From the depths of time, id Software's ancient Doom shooter has made a shocking surfacing at this week's X06 event, where it was revealed that the game is arriving on Xbox Live Arcade, effective immediately. The announcement came practically out of the blue, so for once Microsoft and id Software managed to keep a tight secret until the very last moment.

This XBLA version of Doom contains all four single-player episodes from the original DOS game, as well as some polished multiplayer features, including access to leaderboards with match-making capabilities. Deathmatch and cooperative frag-fests will be playable online via Xbox Live, but also in split-screen mode, for up to four players. Doom was recreated for XBLA by Nerve Software (RtCW, Doom3:RoE) and features enchanced HD graphics, along with 5.1 surround sound.

All that fraggin' stuff can be downloaded now on Xbox Live Arcade for 800 Microsoft Points, or $10 for the arithmetically-challenged. If I had a dollar for every time I felt the urge to replay that game in the past decade... Oh yes, I would more than afford it!

Oh, and if you're new to this whole Doom thing, do yourself a favour and play it in complete darkness. If your heart can take it, you won't regret it.

(N.B. Archive text, links removed)