Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10401 in Computer & Video Games
• Brand: ACTIVISION
• Released on: 2001-11-16
• Platform: Game Boy Advance
• Subtitled in: English

Amazon.co.uk Review
If you don't know what Doom is, you must be one of those weirdoes that had something better to do with their time in the summer of 1993 than play PC games. Doom is one of the most influential games of all time and popularised the whole first-person shoot-'em-up genre, and is thus the spiritual grandaddy of classics such as Quake, Half-Life, GoldenEye and even the recent Halo. Indeed, the major draw for this portable version is the cloying wave of nostalgia it brings to hardcore gamers as they set about the hordes of hell with a shotgun and a chain saw. This is an almost-perfect conversion of the original (or at least the original running on an average speed PC of the time) that even manages to include a four-player death match and a cooperative two-player mode.

The music is the same, the level design is the same and best of all the gameplay is the same, with strafing working surprisingly well on the GBA's shoulder buttons. The only problem with the game, other than the inexplicable use of green blood even though it's got a 15 rating, is that the graphics can be a bit jerky in places. Which is presumably why the developers have had to ditch the two huge end-of-level bosses from the second and third episodes. In general, though, this is a technical tour de force that will have any remaining GBA doubters reaching for their wallets. --David Jenkins

Amazon.co.uk Review
Doom for Game Boy Advance retains the immersive 3-D experience and onslaught of horrific demons that made the PC version a classic. It pits you against cyber-organic creatures and nightmarish demons as you blast your way through 24 levels. Armed with eight weapons, you must navigate treacherous architecture, avoid traps, and use power-ups in a battle of skill and firepower. The game features multiplayer support through the Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable: two to four players can test their mettle through all of the single-player levels and an additional eight dedicated multiplayer levels. And two players can team up to blast their way through single-player levels in co-operative mode.

Manufacturer's Description
Doom Advance challenges gamers to assume the role of a lone Space Marine who must rid a Martian moon of an army of gruesome, hell-spawned creatures that have invaded it. Equipped with an explosive arsenal of weapons including chainguns, plasma rifles and rocket launchers, players will face off against demons and opponents through 24 enormous single-player levels and eight dedicated multiplayer maps. In addition, players can team up with a friend and blast through Doom Advance's maze of levels in cooperative mode.

Customer Reviews

Erm... I'm stunned.
Crikey... The Gameboy Advance isn't meant to be this good surely?!? I thought that Doom would be a bit clunky and naff on the GBA, so imagine my surprise when I switched on, and found a near-perfect clone of the original PC Doom game, running smoothly in full three-dimensional glory.

Yup. It's Doom. Great! What more can one say?

Well, this is a 5-star review, so I may as well tell you the down sides:

1) Doom is a dark, dark, game. The GBA screen is a dark, dark screen. Put the two together and you've got a game that can only be played properly under the most perfect lighting conditions. This is a known problem of the Gameboy, so in Doom there are options to change the lightness/darkness of the graphics. You can also turn off "dynamic lighting" to see better, but that effectively flood-fills each room in the game with soft lighting, and so spoils the suspense of going into a dark room with simulated faulty flourescent lighting - but it is a way to get by if you're playing somewhere where you don't have good light on the GBA screen.

2) Mono sound effects. You'd expect this to some extent on the GBA, but do remember that in the original Doom, the stereo sound helped you locate the baddies. Also, the sound effects don't change level - so you can hear a monster as if it is right next to you (alarming) - but it might be two rooms away. This can be confusing.

3) Baddies disappear after being blasted. In the original Doom, you could tell where you were by the remains on the floor of the baddies you had already shot. In GBA Doom, the remains disappear after a couple of seconds. This could simply be due to memory limitations.

4) Baddies can be hard to spot. As another reviewer mentioned, the GBA screen is so low-res, that baddies in the distance are just a cluster of flickery pixels.

5) This is the original Doom. Is this good or bad? One thing is for sure, any Doom fan will know these levels inside out, so the game will hold no surprises for them. Perhaps it would have been better to create a new Doom WAD file specifically for the GBA. On the other hand, if you're new to Doom, it means that you can download the free version, and explore it on your PC when at home, and then take the GBA version out on the road with you.

The gripes above though, are just nit-picking really. The game is genuinely exciting to play (and I'm 35 years old!), and can make you jump out of your skin like the original could.

In summary - truly stunning. This game demonstrates what an awesome piece of hardware the GBA really is. I have no doubt this will inspire other games developers to bring out even more amazing games over the next few years.

Doom Advance
I've just got back from New York and bought a copy of Doom advance on the day of it's release (29/10/01).

What can I say ?, Fans of the original PC game will find this an almost perfect port of the PC game !. There are 24 levels in single player, the map mode is in, as are all the weapons and power ups. The gameboy advance is finally coming into it's own ( I also bought Lady Sia, Advance wars and Chu Chu Rocket all of which are exellent ! ).

The only problem comes from the size of the Gameboy advance screen as it is hard to see enemies far off in the distance. I've not played the link up side of things yet so I cannot comment on this.

TIP: Turn off the dynamic lighting effects as this will make things much easier to see !

Quality Game
This is a perfect conversion of the original classic 'DOOM'.
The presentation is excellent and the sound effects are exactly the same as the PC version. You can hear demons growling and grunting in the distance creating a tense atmosphere. There's music aswell which sounds ace. You'll never tire of the bang-clunk-click of the shotgun! The green blood isn't a problem because the game plays so good.

The draw distance is impressive, letting you see the environment and your enemies from far away.
The level design is identical except for a few places to prevent the game from slowing down.

Four difficulties, each with an increasing amount of enemies (there can be up to 8 or 10 on the screen at once). Three episodes, 24 levels altogether. Don't forget the multiplayer co-op or deathmatch options!

The levels are big with lots of secrets and hidden switches (map mode is here to help). The weapons range from a chainsaw, fist, pistol,shotgun, chaingun, rocket launcher, plasma rifle and the legendary BFG which wipes out everything.

The gameplay is smooth, simple and instinctive (controls can be customised). I can safely say that DOOM for GBA is just as good as it ever was, but now you can play it anywhere you want. A faithful conversion that shouldn't have been possible. You will play this over and over because it's just that good!

OVERALL, VERY IMRESSIVE, A QUALITY GAME. I GIVE IT:
5 OUT OF 5