When the original Doom was first released way back in 1993, it instantly changed the video game industry forever. Its moody atmosphere, inspired creature design, immersive graphics, memorable soundtrack and satisfying shooter controls all came together to create one of the most influential video games ever made. It popularized the first-person shooter genre and introduced gaming to a whole new audience. Basically, without Doom, things would be completely different. The success of the original spawned a huge franchise comprised of two major sequels, Doom II: Hell on Earth and Doom 3, both of which received a handful of expansions and would go on to receive extensive post-release support by a passionate community. And yet, despite the enormous critical and financial accomplishments of both sequels, it has been over 10 years since the last game... until now. After years of speculation and delays, a fourth game - simply titled Doom - was officially announced in 2014 and formally introduced at this years E3, with a release set for next year. Given just how much time has passed since the last game, expectation is high, especially considering all the gameplay footage seen so far, which has been positively received. Indeed, Doom looks to be returning to the basics, which couldnt be better news for fans of this beloved series. In fact, should this new Doom live up to the hype, its likely that it could very well be the best shooter of 2016, and heres why.
10. The Visuals
The original Doom was praised for its graphical fidelity and visually stimulating imagery, and every game in the franchise since has continued to maintain this high degree of graphical prowess. Doom 3 in particular was massively hyped, partially because its graphics were state of the art at time of release. Doom 4 may not represent the same groundbreaking leap in technology relative to that, but its clear from the footage so far that its visuals are impressive enough to stand up against the best looking games of this generation. The textures are highly detailed, the lighting and particle effects are dynamic and realistic, and the animations are smooth and natural. Everything just looks extremely polished, and its a sign that Doom 4 will be a beautifully grotesque beast to play. Id Software has even said that their aim is to have the game run in 1080p and at 60 fps, which will only make Doom 4 even more spectacular. Overall, the game is shaping up to be a visual powerhouse that captures the look of Doom with a greater degree of realism than ever before.