The Nerd Next Door

Id software, the beloved pioneers of blowing shit up while rocking out to heavy metal. For decades they've been a leader in the first person shooter market and have become a household icon of the industry. From their attempt to port Super Mario Bros. 3 to DOS to the heavy metal album that is DOOM Eternal; Id has always been pushing gaming forwards in some way whether through technology, gameplay, or artistry. But from 1993 to 1997 Id was at their A game; churning out monster hit after monster hit. So after finally getting through the original Quake duology I decided to rank my favorites from this era that I consider their Golden Age. Some of it may be a hot take and some of it may not, but either way none of these games are bad, so keep that in mind. Oh, and no Wolfenstein or the expansions for Doom and Quake. Wolfenstein is more of a maze game than what Doom and Quake are and it feels too different to properly rate. Also I feel adding the expansions takes away from the pacing of t...

  Ah DOOM 3 , the black sheep of the DOOM franchise, stripping away the speedy, fast, heavy metal action and going for a more slower, cramped and claustrophobic experience; DOOM 3 feels like a sore thumb compared to earlier and even later entries like DOOM 2016 and Eternal . From the outside looking in, DOOM 3 is a divisive game; it's an underrated horror masterpiece to some and a slow plodding mess to others. Some recommend the original PC version and some recommend the 2012 BFG re-release and other still would have you ignore it all together. So after beating 64 I decided to go straight into 3 and finish my own personal DOOM story that began in 2016 to see how it held up. DOOM 3 lays down what it wants to be in the first 10 minutes of the game, a horror themed Half-Life . After the introduction cut-scene you, a nameless space marine, are hurled into a Martian base to get acclimated, meet the people, enjoy some world building; ya know, like in Half-Life . But sure enough you h...

Ah October, pumpkin spice is in the air, spooks are abundant, and I even rebrand myself as Spookbringer to get into the season. Things have been a little tougher this year to get into the mood, what with the looming threats breathing down our necks come November, but I decided to do so anyway with two games, Luigi's Mansion and DOOM 64 . Now this isn't about Luigi's Mansion , chances are if you're a gamer who owns a Gamecube/can emulate on PC you'll know Luigi's Mansion is a classic so I'm not here to beat you over the head with that knowledge. No, I'm here to tell you about a Halloween classic you may have slept on, one that went largely ignored even in it's own series' fanbase until about, two-three years ago.  Yes, we're talking DOOM 64 for the Panasonic 3DO Nintendo 64, a game that is shockingly not just DOOM but on the N64, it's a wholly original game and a Halloween FPS classic. Now , DOOM 64 is sort of an inappropriate name, ...