/Digi

To Hell and Back (Again)

Doom II will always be one of the most important games in my life as it was the first shooter game I ever played. Back in the 90’s, my uncle bought it for his PC and one had me play it one weekend when I visited. It was a game that I was hooked on for a long time (until I got a Nintendo 64 and 007 GoldenEye).

So when Bethesda released Doom II for the iPhone, it was obvious that I would have to pick it up. After all; I’ve had fond memories of it and I still play it on the PC (via Doom 3: BFG Edition). Plus its nice to play a real game on the mobile device instead of a crypto-slot machine.

Doom II has players once again take on the role of the Doom Guy who now must save Earth from the forces of Hell. That is all really to the plot, everything is all about blasting waves of demons. Players could either enjoy the classic single player campaign or try out the Master Levels.

Basically this is the classic Doom II that old school gamers have loved only now available on their phone. There is no downgrade in quality to accommodate the hardware of the iPhone, in fact it actually takes advantage of the hardware to offer an improved experience. Best of all, you don’t need to be online to play it, which is very rare for a mobile game.

However, this is not a flawless port as it has one major issue. I know everyone hated the pointless Bethesda.net DRM set up but that has (sort of) been fixed, but that is not my issue with the game. The real issue I have is the clunky control setup.

To play Doom II, move around using your thumb on the left side of the screen, tap the right side for combat and the middle of the screen to activate an action. This right here is the problem as when I try to do an action, it registers as combat (thus I’m wasting ammo). Had there actual been a control interface with the option to edit the layout then this problem could have been avoided.

The control setup is my only real problem as Doom II is an excellent game overall. From the very first entry to the 2016 reboot, this is a series that is strong because it never abandons its core principle of being a shooter.

Everything that has made Doom II one of the most iconic shooters could now be experienced on the iPhone. This is the same game I played back in the days only now I could enjoy it anywhere I go.

Disclaimer: I bought this game on the App Store.

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Doom II (iOs)

9

Excellent

9.0/10

Pros

• It's the classic Doom.
• Don't need to be online to play.
• Flawless performance.

Cons

• Clunky control setup.