New DOOM map by John Romero - the original creator of the game - released!

Wow, talk about coincidences. No sooner have I published an article recounting my love for Doom when suddenly a new user made level appears online. Not just any old user level, oh no! This map has been created by none other than John Romero himself.. To quote Wayne's World “We're not worthy! We're not worthy!”. Sure, there are hundreds of thousands of home made maps for Doom and Doom 2 on this here interweb, but it's not every day that one of the original creators of the game steps up to the plate and offers us a brand new stage! This is the first Doom map from Mr. Romero in two decades, and if that's not a reason to celebrate then I don't know what is!

Great Gaming Moments - 01 : DOOM (Id Software)

In a new regular series, I will be taking a look at moments in classic videogames that have left a lasting impression on me. The moments that filled me with a sense of satisfaction, accomplishment, or empowerment. They brought a smile to my face or a tear to my eye, and they have made the titles in question a personal experience that have shaped who I am as a gamer. The gameplay mechanics that make it to this list may be original and clever, or just dumb and instantly gratifying. Either way, I present to you the first of many in this series of.. Great Gaming Moments.

Wolfenstein 3D demo ROM released for Sega Mega Drive

Great news for both retro console gamers and fans of the original first person shooter Wolfenstein 3D as it has finally found its way onto the Sega Mega Drive. Back in 1994, the Super Nintendo was lucky enough to get a port of Id Software's ground breaking title, but it was a heavily censored and very feeble looking port that wasn't a patch on the PC original. Still, it played well enough and was extremely popular. Now Mega Drive owners can finally get some payback as this unofficial port by Gasega68k blows the SNES version out of the water. It features a far less pixellated look that is much closer to the PC version, and the scrolling is incredibly smooth for the 16-bit system. Indeed, the whole affair is incredibly impressive, with 6-button controller support, digitised speech, the ability to save your game and graphical filters to further enhance the look of the game - though these, naturally, would only work on an emulator. 

Review - Ziggurat (PC) Awesome Old School Fantasy FPS

Don't be a Heretic, play this new fantasy FPS!

Fantastic news for those of you whom, like myself, adore the classic old school first person shooters of yesteryear. None of this Call of Modern Halo Fighter 4 bullshit for me thanks. I want fast paced, satisfying action, not tedious, po-faced military shooters filled with lengthy cutscenes and constant Q.T.Es. Games such as Doom 2, Duke Nukem 3D, Quake 1 - 3 and Half-Life are still yet to be bettered and play exceptionally well many years after their original release. It's no wonder all of those titles are still supported by talented modders, with a wealth of exciting and original content to spice up the solid mechanics and gameplay provided in the original titles. Many indie developers have tried to recreate these classic games, but always fail - seeming to miss out the vital ingredients that made the games they are trying to emulate so special. This could be down to poor level or character design, weedy guns that provide zero satisfaction, boring environments to explore, or the addition of unnecessary gimmicks. Both Wrack and Rogue Shooter are recent examples of how not to pay tribute to the classic FPS, and now we have Ziggurat to show us that a decent indie old school FPS is indeed possible.

Review - Lovely Planet (PC)

Sugar Coated FPS

As a huge, huge fan of old school, 90's style first person shooters I usually take the time to play anything even remotely resembling classic titles such as Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake, so it was mere seconds between me seeing Lovely Planet on Steam and making a purchase. Sure, the graphics looked cutesy and twee, but I figured it could be a wonderfully humorous combination of Doom and Super Mario Bros. Unfortunately I was left painfully disappointed by the incredibly linear stages and the simplistic 'infinite runner' style gameplay.

