Doom 3 (PC)

Having played a thousand first-person shooters from the utterly awful (Kingpin) to the truly great (Half-Life 2), I actually came to Doom 3 late, being put off by the mixed reviews.

So, upon loading the game, I guess my expectations were lowered somewhat. Following a long load-up, fairly standard fare a la Half-Life ensued in the early stages of the game, where you are allowed to wander and explore the base you have just been assigned to. The predictable start inevitably leads you to the crunch point where everything for the people of the base goes right down the toilet, following the opening of the gateway to hell (tch, not again).

However, from the moment the first scientist claims that 'the Devil is real' (and promptly attempts to nibble your ear), you are trust into what I can only describe as a completely interactive horror experience. The graphics are immense, with excellent set pieces and neat touches like shadows being thrown across the screen from the (recently deceased) hanging bodies. The creatures that lunge from every shadow also feel terrifying, even if you secretly know that you'll probably take them out easier than your weekly rubbish on collection day.

But it's the sound that had me wanting to turn the evil thing off, simply to calm down. The clangs, scrapes, villianious laughter, screams and echoes are expertly placed and executed. Coupled with the graphical genius, the atmosphere alone makes the thing so damn playable.

And then you get the chaingun. I could go on describing just how much fun it is cutting things in two (ditto the chainsaw); but I'll leave it. Instead, I'll just urge you to go and try it out yourself.

Like a nightmarish cross between Theif, Half-Life, Aliens and Event Horizon, Doom 3 gave me faith in the first-person shooter again.

Avoid at your peril.

First off, it has to be said that his game looks amazing and actually runs reasonably well on fairly modest hardware. I have an Athlon XP2500+ with 512mb ram and a radeon 9800pro and can run the game at 1280x1024 with the settings on high with no slowdown. The most important part of the system is the graphics card as the game uses a lot of the circuitry build into the latest graphics cards to take the load off the processor and get everything moving smoothly.

The game itself is terrifying. I actually enjoy horror movies of the alien or event horizon mould but I find it difficult to play this game for more than about an hour because I just start shaking uncontrollably from pure terror. The atmosphere of the game is amazing and the especially good graphics and sound produce an experience that drags you in to the point that you actually almost believe you are there.

I did find it slightly infuriating that you can't use the flashlight at the same time as a gun, but it all adds to the terror. There is a mod on the net that removes the problem by allowing you to have both on simultaneously but I haven't tried it.

The other problem with the game is that it gets mind numbingly repetetive very quickly. This is the only problem that I can see with the game, the variety prevalent in say HL2 or far cry is missing, which leads me to give the game a slightly less than perfect 4 stars. Still a very worthwhile purchase though, if just to see what your PC is capable of!

Chris

Doom 3 is essentially the game that id would have originally created in 1993 if they'd had the technology to do so at the time. The story-line is basically Doom 1 all over again, but fleshed out with more back story, dialogue and characters (teleporters on Mars break through to Hell, demons jump out, you have to shoot them in the head etc.)
Yet the gameplay is outstanding, and unique. The only game I can think of that even comes close to generating the levels of fear and tension in Doom 3 is System Shock 2. There were some complaints that Doom 3 was too dark, leading to forever switching between gun/torch. The whole experience is akin to being the protaganist in a truly grisly horror movie. The programmers deserve all the praise they've received for their invention and design. The levels twist and turn, ratcheting up tension, then hurling some truly gruesome enemies at you (the Cherubs are particularly disturbing). Fans of the old Doom games will recognise some of the weapons and baddies, such as the revenants and pig demons, and the chainsaw makes an appearance!
There were some criticisms of the game, such as it's too dark (it's meant to be), and you can't use the torch and hold a gun at the same time. Yet this is what adds to the whole experience. It's meant to claustrophobic and scary, not some dumb shoot-'em-up like Serious Sam.
If there was one criticism I'd level at Doom 3, it would be that it's not very re-playable, unlike Half-Life 2. You really do have to be in the mood to play this game, as you would have to be in the mood to watch horror movies. Yet as this it stands out as unique amongst hundreds of forgettable games. id have achieved exactly what they set out to do - create a truly scary, unique game with tons of atmosphere. Imagine being in a horrible combination between the original Doom and the film "Event Horizon", and you're pretty near the mark.