Doom's Closed Beta Offers Quake-Style Multiplayer on March 31

After years of development issues, Doom is almost upon us. Bethesda Softworks and id Software announced that Doom will enter Closed Beta on March 31. The beta is available to any player that pre-ordered Wolfenstein: The New Order way back in 2014 and it will run from March 31 to April 3 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.

The publisher also released a new trailer showing off the game's multiplayer.

You'll notice that Doom's multiplayer harkens back to another id Software classic: Quake III Arena. There's some new additions - items like stationary shields and the demon power-up - but otherwise, it's that same super-fast FPS action that's been in short supply since the days of the original Unreal Tournament/Quake III Arena wars. When I dived into the Closed Alpha, it felt like jumping back in time; all I really need is some of the original Quake III Arena maps, like The Longest Yard, Dredwerkz, or Arena Gate.

One thing that does bring down the experience is the relatively soft announcer voice. The voiceover announcing "Genocide" - probably a killstreak marker - is delivered with the urgency of a fast food employee letting you know your order is ready. Quake III Arena and Unreal Tournament had announcers with a nice growl and some bass to them and Doom's voiceover is just not of the same caliber. Luckily, that's something id Software can easily fix in the future.

That said, if you've missed the shooters of the early 2000's, now is a great time to be alive. Doom is bringing the hot Quake III action, while Epic Games is working hard on the crowd-sourced Unreal Tournament. A style of shooter that was once lost is coming back in a big way and I'm pretty happy at the results so far.

Doom will be coming out May 13 for Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC.