Basic Details
- Released: 2001 (re-released in 2003-2004 with additional preview content)
- Format: DVD case, standard, 19 ⨉ 13.5 ⨉ 1.5 cm
- Where I bought it: eBay
Games Included
- The Ultimate DOOM
- DOOM II
- Final DOOM (TNT: Evilution + The Plutonia Experiment)
With the first release in 2001, 8 years after the release of DOOM, 7 years after DOOM II, and 5 years after Final DOOM (which in itself was nothing but a big level pack), it’s hard to see the value of this collection or to view it as anything but an attempt for another cash grab at fans, plus stirring interest in the upcoming DOOM 3 game.
My bigger issue with this one is that it is not really complete, because it does not include any of the original DOOM DOS executables – only Doom95, the first (and official) Windows source port of DOOM. Compared to the DOS versions, Doom95 has some definite benefits, such as a nice launcher GUI, support for higher resolutions (up to 640⨉480 versus 320⨉200 for DOS), and ability to run on modern versions of Windows (although Vista/7 need a tweak, and Win8/10 may require a third party utility). However, it does not fix all limitations of the originals, and even introduces some new bugs of its own.
In particular, the mouse support of Doom95 (which is fundamental for advanced players) is broken in Windows 2000/XP and later, as it relies on a VxD device driver, which is incompatible with NT-based operating systems; a user patch is available adding mouse support for these operating systems. The worse thing, however, is that this release, aimed towards Windows XP and later, completely omits the DMOUSE.VXD driver, so out of the box mouse will not work even in Windows 9x. Fortunately, the VxD can be downloaded here.
With the release of DOOM’s source code in 1997, many source ports sprung out, for DOS, Windows and other operating systems; these ports introduced bug fixes, support for new technologies as well as more advanced gaming features. It is reasonable to claim that neither the DOS version nor Doom95 were very relevant in 2001, much less in 2004. Indeed, the average fan who for whatever reason wanted to own a physical copy of DOOM, would probably just use the game data (WAD files) with the source port of their choice; however, even today in the community, the DOS originals (referred to as “Vanilla DOOM”) are sometimes used as a standard in map-making or competitive play, and as such, their omission from this bundle is definitely regrettable.
Another thing that is sadly missing is the Master Levels for DOOM II, which were also a commercial expansion pack, and were in fact included in some earlier compilations, such as The Depths of Doom Trilogy.
What else do I get?
Almost nothing. The package consists of two CDs in a DVD keep-case (some releases used CD/DVD DigiPaks). The first CD is the games; the second CD is DOOM 3 preview content. The only other thing in the case is a registration card.
Installation of the bundle is straightforward – running the setup on the first CD installs all 3 games (The Ultimate DOOM, DOOM II, Final DOOM), and creates start menu / desktop shortcuts for each game, their manuals (in PDF format) and a Readme file (RTF) – sort of a “manual addendum” mentioning some known bugs and troubleshooting tips for Doom95. It is a pity that a physical manual is not included, but at least the PDFs are easy to find and to read.
The disk holds the same Doom95 package in 3 different folders – one for each game – even though the application is perfectly capable of launching all 4 IWADs (DOOM, DOOM2, PLUTONIA and TNT) from the same directory, even showing correct level names. Perhaps it done to have separate saves for each game, since the application does not keep save slots per IWAD. Hey, altogether the content only fills less than 20% of a disk’s capacity, so why not? In any case, should you want to use the same launcher for all 4 games, all you need to do is just to copy all 4 IWADs into one folder with Doom95 and delete the other folders.
The second CD is entirely dedicated to the DOOM 3 preview content (which uses up a whopping 57MB, less than 10% of the disk’s space). You get some screenshots, 4 desktop wallpapers (at 800⨉600 or 1024⨉768), a DOOM 3 trailer, and some developer interviews (all of which are just small 480⨉360 Flash videos). Not much, but I understand that the original 2001 release (mine is from 2004) had even less. The developer interviews (6 of them) are not really interviews, but merely short monologues (1 minute or less) where they talk about the DOOM 3 technology and how it will take PC gaming experience to a new level. To get a feeling of how lackluster they are, I should tell you that what I liked best is how each one has a different DOOM monster introducing the name of the person talking.
Summary
Ironically, for a bundle bearing “Collector’s Edition” as part of its name, this one is about as far from a Collector’s Edition as can be. It is really nothing but the bare minimum needed to play the games, and the only extra is a non-interactive preview of another game in the making. If id had included some sort of playable DOOM 3 demo, it would have been awesome, but I guess it just wasn’t ready. If we had at least gotten the Master Levels expansion and the “Maximum Doom” freeware level pack that was released with it originally, it would have been more complete. If the DOS executables had been included, it would appeal more to oldschool fans. Even something basic as mouse support is broken out-of-the-box with this release.
Heck, if there had at least been a physical copy of the manual (and really all you need is one manual – since everything besides the “story so far” sections and the DOOM2-specific monster/item descriptions is copied and pasted), it would have been closer to a Collector’s Edition. As it is, this bundle may only be interesting to those determined to collect every physical release of DOOM, or just those who enjoy seeing lots of video game boxes on their shelf. 🙂
Games: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ (7/10) Extras: ★★☆☆☆☆☆☆☆☆ (2/10) Total: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ (5/10)
Cloaked Thargoid 