In addition to being one of the big daddies of the FPS genre, the Doom franchise also had its share of horrifying moments, particularly when the third game finally hit the light of day. Cramped quarters, dimly lit hallways, and around every corner, the potential for some hellish monster to rip your head off your neck like...well, a hellish monster. It was enough to make most of us go to bed with our lights on clutching something soft n' cuddly.
Now, instead of offering something more vicious as Doom developer id became known for, parent company Bethesda is taking Doom in a different direction, but only temporarily. Bethesda's giving gamers that soft n' cuddly toy they're looking for when the urge to piss themselves strikes, no doubt while they try to play The Evil Within, the company's upcoming game from Resident Evil creator Shinji Mikami that's hoped to breathe new life into the horror genre.
Two of the game's creatures that were once the stuff of nightmares have been reduced to little more than adorable, snuggly wuggly widdle pwush toys. First introduced in Doom II, the Cacodemon, and its devil horned cousin, the Pain Elemental, are now sold in the Doom section (duh) of the company store. Both are roughly 7 inches around, and $15 a pop before shipping.
The Pain Elemental was probably the rougher of the bunch. Instead of attacking directly, he would continuously vomit out Lost Souls that could quickly overwhelm the player if he or she wasn't careful or packing enough ammo. Lost Souls had a tendency of flying solo in the game early on, but when groups started popping up in later levels, you knew an Elemental was close by. It's funny how the monster's description in the game manual is still applicable with this plushy: "What a name. And what a guy. Killing him is almost as bad as letting him live." Fair enough, if I had useless little T-Rex arms, and had my only decent ability taken away and stuffed with cotton, I probably wouldn't be too happy about it either.
The Cacodemon was similarly annoying, but at least it was just one enemy, though a far more intimidating looking one, covered with horns, rows of shark like teeth, and an alien blue mouth. Something about that tiny eye just never sat right with me. Unlike the Cacodemon, it would attack directly, vomiting a nasty ball of plasma. Funnily enough, it seems as though the inspiration for Bethesda to make these as plushies began with fans that tailor made their own versions from this floating monstrosity, beginning in the late 90's. You can see a timeline of sorts at the Doom Wikia here.
I'd hope for an plush pinky to one day be available in the store, but for the time being, I'd be happy to have these two chilling on my couch. Probably give the Angry Birds plushies a good scare...