Worst Videogames Enemies - 01 : Spawn (Quake)

'Player' was slimed by a Spawn

Some videogame enemies can make or break a game. Whether it be an impossibly difficult boss, or an adversary with an incredibly irritating movement or attack pattern. Some just annoy you simply by being poorly designed or out of place in the game world. The Spawn from id Software's sublime Quake is one of the worst offenders, being guilty of nearly all of the aforementioned criticisms. Now let's get one thing straight. I love Quake. Adore it! It is one of my all-time favourite videogames, and one I still play regularly some 18 years after its original release. But one thing has always irked me about this game. Something that makes me groan every time I encounter it, and puts a blemish on an otherwise perfect gaming experience. The Spawn.

Review - Rogue Shooter : The FPS Roguelike (PC)

Randomly Generated Doom

I have been excitedly awaiting the release of Rogue Shooter since the moment I first heard about it online. After all, here was a game promising to blend two of my favourite genres into one ultra, mega-game; the old school first person action of Doom (the greatest game ever made), with the randomly generated shenanigans of Roguelikes such as Spelunky (The second greatest game ever created). My imagination began to run wild, picturing the dark, atmospheric corridors of Doom, coupled with the addictive and infinite replayability that randomly generated worlds provide. Further depth would be provided by levelling up, perks, different player classes, computer hacking and using science to create new and explosive weaponry. In summary, it sounded like the perfect game. So,  it finally launched, with minimal fanfare, on Steam a couple of weeks ago, and I was barely able to keep my hands steady as I made the instant purchase. Can it possibly live up to my lofty expectations? Is it even a decent game on its own merits? 

REVIEW - Gun Godz (PC)

Hip-Hop Wolfenstein 3D, Y'all

We all love a bit of good old fashioned first person shooter action, don't we? Id Software's pioneering Wolfenstein 3D was not only an impressive tech-demo for the PC, but also a damn good game, thanks to the speedy pace, and no-nonsense, shoot-em-up action. It was released over 20 years ago, yet is still just as fun today as it ever was. Are we really going to say the same about the ever-tedious plethora of military shooters we are inundated with today? The fact that user made mods and levels are still being made for Wolf3D (as I always affectionately remember it thanks to the DOS commands needed to run it) shows that many gamers enjoy a back-to-basics murder-fest, that does away with all the story-heavy, Q.T.E. and linear hand-holding of modern FPS titles. 

Review - Eldritch (+ Mountains of Madness DLC) (PC)

Don't mess with the librarian!

As anyone who has played Spelunky or any other excellent roguelike (or, more accurately, games with roguelike elements) knows, death can come swiftly and without much warning. You can tread carefully though the world the game presents to you, surveying the area for danger, navigating your way around traps and hazards, scooping up every little piece of helpful loot along the way and, generally, just trying to survive, when, bam! A misstep can land you on an unseen set of spikes, or face to face with one of the most feared adversaries. Death can be sudden and unexpected, undoing all your hard work up until that point. But it is this perception of 'real' danger - the fact that death is final - that keeps you coming back to try again. When a game is a solid and enjoyable experience, randomly generated stages can be the difference between something you will play for a week, to one you will still be enjoying many months later.

Review - Wrack (PC)

The classic 90's FPS is back!! Time to celebra..  oh!

Finally, Wrack is here! You will have to excuse my excitement, but ever since I set eyes on screenshots, and read the blurb about this new indie first person shooter, I have been eagerly awaiting its release. Wrack aims to bring back the classic, no-nonsense action gameplay that we saw back in the 1990's and which has now, sadly, been replaced with long story lines and cutscenes, quick time events and, groan, military and war settings. I have been in contact with the developers, Final Boss, for many months, constantly pestering them (sorry guys) about a release date, and was super excited when I saw that it has finally been released - in unfinished, beta form - on Steam. After obtaining a copy from the generous fellows (probably in a bid to stop me harassing them via email) at Final Boss, I sat twitching my thumbs waiting impatiently for the game to download and install. So, now I have finally experienced Wrack, how does it hold up, and does it manage to recreate the balls-to-the-wall excitement of your Dooms, Duke Nukem 3Ds, Bloods, and Quakes?

Fantastic FPS Roguelike DELVER receives massive upgrade!

