Stats are tracked in a simple behind-the-scenes menu that awards XP based on kills and levels you up automatically. Categories tracked are Health, Armor, Level, XP, Defense, Strength, Agility and Accuracy - each one affecting your ability to dodge, attack, dish out, and receive damage. Obviously the more and tougher enemies you kill, the more XP you will receive and the faster/stronger you will be. But other factors also come into play.
Secret areas are hidden throughout every level, accessed as in the originals by hitting the action button when facing a seemingly normal wall. These areas are stockpiled with weapons and credits. Just finding these areas not only adds to your overall ranking but also gives you extra XP. The credits found in these areas, as well as those lifted from dead demons, can also be used to buy ammo and health or upgrade any of your stats. This adds a nice bit of depth and allows for a bit of customisation to suit your playing style. While an actual increase in physical speed (you move two squares and bad guys only move one) would have been nice, there are plenty of occasions where enemies who don’t have distance attacks can be taken out from afar, saving you valuable XP but using up equally valuable ammunition.
Difficulty is fairly consistent throughout the game, with stronger enemies being introduced as you level up, and it never really becomes overwhelming or unfair. The ability to save at any point in the game also helps to iron out the few rough spots allowing you to easily attempt different strategies in different areas. But keep in mind your deaths do affect your final score/rank, so if you’d like to be more than 'pathetic' by the time the game is through, then thinking out your plan of attack for each given situation is highly recommended.
Little tricks picked up along the way can do a lot to help you stay alive and kicking for longer. Fire-based enemies for example, are susceptible to your fire extinguisher (which we didn’t realize until much later in the game when we noticed we'd amassed a rather large collection of Halon canisters and come across comparatively few fires). Most enemies have similar weaknesses to particular weapons and can be dispatched much easier with the proper equipment.
Aside from the graphics, one of the other stand-out items on the game's bullet list of features is its length. If played straight through, it takes roughly five hours to complete. This is done with surprisingly little backtracking. The game, whilst certainly no Zelda, does offer its fair share of somewhat unique puzzles to help break up the gunplay. And the Automap feature is very reminiscent of FPS’s of old and does a good job of keeping you on course throughout.
In addition to all of the above points, the most impressive aspect of the entire game is that it's actually fun to play. We actually found ourselves compelled to whip out the phone and kill a few zombies, not just when stuck alone in line at the DMV but also when sitting at home in front of the TV or when hanging out with friends. It drew us right in like a good game should. And to be honest, we were actually kind of sad when it was all over.
Thankfully, there are hardly any other cellphone games which are yet to pique our interest enough to make us put down the DS long enough. Certainly none that offer the same level of quality and depth which we were surprised to find in DOOM RPG, on which we've already started a second run through. Plus this time we get to keep all our XP and weapons from the first run, so we should hopefully do a bit better than 'pathetic'.
So should you buy DOOM RPG? If you have the same retro fever that so many seem to be suffering from of late, than absolutely. If you are a gamer who usually can't be bothered to carry around a DS/PSP but want to play something more than JAMDAT [insert dull sport here], then definitely. If you are looking for something amazing and groundbreaking, this isn’t it. What it is however, is far and away the best cellphone game out now and, considering the current state of the cellular industry, it will probably remain that way for quite some time to come.
SPOnG Score: A-
Impressive graphics for the platform. Excellent gameplay that’s well suited to the system. Charming wit. Lengthy playtime, for a comparably low price. Sadly, no chainsaw.
LUPOS 9 Mar 2006 22:35