Doom
Hellish corridors, demons leaping out of the darkness and a shotgun ready to turn them into bloody mush, all of it at once powered by a console that boasted the title of the world's first 64-bit machine. Doom on the Atari Jaguar was for many players the first opportunity to play this revolutionary shooter on the living-room television, and it was one of the most technically loaded ports of its time.
Doom needs little introduction. You wander through labyrinthine levels, collect keys and weapons, massacre hordes of enemies and search for the way to the exit. The Jaguar version offered smooth action, decent resolution and an exceptionally good feel of shooting for a console. Some elements of the original were indeed missing, but the overall impression ranked among the best console ports of Doom ever.
John Carmack of id Software himself worked on the port, which is why the Jaguar version tends to be labeled one of the most technically accomplished. It was released in 1994 and became in essence the reference console version, from which further ports for the consoles of the day partly derived. For Atari it was a prestige coup, because it drew one of the hottest games of the era to the console.
The cultural significance of Doom is immeasurable. The game practically defined the first-person shooter genre, popularized deathmatch as well as community level creation and became one of the most ported games in history, appearing on countless devices. The fact that the Jaguar received a quality version straight from the creators lent the console a stamp of legitimacy.
On the Jaguar, Doom remains one of the titles for which the console is remembered fondly. At a time when many players could not afford a powerful computer, this port was a gateway to hell straight from the couch. Even today it is a solid, playable version of an immortal classic that proves just how timeless the fundamental design of Doom truly is.
Why play: For one of the best console ports of the legendary shooter, which brought hellish action straight into the living room on the Jaguar.
Game 4 of 14 for Atari Jaguar
The same title elsewhere (2)
The PC/DOS version is the original and remains the definitive edition — it ran at higher resolution, supported mouse-and-keyboard controls, and had music through sound cards like the Sound Blaster or AdLib. The Atari Jaguar port became famous for a different reason: under time pressure the developers cut the music entirely, so you play through in near silence with only sound effects, even though the speed and smoothness of the action were praised at the time as remarkably good for a console. The SEGA 32X version came off worst of all — its levels had to be shortened and rearranged compared to the original, resolution and frame rate were lower, and its thin music plus sluggish pace still make it the weakest and least recommended way to play Doom.
