DOOM: The Wishlist

As many of you know, there is a DOOM reboot in the works being developed by Bethesda Softworks. If memory serves it reboots the original DOOM and DOOM 2 (ignoring DOOM 3) and is to feature a more old-school gameplay experience, which I would question had Wolfenstein: The New Order not delivered just such a promise (or so I've heard at least; tough getting a lot of new games when you have a family to support after all).

So here's a list of what I want to see: my favorite thing about shooters. THE WEAPONS. Basically, revamped versions of the classic DOOM weapons, not so much new weapons. Anyway, here's my list.

CHAINSAW: Really, not much to change about it. it's a chainsaw. Unless they want to make it a chainSWORD, which will probably run into legal issues.

PISTOL: While I wouldn't mind seeing the pistol go away (see below), revamping it into a futuristic version of the Colt 1911 .45 ACP pistol would be fine. It's a last-resort weapon anyway. Alt-Fire: Probably none. Maybe it can be a melee attack (HUMILIATION)

ASSAULT RIFLE: Borrowing from the fantastic Brutal DOOM mod, the pistol would no longer be the (only) starting weapon. Marines are typically equipped with some kind of assault rifle, so a futuristic version of the M16 or maybe F2000 would be appropriate. Perhaps limit it to 3-round burst mode. Alt-Fire: Semi-auto I guess.

SHOTGUN: And not the old backwoods wood-stock shotty from the old game, a proper tactical pump-action shotgun, though it would essentially function the same. Whether it will still be Ol' Reliable like the old days remains to be seen. For those not in the know, the shotgun was your best friend in DOOM. Most of the weaker enemies could be killed in 1-2 hits, if all the pellets hit, and had a reliable fire rate. 50 rounds of ammo was not much but shotgun shells tended to be plentiful. Alt-fire: Hold down to keep the barrel pointed while racking and firing maybe?

SUPER SHOTGUN: Introduced in DOOM 2, presented as an upgraded shotgun. For the price of 2 shells instead of one, it dealt 3 times the damage (slightly more than a rocket) if all of the pellets hit. It was debatable how much it was worth using over the standard shotgun, however, as it had a much slower reload time. Anyway, I want to see Quake 2's massive super shotgun return for this one. Alt-Fire: Primary fire is both barrels, so maybe alt-fire can be fire them alternately, creating a rapid fire effect at the cost of some damage.

CHAINGUN: Let's face it, DOOM's chaingun was underwhelming. It was essentially a full-auto pistol. It used the same ammo, and dealt the same damage if I recall. We can do better. Quake 2's chaingun had the right idea, it spun faster the longer you kept shooting. Admittedly both had limitations due to the technologies of the day, but that's not the case any more. Let's do a proper man-portable minigun. .30-caliber ammo firing about 3,000 rounds per minute. There would be a firing delay while the barrels get up to speed, and would  run out of its belt-fed ammo in a few seconds of sustained fire (and the barrels would probably be pretty hot, but we don't care about that), but the carnage would be GLORIOUS. Most enemies would be ripped (AND TORN) to shreds. Alt-Fire: Spin the barrels without firing, like The Heavy in TF2.

ROCKET LAUNCHER: If alt-fire modes are possible, I would like to see this modeled after the rocket launcher in Unreal Tournament. Primary fire is the standard "launch a rocket and watch something explode" more, while alt fire is effectively a grenade launcher. Maybe even keep the UT version's ability to simultaneously launch multiple rockets!

PLASMA GUN: I'm iffy on this one. While I'm OK with it being an energy assault rifle (like the old days), I also wouldn't mind if this became a proper beam weapon. OK, so here are my options: It fires "laser projectiles" (encapsulated plasma) on full auto that explode on impact. The beam could be an alt-fire mode (so I get both wishes) that's basically a laser flamethrower (probably at a cost of quicker ammo consumption).

THUNDERBOLT: Returning from the original Quake. It's a really cool weapon, seeing as how it throws lightning at monsters. Can be used (and I think even Quake allowed this) to fry a bunch of enemies if they are standing in water or swimming. Not sure what an alt-fire mode could be...

BFG 9000 10k: Yes, I am deferring to Quake 2 here. I love DOOM, and the BFG was an amazing ultimate weapon for its day, but I think Quake 2's BFG was sooooo much better. While the BFG 9000 would fire a single massive burst that would kill several enemies at once, the 10k could clear entire rooms. Perhaps an upgraded version could be made: The primary fire is a large burst useful for taking down bosses, while the alt-fire mode is a wide dispersal that can clear roomfuls of smaller monsters.