Doom 3
Written by Phillip Ellis on 4/22/2005 for
Xbox
More On:
Doom 3
Talk about retro. ID Software has once again brought us back to our younger years. It’s brought me back to being a little kid watching my dad play Doom I and Doom II on the computer for hours on end, and me, well trying to play myself. I remember playing the original Wolfenstein as well, and ID Software brought that game back out with a bang. Yeah, I think I’m in love with ID Software for taking me back to my younger years, and letting me relieve my retro days.
Those of you that have been looking for an Xbox game to be like the old PC version of Doom need no longer look. Doom 3 is on target and reminds me of nothing but my days of playing the old versions of Doom. The biggest difference, I believe, is that now it’s gotten even scarier. It’s easy to tell that things have not changed very much in the game from the first level. You walk through the same type of levels, dark and eerie, and eventually meet your first gruesome enemies. The flaming heads. The view of these terrified me at first. I remembered them when I was a little kid, and I’m pretty sure I’ll now have some nightmares about flaming skulls flying around me. My goodness it feels good to feel young again.
The first level throws you right into the mix. You start off by searching for a missing scientist in a dark area of the underground area of the Union Aerospace Corporation. This corporation is on Mars, where you have been sent as a Marine. In the midst of your arrival something has gone terribly wron. You then watch as the people around you are engulfed by demons and you seem to be the only one left alive. You‘re the only thing standing between Hell and Earth and it is your job to stop what’s happening. Phew. That’s a lot easier said than done….
The graphics are solid but not mind-boggling amzing , like those found in Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Halo 2, or Riddick. Everything is nicely done, however and the graphics get the job done and are very good in their own aspect. It’s hard to compare them to any game because there really are no games with similar situations and environments. The graphics are good enough to scare the bejesus out of me with my volume up and my lights out when a demon jumps out of nowhere.
Once arriving in Mars City, where you’ll be fighting these demons in the UAC you are given a very handy PDA. The PDA is very important, and you’ll find yourself going to it very often to try to remind you what your objective even was. The problem with the PDA is the amount of time it takes to bring it up and put it back, it just seems to interrupt the flow of the game. Security clearances and other things are used through your PDA, along with e-mails, audio, and video logs created by other UAC personnel by picking up discs from around the map. These logs can be very useful to you later in the game and help you overcome obstacles in the future portions of the game.
Doom 3 does include all of the weapons from the PC version. My personal favorite are my fists. Nothing like running around and attempting to get into a fist fight with a demon. Of course I’m not sure I’ve ever successfully boxed a demon into submission, while they’ve most certainly slapped me back to the stone age more than once. Also, thanks to the poor lighting in the UAC facility you’re going to want to carry around a flashlight to use in dark areas so that you can see where you’re going or even what you’re looking at. Oh, not to mention you can beat demons to death with a flashlight, although I wouldn’t recommend trying it. No, really, trust me.
There’s also a new thing called the Soul Cube. This… “weapon”, if you can call it one, grows stronger with each death of a demon. After five demon deaths the energy of this cube can be released to destroy the demons you have a hard time killing. So be sure to save the energy from the Soul Cube to use only on the hardest of demons as you’ll be wishing you had saved it when you face them. Of course you do work at a very hardcore Scientific Research Station, the UAC, so you’re very likely to find experimental weapons later on in the game. Just make sure you look around for them… because they’re there, and pretty sweet to use.
Probably the biggest addition to Doom 3is multiplayer over Xbox Live. While it’s not the greatest multiplayer experience on the market, it is certainly appealing to those diehard Doom fans who have longed to take their Doom skills to the internet. The game modes are not innovated, just your standard game modes, and it plays a lot like Quake online. There’s nothing really new here, just a place to play Doom with real people. The main part of the game, obviously, is the single player, and the storyline.
Doom 3 is a game that many of the first-person shooter fans may not love too much. It is not innovated, and it sticks mainly to its roots in the gameplay and storyline. Nothing wrong with that though, right? The fans of the previous two Doom’s will find no love lost in this new Doom. With a game that plays eerily similar to the old one, and one that somehow manages to remain extremely fun. So if you’re a fan of the old Doom games, or of horror first-person shooters in general don’t miss out on Doom 3. However, if you’re looking for an innovative and excellent first-person shooter then maybe just give Doom 3 a rent and see what you think.
Those of you that have been looking for an Xbox game to be like the old PC version of Doom need no longer look. Doom 3 is on target and reminds me of nothing but my days of playing the old versions of Doom. The biggest difference, I believe, is that now it’s gotten even scarier. It’s easy to tell that things have not changed very much in the game from the first level. You walk through the same type of levels, dark and eerie, and eventually meet your first gruesome enemies. The flaming heads. The view of these terrified me at first. I remembered them when I was a little kid, and I’m pretty sure I’ll now have some nightmares about flaming skulls flying around me. My goodness it feels good to feel young again.
