Monday Gaming Diary: DOOM and Hard Reset Redux

I loved DOOM, something Chris and I have both talked about at length. I’m so glad that I don’t have a review right now so that I can get back to the strategy guide, even though my youngest child decided that the guide needed a trim. Putting it down for as long as I had did take some time to get used to the controls yet again, especially after playing a game for work called Hard Reset Redux, a remastered version of the Hard Reset PC game for consoles.

I had never played, yet heard of Hard Reset, so I didn’t know what to expect other than what I played at PAX East. In many ways, it’s a lot like DOOM, but the controls are just different enough to not let me fall back into DOOM as easily as I would have liked. Although one thing I can say about HRR is that it got me into the habit of constantly rotating out weapons, something that DOOM attempted to teach me but was never able to keep me in the habit. Unfortunately, swapping weapons in HRR is ten times easier than in DOOM, and I find myself wishing rather often that DOOM took a page from HRR.

If you aren’t into DOOM or have already finished the game on Ultra-Violence, I highly recommend checking out Hard Reset Redux. The game is pure joy in many of the same ways that DOOM is. The action is fast-paced and satisfying, the bosses are quite difficult, the enemies constantly keep you on your toes, and the upgrade system is superb. The only reason why it’s not better is because the story is a bit weak and forced, and the Redux part slaps the Exile DLC at the end of the main campaign without a single transition or heads up. The voice acting was also as forced as the storyline, which was a bit grating. At least there wasn’t too much talking. It would have gotten in the way of all the machines that needed murdering.

Can you murder machines? I suppose it’s possible in this sense as the machines are a bit sentient. And not to mention evil; they’re trying to kill what’s left of the human race, for God’s sake. They need some murdering.

Although between murdering demons and murdering machines, after I finish with my guide review of DOOM, I may need a break from the FPS scene, no matter how much fun these games have been.