CD-ROM REVIEWS : Cashing In on Doom’s Day? : Software companies are trying to get on board the hit game’s bandwagon, with mixed results--and without the original’s wry sense of humor.

It’s far too early to know if the recent marriages between Sili con Valley software producers and Hollywood studios will survive any longer than the human marriages in either of these high-pressure businesses.

But there is one lesson the digital industry has already learned from its movie counterpart: When a competitor has a hit, send in the clones.

Doom is about as big a hit as the computer game world has had so far. Doom and Doom2, developed by a tiny company in a Dallas suburb, have sold millions of copies, winning fans among both hard-core gamers and people who thought they bought a computer just for word processing.

Doom is a first-person game, meaning that the player sees all the action through the eyes of the main character. You run through various computer-generated landscapes, holding a weapon out in front of you for shooting the bad guys. The simple goal is to survive long enough to find the elusive exit that will take you to the next level.

It’s notoriously addictive--rare is the Doom fan who hasn’t realized that he or she has been staring at the screen for an embarrassing number of hours trying to reach “just one more level.”

At recent computer trade shows, the many software companies trying to get on board the Doom bandwagon blared out a dual message. While protesting that their own first-person games were not Doom clones, they declared that they were even better than Doom at what Doom does best, or something like that.

The three most notable of the non-Doom, first-person games have done well in sales, and one of them is technologically spectacular.

But there is one vital item missing from the clones, and that is Doom’s wry sense of humor. Doom never takes itself too seriously--the written messages you get about “your mission” parody computer game conventions with the best kind of satire, both affectionate and hilarious. And the monsters and weapons (ranging from a high-tech laser blaster down to a chain saw) are so inventive and outrageous they can’t help but make you smile.

A look at the clones:

Dark Forces (LucasArts)--The creators of this game from George Lucas’ company say they started working on this before Doom came out, but there are so many similarities that it is hard to imagine they were not at least partly influenced by the Texas-born upstart.

Dark Forces certainly hasn’t suffered in the marketplace because of the inevitable comparisons--according to the industry watchers at the PC Data company, it’s currently the top-selling PC game.

The game has much going for it, starting with a “Star Wars” theme, pitting the player against robots and soldiers of the Evil Empire in a variety of space locales. The graphics are beautifully detailed (the very first level has a stunning spaceship model made of light). The soundtrack, with music based on the John Williams’ tunes for the “Star Wars” movies, is wonderfully rich.

But Dark Forces is so caught up in the “Star Wars” ethos that its narrative seems stifled and unsurprising. And the animated clips between missions are uninspired.

Descent (Interplay)--This is the one Doom-like game that truly ventures into new territory.

In Descent, which is distributed by an Irvine-based company, the player is the pilot of a floating, nimble spaceship that is plunged into lunar bases and other space settlements that have been overtaken by evil aliens. You fly through the corridors, shooting at flying robots trying to destroy you, all while searching for hostages and ways to destroy the outposts while keeping you and your passengers safe.

The action in almost all first-person games is two-dimensional, with you the player running across landscapes in search of your goals. But in Descent, you freely fly up, down and all around the settings, often finding yourself upside down or sideways. It’s a vertigo-inducing effect that takes some getting used to, but the result is a wild ride that somewhat makes up for what the game lacks in inventive characters and situations.

Descent, like Doom, can be played directly against others via a modem or network setup. In this mode, instead of fighting alien robots, you are pitted against other pilots.

Marathon (Bungie)--This game is notable basically for one reason: It was developed for Macintosh computers.

While many of us prefer a Mac for most computer uses, its technology is not very compatible with the programming “engines” at the heart of most first-person games.

Mac versions of Doom and Dark Forces are just now being released. Both were somewhat slow and graphically limited during brief looks I had at them on a Quadra; perhaps they’d run smoother on a PowerMac.

But Marathon was born to be played on a Mac and does just fine on a Quadra. Unfortunately, it’s a bit on the boring side, especially when compared to Doom. And graphically, it doesn’t measure up to the aforementioned games.

But if you have a non-Power Mac and want to get a taste of first-person games, it’s an honorable option.*