Pyramid Review
Doom: The Boardgame
Published by Fantasy Flight Games
Designed by Kevin Wilson
11-Inch Square Full Color Rule Book, 11-Inch Square Full Scenario Guide Book, 4 Reference Cards, 3 Vinyl Marine Miniatures, 63 Vinyl Invader Miniatures, 6 Custom Dice, 66 Invader Cards, 18 Marine Cards, 3 Marine Equipment Bin Cards, 58 Map Sections, 14 Doors, & 201 Card Tokens; $54.95
While it was not the first, Doom is arguably the godfather of the FPS, or First Person Shooter; with the release of Doom: The Boardgame, it has crossed over into other formats. While Steve Jackson Games' similarly FPS-inspired Frag does player versus player, Doom: The Boardgame goes back to basics. It's not about killing each other, but blasting away at the bad guys . . . in this case, hell spawn!
Designed for two to four players, Doom: The Boardgame is a story- or scenario-driven game in which one, two, or three Marines, newly assigned to the Union Aerospace Corporation's Mars base, must fight through wave after wave of invading demons in order to escape. In this, the marines must cooperate to survive, as the odds are heavily stacked in favor of the Invaders. The Marines are highly trained, possessing various special abilities (represented by the Marine Cards), and can assign several types of Orders to gain temporary advantages; while they have access to an array of weaponry, ammunition supplies are limited. The Invaders can send several types of creatures at the Marines, there is an almost unlimited supply of . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: September 30, 2005
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