5 stars (Now get your lazy butt to Mars, Space Marine!) - This review is both for the X-BOX as well as the PC-version of the game:
You got a weekend coming up? You got some time on your hands? You got a grand supply of Coke and pizza? You got a craving for good horror movies and games? You know how to turn off the lights and turn on your computer/X-BOX? And finally: you got a computer that can actually run this game fast enough (no need to worry here if you have an X-BOX)? Well, then what are you waiting for: get DOOM 3 to have the greatest thrill and chill ride of your life!
Doom 3 is something like TOTAL RECALL (remember Arnold, the Governator, back in his glory days on his mission to Mars?) meets DOOM meets HALF-LIFE meets SYSTEM SHOCK 2.
From the get-go this game simply grips you with its eerie dark atmosphere. And this is the plot: You are a space-marine who just got assigned to a top secret research facility on Mars - very much like an Area 51 in outer space. As soon as you leave the ship and enter the hangar you'll be exploring the base. This part of the game works very much like Half-Life. In a creepy "calm before the storm"-fashion you get to navigate the dark corridors, offices, underground machinery and even the cantina and restrooms. Even though you can't exactly tell what's wrong - you get the feeling that something badly out of whack. Some people (you may choose to talk to) seem to be on the edge. A TV blurs about recent happenings. Data-units and screens give you access to information about Mars, the base, the staff etc. You may even listen in to conversations when you're passing by some people. The level of interactivity is amazing and the claustrophobic spooky tone won't let you go until the very end of this game. There's lots of scripted events as well, which are all well done and do not interrupt the flow and overall experience, at all.
Soon you're given a PDA (That's "Geek" for: Personal Data Assistant), which allows you to collect access codes for doors depending on you clearance level. Even better: you'll come across data discs other workers, guards, scientists or military personnel have left behind and you may use your PDA to listen in to their recordings. It's just plain spooky walking through almost abandoned underground facilities and finding old recordings, in which workers, who were recently here complain about events they cannot explain.
Finally you will get to share experience. And you'll get more of a fair share of problems! First it's just something small like the lights going out in a gloomy stairwell leaving you in utter darkness. Later on, inexplicable things happen around you and before you know it all hell breaks loose. Soldiers turn to Zombies. Creatures from different dimensions walk the deserted hallways of the base. Out of a sudden the darkness around you is not just oppressive but may hide devilish things around every corner. This is where the true action starts.
This is where the game does turn into Doom. But don't expect hordes of enemies in well- lit surroundings that can easily be defeated! The game remains dark and sinister and it will keep you going just because you'll want to see what creepy areas lie ahead and what nightmarish creatures you'll encounter next. Surprisingly Doom 3 remains tense and suspenseful thanks to a real storyline, which has been implemented quite well through the above mentioned PDA's as well as plenty of information you'll witness on various video-screens inside the bowels of the huge Martian base. In time you'll understand why these inexplicable things are happening and - how to stop them.
The graphics are top notch. IF your PC can deal with them. If you do not have the very latest technology on hand you'll be forced to turn down details - and lose a lot of the best FX that make Doom3 so great. The best thing besides the ultra-realistic object-, character-lighting and bump-mapping is the real-time rendering of shadows. If a light bulb swings around inside an old staircase, you'll see shadows of every railing, grating and other object moving across the floors and walls! Freaky! Fortunately you have a flash-light that will soon become your best friend. Unfortunately you won't be able to use it while you have another weapon equipped, but switching is easy - on the whole it makes the already creepy action even more intense. Fortunately all of these features were carried over to the X-BOX! Even though PC-fans may argue that a TV screen simply cannot deliver the resolution of a monitor, think again once you've seen Doom3 on X-BOX on a state of the art wide-screen and dolby surround system! It rocks! It's amazing that the X-BOX can handle the game so very well. Unless you have a state of the art PC you may even want to consider buying an X-BOX just to run this game - it sure is gonna be cheaper than upgrading your PC with a new graphics card! :-)
The sounds are very well chosen and placed. From the humming of machines in dark basements to water dripping into deep shafts to the noise of the wind outside the base and the far-away whistling of ghostly tunes around the starting area of the base - it creates a vision of terrible things around and afoot.
The level design is outstanding! You'll get to appreciate the eerie feeling that something may be lurking around every corner and that whatever is waiting for you there - you can run but you cannot hide in the stuffy claustrophobia-inducing hallways, chambers and ducts. You're gonna explore different parts of the base with plenty of different themes such as: barracks, labs, factory, hangar, reactor etc. but you'll also get to explore the outside of Mars' surface as well as a space station, a hell-like alternate dimension and an underground Martian facility, buried under the surface of the planet for millennia!
The weapons are fairly standard, but they are all a lot of fun to use! From pistols to shotgun, to automatic weapon, plasma gun and rocket-launcher everything is covered. Of course, you'll get a new version of the BFG 1000, too! Last but not least there's a weapon called a soul cube, which is an alien weapon that leeches health from an enemy and uses it to replenish yours. And, boy, does it come in handy later on in the game!
Make sure you PC is up to date - and that your X-BOX power-cord is plugged in :-)
and have the spookiest 15-20 hours of gaming history.
The Reverend.
5 stars (A GOOD GAME) - LISTEN. YOU DONT NEED A 3.2GHZ COMPUTER WITH 2GHZ+ OF RAM TO PLAY THIS GAME. I HAVE A 1.92GHZ AND 1024 OF RAM. WITH A 128MB VIDEO CARD. AND THE GRAPHICS ARE ON HIGH. AND IM PLAYING THE GAME FLAWLESS. THIS GAME IS VERY GOOD. ID SOFTWARE REALLY DID A GOOD JOB. IF YOU HAVE MORE THAN 1.5MHZ YOU CAN PLAY THIS GAME. JUST DONT HAVE A 64MB VIDEO CARD LIKE SOME IDIOT DID WHEN I READ HIS REVIEW, SAYING DOOM3 WAS BAD CAUSE IT RAN SLOW.I LOVE THIS GAME. IT IS VERY CHALLENGING YES. BUT THE SCENESE AND MONSTERS ARE VERY STUNNING. THE PEOPLE THAT SAY THERES TOO MUCH KILLING, STOP READING THE BIBLE! AND PLAY THE GAME! I CANT WAIT FOR A DOOM 4. :p
3 stars (Ok) - I remember playing Doom "back in the day" and was probably just as excited as everyone else when I heard that this game was coming out. For the first 20-30 minutes of this game I was amazed--great graphics, sound, but soon things got boring quickly. The PDA is just the modern substitute for the key/keycard and you were forced to walk back and forth while demons and whatnot spawned out of nowhere or popped out from secret compartments. The enemies popping out of nowhere like popcorn was one of the most annoying aspects of this game and it cut down on the fun factor. The other obnoxious part of this game was that in this incredibly high tech place people didn't think to attach flashlights to their guns or have some night vision goggles lying around. This was so ridiculous, I couldn't believe it.
This game is incredibly predictable, but it wasn't too bad--it is to be expected. You know things are going to go wrong quickly and you know you will never get to meet up with the people you see every once in a while just a step ahead of you.
Overall this is a decent FPS, just don't expect too much from it. I'll probably still play the expansion pack even though I'm sure it will suffer the same flaws. |
