I remember complaining about graphics back in '89, and then Doom 64 came along. It looked like something from the future at the time — crimson shadows in the distance, square corridors with textures that warped and deformed. Nintendo took the PC legend and remixed it to fit a cartridge. The result? A completely different game.

It's a first-person shooter where you trudge through a low-poly hellish arena liquidating demons. Just like the original, except smaller maps and gear you already know — pistol, shotgun, plasma rifle, rocket launcher. The goal is simple: blast through thirty-five levels and send the demons packing. No story, just pressure and boom.

The N64 controls are surprisingly workable. The left stick moves you forward and back, the right one aims your shots. The shoulder buttons handle weapon selection and firing. It's not like using a mouse, but it clicks once you get used to it — dodging practice beats precision. The game runs at a clip, demons attack relentlessly, and you're constantly on the move — weaving between enemies, grabbing health and ammo, squeezing the trigger at just the right moment. No time to admire the scenery. That's exactly the pressure that keeps you glued to the screen.

The biggest shift from the PC version is the atmosphere. Instead of steel colors and bright lights, you get dark corners you're not quite sure about. The sounds are weirder — demons growl in lower tones, gunfire sounds softer. The whole thing feels cramped and has a strange beauty to it. Those thirty-five levels stick with you in pieces; it's not long, but it's got substance. No filler, just play.

It's not relevant anymore — Doom is magic in every iteration — but Doom 64 remains a fascinating artifact from an era when big ideas had to be crammed into smaller hardware by sheer force. If you're into the '90s and the original Doom, it's worth playing at least once to see how consoles handled shooters in the years before the Commodore and Amiga faded away.