Doom 3

"Hell is here. And YOU need to stop it!"

Ok, I have played and beaten all the Doom games before.... sure the low graphics quality always annoyed me. So, in the darkest of nights, I wished for a high quality, gut-wrenching, awesome new Doom. My wish has come true. I found NO problems with this game. Simply put, so much fun is to be had in this game, it'll make your head EXPLODE! Or get ripped open by one of the many demons in this game. One of the two. Here the way this review is broken down:

Gameplay
Graphics
Sound
Story
Overall

So, lets get started!

Gameplay: 10/10
Ok, this game is very much like Half-Life, except a LOT better looking. You start out just getting acclimated to the lay of the land, the land being a base on Mars. However, the action quickly starts. It's nothing revolutionary in the FPS genre, but the gameplay is VERY balanced. Guns are placed just where you need them, some in lockers that are passcoded. To get the passwords, you use your handy UAC-PDA to download other UAC-PDA's data onto yours. This data includes sound logs from the PDA's owner, to e-mail to the owner's PDA. You get the passwords from there. Also, you can get e-mails to your PDA (In the game, of course), and video files too. Even offices are locked, and you can get passwords to get the goodies inside those offices. As you go, some doors are locked. After blasting your way through zombies infected by demons (They look like floating skulls on fire) and demons themselves, you can get a higher security clearance from downloaded PDAs. There are also cards you use to open doors, though they are very rare. Sometimes you need to get an item, but that, like the cards, is a rare event. There is SOME puzzle solving, if you could call it that. But overall, Doom 3 is an action-packed, non-stop roller coaster ride through fright and action.

Graphics: 10/10
This is the truth, Doom 3 is the BEST LOOKING GAME I HAVE EVER SEEN. An equal to The Chronicles of Riddick. The NPC models look superb. They look so realistic, it all adds to the fright. Even the monsters look real. Detail textures add a nice touch, and add to the realism. Bio-Scanners, decontaminating rooms, all have awesome textures, even the doors, and yes, the bathrooms as well. The toilets and urinals look really nice, even the sinks. As you progress, there are growths from Hell, really. They are supposed to look wet and slimy, and they DO. You can almost feel the slime on them. Even further, you get to go to Hell. Hell, as the game sets it, looks a LOT like what people imagine it to be. Lava, fire, and hallways and rooms made out of blocks of rocks with lava in between them make up the Hell levels. It really does scare you. Overall, the graphics are what makes Doom 3 so scary and good to play, and the graphics do it well.

Sound: 10/10
I'll tell you, the prime reason this game is scary is because of four things: lighting, graphics, placed NPCs and events and decals, and sound. The monsters give off an ominous sound that make the hairs on your neck stand on end. The zombies give off a low moan, making your finger move a little closer to the fire button. You walk down a hall.... BOOM! You lurch back in your chair! Don't worry, its just a broken pipe. The gun sounds sound nice as well. From when you open fire upon a zombie with your pistol, to when you take down a Hell Knight with you BFG 9000, it all is satisfying. The voice acting sounds so real, it also adds to the fun. Even when you're listening to a recording from a downloaded UAC-PDA, it sounds like a real, living person in a real situation. The ambiance as well sounds disturbingly realistic. From lava boiling in a pit in Hell, to a machine giving off sparks, it ALL sounds real enough to sit and just listen to it in awe for a little bit.

Story 9.5/10
Unlike the Doom's to come before it, Doom 3 has a story. You are a marine sent to Mars. You are assigned to track down a missing scientist. You find him, and all Hell breaks loose... literally. Then you need to fight for survival, while trying to prevent Hell to spread to Earth. Thats pretty much it. The story is a tad deep, but not by much. Still, it is enough to keep many gamers going, like me.

Overall 10/10
A fun, scary, and satisfying game altogether. Just what I hoped for, and i'm sure MANY others enjoyed it. You get scared, you shoot monsters, you prevent Earth from going to Hell, you will NOT be able to put this game down.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/07/04