Legendary PC Game 'Doom' Now available on iPhone

Apple's iPhone continues its assault on the Nintendo DS with the release of id Software's legendary shooter, Doom. Originally released in 1994, the game still looks great on Apple's uber-popular smartphone.

The original Doom was released on PC in 1993. It wasn't the first first-person shooter (FPS) -- that distinction arguably belongs to id's own Wolfenstein 3D, released in 1992 -- but it might just be the most memorable.

The game's storyline wasn't exactly Shakespeare (futuristic teleportation experiments on Mars go wrong, unleashing hell's minions on unsuspecting space marines), but it sure was creepy. Few gamers over 25 will ever forget their first encounter with a much-feared cyberdemon. Doom's gameplay, in particular its graphics, were well ahead of their time.

$6.99 for a 15-Year-Old Game

That's why it's big news that the game, over fifteen years later, has now landed on Apple's flashy touchscreen phone. The new app, dubbed "Doom Classic" contains the PC version's original three episodes (played on Mars moons Phobos, Deimos, and finally, Hell) plus an additional episode called "Thy Flesh Consumed". It costs $6.99. (Source: pocketgamer.co.uk)

Nostalgic gamers who played the game back in the Clinton era will probably have fond memories of Doom's multiplayer -- made famous by the now ubiquitous "Deathmatch" mode. That's available on the iPhone, too, along with cooperative mode, but for now it's just limited to local WiFi. Rumors suggest it could soon reach wider audiences via Internet play, but that's still unconfirmed.

Doom: "A More Serious Effort," Says Maker Carmack

id Software's John Carmack, who helped make Doom a household name, says the effort to bring Doom to the iPhone represented a much greater undertaking than the company's Wolfenstein 3D port, released a while back. "Wolfenstein 3D Classic was a quickie project to satisfy my curiosity and test the iPhone waters, but Doom is a more serious effort," Carmack said. (Source: digitalspy.co.uk)

According to Carmack, there's still a huge market for Doom a decade-and-a-half after its original release, and id was careful to make the port to PC a good one. "In addition to the millions of people with fond memories of the game, there is still an active gaming/development community surrounding the original Doom, and I don't want to disappoint any of them."