Doom
PlayStation 1
| Categoría(s): | Disparos en 1ª Persona |
Descripción
La línea argumental principal de Doom se desvela al final de los distintos episodios del juego, pero también existe una introducción oficial a la historia: "El protagonista es uno de los más fuertes y mejor entrenados marines de la Tierra, experimentado en combate y listo para la acción. Hace tres años golpeó a un oficial el cual ordenó a sus soldados disparar contra un grupo de manifestantes civiles. Considerándolo peligroso para él, el oficial recurrió a sus influencias, las cuales decidieron transportarlo a la base en Marte, sector espacial de la UAC (Union Aerospace Corporation). La UAC es una conglomeración multi-planetaria con instalaciones de desechos radioactivos en Marte y sus dos lunas, Phobos y Deimos.
Ya en la UAC, los primeros días los pasa sentado en la sala de vigilancia, viendo videos restringidos y material ultrasecreto como si fuera TV por cable. La mayoría eran datos de los trabajadores, militares, científicos y demás personas que ahí residían, no por su gusto claro; la mayoría acudía a la UAC por la buena paga, por castigo o para mantener a su familia, sin muchas esperanzas de regresar pronto a la Tierra. También había datos sobre algunos experimentos científicos.
La UAC, entre otras cosas, desarrollaba muchos proyectos militares en Marte y sus dos lunas. Una de ellas, y la más problemática, era la teletransportación interdimensional, pero hasta ahora sólo se había podido abrir un teletransportador entre Phobos y Deimos. Se probó el lanzar objetos simples por un lado y verlos salir con éxito por el otro, se enviaron plantas y animales vivos también con éxito. Pero en algún momento se necesitó de humanos para experimentar. Voluntarios militares y científicos se ofrecieron con la debida y jugosa recompensa. Tal fue su mala suerte que al entrar por el portal comenzaron a suceder cosas desconcertantes: o entraban y simplemente no se rematerializaban en el teletransportador de destino, o regresaban muertos con extraños síntomas en el cuerpo (mordeduras, piel seca y quemada, algunos aparecían descuartizados). Los que llegaban enteros regresaban completamente al borde de una esquizofrenia psicótica, cual zombis, masticando la mitad de sus dedos, o habiéndose tragado sus propios ojos, a la vez que otros pocos al cruzar por el teletransportador sufrían una explosión inexplicable de cuerpo completo.
El trabajo de identificar partes de cuerpos que fueran compatibles unas con otras se había convertido en una labor de 24 horas. Aparte de dichos acontecimientos, la UAC anunciaba alguno que otro retraso, pero que lo demás iba bien, ya que en realidad estas personas usaban a la gente como carne de cañón sin la más mínima moralidad.
Ya habiendo pasado algún tiempo, repentinamente Marte recibió un mensaje desde la luna Phobos: "¡Requerimos de soporte militar inmediato! ¡Algo terrible y monstruoso está saliendo por los portales! ¡Los sistemas no responden! ¡Los sistemas computarizados se han vuelto locos!". El resto era simplemente incoherente.
Poco después, se sintió un tremendo estruendo que hizo estremecerse la superficie de Marte. Esto desencadenó fallas eléctricas en la UAC, después de unos minutos el sistema de emergencia se activó iluminando un poco las instalaciones, pero aún dejándolas en una penumbra escalofriante. Al revisar lo sucedido se descubrió que Deimos simplemente se desvaneció del espacio sin dejar ningún rastro. Desde ese momento, se había intentado establecer conexión con alguna de las lunas, sin éxito.
Como último recurso y ya que Deimos aparentemente ya no existía, se decidió rescatar a la gente de Phobos antes de que también desapareciera o sucediera algo peor. El protagonista y sus compañeros de vigilancia son enviados para ver qué es lo que está pasando en ese lugar.
