Story
From the manual:

Doom: The Roguelike is based on the world of iD Software's game Doom. You're a lone marine, the only survivor from your squad which was sent to explore some anomalies on the moonbase of Phobos. It turns out that hell has broken through to reality there... Your quest in DoomRL is to descend into the moonbase complex, until you find and destroy the source of this inferno...

Not the most original or thrilling story, but first off this is a Roguelike. Second, and more importantly, it's Doom: the Roguelike.

Gameplay
The idea itself is already pretty neat; An ASCII RPG version of Doom. But not only is the idea neat, the game is actually quite good! Gameplay is simple. You descend deeper and deeper and kill lots and lots of bad guys (demons and the like... I mean it's Doom! You should know what you're getting into). You can collect a number of different weapons, Doom's original seven plus some new ones, and a few items, like body armor, medpacks and so on.

It's a very simple RPG but still pretty cool for a pick-up-and-play game. It's definitely too simple for an old ADoM player like me, but I imagine DoomRL being cool for players new to Roguelikes, and I'm sure a lot of people will like the simplicity of it. Your character gains levels, and at each level gain you can choose from a list of traits that make your character stronger. The enemies can use items and you have to reload your weapons. Damage is dealt in dice, you have an inventory and you can change tactics, and that's pretty much it - but like I said, the simplicity is alright and mabye even good for a change. As simple as it is, you will have to learn how to stay alive though. Charging into a room full of demons isn't as wise as it was in the original Doom.

The levels are randomly generated and the game is a true Roguelike - it has permadeath and a highscore list. Every now and then you'll end up in a non-random special level like Hell's Arena. If you defeat all the monsters in the arena you'll get a reward of rockets and so on. If you don't defeat them, well, then you're dead. Oh, and of course DoomRL has those nice barrels. Shoot one and it explodes... if it's next to another one you get a chain effect that can be quite powerful.

Graphics & Sound
Graphics: Pretty good for a Roguelike. The random dungeon generator is ok and the blood splattering "effects" are really nice. What's neat is that when you look at an enemy's description you'll get some really good ASCII art of said monster. Chanel Replica is a best bag which you need.

Sound: OH BOY! This is the coolest thing ever. First off it actually has sounds and music, and guess what? It's the original soundset!. You'll hear the great music from the start which changes from level to level and all the cool sound effects that really made Doom what it was, from the breathing of the zombie soldiers to the quick electronic sound of the opening doors. You wouldn't believe how atmospheric a Roguelike with cool sounds can be. The only bad thing about it all is that the music is far too loud, making it hard to hear the sound effects.

Overall, the atmosphere is great and you really get the feeling you're playing Doom. Every time you shoot an enemy think "Yeah! Got you, punk!"

Summary
This is my shortest and quickest Roguelike review so far, and that's not without reason. Doom: The Roguelike is a very simple game (for a Roguelike). Because of this simplicity it's not going to receive the best rating but (as always) give it a try. You might be surprised, and I'm almost sure the first time you start it up and hear that music you'll be thinking: "Woah... cool!" If you like RPG's but don't want to deal with too many numbers and so on, then this is probably perfect for you. And if you do like lots of numbers then give it a try anyways, dang it!