What is the best console version of DOOM?

[Anthony1]

I would have to assume it's the Atari Jaguar version, but I just wanted to double check with you guys.

I understand that the Nintendo 64 version of Doom called DOOM 64 is really almost a different game then the real DOOM from Id, so I'm not sure if that would qualify.

[Ed Oscuro]

Why not include the N64 version? I haven't played it, but it looks darn good.

Also, a number of ideas from the game mirror Tom Hall's original "DOOM Bible" game design sheet (his original design was story-oriented to a degree that DOOM ]|[ will reach, but DOOM and DOOM ][ don't even come close to, and perhaps it would have been deeper, if not as good as, the story to Marathon). Specifically, there's, well, some story, but there's also the build-a-weapon idea taken right out of that sheet.

I hear the GBA versions are quite good indeed.

The Super NES version plays awfully.

Still, a complete collection would be nice :D

[Zaxxon]

I think the N64 DOOM was made by Id but they updated all the graphics and maybe the levels. Jag DOOM is superior to the PC version in that it's in many more colors and had lighting effects not in the PC version and maybe the PS version, but it's lower resolution. IIRC the PS version has all the DOOM 1 and 2 levels, twice as many as the Jag version. I own the Jag version and had rented the PS version to compare and noticed this very wierd graphic glitch in the PS version. Every time I would turn, I noticed the lines in the bricks would not line up correctly and there be this strange shifting of the lines on the bricks, like they would slowly settle into place whenever you stopped turning.

[Arqueologia_Digital]

I think the Jaguar version is the best, then the 32X and finally the SNES. The N64 version it´s great, but very different from the original.

[Ed Oscuro]

Oh yes, the N64 DOOM is completely different in terms of levels (I've got the issue of Nintendo Power where they've listed all the level names + passwords; you don't see those names elsewhere).

It would have been absolutely awesome if they included Tom's original character names...but that was Rise of the Triad >)

[Anthony1]

I don't have a Jaguar right now, I hope to get one soon, but I can tell you that the Jaguar version of DOOM is freaking incredible on a RGB Monitor.

The colors and clarity of the game are just awesome!

Very detailed graphics for a console version.

The Playstation version is very good as well, but I think that the Atari Jaguar version might look somewhat better.


As for the Nintendo 64 version, I definitely want to get that one, but I don't want to play it, until I play the regular normal version of Doom again first.

I don't want to spoil the normal mood of the regular version.

[omnedon]

I've yet to see a console version of DOOM that didn't suck ass.

/me wonders if my computer gamer past is showing

[Anthony1]

omnedon: Ok, if that is the case, then what is the best PC version of Doom?


Has Id ever gone back and redone the old game to make it look much better with the latest 3D Accelerator cards?

If I was going to buy a PC version of Doom, which one should I look for?


Thanks.

[Ed Oscuro]

Heh, I started as a computer gamer myself. I'm happy to have the original Duke Nukem 3D, Half-Life and System Shock 2 boxes. I really would like a bunch of 1993-1994 stuff: original Heretic, DOOM, Ultima Underworld and System Shock boxes, and then some pretty old stuff from the 1980s as well. I don't know why, but PC games in general just don't seem to get relegated to "classic gaming" status, but they do get "old" rather fast.

[digitalpress]

My vote is for the PlayStation version. It's brilliant. Get Final Doom too, and you've got pretty much everything ever commercially released on PC, good speed, all the music, etc etc etc.

Jaguar is 2nd.

32X is 3rd (better in the music department than Jag but it's also got a giant border around the playfield - sloppy).

Somewhere way way back in the pack is the SNES and 3DO versions. Awful.

The Game Boy Advance version is pretty nice, better than you'd expect. The game has also been ported for just about everything from pocket PC's to Dreamcast and NUON "homebrews".

[omnedon]

Anthony1- Google 'Jdoom' and 'DoomGL'.

Jumping, mlook, sourced lighting, all added to these Doom hacks, network play. Amazing stuff.

It's all about the mouse, and the multiplayer. I don't blame the consoles for trying, but DOOM lives on a a computer.

[Ed Oscuro]

Anthony1- Google 'Jdoom' and 'DoomGL'.

Jumping, mlook, sourced lighting, all added to these Doom hacks, network play. Amazing stuff.

It's all about the mouse, and the multiplayer. I don't blame the consoles for trying, but DOOM lives on a a computer.

But therein lies the problem...I played a bit of Jdoom and it totally destroyed the DOOM experience for me. It just doesn't look right unless it's pixelated, and I feel terribly cheap jumping up over chasms you used to have to run around, run at, and hope you'd make, replaced by a single button press.

[Anthony1]

Don't you need like a 3Dfx card to play DoomGL?

I have one of the cheapo GeForce cards. Like a Geforce MX 200 or MX 400 or something.


I plan on upgrading my entire PC for Half Life 2. But that's another story.

[kainemaxwell]

I'm gonna second Doom for the PSX with Doom 64 a close second place.

[Gunstarhero]

I say Doom 64 is the best version, with totally updated graphics, and many more fine details added to the game. It runs very smoothly and I didn't notice any slowdown or anything when I ran into a room full of bad guys. Jaguar Doom is the best port of the original PC game I've played, so I'd say Jag Doom is runner up to Doom 64.

[le geek]

I have to go with the PSX version as well. I like the 32x version as well. The Jag version may have been nice but locked up on my Jag at the time! >

[metal_head]

I have to go for the Playstation version as well....I think the lighting makes it prettier than the Jag version, and the sound is awesome.

N64 Doom is pretty cool too, but it aint really Doom!

[norkusa]

Sure, Doom 64 is visually great, but did anyone else have a problem with the controls besides me? The way the controls are set up, you have to take your finger off the fire button (Z trigger) if you want to strafe left (L button) which severly limited your ability to shoot while dodging enemies. I thought this was the games only flaw but a big one at that.

PSX Doom is tops in my book.

[Arrrhalomynn]

Seems like nobody mentioned the Saturn version yet. Good! it's horrible.
Which is kinda odd, because the 32X version is awesome. I think it's better than the Jaguar one, but that might be, because of sound related problems with my Jaguar.

[BenT]

Warning, warning! Doom snob approaching!

This thread is silly. If you have a Pentium or better, then you should almost certainly stick to Dooming on your PC. Back in '95, my old P90 got a fairly consistent 35 fps (the highest framerate Doom can run at), which is better than any console port short of Doom 64. And only a PC can support mouse control, which is essential to unlock your full potential.

Better still, there are a variety of source ports available that take the Doom experience to the next level. I highly recommend ZDoom (http://zdoom.notgod.com) which is a non-GL source port for Win32 that supports a ton of thoughtful features. And for the purists, many features can be turned off. Don't want to mlook and jump? Toggle 'em off, and enjoy the high resolution and other benefits that ZDoom can offer. Or run in the original low-res. Whatever. ZDoom supports it. Get it, or something similar.

The only console port worth a PC owner's time, IMO, is Doom 64, which as mentioned is a completely original and pretty interesting product. Hard as hell, though.