(WARNING: CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS)

Here's an hour-long preview for the new Doom that shows a bunch of stuff from the campaign. Some highlights include:

The Automap is Back - And from the looks of the automap, the levels seem fairly large. The map will update itself as you move through the rooms, much like in the old Doom games, but there are also terminals that will allow you to update your map and let you see areas you've yet to visit.

The Pistol is Basically Quake 4's Blaster - It's got infinite ammo and can be charged up for more damage. Doom pistols are traditionally useless, so it's at least nice to know that this one has some sort of extra function and means you'll always have a long-range weapon on hand for when things get tough.

Upgrade Challenges & Secrets - One thing I was particularly happy to learn is how you can earn upgrade points and ability-enhancing runes for your character by completing optional challenges in the levels, such as killing X amount of monsters in a certain time period, or finding a certain portion of the secret areas in the level. This gives you even more incentive to explore every nook and cranny of the maps.

Lots of UI Tweaks - You can disable your HUD entirely if you want, and make adjustments to your crosshairs and other things. And yes, you can even deactivate the flashing indicator that shows when you can glory kill an enemy. I know how that annoyed some people, so you can make it go away now. XD

Special Power-Ups - Power-ups like Haste and Quad Damage aren't exclusive to the multiplayer, and will provide you a temporary edge in battle when you need it most, if you can find them.

One-Life Mode - I'm not personally interested in this kinda stuff, but if you're feeling especially daring, you can play Ultra Nightmare mode: all the difficulty of Nightmare, but dying makes you lose all of your progress. Good luck!

The Combat Just Looks Sweet! - What can I say? It looks like Doom to me: there's quieter moments where you're just dealing with a few monsters, but when things heat up, the bad guys keep pouring in and you have to constantly reassess your spatial relationship with them in order to not get blasted to bits. But it actually does one better than classic Doom with the increased verticality of the level design, meaning now you can increase distance between you and the bad guys by leaping across gaps or quickly climbing to a different plane. It all looks quite slick.

I'm more psyched for this game than ever, and I honestly think it might finally be the real, modern Doom I always wanted. Hopefully the bad word-of-mouth about the multiplayer won't drive everyone away from what's looking like a pretty cool singleplayer experience.


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