Al llegar, la primera orden para el marine es esperar en la entrada y asegurar el perímetro mientras los demás efectivos entraban a la base llevándose las armas de alto calibre. Después de muchas horas de espera decide comunicarse con ellos. Grande es su desconcierto cuando la radio recibe una señal antes de que se comunique, emitiendo sonidos de combate: disparos, hombres gritando órdenes, gritos de auxilio, algo que podría identificarse como huesos y cartílagos quebrantándose, y finalmente, el aterrador silencio.
Sus compañeros están muertos, por lo cual el protagonista decide entrar por la puerta de la base, justo cuando se da la vuelta observa que lo que mató a sus compañeros necesita más de dos escopetazos en la cabeza, los disparos alertan al resto de la base: ya no hay vuelta atrás, saben que estas ahí."
Description
Doom (typeset as DOOM in official documents) is a 1993 science fiction horror-themed first-person shooter (FPS) video game by id Software. It is considered one of the most significant and influential titles in video game history, for having helped to pioneer the now-ubiquitous first-person shooter. The original game was divided into three nine-level episodes and was distributed via shareware and mail order. The Ultimate Doom, an updated release of the original game featuring a fourth episode, was released in 1995 and sold at retail.
In Doom, players assume the role of an unnamed space marine, who became popularly known as "Doomguy", fighting his way through hordes of invading demons from Hell. With one third of the game, nine levels, distributed as shareware, Doom was played by an estimated 15–20 million people within two years of its release, popularizing the mode of gameplay and spawning a gaming subculture. In addition to popularizing the FPS genre, it pioneered immersive 3D graphics, networked multiplayer gaming, and support for customized additions and modifications via packaged files in a data archive known as "WADs". As a sign of its effect on the industry, first-person shooter games from the genre's boom in the 1990s, helped in no small part by the game's release, became known simply as "Doom clones". Its graphic violence, as well as satanic imagery, made Doom the subject of considerable controversy.
Doom, a science fiction/horror themed video game, has a background which is given in the game's instruction manual; the rest of the story is advanced with short messages displayed between each section of the game (called episodes), the action as the player character progresses through the levels, and some visual cues.
The player takes the role of an unnamed space marine ("Doomguy") who has been punitively posted to Mars after assaulting his commanding officer, who ordered his unit to fire on civilians. The Martian space marine base acts as security for the Union Aerospace Corporation, a multi-planetary conglomerate, which is performing secret experiments with teleportation by creating gateways between the two moons of Mars, Phobos and Deimos. Mars is considered by space marines to be the dullest assignment imaginable. This all changes when the UAC experiments go horribly wrong. Computer systems on Phobos malfunction, Deimos disappears entirely, and "something fragging evil" starts pouring out of the gateway, killing or possessing all UAC personnel. Responding to a frantic distress call from the overrun scientists, the Martian marine unit is quickly sent by ship from Mars to Phobos to investigate, where the player character is left to guard the perimeter with only a pistol while the rest of the group proceeds inside. The marine hears assorted radio messages, gunfire, and screams, followed by silence: "Seems your buddies are dead." The player cannot navigate the ship off of Phobos alone and sees that the only way out is to fight through the Phobos complex.
As the last man standing, the player character's mission is to fight through the entire onslaught of demonic enemies by himself in order to keep them from attacking Earth. Knee-Deep in the Dead, the first episode and the only one in the shareware version, is set in the high-tech military bases, power plants, computer centers and geological anomalies on Phobos. It ends with the player character entering the teleporter leading to Deimos, only to be overwhelmed by monsters. In the second episode, The Shores of Hell, the marine has successfully teleported to Deimos. He fights his way through installations on Deimos, similar to those on Phobos, but warped and distorted from the demon invasion and interwoven with beastly architecture. After defeating the titanic Cyberdemon, the marine discovers the truth about the vanished moon: it is floating above Hell. The third episode, called Inferno, begins after the marine climbs off Deimos to the surface. The marine fights his way through Hell and defeats the Spider Mastermind that planned the invasion. Then a hidden doorway back to Earth opens for the hero, who has "proven too tough for Hell to contain". However, a burning city and a rabbit's head impaled on a stake (named in The Ultimate Doom as the marine's pet rabbit, Daisy) show that the demons have invaded Earth, setting the stage for Hell on Earth. In The Ultimate Doom expansion, in the fourth episode Thy Flesh Consumed, it tells that the marine fought valiantly against the hordes of demons that the Spider Mastermind sent through that hidden doorway but ultimately the forces of Hell prevailed in the invasion of Earth. The locales of Thy Flesh Consumed are varied, including a mix of high-tech bases and demonic temples, though the atmosphere appears to be Earth.
