Doom 3

"Although the gameplay may have its flaws, that never means Doom 3 is a terrible game."

Doom 3 is probably one of the greatest shooters I've played, in my personal opinion. But some may disagree. Whoever loves first person shooters would love Doom 3, and better yet whoever loved the classic Doom games would love this game. It may seem like a flawless shooter just by looking at the visuals, you'll probably think you overestimated this game.

The storyline is quite straightforward. It takes place in the distant future. You are in the shoes of a nameless, voiceless marine that's sent to a Mars Science Facility and combat strange creatures on that planet after all hell breaks loose on your base. The storyline could've had some better plot elements added to it, but the game focuses on action and gameplay hundred times more than story.

The graphics isn't what I would consider top notch, but it's good enough to at least compete other shooters like F.E.A..R. or Halo. Maybe even to today's standards Doom 3's graphics can still be considered good, though maybe not superb. The textures in this game are amazingly well done, and the characters were designed extremely well. The sad part is the lack of lightening this game gives you, and makes you rely heavily on your flashlight whenever you're in a dork corridor. But if you think about it, it would give the game a darker atmosphere.

The sounds were extremely well done as well. Although most weapons in the game don't look like guns in real life, the sound effects for each fire arms are extremely well done. The sound of evil creatures sneaking up on you and shireking at you as they attack can not only contribute to the atmosphere, but it gievs you a feeling of getting ready for intense combat against the forces of evil.

The gameplay may have its flaws. Doom 3 works much like classic shooters, so they don't give you the option to either lean while taking cover, give you guns that have scopes, and worst of all they don't let you mount your flashlight on your guns. I mean come on... it's the distant future and you can't attache any sort of lightening to improve the view around your surroundings in the dark? I'm pretty sure that soldiers were able to mount flashlights on their rifles during World War II, so why can't they have that sort of method on combat here? What's more strange is how the hell are you still alive when you're alone fighting all these strange monsters by yourself, while other marines in the base are battling in squads and end up getting killed easily.

So yes, the gameplay may have its weakness, but does that mean it doesn't have its good points too? Well guess again. Doom 3's difficulty is tuned just right. Your enemies are strong, but so are your guns. It gives an effective amount of challenge. And the game is also pretty long, it would take about fifteen to twenty hours to beat the entire game. And what's better is that there is a lot of interactivity that goes on in the game, such as finding passcodes to open password locked cabinets, helping surviving scientists around the labs, and more.

Now most of you are reading this and asking me this; "I heard this game's scary too." Well, I personally didn't find it scary at all. Never made me even tense. But that doesn't mean it won't scare YOU if you're reading this review. People have different kinds of ways to get scared, but the scare factor given in Doom 3 never managed to make me jump, but some people have said they were freaked out. There are times when you're walking down a corridor and you suddenly hear a scream. And there's a monster that was following you when you didn't notice. You also see monsters JUMPING at you sometimes as well. But they start happening so often to the point where it's not uncommon anymore, so the scare factor gradually lessens as you progress throughout the game.

A multiplayer is featured in the game as well, but is it worth playing? I'd say no. You're only allowed to have four players in each game, and there are lack of maps as well. Doom 3 was mostly meant to be a single player game, so I tell you now that if you're wanting a game with a great multiplayer, Doom 3 is definitely not a wise choice. Still, it's worth playing for spare time, but it's not as fun as what a true multiplayer game has to be.

Overall, Doom 3 is a GREAT game. It has its flaws, but the graphics are so great, it makes up for it. Doom 3 is a must have for all PC gamers, no doubt. It's probably one of the greatest PC games ever made in the 21st century.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/22/08

Game Release: Doom 3 (US, 08/03/04)