The first level throws you right into the mix. You start off by searching for a missing scientist in a dark area of the underground area of the Union Aerospace Corporation. This corporation is on Mars, where you have been sent as a Marine. In the midst of your arrival something has gone terribly wron. You then watch as the people around you are engulfed by demons and you seem to be the only one left alive. You‘re the only thing standing between Hell and Earth and it is your job to stop what’s happening. Phew. That’s a lot easier said than done….
The graphics are solid but not mind-boggling amzing , like those found in Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, Halo 2, or Riddick. Everything is nicely done, however and the graphics get the job done and are very good in their own aspect. It’s hard to compare them to any game because there really are no games with similar situations and environments. The graphics are good enough to scare the bejesus out of me with my volume up and my lights out when a demon jumps out of nowhere.
Once arriving in Mars City, where you’ll be fighting these demons in the UAC you are given a very handy PDA. The PDA is very important, and you’ll find yourself going to it very often to try to remind you what your objective even was. The problem with the PDA is the amount of time it takes to bring it up and put it back, it just seems to interrupt the flow of the game. Security clearances and other things are used through your PDA, along with e-mails, audio, and video logs created by other UAC personnel by picking up discs from around the map. These logs can be very useful to you later in the game and help you overcome obstacles in the future portions of the game.
Doom 3 does include all of the weapons from the PC version. My personal favorite are my fists. Nothing like running around and attempting to get into a fist fight with a demon. Of course I’m not sure I’ve ever successfully boxed a demon into submission, while they’ve most certainly slapped me back to the stone age more than once. Also, thanks to the poor lighting in the UAC facility you’re going to want to carry around a flashlight to use in dark areas so that you can see where you’re going or even what you’re looking at. Oh, not to mention you can beat demons to death with a flashlight, although I wouldn’t recommend trying it. No, really, trust me.
There’s also a new thing called the Soul Cube. This… “weapon”, if you can call it one, grows stronger with each death of a demon. After five demon deaths the energy of this cube can be released to destroy the demons you have a hard time killing. So be sure to save the energy from the Soul Cube to use only on the hardest of demons as you’ll be wishing you had saved it when you face them. Of course you do work at a very hardcore Scientific Research Station, the UAC, so you’re very likely to find experimental weapons later on in the game. Just make sure you look around for them… because they’re there, and pretty sweet to use.
Probably the biggest addition to Doom 3is multiplayer over Xbox Live. While it’s not the greatest multiplayer experience on the market, it is certainly appealing to those diehard Doom fans who have longed to take their Doom skills to the internet. The game modes are not innovated, just your standard game modes, and it plays a lot like Quake online. There’s nothing really new here, just a place to play Doom with real people. The main part of the game, obviously, is the single player, and the storyline.
Doom 3 is a game that many of the first-person shooter fans may not love too much. It is not innovated, and it sticks mainly to its roots in the gameplay and storyline. Nothing wrong with that though, right? The fans of the previous two Doom’s will find no love lost in this new Doom. With a game that plays eerily similar to the old one, and one that somehow manages to remain extremely fun. So if you’re a fan of the old Doom games, or of horror first-person shooters in general don’t miss out on Doom 3. However, if you’re looking for an innovative and excellent first-person shooter then maybe just give Doom 3 a rent and see what you think.
A solid shooter with great ambiance that doesn’t introduce a lot of new elements to the genre and gets a bit repetitive towards the end.
Rating: 8.2 Good
* The product in this article was sent to us by the developer/company.
About Author
I guess since I am the new guy here I will introduce myself. Name is Phillip, but you can call me Phil, and/or Philly. It makes no difference to me because the girls prefer Philly. I have never been a writer on a review site per say, yet I have reviewed games for various websites over time. I own every console except for Nintendo because I enjoy blowing my money off for no reason. I was perfectly content with my Playstation 2 until one day, I just felt the need for a larger green box. On top of the consoles, I buy a new computer way too often, and probably have way too many. I sometimes believe there is enough technology and stuff in here to launch a nuclear warhead, and I would not doubt it. I currently reside in North Carolina, near Charlotte, with no idea where I will end up in the future!
Currently I am playing NFL Fever (XBox), Full Spectrum Warrior (Xbox), Rainbow Six 3 (Xbox), Fight Night 2004 (Ps2), and Joint Operations Typhoon Rising (PC).
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