Doom: The Board Game by Fantasy Flight Games - Cooperative Strategy Game for Horror & Sci-Fi Fans - Perfect for Game Nights & Halloween Parties

I had originally purchased this product for the sheer absurdity of it. I've been a fairly long time Doom fan and pretty good products are usually the result... except the movie, which I hated. However, this board game was a huge surprise to me. I was expecting something more humorous than intensly fun, and after having played through the game I am so glad I was initially wrong.Since someone has already gone over the basic mechanics of the game, I will simply add my two cents to the product. The "board game" design is probably one of the most creative things I've come across. Your board is more like puzzle pieces and simulates just like you're playing on an unrevealed map in the video game. I was surprised to see a full blown story-line taking place in this game that had multiple chapters. One aspect I was slightly disappointed in, is that it's derived from Doom 3 specifically. I think it would have been a little more interesting to start at the very beginning of Doom, just to give it a bit of that nostalgic feel. Either way, in the end, my friends and I still had a lot of fun playing this game. Anyway, the Game Master reveals more of an area as you open the doors, so you never quite know what's waiting for you on the other side, which is what adds to the intensity factor.There are some general flaws to the game. Such as, the marines can essentially level up as they go along. If you're going to treat this like a campaign in that sense, similar to a D&D philosophy, then I recommend the Game Master also level up the monsters over time. Towards the end of the story line we found that the marines were so powerful that they could split up and clear out everything on the map and the Game Master wouldn't get that many kills. It really took away from the overall challenge aspect of the game, so when we play again, we're going to level up the Game Master's side as well. Once we sit down and figure out a good method of leveling, I may return to this review and add it in.Alright, I'll shut up now. If you are a fan of table top gaming or board games, but also love video games, you absolutely have to try this game out. It's excellent and it has a story-line that brings you in (not the most profound, but it is Doom after all). If you are creative you can also make up your own scenarios and build off what's already there, having a customizable gameboard allows you all sorts of great possibilities.