April 3, 2016, at 2:10 p.m.
I had the chance to play the new DOOM multiplayer beta recently, and here are some of my thoughts, insights, and concerns.
DOOM Multiplayer Beta Gameplay
Starting things off, while the game is loading, it prompts you to let you know that your health does not auto regenerate and that you need to find health on the map. It shows right away that it’s catering to a younger Call of Duty audience who may not be familiar with the concept of finding health packs.
One benefit to this is that it keeps the action going at a fast pace, as there is no time to “hide out” while your health restores. Couple this with the non-addition of a run button, as you’re always moving at a moderately fast rate, giving that game a more Unreal Tournament feel to it.
To help bring them into the new age, hack modules and load-outs are commonplace throughout the game. The load-outs includes armor plating supply timers and vital signs along with a plethora of others for you to choose from and unlock as you level up throughout your play time. These can be equipped before the game and then chosen right after death, and are active at the start of your respawn.
When shooting an enemy, numbers fly off of them indicating some of the hits points you have take away. This feels a little odd at first but after a few games becomes somewhat normal. One of the highlights of the multiplayer beta is the addition of being able to control a Revenant character, this badass has two rocket launchers attached to his shoulders, along with an extra bundle of health. Every two minutes, the Revenant icon will appear and the first person to snag it gets their chance to control this monster.
The overall look of the level design does manage to capture that classic DOOM/Quake feel, although the character design looks like it was ripped straight from the HALO series. Now that all this time has passed since a DOOM game has been released, it’s easy to forget that DOOM had the space marine concept first.
Also, in regards to the weapons, there is no reload button – I repeat, there is no reload button – to gain more ammo. You simply must find it scattered across the map, along with your health and armor pickups.
Familiar items returned since quad damage and they are satisfying as ever, dueling out a point blank shot with a double barrel shotgun and watching your enemy explode into little giblets. However, when quad damage is not activated, it feels rather weak when doing out damage at enemies. It almost gives off the feel of shooting a marshmallow as opposed to shooting another person in the game in that it’s rather soft.
Conclusion
Overall, I must say that the beta does feel unbalanced and I did experience lag issues a bit. Many times, I would be involved in a shootout and would be killed by a melee attack when the shooter, would from my perspective, not be anywhere near me (at least five feet away). This is bare bones multiplayer for sure. No upgrades for your weapons, no radar, and no reload button… You do have a double jump, though. Hopefully this will be something that is corrected in time when the game releases this upcoming May 13th.
Are you all excited about DOOM? Do you have any fears or concerns? Let me know in the comments below.