Doom (32X)

From Sega Retro

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Doom 32X Title.png

Doom (32X)
System(s): Sega 32X, Sega Saturn
Publisher:
Sega 32X
Sega,
Sega Saturn
GT Interactive (US/EU), Soft Bank (JP)
Developer:
Genre: FPS

















Release Date RRP Code

Doom (in Japan either as DOOM or as ドゥーム) is a first person shooter developed by id Software and released on December 10, 1993 for DOS-based IBM PC compatibles. It was later ported to numerous platforms, two of which are Sega consoles; the Sega 32X (as a launch title) and Sega Saturn. It is widely considered to be one of the games that pioneered and popularized the first person shooter genre, and retains a large, dedicated fanbase to this day.

The player assumes the role of a nameless space marine and through use of a varied set of weaponry, must fight his way through moonbases on Mars and the depths of Hell itself.

Gameplay

The game is played through the eyes of the main character. The player navigates through the level and collects weapons, ammunition, powerups, and other miscellaneous items. Certain doors are locked via a red, blue, or yellow keycard which are hidden throughout the level. Eventually the player finds the exit and progresses to the next level. Every so often a boss is encountered, where the level ends upon defeating the boss.

Levels are often made more varied by use of gimmicks and traps such as elevators, poisonous pits, monster closets, and secret rooms.

Differences from PC Version

32X Version

Due to hardware limitations, the 3D portion of the screen is shrunken. Although the 32X is technically capable of rendering the full screen, performance concerns caused the developers to shrink the screen during development.

The level design and texturing in several levels is noticeably changed, presumably for the sake of performance, hardware constraints, and/or aesthetics on a TV screen as opposed to a computer monitor.

Due to storage space limitations on a cartridge, the 32X version contains a reduced set of levels from the PC version. The music was also noticeably changed, the developers deciding to remake the soundtrack with GEMS and keep it on the Mega Drive side only rather than use the 32X's PWM — having to make launch date didn't help the situation either. It's known by many fans and critics as the worst version of Doom's music for any console port, with even the SNES surpassing it in terms of quality. The game now features a level select menu, allowing the player to select any level within the game; however, by using the level select, the game only presents the user with a DOS prompt at the end, instead of giving the true ending away.

Interestingly enough, even after the game was released to the market, the developers continued adding onto the game. These versions were leaked in the February 23rd, 2008 Proto Release by drx.

Prototypes

Scene member drx released a few demos of Doom on the 32X, showcasing a better engine and direct ports of the PC levels before being changed.

Saturn Version

The Sega Saturn version of Doom was a rushed port of the PlayStation version that was poorly received by critics. For example, the framerate is considered to suffer greatly during gameplay. Otherwise, the game features the same content as the PlayStation version including both Ultimate Doom and Doom II, with some changes to accommodate for the lost power on the console. It also contains the new levels the PlayStation version has, such as Club Doom.

There were a number of differences between versions released the North American, European and Japanese versions of the game. The American release does not feature multiplayer of any sort, despite being advertised on the box, and has the worst system performance. The Japanese release came out at a slightly later date and features improved performance. The European and Japanese releases of the game features multiplayer using the DirectLink accessory, which also requires two copies of the game played through two consoles. Multiplayer allows two players to play the game in cooperative or deathmatch modes on all the levels. (The boss levels however do not have level exits, where the only way to end an unlimited match is to quit the game.)

Production Credits

32X Version

(in-game credits)
id Software Development Team: John Carmack, John Romero, Adrian Carmack, Kevin Cloud, Sandy Peterson, David Taylor, American McGee, Shawn Green
Sega of America Development Team:

Programming: Jonathan E. Flamm, Banjo Bob Hardy, Toshiyasu Monita, Marty Franz, Rex Sabio, Unni Pillai
Music: Brian Coburn
Art: Jenny Martin
Producer: Jesse K. Taylor
Software Testing: Mike Baldwin, Joel Breton, Chris Lucich, Matt Underwood, Fernando Valderrama, Kim Rogers, Ben Cureton, Lloyd Kinoshita, Alfred Dutton, Sam Sallba, Stan Weaver, Mike Mansourian, Carey Camacho, Aaron Hommes, Jeff Loney
Special Thanks To: Jay Wilbur, Dave Albert, JBM III

