The new Doom's multiplayer is fast and brutal - first hands on details

QuakeCon 2015 is hosting hands-on multiplayer sessions with Doom, and GR+'s David Houghton was one of the very first to get his frag on. His excitement is hyping up the rest of my inbox while I write this, so I'll let him take it from here, with just one note: if you have any interest in playing as a superpowered skele-demon with a rocket launcher, make sure you read to the end.

1. It strips competitive FPS back to the basics. No cover, no complex interactions, no run toggle, just sprinting, double-jumping, shooting and deliciously brutal melee kills. Every player gets one special item (so far I've seen a frag grenade and a personal teleported), but that's as complex as it gets.

5. The maps are deceptively intricate, with a load of vertical scope. Every corner seems to have a raft of vantage points and in-routes if you get creative with your jumping, climbing, and sneaky use of architecture. Enemy player pinning your team down on a gantry? No problem. Just pull away to the side, double-jump up to a steam pipe, and leap over that gap to the side of him, shotgun at the ready.

7. The Revenant power-up is sickeningly powerful. Every so often, a pentagram will drop onto the map, with an on-screen indicator leading all players to it. Once the resulting scuffle is over, one player will turn into Doom's flying, skeletal rocket-merchant, and wreak absolute havoc. At this point the entire focus shifts, the Revenant effectively becoming a hero unit, capable of dropping immense damage incredibly quickly. It takes a real coordinated effort to take it down, and if the rest of the enemy team is smart, they'll be using that distraction to their advantage.