I’m not scared. I’ve been through this before. I’ve got the weapons. I’ve got the skills. When they come for me, I will lay them down. Equipped with the most powerful weaponry known to man, I laugh at them as they hide in the shadows. I’m not scared of the dark. I laugh, cursing under my breath as I pull the trigger. I keep pulling, they keep falling, but more keep coming.
I hear the screams. Slowly, my mind unravels. They are coming for me. I am not scared. I glance around. I am NOT scared.
I run.
Doom 3 for the Xbox is a technical marvel. Fantastic graphics, tight controls, and bone-chilling sound effects make Doom 3 a slick, easy-to-play, production. After you play try it for a few hours, you’ll have no doubt that you’re in for a fantastic experience. Unfortunately, while there is nothing that feels wrong about the game, when you beat it, you’ll find yourself thinking, “Well, that’s over with finally,” more than “Wow! That was fantastic!” Doom 3 can be a lot of fun, and oftentimes, downright creepy, but there’s something missing from the gameplay that would make the game truly memorable.
Doom 3 is a sci-fi horror first person shooter (fps) from ID Software, the makers of the Doom (of course) and Quake series. When you first start the game, what immediately stand out are the incredible lighting effects. As you get farther in the game, the lighting does more than hide creatures or make things tough for you to see. Shadows convincingly create a certain mood in the game, and shadows are used to frighten rather than just look good; when you see a shadow of a swinging body overhead before you actually see the body, you’ll understand what I mean. The character models are well-detailed, while the faces and lip-syncing look realistic as well. Overall, Doom 3 looks spectacular, and you’ll marvel at a lot of the special effects (all in-game) that you’ve seen before in movies but not video games.
The sound in Doom 3 is very good, but doesn’t distinguish itself as much as the graphics do. For the most part, I didn’t notice the 5.1 effects that much, though the surround definitely establishes itself more towards the end of the game. I liked the bass effect used to create a feeling of tension and unease. Music isn’t really part of the game, but like the surround effects, is more present at the end. Voice acting is solid as well--most of the voice acting is used in voice and video logs rather than in character interaction.
As mentioned before, there is nothing inherently wrong with Doom 3. It looks great, sounds great, and the controls are tight. When you first start the game, everything seems great. As you progress in the game, though, nothing much changes. You’re essentially going from corridor to corridor and room to room, clearing each room of monsters, then moving on. Although, I suppose this sounds like most of the FPS titles out there. After all, what FPS game doesn’t involve shooting everything in sight? I think the best way to explain is that 75% of the game feels exactly the same. What you do in hour two is what you do in hour eight, and if you asked me to plot out the game, I would just say, “That’s all I really did the entire game--I cleared a room, the lights turned off, a demon spawned out of nowhere, roared, and I shot it. The lights came on; I got some armor; repeat cycle.” There’s no real feel of progression in the game other than a new loading screen. It’s fun, but straight-forward.
The last parts, roughly the final 10-25% of the game are slightly different though. The pace picks up, ammo is always a problem, and there’s a constant feeling of unease. The best parts of the game are definitely towards the end. For some players, however, they may find themselves not caring enough to keep playing past the first few hours.
There isn’t much of a story to the game. You’re a nameless marine who’s just arrived on Mars. Things are kind of weird, and suddenly you find yourself in the middle of a disaster. As you progress, you’ll pick up logs from dead characters and by reading their emails or listening to their logs, you can learn a little more about what’s been going on. Essentially, though, there’s nothing interesting in all the extra stuff you pick up; they all say the same thing: there’s been a lot of weird stuff going on, and people are scared.
The monsters that you can encounter can be genuinely creepy. While I didn’t find myself in spots where I was “scared,” the art design, the screams, and creepy laughs all helped me feel a little antsy at times. I would find myself thinking, “What is that dripping down?” look up at the ceiling and think, “Oh,” and then “Ugh.”
Doom 3 is not a game for kids. The violent and demonic themes present throughout the game definitely make it a game suited for mature audiences only. The game is of medium length, and while I enjoyed the game, I can’t imagine wanting to play through it again. I might want to take on the later levels on a higher difficulty, and a nice feature that the game has is a level selector that enables you to do just that. Based on my experience with the single player, I would recommend this game as a rental or a discounted purchase. If you have Xbox Live or are interested in the bonuses present in the Limited Edition (including the original Doom and Doom 2 games), Doom 3 may warrant a full-priced purchase for you. It’s a very good game, with outstanding production values, but it doesn’t do quite enough to establish itself as a must-buy.
I love video games. I just don't play too many of them. I grew up always having to learn about games through my (incredibly cheap) subscription to Video Games and Computer Entertainment (10 years later, this magazine is now known as Tips And Tricks). I'd read through each issue several times, remembering all the screenshots and details, but it was rare that I'd actually to get play any of the games featured just because I didn't have the money to do so. Now, I'm lucky enough to work in the industry, at a position that requires me to be a video game expert. Apparently I really did learn something from all that reading back then! I still don't play a lot of games though.
I enjoy virtually all game genres, except for PC war strategy, which I'm sure I just can't handle in terms of sophistication. My true calling in gaming is the PC FPS. It's the only genre where I'm willing to overlook major flaws in a particular game, finish it, and enjoy it anyway.
I also have a fascination with digitized video games (Fox Hunt, Psychic Detective, Angel Devoid), a now-defunct genre. Back when full-motion-video was all the rage, these games were supposed to be the next step in bringing Hollywood to the gamer, but most of the time, these efforts resulted in hilarious (and ridiculous) "interactive" movies that, instead of bringing innovation to the industry, only paved the way for the bad voice acting that the industry still suffers from today.
