Doom mods have existed since very shortly after Doom was released. The first Doom mods were simple, but very quickly evolved into total modifications that remade the graphics and even changed the soundtrack and sound effects. There are many Doom mods that gained notoriety, but not all of them were because they were great mods. Sometimes, these mods took it to an uncomfortable direction, but that's not what we're here to talk about. We're going to be looking at some Doom mods that people should definitely try, if for nothing else than to experience them, even if the novelty runs a little dry after a little while.
The fun part about these mods is, if you get the file on your computer and use it to play your own custom Doom maps, you can play mods with different skins and sound effects while even being able to create maps to play it with. This is not the Brutal Doom mods, we've already discussed those in a previous Doomverse. This is a more diversified list with a nostalgic bite.
Batman Doom
This one was not especially well implimented, but it is still a fun little excursion to just say that you did it. The cityscape is stylized, it's cool to be able to take down criminals with batarangs and it's just an interesting Doom experience. After about thirty minutes, though, it just turns into a bit of a monotonous play. Sometimes, you get lost just by missing one single tiny detail that many would find challenging to notice. It's not a bad mod, but it just needed a little more coherence.
Simpsons Doom
Well, if you wanted to play as Homer taking down Moe and Ned Flanders along with collecting donuts, your ship has come in. This is one of the oldest popular Doom mods that hit a lot of computers along with the game itself.It's just fun to see which characters you see. The bee guy, Officer Quimby and several more familiar faces show up and it's a nice trip down memory lane of when the Simpsons wasn't a never-ending series that outstayed its welcome a decade earlier. There's really not much else to talk about with this. The sound clips from the Simpsons show do get a little old as they are on perpetual repeat as you play, and sometimes the colors they used for their mod become slightly offputting. Beyond that, it's just a different flavor to add if you're in the mood to play Doom.
Super Mario Doom
One of the best things about this mod is that they slipped Mario skins onto whatever they could, whether it be a leaf as armor or a very familiar type of door we've seen from many NES titles. The Mario characters are all on display, even showing Luigi where there should be a dead Space Marine, and Shy Guys are the new Imps. With the sound effects and bloodied face of Mario when he is close to death, this is just another flavored mod to add to Knee Deep in the Dead, or your own Doom maps.
Blood Doom
This is a polarizing mod, as Blood has always been a favorite 90's FPS around these parts. The problem stems from some of the mechanics. The real problem was that there wasn't a whole lot of difference between the two games, not enough to really differentiate the two in a similar experience that meshed together. Doom mixed with Quake because the two series are different enough to have a fun crossover, but it's hard to make the same claim for Blood. Another problem was, the zombies didn't rise again like they used to. It looks like Doom didn't have a mechanic where dead characters could have a second wind. Other than that, it was fun to see Doom mix with Blood and mix their weapon sets together. You can use the chainsaw along with the dynamite from Blood, and it can be satisfying to chainsaw a cultist into the ground.
Just a random assortment of toons. That's basically what you get here. It's Doom if you want Beavis and Butthead as the two zombie soldier types and Mario as the Imp throwing fireballs at you. The problem here is that they didn't really go full hog with it. The cacodemons are just cacodemons, and this spills over to the cyberdemon as well. The cool thing about the Tower of Babel level was that, once you come out toward the level's boss, the first thing you see is Stewie Griffin running at you as a lost soul. The problem is, though, it's simply a cyberdemon you're facing. This is a fun little mod, but not an especially enriching experience with loads of content. It's more just a passing fancy with some nostalgic characters.
Doom 4 Vanilla (Doom 2)
One of the more surprising mods I came across. While it doesn't quite play into the theme of popular characters being put into Doom from another property, it is one of the better mods on the market. It not only puts in some of the better skins for monsters, blending classic Doom with the reboot, but it also brings in a good looking, and feeling weapon set. It's blended with Doom 2 and you can see the passion put into the project. It shows a lot of skill and changes the dynamics of Doom enough that it actually feels like a different game, but the same game as well.
If you're looking for a different experience with one single game, Doom has lasted this long because they made it with these modifications. They left it open and let people play it however they wanted to. It may have cost them some money initially but it proved to be what made it timeless and one of the big reasons people still play it today. We'll delve into more mods, and possibly get into the more contraversial ones along the way. We'll see how the blood flows. Virtua Rainbow Blood!
