Doom 3

"Awesome, old shool action."

Doom 3 is an ultra immersive experience. It's bloody but beautiful. I wasn't sure I was ever going to pick this one up, but when I did, I was amazed. This game will pull you in like no other. Enjoy my review.

Graphics: un-freakin' believable/10

The graphics in this game completely set you in the mood right away. The textures: magnificent, the character models: amazing. Everything in this game down to the pulsing veins in the monster's necks are incredible. It really sets great ambience for this type of game. There is a lot of blood. Nothing your 8 year old son should be playing cause it's incredibly realistic. You WILL feel like you are in this game. The lighting is also especially effective. The shadows are incredibly realisitic and you will need to use a flashlight most of the time. This adds to the scare factor quite a bit when you don't know something's coming.

Story: 9/10

Though the story isn't magnificent, it's still pretty good. You are a marine called to Mars after strange things start happening. Soon, you find out a portal to Hell has opened up in your station. This is basically it. But, the cinematic feel of this game contributes to the story immensely. You really feel like you are a marine, lost, alone, and faced with the daunting task of defeating Hells minions. There are some great cutscenes and radio transmissions, etc. as well. This definetely makes this game seem more tense and scary. The story also changes a little bit in co-op to include two marines.

Gameplay: 10/10

You will most definetely hear people say this game is dull or too linear and boring. Those people do not have open minds. This is a very old-school game and had it been released 12 years ago this may be heralded the best game ever. Unfortunately, people these days have a high and unreasonable standard. They want it to be "GTA style" or "Halo style"."Oh, yeah! Free roaming enviroments". What a pity. What this game delivers is high, pulse-pounding action. You will jump many times throughout the game. Also, there are many awesome weapons...including the Chainsaw! One of the only flaws of combat though, is that you can't use a flashlight and gun at the same time. You have to switch. But this kind of adds some realism, so I'm not sure whether it's a pro or con. There is also XBOX Live multiplayer, While the deathmatches are pretty good, they could use maybe more maps or more players at a time( as there are only 4). There is Co-op though. It is about half the length of the normal game. Which is more than we can say for Splinter Cell Chaos Theory.

Replayability: 8/10

While this game may not have many extra features, it makes it up in just the sheer fun factor which will probably have you coming back for more. There is also Multiplayer to keep you entertained. Also, on the collector's edition, it includes the full games of Ultimate Doom and Doom 2!

Overall: 10/10

Rent or Buy: If you have the money, BUY IT RIGHT NOW. This game is truly one of the best on XBOX.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/28/05