We're now a few weeks into 2017 and most of the "Best Of 2016" lists have come and gone, but here at The Loud Table we never got the chance to go through our games of the year (for me personally, the roadblock was managing holiday retail coupled with closing a store- my cruel mistresses). This past year saw a litany of high quality releases from big developers and indie studios alike and while this list doesn't comprise the full scope of what I played throughout 2016, these are my personal top picks of the year.
Yet another game that had a rather troubled development history, DOOM came out of the gate ripping and tearing all other FPS games a new orifice this year. Originally the ill fated DOOM 4, this title threw away modernising in favor of the best kind of ancestor worship. Eschewing the cover-based, health regenerating, near-future-realism of many recent popular shooters, DOOM is everything that was great about classic first person shooters with the polish of a modern AAA title. In an industry inundated with shooters that try so hard to come off as edgy and relevant, DOOM flips a bloody, demonic middle finger to them all and proves that what once was great can become great again.
Gunplay is at the forefront in DOOM and gods damned does it do it well. Running and gunning hasn't felt so good in years. The plethora of weapons available in the game, all with their own unique upgrades and specialties, all feel smooth and gut wrenchingly powerful. From leaping from a high ledge and splattering the walls with demon guts with a rocket launcher to strafing around a group of enemies disintegrating them with the plasma rifle, the weapons are fine tuned to keep the ass kicking coming. There's no hiding behind cover, regenerating health or reloading to be found here. Via DOOM's new melee finisher moves, the game rewards players for getting into the fray and crushing demon skulls up close and personal, showering not only blood and gore, but armor, health and ammo after melee takedowns. Visceral carnage has never played so smoothly.
Another modern FPS trend DOOM bucks is serious narrative, not to say that there isn't one there if looked for carefully. The game opens with the player coming out of what seems like a tomb and then being quickly thrusted into a demon infested Mars colony with little explanation as to what's going on. The protagonist never says a word but conveys more emotion through movements than I've seen in even the most highly regarded FPS campaign cutscenes. For example, while listening to a character prattle on about something, the Doom Marine impatiently punches a computer terminal, clearly giving zero fucks about anything besides getting back out there and decimating the demon hordes. DOOM constantly reminds the player that they are there to rip and tear, not to worry about it.
Outside of a rip roaring campaign, DOOM features a fully fledged competitive multiplayer mode. Though it's taken some flak from purists for not being a true arena shooter, it's seriously fun in its own right. Game modes run the gamut of standard team death match variations. It's nothing that hasn't been done before, but keep in mind that the original DOOM was the forefather of all FPS deathmatch. The addition of Demon Rune power ups, allowing players to transform into one of a few different kinds of demons, can seriously alter the tide of battle in the hands of the right player.
A shining feature of DOOM that I feel hasn't gotten enough praise is Snap-Map, a beginner friendly level editing tool that allows players to make their own maps for single player, co-op and competitive multiplayer. Even if you never even try to make your own map once, you can enjoy the fruits of the community's labor by downloading maps that people have shared online. Snap-Maps rabid fan base has created entire campaigns, creative co-op modes and excellent competitive levels. People have gone so far as to create entire new games with the Snap-Map toolset.
It's rare in these days of rampant corporate fudging of our favorite franchises for a single game offers so much content as DOOM. A heart-pounding single player campaign that has plenty of replay value (especially since the addition of an arcade mode), a competitive multiplayer mode with a surprising amount of depth and a fully featured community creation toolset and browser all housed within one game is supremely impressive. If you've enjoyed a shooter even once in your lifetime, you owe it to yourself to check out DOOM.
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