Doom 3 (PC)
Developed by: id Software
Published by: Activision

Doom 3 is 4 years in the making and one of the most anticipated games to date. Now that it’s finally out, was it worth the wait? Or did the hype kill it?

Research teams have been conducting secret experiments up on the planet Mars. When experiments go wrong, they accidentally open a gateway into HELL. Demonic creatures and other minions of hell’s army begin entering the real world, slowly infesting their base…….scary shit eh?

Although you’ll be mostly in the cover of darkness through out the game. Graphically, Doom 3 has one of the best graphics you’ll see too date in a videogame. The dark lurking shadows and the real time dynamic lights all help in creating this dark freaky atmosphere. You’ll see blood splattered walls, severed body parts and lots of small claustrophobic corridors. There are dark corners that you’ll want to shine the flashlight on because most of the time something is ready to eat your brains, among other things. When that happens, just pull out your shotgun up close and blast away your enemies as you watch his flesh separate from the bones in violent gory passion…………..I’m sorry I think I need help.

Ambient sounds can be the scariest, because even hisses and crackles will tend to make you jump. Throughout the game you’ll hear things banging on walls, faint screams, wailing steam pipes and strange voices in your head, etc. It’s best to crank up the sound for the full effect. Pretty much the only music you hear is in the intro, which was done by one of the dudes from Nine Inch Nails……no it wasn’t Trent even though he was originally supposed to do it. That’s ok because a game like this doesn’t need music.

The overall gameplay in Doom 3 is basically the same as in the other Doom games. It’s that straightforward 1st person shooter, run down corridors, point and shoot whatever shit is moving. After a while this gets pretty boring and outdated I must say, but it’s a game anyone can pick up because there really isn’t a learning curve to absorb. Along the way you must find and download other people’s PDA files and email to find out key combinations and other hints. At one point you have to log on to a website to retrieve a code to open up a locker for a few items. As far as weapons go, you’ll find the usual set of weapons; shotgun, machine gun, plasma gun, chainsaw, chaingun, your fists, pistol, grenades, rocket launcher and the gun of all guns the BFG, which stands for BIG FUCKEN GUN! The guns are cool but it kind of sucks considering they only have a primary firing action.

Multiplayer in the game is also a disappointment. Once again there is nothing new, just the typical deathmatch, capture the flag, along with a few other modes — basically just twitch game play. I guess if you’re into games like Quake 3 you’ll enjoy it on a much higher level.

I really can’t see myself playing through the single player mode again, maybe a few rounds of multiplayer here and there but that’s it. Basically Doom 3 is eye candy with boring, outdated gameplay. It’s worth a play through or at least until you get bored but at this point it’s not really worth the amount of money they are charging for it. I just hope the next installment won’t be identical, or else we are all “doomed”.

8.2 out of 10 on my ASS kick meter.

– Chian