izigame.me

Retro games are a dime a dozen in today's gaming scene, yet you can't do much better than the very game series that gave rise to the popularity of the 'First-Person Shooter' genre as we know it today as, although Wolfenstein 3D is what gave birth to the FPS genre as a whole, Doom truly stood out in a way that no other PC title could hope to during a time where computers were thought of less as gaming devices and more for office work that just so happened to be compatible with some video games mainly designed for the gaming-focused consoles of the era. Doom II, the topic of this particular review, only solidified this and put id Software out of the shadows of obscurity into the spotlight as a force to be reckoned with in the growing industry.
In what is no doubt a personal first for me here however, this particular entry on Steam has since been delisted as of the 8th of August 2024 alongside several others in an effort to merge the various classic Doom games and their expansions together. Though seeing as the original Ultimate Doom now has Doom II alongside other expansions added, why go back to play an older version that is no longer updated or even being sold on the Steam store?
Truth be told. had it not been for the hours of effort put into getting a particular (and, some would say, 'notorious') mod to work alongside with the Steam client itself, chances are I would not have made the bold move to fully play through Doom II itself, given that I had the opportunity way back in late 2012 with the Doom 3 BFG Edition having included the first two entries yet I chose to not to give them a chance.
Before going into detail what this particular mod is, first I'll explore what makes Doom II so great as far as it being a titan of the retro gaming scene as well as being a successor to what already was a huge deal for its time back in the early 90s. Seeing as it should not be understated just how much Doom as a whole improved upon the formula from Wolfenstein 3D, going from a mere three guns and a knife plus just six regular enemies spanning throughout the episodes restricted by the World War 2 setting into the more expansive futuristic world that Doom immerses its players into with 6 firearms and 2 melee weapons, each having their own distinct firing patterns and aiding the player in different combat encounters, alongside ten unique monsters that all look menacing in their own demonic ways and provide different degrees of threats to the player as later levels would combine them to be truly formidable groups on higher difficulties.
Naturally then, Doom II expands upon the tried-and-tested 'run and gun' formula by introducing a new souped-up shotgun and further adding seven enemies (some of them being variants of existing Doom inhabitants whilst others are further new additions to the demonic forces) plus having its own boss in the form of the Icon of Sin that addressed one of Doom's only notable flaws when compared to its predecessor!
What has already been said about Doom and what makes it fantastic to play alongside its sequel further leaning into those exact gameplay elements that makes playing through the classic duology will be quite difficult to further add onto here. Though from the lens of a more 'modern' gaming perspective, it can safely be said that strategically taking on groups of demons packed into varying sizes of rooms and corridors with the occasional environmental hazard in the form of acidic/lava floors and explosive barrels never does get old, nor does the added challenge of speeding through levels you become familiar with in speedrun fashion as the three coloured keycard system is often seen as a relic nowadays but it certainly had its place back then!
So, with that much being said, why is it then I brought up a particular 'notorious' mod from earlier on in the review? Given that Doom II is about as close as you can get to a classic retro FPS game these days from back then?
This is the part where I will no doubt piss off some purists in the Doom community however it must be said that, without this particular mod, I would have likely not committed myself to playing the entirety of Doom II and all it has to offer, seeing how I left my love of FPS games some time ago during the Call of Duty era in its later years once I finished up with it for good with Black Ops 3 and how that series sadly declined in quality.
To that end, given all the effort and hours I put into getting this particular mod up and running, Brutal Doom is what makes the giant leap from Doom's original style of gunplay into something resembling the more modern style of FPS as seen with Doom 2016 and Eternal Doom and is practically the reason why I so thoroughly enjoyed my time going through Doom II in the first place after years of seeing it in action from multiple YouTubers in the past.
Since what Brutal Doom brings to the table is quite significant in terms of how it changes the dynamics of Doom's gameplay as the mod amps up the violence to 11, with all manners of gore and sheer action that simply was not possible back then. Alongside this you have the ability to aim sights down for certain guns, making use of the ability to target specific parts of an enemy for extra damage and even being ahead of Bethesda with their Doom remake by making use of certain items which grants the player superhuman strength that, including giving fists the usual 10x multiplier damage, presents a new ability known as 'fatalities'. These instantly kill weakened enemies by displaying vicious blood-and-guts finishers that match the brutality seen in the likes of Mortal Kombat, which helps out when in need of a quick pick-up of health and armour as stronger foes like Barons of Hell and Arachnotrons drop much more when delivered a fatality of their own!
On top of all that, a whole 10 new firearms have been added alongside updating various other weapons to make them more viable in ways previously not possible before! Furthermore, new power-ups help to spicen up the gameplay and even allied NPCs that can be freed to aid you in combat! Seeing how efforts were made to ensure that all additions felt natural and as close to the 'spirit' of what Doom would look like if it were released in more modern times, it's no small wonder that the legend himself John Romero praised the mod well over a decade ago during its early years and, seeing just how far it's come since then, I honestly feel that it's well-deserved!
Now a key question to answer right off the bat is if Doom II is worth purchasing without Brutal Doom installed? To address this plainly and in simple terms; Yes, I can recommend this game based on the classic style of gameplay alone as, although I'll wait until Wolfenstein 3D to give the old style of FPS action a shot personally, it has its own charms as an old-school FPS to those who like it and presents a good enough experience as is on top of the sheer amount of content on offer when you consider the now-merged Doom + Doom II that nicely compiles them all into one neat bundle for a fair price!
Though why I chose to play this delisted game first is pretty much because of uncertainty regarding the techniques needed to get not just Brutal Doom to work on Gzdoom (a source port or program used for reading custom files on old DOS games like these) but also getting the Steam client to recognize it so game time and screenshots are included for those who desire it, since the updated formerly-named 'Ultimate DOOM' wasn't a safe bet for testing this on.
I'll post down in the comments section for those interested on how to get it up and running since I was surprised to get it working myself here in 2025 but, despite not playing Doom II how some would have intended, I came out thoroughly enjoying my time spent with the Brutal Doom mod and, even with this title no longer being sold on the Steam platform, I highly encourage anyone who has this game but has yet to experience the FPS gem for themselves!