So i beat the first act of Doom on XBLA the other day. Keep in mind that this wasn't the first time i had done so; Doom's been out since the early 90s. This was the first time that I picked it up for any length of time since then, and I was pleasantly suprised at how well it held up. And no, i'm not talking about graphically so put down the torches, ya flamers.

The gameplay in Doom is still the top notch superviolent splode-fest that its always been. In a world of complex mechanics and high concept FPSes, it was really refreshing to sit down and just blast the everloving piss out of demons with a shotgun a set of iron balls. Also, i found that the 360's controller is really suited to it (duh) and it took me a while to get over the novelty of being able to strafe easily in Doom.

Mind you, i did find that the game DOES show its age a fair bit. I found it really annoying that i couldn't jump, or look up and down to aim for that matter (although the game automatically makes you shoot enemies above you). You do get used to that kinda stuff quickly, and it doesn't detract from the fun.

Now, i'm not a "retro gamer" by trade, but this is one of those games that i remember sucking me in as a kid and pulling me into the whole "videyagame thingy" we all enjoy so much. It also makes me think that people that bitch about the most minute little details in the AAA titles of the day need to bite it and take a look into the past. Things are light years ahead of what they used to be, and they've only gotten better.

This is starting to turn into a "you damn kids" rant, so i'll wrap it up. Take a shot at an old school game from your past and see how it stacks up. And even if the mechanics are old, the concepts are a bit lame and the graphics outdated, take a second and remember what brought you to the dance in the first place.