Switch Lights

The lights are on

Happy 20th Birthday, Id Software! What's Your Favorite Id Game?

Thanks to the Bethesda Blog Twitter account, I was reminded that developer id Software was founded exactly 20 years ago today. I decided we should not only wish them happy birthday but celebrate with some memories.

From Wolfenstein to Doom to Quake -- and hopefully with the upcoming Rage as well -- id has been at the forefront of the first-person shooter genre, shaping what has become arguably the most popular genre in our medium today. So which title in id's impressive gameography is your personal favorite?

For me, I have to go with the original Doom. This game represented the first time I ever played a first-person shooter, and it helped me immediately fall in love with the genre. In fact, I loved it so much that I've played the first Doom on no less than six different platforms, from the PC to the PlayStation all the way to the recent (excellent) Xbox Live Arcade port.

Need more proof that I've played too much Doom? About a year ago, I was on a trip visiting a friend, and I had for some silly reason not thought to bring any portable games along with me. After about a week of no gaming, I started to go through some video game withdrawal. With my brain longing for virtual release, what did I end up dreaming of that night? The first level of Doom. In full.

I woke up the next morning and immediately downloaded the iOS version of Doom for my iPod Touch, and sure enough, my brain had remembered the layout of the first level completely, right down to enemy spawns and weapon placement. That, my friends, is true video game love.

So how about you? Post a comment letting me know what your favorite id game is and some memories associated with it.

Comments
  • my favorite is doom 3 i remember i got this from my friend and i played the co op campain all night. it was so much fun to plow through that game

  • Thanks for all the goodness Happy Birthday :D!!!
    Doom II FTW
  • the chainsaw part in Doom II. That part was awesome!

  • Doom 3 but when RAGE comes out I will be sure that will be my favorite then.

  • It will be Rage, nuff said.

  • I need to go with doom 2.  It just did so much for the industry.

  • When I was in 6th grade my school got some fancy(for us) new computers. They ran DOS. Wolfenstein became the reason to skip lunch for study hall in the comp room that year. All the teachers thought we were helping each other learn math and science with the terrible built in software. Nope! We were trying to kick robo hitlers butt!
    I still remember DOOM being such an amazing upgrade to Wolfenstein that when I found the chainsaw I thought I would never need another game again!
  • When I was about 10 or 11, I secretly downloaded the Return to Castle Wolfenstein demo onto my parents' computer. I must of play those two missions a dozen times. I never actually got around to buying the full game though >.>  Doom 3 was pretty great too.

  • Wolfenstein 3d BABY.  I am an OG and played countless hours of Wolfenstein when it came out.

  • I'd have to say it was actually Doom 3.

    Haters gonna hate.

  • Doom... until Rage comes out. Happy Birthday, Id.

  • DOOM FTW

  • Quake 3 arena was the only multi-player I played for a long time, and always in an awesome Judge Dredd skin.

  • Well anything that has DOOM on it is my favorite!!!! And also Wolstien 3d :)

  • WOO!!! 20 AWESOME YEARS!!! FIRST GAME I EVER SAW WAS DOOM AND I WAS BLOWN AWAY!! FROM THEN ON GAMES HAVE BEEN MY LIFE(NOT REALLY)....IM REALLY EXCITED FOR RAGE AND I HOPE Id KEEPS MAKING GREAT AWESOME GAMES FOR ANOTHER 20 YEARS!!!!
  • its a tossup between wolfenstein and doom, the two first games i distinctly remember playing....at five or so years old.

  • Any Quake, really. I've been playing a lot of Quake 3 lately, and I've been fond of the Quake series overall for years.

  • What have they made again?
  • Quake 2!

  • Soon to be Rage. Also, happy anniversary id!

1 2 3 4 5 Next