Doom 3

"Good old Doom: Shoot, rinse, repeat."

I've been awaiting the arrival of Doom 3 ever since it was announced by id Software a couple of years ago. I immensely enjoyed the original games; they were a part of my childhood and a personal favorite game for many years. Needless to say, I was banging on Gamestop's doors on the morning of August 3rd waiting to pick up my copy. I played some, just to get a feel, then put it away for a while. At nightfall that night, I heeded the words of id; "Play Doom 3 the way it was meant. Lock your door. Turn off the lights. Turn up the sound." Every few seconds I was jumping, every monster that would pop out at me would get my heart rate going. It was a fantastic experience, and I was immersed.

Now, being a hardcore Doom fan, I expected this game to be Doom. Nothing more, nothing less. I was extremely pleased. That is exactly what id Softwardedelivered. Shooting hundreds of monsters, crawling through dark corridors; finding a key, opening the doors. Very linear. I was happy, because I wasn't expected a free-form game allowing me to wander around for hours just exploring. That isn't what Doom is, so don't expect it.

Doom 3 isn't a sequel, it is a remake of the original Doom's storyline. You are a Marine sent to the UAC headquarters on Mars (the original game was set on Phobos and Deimos, Mars' moons, but whatever), to add extra security because of strange problems that have been going on in the research facilities. Right when you get started, there are problems, so you are given a mere pistol and sent down to investigate. A scientist somehow opens the Gateway to Hell, and demonic souls come in a possess seemingly everyone but you, and a few select others. It becomes a mission of survival, as you run around the complex, searching for various PDA's and security clearances to progress. Exactly like the good old Doom we all know and love.

Now, as anyone can tell from looking at a single screenshot, Doom 3 has some of the most advanced and realistic graphics of any game to date. Some make the claim that you can't enjoy it because of the dark, but those are ignorant statements. Even on Low settings, which is all my computer can handle, it looks better than 98% of the games on the market right now. On Ultra High settings and max resolution...wow. Definitely in competition for one of, if not the best looking game ever. Gamers make the claim that graphics don't matter, even I do, but graphics really make a difference here, it completely ups the quality of everything the game does. Fantastic job on the graphics.

On your adventures, you will come across a multitude of weaponry. These are nothing spectacular, really standard weapons you will find in a shooter. There's a pistol, shotgun, machine gun, chain gun, plasma rifle, rocket launcher, the works. For those longtime fans, the BFG 9000, essentially the ultimate weapon, makes an appearance in Doom 3. Awaiting those of you who love to commit suicide and have fun doing it, there's a chainsaw for your melee purposes. Chainsaws are great fun, but can be damaging to use. There are some other nice surprises in store for you throughout the course of your playing experience.

At the beginning of the game you are given a PDA (Personal Data Assistant), which will be extremely helpful along the way. You can come across and download other people's PDA's and listen to their audio logs or read their e-mail, which can net you some important information. If you pick up a PDA of someone with higher security clearance than you, your PDA will update to that security clearance, effectively acting as a keycard of sorts.

A large assortment of demons, former humans, and other crazy monsters awaits you, most hiding in the shadows of the UAC complex. The most common are the shuffling zombies, who tend to lurch towards you from behind you, or from behind a dark crate. They are relatively easy to kill, but can be annoying. The former marines are the only of Hell's minions that show any signs of A.I. They will often run and take cover behind boxes, then take potshots at you. I found these to be some of the most annoying enemies in the game. The demons are rather stupid and simply jump out and try to claw your brains out. Don't expect much A.I. in this game. All in all, there are about twenty or so different types of enemies, and four bosses for you to fight throughout the course of the game.

One of the main aspects that people seem to have a problem with is the extreme darkness and the fact that you have a mere flashlight to guide you in this dark rooms. The larger complaint is that the flashlight you carry cannot be equipped with a weapon at all. You will have to use the hotkey to toggle between the flashlight and your weapon. I don't see it as a problem, I see it as another challenge. I'm not bothered by it, but to each his own.

One problem with this game, but is true of all four Doom games, is the repetitiveness. In the beginning stages of the game, you'll find that the rooms are almost all alike, and there is very little variety in monsters. Soon, however, the game will open up and more enemies and more diverse layouts will become open to you. Although, if the repetitiveness of just attacking enemies and finding keycards all day bothers you, then this really isn't the game for you. If you like more diverse layouts and finding different things to do at every turn, play Far Cry or Halo, or heck, even Unreal Tournament. But seriously, what you do in the first few minutes of the game is exactly what it will be like the whole game. So, if you don't like that, I repeat, don't play this game.

For a shooter, Doom 3 is actually quite lengthy. Expect at least 15-20 hours of gameplay on your first runthrough. If you're unconfident in your skills, try the Recruit difficulty. I played through about half the game on Recruit before moving up to the next difficulty, Marine, and I felt no difference, but whatever. Other difficulties include Veteran, and another id Software trademark difficulty; Nightmare. I haven't played Nightmare difficulty yet, but if it's anything like the original, which was borderline impossible, it should prove a monstrous challenge. Other than the prospect of Nightmare difficulty, which is probably worth a playthrough just for that, there's no real replayability to keep you coming back for more.

Keep in mind that if you turn up your brightness to full, turn down the game sound and play with MP3's in the background, you will most likely hate Doom 3. Play the way it was made to be played, and you will get much more out of the experience. It really makes a difference.

In conclusion, a list of Pros and Cons for Doom 3 will be listed if you don't feel like reading the review:

Pros
+ Stunning graphics, even on Low settings
+ Scary environment
+ Excellent level design
+ Nice amount of monsters
+ PDA system

Cons
- Repetitive
- Too many of same kind of monsters
- Lame guns
- Flashlight system
- Some unbelievable story elements (i.e. you of all people survived the invasion, why the monsters are easy for you and not your buddies, no night vision or light equipped guns)

All in all, Doom 3 is an excellent game and definitely worth a play if your system can handle it.

My score: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/08/04