What's Wrong ID and the FPS

Back to the Future Past


As a gamer for more years than are worth going into say that I remember downloading the official release of DOOM 1 via my 9600 Baud modem from a popular BBS.

Like many people who were taken by Doom into all day/all night stints glued to their CRT's, I had more than a casual interest in DOOM 3. I like many others had found our first immersive gaming with the original, so the anticipation was very high.

Without going into a long drawn out hi and low story, Doom 3 was a new low water mark for a title released from Carmack and company. Aside from being pitch dark this iteration lacked all the suspense and induced head peering of the original. Subtle as those points were, they were all but gone in Doom 3. With the exception of a few real horror moments, the game brought nothing new to the table.

FPS gaming has matured to a new level and ID seems to have invested in visuals. These high visuals and technical achievement which ultimately detracted from the game.

With the maturation of FPS tiles came new gaming conventions. Most of which Doom 3 sidelined. The game was much too linear and in the end too predictable. The annoyances of having beastlies pop out from hidden doors behind the player became too much.


Did Something Right and No one Noticed

OK - so enough with that. Doom 3 was a let down. But why? I'll make this next observation quicker. Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The single player in RTCW was not much more advanced than its previous offering but its Multiplayer had definitely matured. I was amazed at the effort. Class based MP that was actually fun and balanced. Then BAM - A month later Electronic Arts released Medal of Honor. A simpler Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Objective based WWII FPS. For whatever reason, the RTCW servers drained. Its not that ID didn't do a great job, in fact I can't really explain the desertion. Some have claimed it was out of their expertise and should have stuck to the formula that made the company a splash in the first place.


The Last Hurrah

ID's real last hurrah was Quake 3 and some might argue that even Quake 3 came short of the mark in many ways. People were divided between Q1, Q2, and now Q3 game play. There were three camps of favorites all of which detracted from the last offering.

Then came Unreal which wowed players with its storyline and ultimately Unreal Tournament was released. It was everything that Quake series wasn't. Not only did it build on the existing FPS MP mechanics, it offered unique and most importantly fun new MP game types. This made Quake 3 Deathmatch look like a Wooly Mammoth in a tar pit.

I remember firing up Q3 sometime in 1998 after playing my share of UT. I was almost aghast at the limited feel of it. How could I play this - I shut it down and uninstalled it.


Quake 4 - More an Aftershock?

I don't know what ID and Raven were thinking but this is really a mix of things not to do. I knew the Quake following was fragmented. That Quake players had and were playing UT games. Somehow somewhere someone said lets make Q4 MP play like Q3 MP.

I recently purchased Q4 and fired up the game up for online play. There was that weird tear in gut. That smirk on face that would probably look like it was brought on by pain. Aghast at what looked like regressive game play. It felt like 1998 all over again.

Greener Pastures Ahead?

ID has the chance to redeem itself again. Quake Wars: Enemy Territory looks to be a winner. More in the lines of an improved RTCW. COuld they pull it off - or will the vaunted company that unleashed the FPS game phenomenon on the world be dealt another blow. DICE/Electronic Arts are working on a very similar themed title. Battlefield 2142. Both titles have similar release schedules. This could be deal breaker for the gurus at ID.