Doom: Rip and Tear
Running time: 21 hours, 17 minutes
Format: MP3 (128-320 kbps)
Number of tracks: 376
Filesize: 2.67 GB
Doom turned 25 in 2018, and it's amazing to think back at just how many features it invented or improved upon, greatly changing the future landscape not just for first person shooters, but gaming in general.
I could go on and on about the innovations and how Doom itself changed the way we think about, approach, and play games today, but I really want to focus on one thing here - the incredible soundtracks.
While most games at the time were still struggling to come up with actual orchestrated music beyond beeps and bloops, when Doom hit the scene, our minds and ears were blown with the incredible synth metal pouring out of our speakers. I remember folks running out to buy new sound cards just so they could hear the incredible work behind that title.
Bobby Prince put in many hours creating incredible songs that... well, let's be honest... were blatant ripoffs of very popular rock, alternative, and metal songs in the '80s and '90s. The twists he put into them and the original compositions that spun from these influences were amazing, though. They provided the perfect setting for a game far darker and more brutal than most had ever played before.
By the time Final Doom hit, fellow synth programmers at Team TNT laid down some completely original tracks, matching the feel of Bobby's killer background music.
Ports of Doom and Doom II to non-disc consoles and handhelds were iffy at best, and have converted soundtracks that end up curious, baffling, or just plain horrible. Ports to disc-based consoles had completely new, dark compositions on CD audio made by the extremely talented Aubrey Hodges.
The last Doom game on the edge of the retro age was Doom 3. Though it only had a few songs on the entire soundtrack, it had killer atmospheric ambiance that created the dread around every corner, just like its pixelated predecessors.
Bobby, Team TNT, and Aubrey - You have given us some of the most killer anthems to game by, and the pun is intended. To this day, whenever I hear "The Imp's Song," I'm already making my way to grab that fucking chainsaw. Put IDDQD on my tombstone, y'all!