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As one of the forefathers of modern-day first person shooters, Doom is a title that needs little introduction. Initially lighting up PC's in 1993 with its presidio 3D worlds and engaging multiplayer, id's hot property would make its appearance on every video game console known to man in the years that followed, even on those with less than suitable hardware. While such proliferation is nothing new, the history and differences between these ports and the original represents an interesting side story in an already engrossing tale. At the top of the 90's ports lies the PlayStation edition, which, despite having to bow to some restrictions of its own, has a little more going for it than most would expect - even fourteen years later.
One of the first things that will strike one with Doom on the PlayStation is the new, ambient soundtrack provided by Aubrey Hodges. Gone is Robert Prince's in-your-face metal-influenced MIDI, which brings up the first real debate to be had with this port: the music. While some will point out the obvious shortcomings of Doom's sound capabilities on the PC, there was a abstract charm to many of Prince's tunes that drove the gameplay forward, making the game feel looser and edgier than it really was. In contrast, Aubrey Hodges' backdrop makes the game feel a lot more methodical and reserved. It's quite remarkable how each set of tunes, music being an element most would classify as a secondary concern, has such a big effect on the world being presented.
Another difference that's apparent early on are the updates to the graphics engine, the employment of “all-new ambient lighting effects.” It's nowhere near as impressive as the back of the box makes it sound since the transitions in light are as rigid as they've always been (which has never been a problem since it has always played into the type of game Doom is) but at the same time you have to laugh at the idea that the graphics have been upgraded, even two years after Doom's first appearance. It's true there's a slightly wider color palette at work here, but once you realize how many compromises have been made to reach such a plateau it means next to nothing. The number of textures a level uses is dramatically lower than the PC and, as a result, the levels don't have the same pop. Not soon after, especially if you dip back into the PC version between PSX run-throughs, you'll start to notice that these more repetitive textures, coupled with the slightly lower screen resolution, makes objects in the distance ripple when moving around. Other graphical changes made to accommodate the hardware revolve around alpha channel blending, making those pesky Specters a little more inconspicuous and altering the look of weaponry when one's under the effects of a blur artifact.
Much more pressing than the above is the editing or complete removal of key levels to maintain a consistent level of performance. While it's not the first level to have changes made to it, the editing of the Containment Area is just down right depressing. This is an extremely entertaining and complex map in its original form but to have it reduced to where it stands here does it no justice. A similar situation reigns over the Spawning Vats, although in its defense the changes (the retexturing, the removal of the ceiling that allows the animated sky from the title screen make an appearance) make it an interesting take on the level. Still, the biggest blow to the level set-up occurs in Doom II and centers on the omission of the Downtown map. This map is instrumental in driving home the story and setting of Doom II and easily eclipses the omission of The Icon of Sin, which, taking in why the above edits where made to begin with, would make the PlayStation choke faster than swallowing an unchewed biscotti.
However, when it comes to the PlayStation and Doom in general, one would honestly think that Sony's new machine could handle a bit more than this. In a general sense, one could say 1996's Final Doom proves that with its psychotic Plutonia and Master Levels. That extra year may have enabled Williams to crank a little more power out of the system, power that could have been used to push these above levels beyond their current configurations. Be that as it may, while Doom may have been pinned as a three-dimensional game when it debuted, most know it's a two-dimensional game at heart. While there have been some excellent 2D games for the PlayStation such as Konami's Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and Capcom's Mega Man X4 that made their debut despite Sony's erroneous - and down right moronic - philosophy of only wanting to publish 3D games to show off the console's hardware, its RAM limitations with such games has been well documented. It's not hard to believe that PlayStation has an easier time with three dimensional games, and given that Doom came out the same year the PlayStation launched, perhaps I'm being a bit harsh considering the games available when a system launches are usually eclipsed by those that appear at the end.
Wrapping up the subject of the levels included in this port, it's the maps presented here that are not present in the PC version that are the main reason to track this version down. The first new level, Hell Gate, is pretty disappointing, presenting a level not unlike the Fortress of Mystery where the main goal is just to kill everything that is thrown at you. Such feelings are quickly reversed when playing through the alternate version of Hell Keep and the last two levels of Doom, Twilight Descends and Threshold of Pain. The layout of the former is especially impressive and deserves to be played by any Doom aficionado as it undoubtedly feels like it should have been part of Doom from day one.
As far as getting around the levels, the PlayStation controller is spot on when it comes to control, making important combat tactics like circle-strafing a breeze compared to the PC. The drawback is the game's age means that analog control is out of the question, and there is little doubt how well such control would work. Other nitpicks revolve around things like the archaic password system. I can see how this could have been useful given that the PlayStation and its accessories weren't as affordable in 1995 as they were later on, but not allowing saves via the memory card is ridiculous. Couple this with how flawed the password system is (one time after messing up a character or two I ended up with 300% health) and it's plain to see while Williams took advantage of some of the more underused features of the PlayStation like the two player link cable, ignoring simple features found in almost every other game was short sighted. Other disappointments revolve around things that are rather superfluous in nature. The removal of the intermission maps, while understandable considering the previously mentioned edits, is bit of a buzz kill as is the removal of the events that take place at the end of Phobos Anomaly, which easily lie amongst the best beginnings/endings in video game history.
Despite its problems, Doom is a blast to play on the PlayStation and excluding the more recent ports of the game found in the Collectors Edition of Doom 3 and Xbox Live, is the best port you'll find. Beyond the system's controller lending itself well to action (which can be replicated on the PC without much trouble) the sole attraction here are the levels that don't appear elsewhere. However, even when one takes this into account, it can be hard justifying such an acquisition, especially when the PC version is – by most accounts – the epitome of id's vision. PlayStation Doom is solid, but certainly not “the best Doom yet!”
