MythBusters to take on Doom 'myths'

MythBusters, the occasionally-scientific entertainment package created by special effects engineers Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, is to take on the 'myths' present in an unusual source: id Software's seminal first-person shooter Doom.

Released in 1993 as a follow-up to the company's ray-cast Wolfenstein 3D, Doom took the industry by storm and arguably launched the first-person shooter as the pre-eminent game of choice. Distributed as shareware with one episode provided for free and a further two episodes upon payment of a registration fee, Doom was a massive hit for the company and has a well-earned spot in computing history. Its plot, however, was largely incomprehensible: the player, as a space marine who earned the name 'Doomguy' for his role in the title, has to fight his or her way through a science-fiction facility on the Mars moon Phobos which has been overrun by demons and zombies. Success in the first episode leads to more of the same on Deimos, while the final episode of the original game - not counting the later expansion Thy Flesh Consumed - is set in Hell itself.

If you're wondering what of that the MythBusters will actually be testing out, rest assured it's nothing to do with teleportation technology and demons. According to Bethesda's announcement, in its role as id Software's parent company, the episode will feature id Software's Tim Willits working alongside Adam and Jamie to 'recreate a Doom level in real life' while testing out the 'myth' of carrying up to eight weapons - chainsaw, pistol, shotgun plus double-barrelled 'super-shotgun' in the sequel, chaingun, rocket launcher, plasma gun, and the classic BFG9000 - along with ammunition, armour and health packs at the same time.

A teaser for the episode, which will be broadcast on the US Discover Channel on the 31st of January, is reproduced below.