(US manual)

id Software Team

Biz Guy: Jay Wilbur
Biz Assistant: Donna Jackson
Software Engineers: John Carmack, John Romero, Dave Taylor, Shawn Green
Artists: Adrian Carmack, Kevin Cloud
Designers: Sandy Peterson, American McGee
Composer: Robert Prince
Doom Logo: Don Punchatz

Sega

Producer: Jesse Taylor
Assistant Producers: Vincent Nason, Greg Becksted
Product Manager: Tim Dunley
Product Specialist: Nemer Velasquez
Programming: Jonathan Flamm, Robert Hardy, Unni Pillai, Toshi Morita
Art: Jenny Martin, Susan Greene
Music: Brian Coburn
Game Lead: Michael Baldwin
Assistant Game Leads: Joel Breton, Christopher Lucich, Matt Underwood
Testers: Fernando Valderrama, Aaron Loichinger, Kim Rogers, Ben Cureton, Lloyd Kinoshita, Aaron Hommes
Manual: Carol Ann Hanshaw, Jay Wilbur
Special Thanks: Haven Dubrul, David Albert, Robert W. Lindsey, Doria Sanchez

Saturn Version

(US manual)
Programmers: John Carmack, John Romero, David Taylor, Michael John Cash
Artist: Adrian Carmack, Kevin Cloud
Level Designers: John Romero, Sandy Peterson, American McGee, Shawn Green
Development Support: Shawn Green
Biz: Jay Wilbur, Mike Wilson
Biz Assistant: Donna Jackson
Developed By: Rage Software
Programming: Jim Bagley, Alan Webb
Graphics: Simon Street, Ian Rickard
Sound: Steve Lord, Kev Bruce
Producer: John Heap


Physical Scans

32X Version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
94 №158
84
83
87
87
92 №27, p76/77/78
91
95 №63, p50/51/52
94 №40, p40/41
Sega 32X
90
Based on
9 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
75
[1]
Computer & Video Games (UK)
94
[2]
Computer + Video Giochi (IT)
90
[3]
Electronic Games (1992-1995) (US) NTSC-U
91
[4]
Electronic Gaming Monthly (US) NTSC-U
84
[5]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
75
[6]
FLUX (US) NTSC-U
83
[7]
GameFan (US) NTSC-U
87
[8]
GamePro (US) NTSC-U
93
[9]
Gamer (GR)
81
[10]
Gamers (DE) PAL
60
[11]
Games World: The Magazine (UK) PAL
91
[12]
Game Informer (US) NTSC-U
78
[13]
Hobby Consolas (ES)
90
[14]
Joypad (FR) PAL
92
[15]
MAN!AC (DE) NTSC
84
[16]
Mega (UK) PAL
95
[17]
Mega Force (FR) PAL
92
[18]
Mega Fun (DE) NTSC-U
87
[19]
Micro Kid's Multimédia (FR)
100
[20]
Micromanía (segunda época) (ES)
93
[21]
Mean Machines Sega (UK) PAL
92
[22]
Player One (FR)
95
[23]
Play Time (DE) PAL
87
[24]
Power Up! (UK)
95
[25]
Power Unlimited (NL)
78
[26]
Saturn Fan (JP) NTSC-J
78
[27]
Sega Magazine (UK) PAL
96
[28]
Sega News (CZ)
80
[29]
Sega Power (UK) PAL
95
[30]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
94
[31]
Sega Pro (UK) PAL
84
[32]
Sega Force (SE)
100
[33]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
88
[34]
Todo Sega (ES)
91
[35]
Ultimate Future Games (UK)
91
[36]
VideoGames (US)
80
[37]
Sega 32X
88
Based on
37 reviews

Doom (32X)

32X, US
Doom 32X US Box Back.jpgNospine.pngDoom 32X US Box Front.jpg
Cover
Doom 32X US Cart.jpg
Cart
Doom 32x us manual.pdf
Manual
32X, EU
Doom 32X EU Box.jpg
Cover
Doom 32X EU cart.jpg
Cart
32X, JP
Doom 32X JP Box Back.jpgNospine.pngDoom 32X JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
Doom 32X JP cart.jpg
Cart
Doom 32x jp manual.pdf
Manual
32X, BR
Doom 32X BR Box.jpg
Cover
Doom 32X BR Cart.jpg
Cart
32X, Asia

