Final Doom is a 1996 first-person shooter game developed by TeamTNT and published by id Software for MS-DOS and Macintosh computers, as well as for the PlayStation, although the latter featured a selection of levels from the game and from Master Levels for Doom II.

The third entry in id Software's Doom franchise and the first to not be developed by id, Final Doom consists of two 32-level episodes (or megawads), TNT: Evilution and The Plutonia Experiment. Both megawads were created by members of the hobbyist group TeamTNT, with id Software purchasing the rights to TNT: Evilution just before its planned free release and The Plutonia Experiment being made specifically at the request of id Software by Dario and Milo Casali.

Both episodes take place after the events of Doom II.' TNT: Evilution features a mostly new soundtrack interspersed with some tracks from Doom II, while the soundtrack for The Plutonia Experiment entirely consists of tracks from Doom and Doom II.

During August 2022, Final Doom was delisted from the Steam store, in an effort from id Software to consolidate their games' multiple releases and editions. Therefore, Final Doom was bundled into Doom II as a single listing, along with Master Levels for Doom II and No Rest for the Living expansion pack.

Gameplay

The gameplay mechanics of Final Doom are nearly identical to Doom II: Hell on Earth, featuring the same weapons, items, and monsters. However, it is widely considered to be significantly more difficult than its predecessors Doom and Doom II, with The Plutonia Experiment generally being considered more difficult than TNT: Evilution.

PlayStation version

The gameplay in the PlayStation version of Final Doom is nearly identical to that found in the PlayStation version of Doom, and, in addition, it was compatible with the PlayStation Mouse. GT Interactive secured worldwide rights to distribute the game in February 1996.

Brothers Dario and Milo Casali, who had contributed eight levels to TNT: Evilution, were assigned the task of creating what became The Plutonia Experiment after having sent an eight-level WAD they had created to American McGee and managing to impress him along with the rest of the id Software crew. They created 16 levels each for The Plutonia Experiment in four months time, and submitted them in January 1996. Unlike their contributions to TNT: Evilution, which were edited by id Software before the final release, no revisions were made to or requested for these 32 levels.

When asked post-release about reports that many players found the Plutonia levels too hard for them, Dario Casali stated that "Plutonia was always meant for people who had finished Doom 2 on hard and were looking for a new challenge. I always played through the level I had made on hard, and if I could beat it too easily, I made it harder, so it was a challenge for me."

| EGM = 6.125/10 (PS)

While GamePro criticized that Final Doom has no new enemies or weapons, and that the PlayStation version includes only 30 levels as compared to the PC version's 64, they were pleased with the "huge, perplexing, and sometimes sadistic levels" and the new scenery, and considered Doom still a compelling enough game that simply more of the same was enough to satisfy. PlayStation Magazine gave it a score of 9/10, calling it "essential". A reviewer for Next Generation was less impressed, remarking that a side-by-side comparison with the PlayStation version of the original Doom reveals that Final Doom has a much lower frame rate, less precise control, and more visible seams in the textures. Three of the four reviewers of Electronic Gaming Monthly said they were tired of seeing ports of Doom, and that Final Doom was simply another such port with new level maps. They also said that the game engine had become severely outdated in the years since Doom was first released. Crispin Boyer was the one dissenting voice, expressing enthusiasm for the new level designs.

Notes

References

  • Final Doom page at PlanetDOOM
  • Final Doom page on the Doom Wiki
  • Final Doom at TeamTNT's official website
  • Dario Casali's The Plutonia Experiment page
  • id Software's official Final Doom page
  • Comparison of PC and Playstation Final Doom at ClassicDOOM

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