Action DooM 2: Urban Brawl

Pros

• Nostalgic retro simulation with excessive violence
• Amazing detective-style artwork and in-depth story
• Classic soundtrack and character designs

Cons

• Basic controls offer no real challenge
• Loses original DooM premise entirely
• 2-D to 3-D switch is a little choppy and causes issues

Action DooM 2: Urban Brawl is the extremely violent beat 'em up sequel to Action DooM. Players would be remiss to miss this deranged comic book simulation full of violent lunatics. Against a playfully nihilistic backdrop, gamers guide their drunken protagonist through a series of brutal encounters.

The original 2-D world is granted a gritty 3=D overhaul. Endless droves of street thugs line up for a maniacal beating, and the arcade antics recall classic console side-scrollers. It is truly a slaughter in the road that requires little actual strategy. Meanwhile, it is nearly impossible to play this game without experiencing death constantly. Everyone is destined to die non-stop.

The cut-scenes are a key selling point for this software. An increasingly insane narrator explores a grisly inner-city underbelly, and the tale is accented with eerie black-and-white panels that recall the Sin City films. The character's cynical outlook slowly drives him crazy, and alcohol only exacerbates the paranoia. These intensely artistic cinematic elements surpass the simplicity of this game's controls.

Overall, this is a purely fun retro ride. Even the music is cleverly outdated. There is just one level of difficulty, so all players get the same treatment from the game. The AI is far from noteworthy, and combat devolves into an endless cycle of swiping and dodging. The back-and-forth motions are only interrupted by invisible enemies appearing from behind. Because the game was transferred from 2-D to 3-D, half of the bad guys remain hidden by the camera, which leads to unfair instances of damage.

The first game in this series relied heavily on the original DooM engine; however, this approach has been completely abandoned in favor of a murderous bash in the streets. While the first title in this series was a faithful tribute to the official releases, this game deviates far from the original mechanics and stories. None of the original canon is represented, and there is hardly anything related to the game that initially spawned this creation. That does not stop it from being interesting or engaging, but die-hard fans will be invariably upset at the lack of a substantial link between the two. Sadly, there is no solace for their lament.

Unfortunately, this game is only compatible with Windows up through Vista, which means players using 7 and 8 will be deprived. The action is simply too old-school for the modern engines to bother with. For some reason, they just cannot handle the madness. Those with fancy machines may be left out, but everyone else can join the brawl right away with a simple installation!

Pros

• Nostalgic retro simulation with excessive violence
• Amazing detective-style artwork and in-depth story
• Classic soundtrack and character designs

Cons

• Basic controls offer no real challenge
• Loses original DooM premise entirely
• 2-D to 3-D switch is a little choppy and causes issues