Saturn Version

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
20 №183
39 №53, p66/67/68
56 №16, p72/73
Sega Saturn
38
Based on
3 reviews
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
Sega Saturn
N/A
Based on
0 reviews

Doom (32X)

Saturn, US
Doom Saturn US Box Back.jpgDoom Saturn US Box Front.jpg
Cover
Doom sat us disc.jpg
Disc
Doom sat us manual.pdf
Manual
Saturn, EU
Doom Saturn EU Box.jpg
Cover
Doom Saturn EU Disc.jpg
Disc
Saturn, JP
Doom Saturn JP Box Back.jpgDoom Saturn JP Box Front.jpg
Cover
Saturn, Italy/Spain
Doom Sat IT-ES cover.jpg
Cover
Saturn, BR
Doom Sat BR cover.jpg
Cover
  1. Beep! MegaDrive, "January 1995" (JP; 1994-12-08), page 26
  2. Computer & Video Games, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-12-15), page 72
  3. Computer + Video Giochi, "Gennaio 1995" (IT; 199x-xx-xx), page 76
  4. Electronic Games (1992-1995), "February 1995" (US; 1995-0x-xx), page 74
  5. Electronic Gaming Monthly, "January 1995" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 40
  6. Famitsu, "1994-12-09" (JP; 1994-11-25), page 39
  7. FLUX, "Issue #4" (US; 1995-xx-xx), page 82
  8. GameFan, "Volume 2, Issue 12: December 1994" (US; 1994-xx-xx), page 27
  9. GamePro, "February 1995" (US; 199x-xx-xx), page 60
  10. Gamer, "Ianouários 1995" (GR; 1995-xx-xx), page 1
  11. Gamers, "Januar 1995" (DE; 1995-01-08), page 35
  12. Games World: The Magazine, "February 1995" (UK; 1994-12-xx), page 15
  13. Game Informer, "December 1994" (US; 1994-1x-xx), page 12
  14. Hobby Consolas, "Diciembre 1994" (ES; 1994-xx-xx), page 78
  15. Joypad, "Décembre 1994" (FR; 1994-1x-xx), page 90
  16. MAN!AC, "01/95" (DE; 1994-12-07), page 48
  17. Mega, "December 1994" (UK; 1994-11-30), page 20
  18. Mega Force, "Megadrive 32X elle est là!" (FR; 1994-12-02), page 22
  19. Mega Fun, "01/95" (DE; 1994-12-21), page 31
  20. Micro Kid's Multimédia, "Février 1995" (FR; 1995-0x-xx), page 60
  21. Micromanía (segunda época), "Diciembre 1994" (ES; 1994-xx-xx), page 22
  22. Mean Machines Sega, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-11-30), page 76
  23. Player One, "Décembre 1994" (FR; 1994-1x-xx), page 64
  24. Play Time, "2/95" (DE; 1995-01-04), page 101
  25. Power Up!, "Saturday, December 17, 1994" (UK; 1994-12-17), page 1
  26. Power Unlimited, "Jaargang 3, Februari 1995" (NL; 1995-01-25), page 40
  27. Saturn Fan, "1995 February" (JP; 1995-01-07), page 34
  28. Sega Magazine, "December 1994" (UK; 1994-11-15), page 70
  29. Sega News, "Leden 1997" (CZ; 1997-xx-xx), page 34
  30. Sega Power, "February 1995" (UK; 1994-12-15), page 50
  31. Sega Pro, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-12-01), page 40
  32. Sega Pro, "April 1996" (UK; 1996-02-28), page 24
  33. Sega Force, "2/95" (SE; 1995-04-19), page 8
  34. Sega Saturn Magazine, "September 1995" (JP; 1995-08-08), page 84
  35. Todo Sega, "Diciembre 1994" (ES; 1994-1x-xx), page 28
  36. Ultimate Future Games, "January 1995" (UK; 1994-12-01), page 97
  37. VideoGames, "December 1994" (US; 1994-1x-xx), page 72