This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (December 2006)
Doom 64
Developer(s)
Midway Games
Publisher(s)
Midway Games
Platform(s)
Nintendo 64
Release date
April 1, 1997
Genre(s)
First-person shooter
Mode(s)
Single player
Rating(s)
ESRB: Mature (M)
Media
64Mbit Cartridge
Doom 64 is a video game for the Nintendo 64 released by Midway Games in 1997. It is part of the Doom first-person shooter video game series.
Story
One hellish creature, hidden from sensors by high levels of radiation, has rejuvenated uncountable numbers of demons. The main character from previous DOOM games is sent back to destroy these new monsters.
History and Development
Midway's original title of the game was "The Absolution", but possibly out of potential fear of players not recognizing the game at face value, opted to change the name to "Doom 64" ("The Absolution" was reused as the name of the last level of the game). Midway wanted to include every demon from the original games, as well as a few extra levels, into the final product, but deadlines and memory constraints of the N64 cartridge made them scrap the levels and leave a few demons off the game (Former Commando, Revenant, Arch-Vile, Spider Mastermind). The music and sound effects were done by Aubrey Hodges, who also did the original sound and music for the Sony PlayStation port of Doom two years earlier. The original Doom 64 team was working on a potential "Doom 64 2" not long after the first game was released, but decided to scrap it due to the "Doom engine looking dated", and players' attention focusing on Quake and other, more modern 3D shooters.
Gameplay Developments
Key differences from the computer games in the series include:
32 exclusive new levels.
New, larger sprites for all enemies, items, weapons and projectiles which were texture-filtered when close to the player to prevent pixelation.
No Commandos, Arch-Viles, Spider Masterminds or Revenants (removed due to the limited storage capacity of Nintendo 64 cartridges).
All new textures, scrolling skies, artificial room-over-room architecture, and custom scripting.
Tripwire booby traps, from darts to homing fireballs.
Eerie synth ambient music tracks (instead of MIDI rock music)
More ambivalent usage of Satanic imagery (inverted pentagrams, inverted crosses, depictions of sacrifice) than the computer version of Doom with differing usages of horror schemes.
More advanced atmospheric colored lighting and effects.
Re-designed weapons that act more devastating than previous installments of the game series (realistic jostling movements when firing the weapons are also present, including being knocked back a few inches from a fired rocket)
Weapons
All the weapons from the original computer game are present (Fist, Chainsaw, Pistol, Shotgun, Super Shotgun, Chaingun, Rocket Launcher, Plasma Rifle, and BFG 9000), but redrawn with new sprites (the chainsaw was given two blades instead of one, the fists have gloves on instead of brass knuckles, and the shotgun's reloading cock at the handle instead of under the barrel). A new weapon known as the Laser or the Unmaker has been added. It was first mentioned in the Doom Bible and was planned to be featured in the computer Doom games but never appeared. Its appearance in Doom 64 is its only official appearance, and with the power of three ancient artifacts found in the game it becomes more powerful by shooting three laser beams instead of one.
Trivia
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia guidelines. The article could be improved by integrating relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
In the game, after the player dies, but doesn't press any buttons, random on-screen messages appear, usually humorous.
External links
Interview with the Doom 64 level designers
The official website of "Doom 64: Absolution" PC download
The Page of Doom: Doom 64
Doom 64 at MobyGames
Doom 64 at GameFAQs
v•d•e
Topics related to the Doom series
Main series
Doom ·Doom II: Hell on Earth (Master Levels) ·Final Doom ·Doom 3 (Resurrection of Evil) · Doom 4
Other games
Doom 64 ·Doom: The Boardgame ·Doom, the Roguelike ·Doom RPG · Chex Quest · Chex Quest 2
Engines
Doom engine · id Tech 4 · id Tech 5
Other media
Doom novels ·Doom (film)
Miscellaneous
Union Aerospace Corporation · Making of Doom ·Doom WAD files ·Doom clone · Spin-offs and homages · Versions and ports · Doomguy · BFG9000 ·Episodes and levels of Doom · List of enemies