Back, and better than ever!

Back in December of 2012, I discovered an insanely addictive, first person RPG by the name of Delver. It was the work of one man, Chad Cunnigan, and was for sale on his website for the measly sum of £5. This small outlay entitled the purchaser to the alpha version of the game, with free updates when they appeared. I absolutely adored Delver, thanks to it's charming pixellated visuals, atmospheric soundtrack and incredibly absorbing gameplay - you can read my full review here. I noticed a few months ago that Delver had appeared on Steam, after a successful greenlight campaign - well deserved in my opinion - but I thought nothing of it as I already owned it. Well, imagine my intense excitement when I saw some screenshots a few days ago showing Delver with a funky new visual style. I found my original email I received upon purchasing the game 10 months ago and, low and behold, I had a steam key and a newly updated version ready to download.

Review - Rise of the Triad (2013) (PC)

The Horror, The Horror!

Wow, what can I say? To call this a disappointment is an understatement! I am sure you have already seen the score at the bottom of this review, so let's not beat around the bush here... This new Rise of the Triad remake is utter shit. It is an abomination that not only should never have been released but has now forever sullied the ROTT brand. What Apogee software were thinking allowing, unknown developers, Interceptor to release this is beyond me. I - and I am almost embarrassed to say this - actually enjoyed the terrible Duke Nukem Forever more than this travesty. 

Classic Game - Turok : Dinosaur Hunter (Nintendo 64)

Dino-mite!

Turok Dinosaur Hunter was an early title for Nintendo's new 64-bit console, the imaginatively named Nintendo 64, back in 1997. Based on the comic book series that started life way back in 1954, Turok tells the story of the titular Native American warrior who is trapped in a land filled with dinosaurs. A pretty cool idea, and one that sounds like ideal fodder for a video game. It just so happens that Iguana Entertainment thought the same thing and produced a whole series of games based on the IP. 

Beating Goldeneye to the post by 6 months, Turok : Dinosaur Hunter showed us that, not only could Nintendo provide some blood and guts action on their new machine but also that fully 3d first person shooters were not just restricted to PC owners with fancy graphics card.

REVIEW - Shadow Warrior Classic Redux (PC - Steam)

Who Wanta Some Wang?

Juvenile, and racially dubious humour aside, I am extremely excited to tell you that the classic PC FPS game Shadow Warrior, has been given the update treatment by 3D Realms and released on Steam. Duke Nukem 3D recently received this honour, and was a must-purchase for anyone who enjoys the frantic and exhilarating action of old school first person shooters. Shadow Warrior is a very similar game to Duke Nukem 3d, replacing the blonde, gun-toting meathead with a wise-cracking oriental man wielding a sword and shurikens.

Classic Game - System Shock 2 (PC)

Shock, Horror! It's another fantastic 1990's PC FPS!


Amazingly, considering that first person shooters were my genre of choice throughout the 1990's, I have never played System Shock 2. Shocking (excuse the pun) I know, but true. I am not sure how I managed to miss this classic game, but I can only assume it was because I was too busy with university, drinking and girls to have noticed it. That, or maybe I was hooked on my new Sega Dreamcast. Anyway, regardless of my shameful negligence, I have finally gotten around to experiencing this ground breaking title, and boy, am I glad I did.

REVIEW - State of Decay (XBLA)

More Brains!

Zombies are everywhere, and I am not talking about walking our streets in search of brains. I am speaking of the colossal popularity of the undead in modern entertainment. With a plethora of recent zombie games on consoles (Naughty Dog's The Last of Us, and Techland's Dead Island Riptide), MMOs on PC (Dayz and War Z) and a big budget movie in cinemas (World War Z), it would seem that shuffling cadavers on the hunt for human flesh are inescapable.

