I'll just get this out in the open before I go any further -- I REALLY like Doom. It's just one of those games that I have an unexplainable fondness for, kind of like Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures (it's better not to ask questions) and Galaga '90. Anyways, if you aren't familiar with the concept of Doom, your mission is simple. Yessir, you take the role of a lone space marine on a quest for survival, only there are a few things in your way... evil demons, bastard zombies, floating pumpkin beasties - the list goes on and on. And guess what?! It's you against them. Just you, a single soldier armed only with a pistol and a lust for slaughter... and with that, you're expected to make it out of this newly christened hell in one piece.

Easy.

[GRAPHICS]

The graphics in Jaguar Doom remain faithful to its PC brethren - while not a direct port, it still retains the same dark and moody look, only with a wider range of colours, improved lighting effects (according to the box), new wall textures (make that REPLACED wall textures), and unusual option screens. One thing (which is quite a bonus) that sets Jaguar Doom apart from the SNES and 32X versions of the game is that the enemies are not constantly facing you.

But here's the bad news: lower resolution and occasional choppiness in wide open and crowded spaces bring down the visual side of things. Jaguar Doom moves about as fast as its sibling on PC (in regard to frame rate), which in itself is buttery smooth in comparison to Alien Vs. Predator. This alone just about makes up for the low resolution, but not quite.

[SOUND FX/MUSIC]

I was somewhat disappointed with the music...why, you ask? Well, because there isn't any. .. well, that isn't entirely true, since there is music at the title screen and between levels, but there's none during gameplay where it really counts. I mean, they have all the music already there; it wouldn't take much to have it play in-game.

...and the wasted music is much-improved over the MIDI hash of the PC edition. Really makes you wonder what the deal was for not having it play during the game. Id's attempt to up the atmosphere? Technical mishaps? Who knows..

Ah well, who gives a shit. At least the sound effects are all still there, which include the grunts, screeches, explosions, gunfire, hydrolics, whirrs, and moist squirts you've come to expect from Doom.

..of course, one thing that does irritate me a little is that the sound effect volume doesn't alter, depending on the distance between you and whatever it is making the noise. In other words, if an imp is growling to itself on the opposite end of the level from where you are, it will sound identical to an imp skulking around in the shadows inches away. This lowers the actual effectiveness of the sound, but hey - at least the quality of the sound effects themselves is the same as the original.

[GAMEPLAY]

Doom is a LOT of fun, I've said it once and I'll say it again. This game is incredibly playable, with quick control and riveting gameplay. The Jaguar controller works very well with Doom, taking advantage of the telephone-ish number pad. My only complaint with the control is that it can be slightly innacurate when trying to aim.. it seems a little slick. What I mean is that it is sometimes difficult to line up an enemy right in front of you if you are attempting to turn in the direction of the enemy rather then target with sidestepping.

As I mentioned earlier, this is not a flawless version of the Doom we all know and love. Some of the enemies did not make it into the Jaguar version, such as the invisible demons, cyberdemon, and arachnotron, which really hurts. Still, even with this major shortcoming, Doom is still great. Some new levels were added to compensate, though, and all maps can be selected from the title screen (although some levels were removed from this version, but I doubt you will miss them).

And with two players it's better than ever! If you have two Jaguars, two Doom carts, a JagLink cable, and two TVs you can have a fierce shoot-out or a co-op blastfest with a buddy (as long as you both are willing to deal with some serious and frequent networking glitches).

[OVERALL]

This is a very fun game. Sure, some sacrifices were made for this version, and it looks a bit rushed, but it's still alot of fun. The lack of in-game music is a bit annoying, but whenever I play I usually put on my own to make up for it (Slipknot, Deftones, or System of a Down suit the mood, I've found). The missing enemies are an irritant as well, but this game is as hard as ever even without them, as long as you set it on Nighmare difficulty.

When compared to the PC version, Jaguar Doom falls short, but it's still a fine game, and Jaguar Doom still remains the best cartridge version of classic Doom (Doom 64 kicks Jaguar Doom's ass, but Doom 64 is not 'classic' Doom). Is it worthy of purchase? Definately.

[GRAPHICS] - 8.3/10

[SOUND FX/MUSIC] - 7.4/10 (if music played during levels, this would be something closer to a 9.0)

[GAMEPLAY] - 8.5/10 (damn, I miss those enemies..)

[OVERALL] - 8.4/10 (not an average)