Doom 3

"Hell on Mars!"

Longley waited for, Doom 3 is an excellent game that delivers what is promised and expected. The game is of good length, and the designers have done an excellent job at creating a creepy and horrific environment.


GRAPHICS
Excellent! I don't think they could have done a better job. The textures are crisp and sharp, the character models and creatures are very well drawn. There is a great amount of detail and they've obviously spent a lot of time with the graphics. The weapon models are also excellent, as are the environmental effects such as various fog and lighting effects.

SOUND & MUSIC
Excellent! The sounds are downright creepy and really push the horror feel in the game. Everything from the creaking of metal, collapsing panels, and the wails of the demons really keep your pulse racing. Strange whispers and ghostly callings keep you on edge. The weapons sounds are also well done and are a good fit for the assigned weapon. The music is also good. It gives you that "get in there and kick ass" feel.

PLAYABILITY & CONTENT
Excellent! As stated earlier, they've spent a lot of time on the graphics side, I seriously doubt many will be let down by the graphics. I played the game at the highest detail level and it ran surprisingly smooth, I thought it would have lagged but it didn't. The game did crash three times but nothing to deter from the game play itself. The beginning starts off a little slow, but that's only because it needs some kind of prolog to explain what lead up to the disaster. It's also good because it gives you a change to explore around a little and get used to things. The game is naturally dark, which to me slightly spoiled it, I really prefer to see what everything looks like. Because it's dark, you won't be able to enjoy most of the graphics to it's fullest. However, because of the type of game this is, you have to understand the perpetual darkness throughout, it does emphasis the plot and play. You're a marine sent to the research facility on Mars. After a brief assignment by your commanding officer, you are then thrust into what is Hell on Mars. Demons pour through the facility killing everyone and everything in their path. The storyline isn't the best, but the delivery is very good. You hear communications from the other marines battling the demon hoards, and your commanding officer is in constant contact with you through the game. Most of the game is creepy, you walk down a dark corridor or enter a room, and then a demon just pops out from somewhere. Personally, this game made me jump more than any other game I've played. There is a good variety of monsters, you encounter more and more as you progress. There is also a good amount of weapons to assist you, as well as storage lockers that contain supplies. You need codes for those, and the codes are usually found in a PDA that was left behind. One thing though that I didn't care for was the predictability of some encounters, it had a Serious Sam type feel. You walk into a room, the door locks behind you, and demons flood the area and attack. Or you get a particular item, then demons spawn behind you. Most of the demons are not in plain site, they either spawn through a hell gate, or hidden panels open up and release them. I didn't like the way they did that. I would have enjoyed it more if they were in sight roaming around looking for people to kill. The game will take a bit of time to complete unless you ignore reading all the messages from the PDA and video disks, but those items augment the story and what happened. It would have been a good idea, however, if you were able to hold the flashlight while using your weapons. When you use the flashlight, you automatically holster your current weapon, you have to switch back and forth between the two. You can, however, use your flashlight as a weapon in itself. Also, a more destructible environment would have been a nice touch. If you shoot a computer screen or a vending machine it should explode or at least show some sort of damage. There isn't much interaction with the environment. Some people might find the level of darkness a bit annoying or distasteful, but it just wouldn't be the same game if it were as bright as standing out in open sunlight. Overall, it's an excellent game worth the money.

CONTROLS
Keys can be remapped.

SAVING FEATURES
Anytime, anywhere.

THE GOOD
Graphics.
Decent length.
Horror Sci-Fi well delivered.
Good variety of demons.

THE BAD
Too dark most of the game.

THE UGLY
Nothing.

OVERALL RATING 9

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/17/04