doom posts

We are not sure how long it will be before id Software decides to push out a "cease and desist" order on this but while its there it's certainly cool to play. The Newgrounds web site has got a triple play of the original Doom, along with Doom engine games Heretic and Hexen, available to play for free via their Flash-based browser site.

The programmer who ported these games is simply called 'mike' online and he's done a terrific job of getting all three games to run well (although it does require the new Flash 10; sorry, other web browsers). He's been working on this for a while now under the radar but we suspect that since id still sells these games they won't take too kindly to having them available to play for free; that's what Quake Live is for.

[Via Rock, Paper, Shotgun]

On Monday we began a fond look back at the 1990s, when Star Trek was well into The Next Generation and The X-Files was our favorite way to get scared. PC games also came into their own in that decade and to prove it we picked 15 titles that were released between 1992 and 1993.

It was the time period where adventure games were all over the place and an odd PC hardware add-on called the CD-ROM would make us forget floppies. Shareware was also making a huge impact on gamers, including a little game called Doom. Let's head back about 16 or 17 years and take a look at the 1990's games that we still like to play today.

Click on the image to read more of We Love the 90s (for PC Games): 1992-1993

The first person shooter genre was still something new when id Software was creating their all time greatest game Doom. There were no multi-million dollar budgets for games in 1993 and the Internet was still something that geeks used almost exclusively. So what was it like to work in a game development office back in the "old days" of 16 years ago?

Former id Software team member (and current head of Slipgate Ironworks) John Romero gives us a rare glimpse back into that history on his official web site. He got access to a video that was originally filmed in 1993 and then forgotten about until just recently. The beginning of the over 30 minute movie shows various former and current id Software team members (including Romero but not John Carmack) working on Doom and fooling around in their very spartan offices. The vast majority of the movie shows Shakycam footage a near final (but still not complete) version of the original Doom. There are some bugs shown and the sound effects are not final but this little curio is still worth checking out.

[Via Blue's News]

On Monday we posted up a feature showing off a number of notable games that have been turned into comics by various publishers. Today we have the second and final part of our feature that takes a look at even more comics that are based on either current or upcoming games.

Many of these comics have been released recently by Wildstorm, the division of DC Comics that's also responsible for the art direction of the upcoming MMO DC Universe Online. They also have several comics in the works and rumors are they will be doing even more games-to-comic adaptations.

Click on the image above to continue reading From Games to Comics: Part 2

On Wednesday we began our series of the most influential PC games of all time by going through our choices for the 20-11 spots. Today the gloves come off as we reveal our picks for the top 10 PC games that have been the biggest influences on the industry as a whole.

Our list of games in the top 10 includes three first person shooters, an RTS game, a turn-based strategy game, a action-RPG, a RPG-MMO combo franchise and a game that has become the best selling PC title of all time. We know all of you reading this most likely have your own ideas about what games should be on the list and in what position and we want to hear what you think. So, make sure you put in your two cents in the comments.

Click on the image above to continue reading the top 10 most influential PC games

2008 is coming to an end in a few weeks and for some of us it can't end soon enough. However, we here at Big Download continue to press on with enough major news stories, downloads and original features to fill a Corellian space freighter (every web site should have a Star Wars reference). Let's check out the highlights from the past week:

Exclusive features

• Reviews: We have our final verdicts on Defense Grid: The Awakening and American McGee's Grimm: The Pied Piper.
• Left 4 Dead Game Guide: We have two more entries in our guide to Valve's zombie shooter, focusing on the missions Dead Air and Blood Harvest.
• Stocking Stuffers 08: We have some last-minute small holiday gift ideas for your selection
• Lumps of Coal 08: If you really hate someone on your gift giving list, feel free to select from these games
• Shooting for Nothing: We look at the ever growing free-to-play FPS genre.
• Things we love (and hate) about GTA IV PC: We go over features that are good and bad in Rockstar's recent PC port of their open world action game.
• Happy 15th Birthday Doom!: We take a brief look back at id Software's FPS which celebrated its 15th year of release this week.
• The past (and possible future) for Batman games: With The Dark Knight's release on DVD and Blu-Ray this week we look at the past games featuring Batman and speculate on the character's future.
• Mac Monday: Our weekly look at Macintosh gaming takes a look at the racing game MiniOne Racing
• Independent Minds: Our weekly indie column is all about web browser based game platforms
• Big Iron: Our weekly hardware column looks at if getting and SLI or Crossfire PC gaming rig is worth it.
• Big Ideas: Our weekly look at game themes is all about if online is the future of games (here's a hint: yep)
• Freeware Friday: Our weekly look at free games looks at the RPG-arcade-business sim (we are not kidding) Minotaur China Shop

Today is the 15th anniversary of the release of Doom, the sci-fi first person shooter from id Software. On Dec. 10, 1993, the original shareware version was uploaded to a single FTP server. That's all it took for the game, about one space marine fighting an invasion from Hell on the moons of Mars, to spread across the world like wildfire on tens of millions of PC hard drives.

While the game wasn't the first FPS ever made, the release of Doom arguably launched the genre into the mainstream of gaming. The PC shareware version of the title became a massive hit with some people saying the DOS version of the shareware were installed on more PCs at one point than Microsoft's then current version of Windows.

Click on the logo above to continue reading Happy 15th Birthday Doom!

Download the Doom Shareware here at Big Download
Download the Doom III Classic mod (a remake of the original Doom in Doom III) here at Big Download

Yesterday we reported that last October's Max Payne movie adaptation was making a fast track to a January 20 release on DVD and Blu-Ray. Today High-Def Digest reports that an older game-based movie will finally be released in Blu-Ray format. It's Doom, the 2005 Universal Studios film based (very loosely) on id Software's first person shooter.

Doom was one of the first movies to be released in the now defunct HD-DVD format that burned out earlier this year. The Blu-Ray release of the movie will be out on February 10 and will include all of the bonus features of the earlier HD-DVD release. It will also have BD-Live enabled features including a "Director's Chat" feature, access to a download center, and My Scenes Sharing.

If you like your games to have full co-op mode in the single player campaign then this year is a good time to be a fan of PC first person shooters. This week developer Treyarch and publisher Activision release Call of Duty: World at War, which finally adds co-op support for the first time in the series. Next week is even bigger as Valve finally releases the full version of Left 4 Dead, a game designed from the ground up to be a co-op shooter.

Today we look back at the history of co-op gameplay in first person shooter titles.The genre actually had quite a few games that supported such features when it first started but the last few years have seen a decline as FPS have emphasised more popular multiplayer features like deathmatch, CTF and more recently big team based gameplay. But with Call of Duty: World at War and Left 4 Dead out this month co-op gameplay may be coming back.

Click on the picture above to continue reading Playing Together: Co-Op in PC FPS Games.

Halloween may be just a recent memory but that isn't stopping Valve from launching their long awaited zombie shooter Left 4 Dead later this month. A free demo of the co-op shooter is already available for pre-orders via Steam (it will be made available for everyone on Nov. 11) before the full game is made available on Nov. 18.

Valve's Left 4 Dead is only the latest PC game to feature some kind of undead corpse that's ready to make you its next meal. We decided to take a look back at some memorable zombies in PC games, including some familiar favorites, some you may not be aware of and at least one game where you actually are a zombie. Them's good eatin'.

Click on the image above to continue reading Beyond Left 4 Dead: Zombies in PC Games