![]() The demons have changed, too, thanks to the new destructible demon system. I have the plasma rifle in my hands about 75% of the time anyway-I'm a basic Slayer like that-so I dig this mod, and there's a certain satisfaction in watching a demon get locked up and cooked to death. Hold the beam on their shuddering bodies long enough-it reminds me of Slimer being snared in Ghostbusters-and they'll explode, damaging any other demons nearby. There's also a great microwave beam mod for the plasma cannon that stunlocks demons while damaging them. The heavy cannon is great for mowing down enemies with a high rate of fire but also snapping off a quick, single sniper round without having to switch weapons, thanks to its scope. It can also charge a shot that sticks to an enemy for a few moments before exploding-I don't know what purpose there is in the delay, but it is kinda fun watching the monster squirm around as it realize it's about to blow. ![]() I leaned heavily on the new ballista, which fires a powerful projectile, a lot like Doom 2016's gauss cannon. It feels great, an entirely new way for the Slayer to yank himself into combat or quickly find a new position on the battlefield. You can swing yourself in an arc across an arena while hooked into a monster, rather than just retracting in a straight line. ![]() You can target some hovering cacodemon and pull yourself toward it, bringing you quickly into range for a point-blank shotgun blast or melee kill. It's not meant for clamping on to cliff walls or stone masonry-it's called the Meathook, after all, and only sticks to demons. It knows it's a video game.Īnd let's not forget your new grappling hook attached to the end of your super shotgun. Yes, it's a bit goofy to see a helmet marked with '1-Up' hovering in some secret room-why would that be there, and why would it say 1-Up? But it's no sillier than monsters dropping ammo because you've cut them in half with a chainsaw. You'll be resurrected somewhere nearby with a few precious moments of invulnerability before you leap back into the fight. Secret areas can contain weapon mods or power-ups or a precious 1-Up token, which grants you an extra life, meaning when you die in combat you don't have to load from your last checkpoint. This exploration was as much fun as the combat, because just about every time I spied some distant nook or cranny and wondered if I could reach it, I could, with a little work. I took time during the demo to look around in the quieter moments, and found several spots where I could clamber up to a vent or dash and jump my way to a catwalk. There aren't just abilities you use in combat, either, because Doom Eternal isn't just about splattering demons but also about careful exploration and finding secrets in the environment. ![]() I spent as much time in the air as on the ground. Combined with the wall-climb ability, it turns levels into your own personal jungle gym. Of course you can double-jump, which when combined with the dash renders you capable of launching yourself across great distances. You can also sink your fingers into certain types of walls and clamber straight up them, and then make a jump to a ledge or another climbable wall. There's a dash ability that lurches you forward with a tap of the shift key, great for dodging projectiles, slipping out of range of a melee attack, or for quickly closing the distance between yourself and a nearby ammo crate (by which I mean a demon). No matter what's happening, and no matter your condition, you're a perpetual motion machine.Īnd you're well suited for that constant movement with Doom Eternal's traversal abilities. Hiding isn't going to help when the monsters are the ones filled with everything you need. This makes combat a constant: you don't retreat when you're out of ammo or low on health, you advance. Health comes from glory kills, the lightning quick melee finishing moves that were introduced in 2016's Doom, where you rip out eyeballs, stomp heads into mush, and rip limbs off with your hands. Set them on fire and then chainsaw them while they're burning, and you'll get even more resource drops. If you need to replenish your armor, burning demons with your new shoulder-mounted flamethrower will make them drop armor shards. If you're low on ammo in Eternal, you'll need to whip out your chainsaw and cut some monsters up, because using the chainsaw to kill a demon makes it drop ammo. In my hands-on session with Doom Eternal in May, I had to remember the lessons of 2016's Doom: stop thinking of the demons as just enemies to kill but also as resources.
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