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a gun that fires a metal ball attached to a chain for recall
FPS Games Id says Doom: The Dark Ages is "the best Doom game we've ever made" as it reveals we're leaving Hell for the Lovecraftian Cosmic Realm and getting a gun that shoots a mace on a chain
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  1. Games
  2. Action
  3. Doom

Take a look at the Doom 4 you nearly won in 2012

News
By Leon Hurley published 19 May 2015

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

This, from the previously canceled version of Doom 4, looks like it was in-game. There are references to art titled 'before hell wave', which I'm guessing is that bad looking red thing on the way.

Page 1 of 7
Page 1 of 7

The trailer, and previously leaked shots, tie into the idea that hell had unleashed Doom's creatures on Earth. More specifically, New York according to some art asset names.

Page 2 of 7
Page 2 of 7

There was talk of this earlier Doom 4 being more cinematic, as shown by this group of almost Terminator-style resistance fighters.

Page 3 of 7
Page 3 of 7

The earlier version of Doom 4 featured a much more generic take on the world thanks to its real world settings.

Page 4 of 7
Page 4 of 7

Pay attention to this guy who appears in the new leaked 2012 Doom video, because...

Page 5 of 7
Page 5 of 7

...here he is in the art that previously leaked in 2012. He appears to be named Ancira, according to the image file names.

Page 6 of 7
Page 6 of 7

This character can also be seen in the new footage. This is another image from the 2012 Doom 4 leak. He's apparently called Augustus.

Page 7 of 7
Page 7 of 7
CATEGORIES
PC Gaming PS4 Xbox One Platforms PlayStation Xbox
Leon Hurley
Leon Hurley
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Managing editor for guides

I'm GamesRadar's Managing Editor for guides, which means I run GamesRadar's guides and tips content. I also write reviews, previews and features, largely about horror, action adventure, FPS and open world games. I previously worked on Kotaku, and the Official PlayStation Magazine and website. 

Yesterday we had a brief Doom 4 E3 teaser lasting seconds, today a previously canned version of the game has resurfaced. This time with video showing a post-apocalyptic take on the idea, with a human resistance fighting back against the forces of hell.

It looks like this:

It's actually been edited out of the showreel of writer/director Mark Bristol where it appears in bits, scattered amongst all his other work. How can we be sure it's an earlier attempt at a Doom sequel? Well Mark has it all over his Linkedin page with credits as "Art Director on Doom 4" with responsibility to "develop and write the story of Doom 4" and as "Lead Writer/Cinematic Director on Doom 4". Those date between 2008 and 2012. It also matches exactly previously leaked artwork from 2012. That came from Thao Le, who's currently a senior environmental artist at id Software and has been since 2008.

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  • a gun that fires a metal ball attached to a chain for recall Id says Doom: The Dark Ages is "the best Doom game we've ever made" as it reveals we're leaving Hell for the Lovecraftian Cosmic Realm and getting a gun that shoots a mace on a chain
  • The Doom Slayer shooting the Skull Crusher at a demon during the Doom: The Dark Ages trailer. Doom: The Dark Ages has a new official trailer, and at this point id Software and Bethesda are just holding me down and pouring Doom lore over my head
  • The Elder Scrolls' Oblivion's most annoying fan holds a torch Why wait? Oblivion fans have already made their own remaster in Doom, and it features one too many adoring fans for my liking

From Le's leaked art asset names we know that the character with the back pack is called Ancira, while the worried looking bearded man with the hat is called Augustus. There's also characters called Stove and Holmes. Two files with the prefix 'ny' suggest New York as a setting, while two street shots are labelled 'before Hell Wave'. That, presumably, is the red wave seen bursting out in the video, and was previously taken to suggest the game was a remake of, or set before, Doom 2. Elsewhere the guns, locations and more all match with the video.

Talk at the time from people like John Romero and actors involved in mo-cap pitched this 2012 version of Doom as war drama, and a more cinematic experience. In comparison the new footage, as brief as it is, suggests a more stylised take on the original's hellish overtones - there's a brief glimpse of a body/head on a stick for example, and while the buildings are blurred in background they lack that 'modern day New York' vibe, and have more of Bloodborne's Yarnham feel to them.

See more PC Gaming News
Read more
a gun that fires a metal ball attached to a chain for recall
Id says Doom: The Dark Ages is "the best Doom game we've ever made" as it reveals we're leaving Hell for the Lovecraftian Cosmic Realm and getting a gun that shoots a mace on a chain
The Doom Slayer shooting the Skull Crusher at a demon during the Doom: The Dark Ages trailer.
Doom: The Dark Ages has a new official trailer, and at this point id Software and Bethesda are just holding me down and pouring Doom lore over my head
The Elder Scrolls' Oblivion's most annoying fan holds a torch
Why wait? Oblivion fans have already made their own remaster in Doom, and it features one too many adoring fans for my liking
Quake
FPS legend John Romero says it's a "huge honor" for Quake to join the World Video Game Hall of Fame alongside GoldenEye, the inescapable Tamagotchi, and an iconic '80s arcade classic
The Doom Slayer shooting the Skull Crusher at a demon during the Doom: The Dark Ages trailer.
Doom: The Dark Ages FAQ warns that barrel-stuffing demons might not work as "expected," suggests you try stuffing bigger demons instead
Doom: The Dark Ages key art featuring the slayer on top a pile of bodies with the ruins of hell behind them
Every Doom The Dark Ages guide you'll need and more
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