The OG Doom community has done it again: less than 24 hours after Bethesda announced Doom: The Dark Ages at the Xbox Games Showcase, modder Craneo has added a functional shield saw to the original Doom.

The mod converts the famous Doom chainsaw into the soon-to-be-famous shield saw. It's basically the same as the original lumberjack's tool, but with a few important upgrades: it looks really cool, it protects you from incoming damage (it is a shield, after all), and yes, you can even throw it Captain America-style to confuse the bad guys!

I'm a very good friend of mine.

I've tried the shield saw myself, and if anything, it's a little too good: when you raise the shield (with the right mouse button), it blocks all incoming damage, no matter where it comes from. I allowed myself to be surrounded by zombies and imps, but took zero damage. Moving near the explosive barrels eventually caused them to explode, but no harm was done. Turning my back on the famously aggressive little finger demon had the same result: no damage, even with the shields up. Pink, in your face!

I mention this not to complain, but simply to point out that the shield saw modifications are not yet perfectly refined. But of course not: Craneo made this mod in about the same amount of time it took me to decide what to have for dinner. To take this analogy further, I think of it like going to Fast Eddies: it may not be the best hamburger in the world, but it's pretty good.

Others were equally impressed:

Craneo has not clarified whether they will continue working on this mod to make it a little less OP, or whether they will leave it as is. However, they have hinted at another major innovation in Doom: The Dark Ages' ultra-violence, what I like to call the Skul-Gun, and no, that's not a misspelling, but it could be coming next:

For now, the Doom Shield Saw Mod is available here.