Being a first-person shooter, Doom is experienced through the eyes of the main character. This character is not named throughout the game. The game's designer, John Romero, has pointed out that this is so the player feels more involved in the game: "There was never a name for the DOOM marine because it's supposed to be you." At its core, the gameplay is similar to classic shooter games, presenting the player with the challenge of surviving while shooting every enemy in sight, but with its pseudo-3D first-person perspective giving environments a spatial representation that has a major effect on the level design and gameplay experience.
In order for the game to be completed, the marine must fight through Phobos, Deimos, and then Hell itself, each presented as an episode containing eight distinct levels, along with an optional ninth hidden level for each one. The Ultimate Doom, the retail store version of the game, adds a fourth episode, Thy Flesh Consumed. Set between the end of Doom and before Doom II and featuring the first contribution of Tim Willits to the Doom franchise, the fourth episode was designed for expert Doom players seeking a major challenge (being considerably more difficult than the original episodes).
The objective of each level is simply to locate the exit room that leads to the next area, marked with an exit sign and/or a special kind of door, while surviving all hazards on the way. Among the obstacles are demonic monsters, pits of toxic or radioactive slime, ceilings that lower and crush anything below them, and locked doors which require a keycard, skull-shaped key device, or a remote switch to be located. The levels are sometimes labyrinthine and feature plenty of items such as additional ammo, health increases and other "power-ups" along the way, as well as the occasional secret areas which are not immediately obvious as a reward for players who explore more carefully. To ease navigation through the levels, a full screen automap is available and shows the areas explored to that point. Many versions of Doom (and its sequels) include secret levels which are accessed by the player discovering alternate exits, often hidden behind secret doors, hidden passageways, or in areas which are difficult to reach. Despite carrying masses of high-tech weaponry, the main character can still run at blistering speeds.
Doom is notable for the weapons arsenal available to the marine, which became prototypical for first-person shooters. The player character starts armed only with a pistol, and fists in case the ammunition runs out, but larger weapons can be picked up: these are a chainsaw, a shotgun, a chaingun, a rocket launcher, a plasma rifle, and finally the immensely powerful BFG 9000. There is a wide array of power-ups, such as a backpack that increases the player character's ammunition-carrying capacity, armor, first aid kits to restore health, the berserk pack which both restores health and causes the player's punching attack to deal enormous damage, supernatural blue orbs (named soul spheres in the manuals) that boost the player character's health up to a maximum of 200%, nightvision, computer maps (which show every area of the level), partial invisibility, and protective suits that allow the player to survive in toxic acids.
The enemy monsters in Doom make up the central gameplay element. The player character faces them in large numbers, with the number generally increased when the higher of the game's five difficulty levels is chosen when starting a new game. There are ten types of monsters, including possessed undead humans as well as demons, all which vary in many ways. The monsters have very simple behavior, consisting of either walking toward their opponent, or attacking by throwing fireballs, biting, and scratching. They will fight each other if one monster is accidentally harmed by another (though most monsters are not harmed by the ranged attacks of their own kind).
Aside from the single player game mode, Doom features two multiplayer modes playable over a network: "cooperative", in which two to four players team up, and "deathmatch", in which two to four players play against each other. Online multiplayer was eventually made available through the DWANGO service.
 | |
 |