DOOM: Through the Hellgate

Today is Black Friday, the so-called busiest shopping day of the year. Instead of getting into the festive spirit, millions of people around the country are waiting in long lines to stampede over the poor minimum wage employee who has the unfortunate job to unlock the front door. It's a dark ritual that can only be celebrated with one game: DOOM!

Previously On DOOM: DOOM revolves around the exploits of a nameless space marine who goes head-to-head with monsters and demons straight from space. The story involves some weird happenings at the Mars' outpost. Apparently the marines spent their time toying with an experimental teleportation device, a gateway that links the two Martian moons together. When things go wrong you are sent to figure out what's going on and save the day.

You play the last man standing, the one man who stands between Hell's most ferocious demons and Earth. To do this you pick up humanity's greatest weapons (shotgun, chainsaw, etc.), as well as the biggest, baddest weapon of them all -- the BFG 9000. Your goal is to navigate the many mazes of Hell, collect keys and find your way to the exit. Along the way you'll encounter several boss battles and ultimately make your way to the evil final boss (also known as the Icon of Sin), where you unleash an assault unlike anything humanity has seen before.

How It Ended: Congratulations, you beat back the Icon of Sin and his ferocious band of baddies. You have discovered a hidden doorway that leads you off of Mars and back to the sweet smell of Earth. At long last our hero will be able to see his loved ones, eat a real hamburger and catch up on the TV shows he missed. But deep in the back of his mind he worries about what would have happened had these vicious demons found the door and got to Earth. He sees the peaceful meadow, the fluffy bunnies and ... hey, what's going on over here? WHAT THE HELL?!? The sky scrapers are on fire and there are dead bunnies everywhere. Oh the humanity!!

How It Should Have Ended: While the ending may not be as flashy as other game of the era, it definitely leaves a lasting impression. This is the kind of picture that will haunt your nightmares for years to come. In other words: Mission accomplished! But if there was one thing I would change, it would be a special message at the end of the game. Instead of leaving us with that image in our head, there needed to be a note that said this: "Whatever you do, don't let Hollywood turn this into a movie. And if you do, under no circumstances should you have an extended first-person shooter section. Oh, and make sure Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson is nowhere around when you're casting this thing."