Doom: Eternal comes out in less than two months, and holy sweet shit I can't wait.

I was upset when it was announced that there would be a delayed-release, but I'm glad they chose to delay it rather than releasing an unfinished game. Nevertheless, replaying levels of Doom (2016) and the original 1990's games on my laptop hasn't been enough to quench my thirst for Doom: Eternal. Hell on Earth, fucking bring it. What I'm really excited for is another delightfully bloody, gore-filled romp through hell while killing anything and everything I can find, and to continue the new story and take on the classic Doom universe.

But for those who aren't familiar with Doom, let me tell you that the game is more famous for its violence than its actual gameplay. Created by the pioneers of video gaming ID Software, the creators of the first-person shooter. Honing their skills with Wolfenstein 3D, the shooter that set the track for what the first-person shooter would become, ID would go on to create Doom in 1997, arguably the first-person shooter.

Expanding upon the violence present in Wolfenstein 3D, they packed Doom full of gore, blood, secrets, and even the minimal story with humor. Everything from the game difficulty to the exit screen communicates, often insultingly, with the player. With the easiest modes having names like "please don't hurt me," the exit messages asking if you can't handle the game, and the defeat of the first boss mocking the player for thinking that this victory would be the end of the game.

But above all, Doom, in all of its iterations, relishes in itself.

The developers, and seemingly the game itself, are aware that the game is incredibly violent and bloody, so intensely gory that it's beyond the limits of what's necessary, and that's what makes its over-the-top violence much more enjoyable. Other games like Gears of War, The Last of Us, The Walking Dead, and Assassin's Creed have used the violence in the game to contrast with other more philosophical questions like the justification of that violence juxtaposed with a blurring of the typical black and white nature of conflict or by pushing players to examine the boundaries of just how far they would be willing to go for those they care about. Other games, like Fallout or Grand Theft Auto, use their post-apocalyptic setting and general lawlessness to set the stage for violence to occur and then leave it up to the player to justify their actions. Then there are games like Broforce and Mortal Kombat which use their intense violence in a visually appealing yet silly way as a good looking punchline.

Doom does none of this. The violence in Doom is simply just extreme, gruesome, gratuitous violence. There are no justifications, though in Doom (2016) Dr. Samuel Hayden repeatedly tries to justify his actions, no philosophical debates, nothing but pure carnage. And that is what makes it so enjoyable. It takes us back to those simpler times in video gaming where there was just a problem to solve and an objective to reach, no real story or philosophy to grapple with. It's just a bloodfest and an extremely violent one at that.

Violence is tied to

Doom's identity, but it's not what Doom is at its core. What Doom really is is a power-trip, and the violence is just used to enhance the feeling that this power-trip will bring out in the player. With the push of a button the player transformers from a simple human into an unstoppable, unrelenting, absolutely badass force of nature like killing machine. Bethesda's reboot of the series only reinforces that, with the new incredibly violent glory kills, that see you do everything from rip out the heart of a demon and shove it down its throat to literally tearing open their skulls, make you truly feel like you are unstoppable. Yeah, it's pretty fucking fun.The violence in Doom pretty much created the movement against violence in video games, especially after the Columbine massacre, as the killers were avid fans of the games and rumors (since proven false) even spread that they had created a map within the game of Columbine High School. The violence and satanic imagery were denounced by fear-mongering agendas everywhere. But, as I said above, it is important to understand that the violence is only there for the sake of violence as well as to enhance the experience of the power-trip. I've played through Doom dozens of times and haven't killed anyone, because I understand that as much fun as the power-fantasy is, that's all that it is, a fantasy.

It's quite entertaining, and surprisingly rare, especially since Doom created the modern first-person shooter, to go on a clearly black-and-white shooting rampage through hell without having to deal with those pesky existential questions that come with conflict. There really is nothing quite like Doom in its violence, its style, or its disregard for anything other than carnage and fighting.

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go raise hell and play some Doom.

Also, if you're looking for a good laugh, just look up "Alex Jones DOOM Trailer" on Youtube. It's fucking hilarious.