Doom's other forgotten RPG finally comes to PC after 13 years

Doom 2 RPG - which yes, unbelievable as it may sound, is the second Doom RPG - has been ported to PC by fans 13 years after it launched.

Originally released for Java phones on November 23, 2009, then ported to iPhones on February 1, 2012, Doom 2 RPG seemed destined for the same obscure fate that awaits most mobile games. Apple no longer supports iOS apps, and emulation of the platform is in its infancy, so most old mobile games simply disappear with little protest from the gaming community - after all, most players see them as cheaply-made timewasters, right?

But Doom 2 RPG along with its predecessors, Doom RPG and Wolfenstein RPG, are special. Developed by the legendary Doom programmer John Carmack and his then spouse, Katherine Anna Kang, these were full-on turn-based spin-offs of the classic shooter series. Built in the style of old-school dungeon crawlers (Legend of Grimrock is a solid semi-modern example of the format), there's nothing else quite like them. id Software fans were very much missing something as long as these games remained unplayable.

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Last year, a group of fan developers going under the name GEC.inc released a port of the original Doom RPG to PC, and now they've done the same for Doom 2 RPG, reverse engineering the original code to get the game running on modern PCs. You can find the download and installation instructions over on Doomworld, but bear in mind that you will need to source your own copy of the original game in order to get the assets this port needs to run.

Take a look at the video above if you want a quick idea of what Doom 2 RPG is all about. In my mind, it's all worth it just for the image of Doomguy in a polo shirt and blue jeans.

The best FPS games? The best RPGs? Doom 2 RPG should teach us that we don't have to choose one or the other.