GENRE
	David A. Palmer Productions
	DEVELOPER
	Activision
	PUBLISHER
	1-4
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	no
	CONNECTIVITY
	no
	BUY NOW AT

Doom is nothing short of a gaming legend. It gave first-person shooters a permanent place in the hearts of gamers. It remained on store shelves through the thickest of controversy in both trade and mainstream media coverage. It was ported from the PC to every console that could handle its revolutionary engine. It is omnipresent on the many lists that attempt to declare the greatest games ever made.

Back when Doom was making history, gamers would have collapsed in joyous shock if they were presented with the opportunity to play the game on a handheld. Alas, the mere idea was absurd. There was no portable hardware that could come close to running Doom, and it took nearly a decade before anyone could produce such a handheld at a reasonable price.

Well, the time has come. Is the Game Boy Advance version of Doom a quality production? What visual features were sacrificed for the sake of a solid frame rate and a “T for Teen” rating? Does playing Doom on a handheld make it feel fresh enough to merit the attention of a veteran Doom-er? These questions and more are answered below.

visuals

First and foremost, this is Doom running on Game Boy Advance at a healthy frame rate. Seeing the game in action on such a small system is an incredible experience; one that cannot be diluted by the various visual shortcomings that accompanied it to the handheld world. Keep that in mind, because when a game looks this good, it makes more sense to write about the few ugly spots than to compose a flowery rant about the fantastic visual achievement.

The frame rate is excellent, but it is not perfect. Depending on how many enemies are around, movement can get a little chunkier than the standard pace. Also, the refresh rate of GBA’s display is occasionally unable to keep up with the movement. Put these two faults together, and players are bound to frown at Doom’s lack of smoothness from time to time.

Clarity is another visual snag. The enemy sprites take the brunt of the resolution woes: They look like garbage at anything more or less than a medium distance. Fortunately, the main goal of Doom is to kill anything that moves, so blurry enemies have no negative effect on the gameplay. The environments are also less than crisp, and it can occasionally be difficult to determine the structure of objects in the distance. Most of the time, this is a non-issue.

Doom is a notoriously dark game, and Game Boy Advance has a notoriously dark display. This is hardly a winning combination. The game is almost unplayable at its default settings, but the developers were smart enough to include a few options that can brighten things up. There is an option that eliminates dynamic lighting (a feature that makes some areas less illuminated than others), but doing so goes against the original design philosophy. The better choice is to adjust the overall brightness level, though the higher settings make the graphics look a tad pasty. On a few rare occasions, it is almost necessary to take advantage of both options.

To keep Doom out of the marketing nightmare that comes with a portable game rated “M for Mature,” all of the blood in the game is green. This works fine for the demons, since demons could very well have purple blood, but seeing green blood spill away from the human protagonist is pretty lame.

audio

From the ear-piercing screech of an opening door to the distant growl of an oncoming enemy, this tiny version of Doom is packing the same gritty and explosive sound effects that were featured in the original PC game. The corresponding music did not come along for the ride, as this port features new compositions that are somewhat similar to the original tunes. The new music is tolerable at times and abrasive at others, though it can be made irrelevant through the options menu. In fact, many gamers will find it easier to enjoy the mood of Doom once musical accompaniment is eliminated.

gameplay

Three episodes, four challenge levels, twenty-four levels, seven weapons, endless hordes of demons, one gutsy space marine, and it all comes together in a fierce storm of classic gameplay. The level design is clever and elaborate, the enemy variety is perfect, and the teeth-clenching moments of pure panic are like a dangerously addictive drug. To describe Doom's gameplay in an elaborate fashion is to ruin the fun, so just take the superlatives to heart and give this game a shot. It is doubtful that you will be disappointed.

For people who are revisiting the world of Doom, be warned that some things have changed. Several levels have been replaced with somewhat less inspired maps (mostly in the case of the Inferno episode), and both boss encounters were lost in the overhaul. There has also been some awkward manipulation of the challenge levels. The Ultra-Violence difficulty setting is gone, which makes for an intimidating leap from the third challenge option to the fourth.

Taking control of Doom is a fairly smooth experience. Shooting is handled with A while B is used for running and opening doors (running can also be made automatic via the options menu). The only bump comes with changing weapons. The L and R keys, which are normally used for strafing, must be pressed simultaneously in order to use the directional pad for weapon switching. The process works fine when there is a break in the action, but it can be mildly frustrating in the heat of battle.

multiplayer

There are two multiplayer modes, both of which require every participant to own a Doom cartridge. Cooperative Doom-ing allows two players to team up and conquer the demon hordes, which is reasonably entertaining. Deathmatch drops two, three, or four players onto a map and lets them attack each other with a hellacious arsenal. Deathmatch Doom is as fun as multiplayer can get, and well worth the purchase of a whole bag of cartridges if you and your friends often find yourselves making Game Boy Advance the center of your multiplayer action.

overall

Doom for Game Boy Advance is a fantastic port, but it does not add anything to the original formula. Players who have already exhausted the experience have no reason to buy it again unless they are extremely eager to see it flourish on a handheld. On the other hand, newcomers should definitely pick up this gem and let it take their GBA library to a whole new level.

Action/10