A little less that four years after the original Doom was released, the sequel, Doom II, was recently released on XBLA. For $10 (or 800 msp) not only do you get all the classic Doom II maps, but also nine new ones made by developer Nerve. And don't worry, the double barreled shotgun is back as well.If you played Doom on XBLA, you should know exactly what to expect with Doom II. The interface is exactly the same as the first; bland yet functional. Multiplayer is available over Live, as well as four player splitscreen just in case you get trapped in a time portal to the late 90s. Leaderboard support gives you the option to watch recorded playthroughs of other players runs which comes in handy when trying to navigate some of the game's unforgiving maps. The real meat in potatoes, however, is in the single player.
Doom II is a very frustrating game in parts, especially so in the higher difficulties, and this console port is the same old Doom II countless people have probably sworn at after a monster closet opened up right behind them in the past. The brand new maps from developer Nerve are just as if not more unforgiving then the originals. They definitely have a distinct feel to them that the id developed maps do not. I remember getting Half-Life vibes from the first few Nerve levels, which is a very very good thing.
There are also two avatar rewards that are available in Doom II. One is a black t-shirt with the Doom II logo on it that you get simply for beating a level. There is also a space marine suit that is unlocked once beating the new episode. I know that the space marine suit sounds really awesome in concept, but it looks kinda crappy when worn.
I'd definitely recommend this port to any Doom II fans. The new levels are totally worth trying out, and it's nice to have the originals in a digital format you can pick up any time and play. Also, The $10 price point makes it an easy game to justify buying.
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