2011/12/15: Jaguar: Checkered Flag, Doom, Power Drive Rally

[VideoGameCritic]

I have posted three revised Jaguar reviews: Doom, Power Drive Rally, and Checked Flag.

I hope you'll find this Doom review more on target.  I know my previous one was way off.

[Leo1]

There was an instance where you didn't spell Checkered Flag correctly. You called it Checked Flag.

What a missed opportunity that game was. They were on their way to a promising Virtua Racing clone. Given 6 more months to work on it and I think it would've been one of the gems in the library instead of the unplayable mess it was. At least Jag owns got Super Burnout and Power Drive Rally for good racers.

While I'd personally rate the Jaguar port of Doom somewhere around a B, I think it was a well done set of reviews.

[Jon1]

Checkered  Flag was a pretty bad game. The sequel World Tour Racing was really good though.When you compare games like World Tour Racing and Battlemorph their predecessors, Checkered Flag and Cybermorph, you can see how far the programmers had gotten (albeit those games were on cd). I really think that they would've been able to pull off good 3d games if they had just put more time programming.

[Adamant1]

Many other console Dooms at the time had multiplayer support, so I wouldn't say that's a specific advantage of the Jaguar version.

(since you're on a Doom run, might I suggest a re-review of the Playstation port of Doom? It was by far the best console port of the game at its time)

[VideoGameCritic]

[QUOTE=Adamant]

Many other console Dooms at the time had multiplayer support, so I wouldn't say that's a specific advantage of the Jaguar version.

(since you're on a Doom run, might I suggest a re-review of the Playstation port of Doom? It was by far the best console port of the game at its time)[/QUOTE]

Are you sure many other versions had two-player support?  I just reviewed slew of Doom games, and didn't notice any others with two-player modes.  Here are the other versions I have reviewed in the last two weeks which I will be posting soon:

Playstation, 3DO, SNES, 32X, N64.

Soon to come: Saturn, and Final Doom for the Playstation.

[oldschoolgamer]

Playstation Doom could provide 2 player by hooking two Playstations together, like the Jaguar version.  SNES Doom supported online multiplayer via the xband modem.

[Adamant1]

[QUOTE=The Video Game Critic]

Are you sure many other versions had two-player support?  I just reviewed slew of Doom games, and didn't notice any others with two-player modes.

[/QUOTE]

The Playstation and Saturn versions of Doom have the same "connect two consoles" system as the Jaguar version, while the SNES version had online-only multiplayer using the Xband network (which I don't think works anymore).

(also, note that "Doom 64" for the N64 is not an N64 port of Doom, but a completely original sequel with all new levels)

[Samael]

About that SNES version...

Will you be comparing it to other versions of Doom ( at best a D- ) or to other SNES games? Because there's nothing else like it in the SNES or Genesis library, unless you count all the sanitized Wolfenstein clones.where every room looks much like every other room.  

At the time, this was practically virtual reality. 

[DJC1]

Each console version of Doom seems to have strengths and weaknesses.  If you mixed certain versions together, it would probably make an incredible game.

For example, the graphics of the Jaguar version, the framerate of the 32x version, the (excellent) music of the 3DO version, and so on.

[Adamant1]

[QUOTE=Samael]

At the time, this was practically virtual reality. 

[/QUOTE] 

If it's not possible to make a port of acceptable quality, the correct choice is to just not port it in the first place, rather than make an abomination of  port and expect people to be happy with it. SNES Doom is terrible, and the fact that this is the best the SNES can do with Doom does not make it better, it makes the decision to port it worse.