As a fan of post-apocalyptic scenarios, I have been eagerly awaiting this new open world action RPG from Undead Labs. The chance to explore a sandbox environment, sneaking down ruined city streets, looting chests and shelves for vital supplies, dealing with other human survivors and, of course, caving in the heads of those pesky flesh eaters, is an exciting prospect. Dead Island has been the closest I have come to achieving these survivalist fantasies so far, but now State of Decay takes the crown. It is, without a doubt, the most satisfying survival zombie experience ever created. But it is not without its flaws.

SPECIAL FEATURE - DOOM - Part 2 - WADs, Mods and Addons

PART 2

Enjoying Doom in 2013

Hopefully part 1 of this special feature focusing on the first 2 Doom titles will have whet your appetite for some demon slaying action. Now I will take a look at the best way of enjoying these iconic titles on newer platforms, as well as the wealth of additional content available online that can enhance and significantly change your Doom experience.

The early Doom games are still, to this day, the most satisfying, action packed first person shooters you can play. Over the years games have tried to emulate the powerful feel of Doom's weapons, the charming (if you can use that term) selection of monsters, and the adrenaline rush and no-frills carnage, but none have succeeded. Sure, there have been some great first person shooters since Doom, the best ones by id themselves, but as developers tried to add more story-based ideas the games lost their way, becoming full of tedious cut-scenes, drawn out missions, and QTEs (Quick Time Events). Doom 1 and 2 are still exceptionally satisfying and fun to play some 20 years after their release. Whether you are experiencing classic PC Doom via the fabulous DOSBox, the exceptionally atmospheric PlayStation port, the remixed N64 version, or the Atari Jaguar edition, you cannot fail to be entertained. But for those of you who are tired of the standard levels and appearance of Doom, or just want the vanilla experience on your current consoles, there are plenty of options.

REVIEW - The Unfinished Swan (PS3)

There is an ongoing (it would seem) discussion in popular culture regarding video games. Can they be considered art? It is a fairly tedious discussion of which I will save you all the trouble by stating the answer. Yes, yes they can. If dancing, poetry and, especially, movies are considered art then video games must be too. Of course some games, like movies, are more arty than others. It's A Wonderful Life would probably be considered to have more artistic merit than, say, Bad Boys 2. And a game like The Unfinished Swan will certainly convince a lot more people of gaming's contribution to cultured media than Saints Row The Third. Indeed any game that starts off with a blank (read – completely white) screen with no clue as to what to do, clearly slides itself into the art game camp, as well as showing some serious balls too. It only takes a few seconds of tapping the various buttons until you locate the 'fire' button and a black ball arcs from your cross-hair. It makes contact with a surface and with a messy splatter, covers the area with black paint. It then clicks that you must reveal the world around you using this paint, identifying the walls, pathways and objects in the world around you. Welcome to The Unfinished Swan.

SPECIAL FEATURE - DOOM - 20 Years On & Still Going Strong! (Part 1)

Doom is a game that simply doesn't need an introduction yet deserves, no - demands one.

Before I get started I should come right out and say it; Doom 2 is my favourite game of all time. I have been playing the first two Doom titles  consistently for the last two decades, and have just started playing my way through the recent (and excellent) Doom Classic Collection on PS3, as well as PC Doom with multiple enhancements. In part 1 of this feature, I will look at the original games that took the world by storm, and the many official expansions and ports to home consoles that followed. 

Ever since I first got my hands on the original shareware release of Doom way back in 1993, I was hooked. I had already played Wolfenstein 3D on a friend's (and the school) computer, but after finally getting my own desktop system, there was one game I just had to get hold of, and Doom was that game. The shareware edition was completely free and contained the entire first episode, 9 levels of shotgun wielding, demon blasting action.

REVIEW - Zombie Death Quota (Xbox Indie)

Zombie Death Quota [80 points]

Zombie Death Quota is a game that exceeded my expectations by a considerable margin. The notion of another Indie zombie title was bad enough, but one set in a blocky Minecraft style world ascended it to the level of dread usually associated with a trip to the dentists. However, I was was very pleasantly surprised.