Sulphur on 11/9/2024 at 04:47
Quote Posted by Jason Moyer
That's always been my take on it. I liked Wolf 3D and Spear Of Destiny, but the Descent demo was out by the time Doom released and I never had the slightest shred of interest in it.
Same, really. I liked Wolf a lot, enough to beat mecha-Hitler and laugh at it as a pre-pubescent kid. When Descent came around after, it almost felt mind-expanding in comparison. It took the question of 'how do you navigate real three-dimensional spaces in a fun way?' and answered it with 'By removing gravity and giving you space sim controls, duh! Also lasers, machine guns, rockets, secrets in the walls (ceilings and the floor, depending on how you choose to look at everything), and an adrenaline-pounding end to each level'.
Doom was never going to rate in comparison.
Renault on 11/9/2024 at 21:32
I guess I don't get the comparison. Two very different games, and I don't believe either one is trying to be like the other.
Sulphur on 12/9/2024 at 02:16
Descent was given the ignominious epithet of 'Doom clone' back in the day by the gaming rags, you know. I agree that they're different, but not 'very'. They're both first person shooters where your objective is to collect the key cards to unlock colour-coded doors, shoot the hell out of things, and exit the level. Mechanically they're quite similar, they just differ in execution; and that execution's one of the reasons why I prefer Descent more.
Jason Moyer on 12/9/2024 at 02:48
Yeah, plus they're both similar tactically in that you're strafing to avoid projectiles and prioritizing hitscan enemies so they don't shred you. The biggest difference in Descent was the extra dimension. I'll also be honest in saying that Doom's appeal was dulled for me (at the time) by how hard it seemed to be trying to be edgy. Nowadays I think Doom is great, but to a 16 year old who was even pickier about games than I am now it was a hard sell.
Renault on 12/9/2024 at 14:50
I guess I can just agree to disagree with you guys. Sure, both games were born out of the golden age of the first person shooter era, but Doom was just so much more personal, face to face with dozens of horrific enemies trying to rip your face off. The violence, the extreme game speed, the creative level design (even if only in 2D), and the hours and hours of multiplayer that I put in. I liked Descent too, but it seemed much more low key and sterile to me. Doom was just so much more of a larger than life and in your face, adrenaline filled experience.
mxleader on 12/9/2024 at 14:57
Quote Posted by Renault
I guess I can just agree to disagree with you guys. Sure, both games were born out of the golden age of the first person shooter era, but Doom was just so much more personal, face to face with dozens of horrific enemies trying to rip your face off. The violence, the extreme game speed, the creative level design (even if only in 2D), and the hours and hours of multiplayer that I put in. I liked Descent too, but it seemed much more low key and sterile to me. Doom was just so much more of a larger than life and in your face, adrenaline filled experience.
I was incredibly impressed by Doom because before that I was playing video games on an Atari and at arcades. It was also somehow easier to learn how to play than some Atari games, and with the save game feature it was far less annoying than anything I had played before.
Harvester on 12/9/2024 at 15:02
I also liked both games but Doom has a way more oppressive atmosphere, nail-biting tension and visceral action that I really dug, so I preferred and still prefer it to Descent.
mxleader on 12/9/2024 at 15:15
I still prefer Wolfenstein 3D to both those games though. Maybe because it's less complicated visually and pretty straight forward. Finding all the secrets in Wolfenstein was kind of frustrating though but I suppose it was good practice for when I eventually played Thief I for the first time.
Sulphur on 12/9/2024 at 15:46
Quote Posted by Renault
I guess I can just agree to disagree with you guys. Sure, both games were born out of the golden age of the first person shooter era, but Doom was just so much more personal, face to face with dozens of horrific enemies trying to rip your face off. The violence, the extreme game speed, the creative level design (even if only in 2D), and the hours and hours of multiplayer that I put in. I liked Descent too, but it seemed much more low key and sterile to me. Doom was just so much more of a larger than life and in your face, adrenaline filled experience.
I mean, you're free to have your own preference. I skewed towards something a bit more cerebral, and I'm not going to pretend mine is the majority opinion. I liked Doom as well, just not as much, and its horror was cartoonishly silly to me - it's like we own mirror opinions or something.
Doom had waaaaay better music, though!
Jason Moyer on 12/9/2024 at 19:00
Quote Posted by Sulphur
Doom had waaaaay better music, though!
Them's fightin' words.
