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Review:

18th April 2005:
Doom 3
Mars, November 2145. Just you and a few of your favourite guns must find out what the hell has been going on.
Posted by John Grothier - Xbox,PC - UK and Europe

It's hard for me to believe that is was way back in the year of our lord 1993 that Doom first made a hell of an impression on me. Back then, Doom was released as shareware by id Software, who were already known for Return to Castle Wolfenstien. At that time the developers had a team of just ten, but Doom became a classic, one of the most well known PC games of all time. Even then it scared me…

Mars, November 2145. You are a marine, hardened for combat and ready for action. After you arrive on the red planet you report for duty at the Union Aerospace Corporation's Mars research facility. Although this base on another planet, and set in the future, this is one of the most haunted places as a gamer I've ever had the fortune to venture into. It soon becomes quite apparent that people have been going missing and a massive demonic invasion has recently overwhelmed the base. So it up to you, marine - you must use all of you combat skill to battle through the demonic legions. You have one very important mission; find out what the hell went wrong - and stop the evil from spreading to Earth.

Doom 3 is a first-person shooter, where others of this sort have 'reinvented' the genre, Doom 3 stays true to its roots. The graphics are amazing, incredibly atmospheric and the sound is just about the best it could have been - but Doom 3 is all about killing demonic creatures with a large gun, and while others may say that's a bit repetitive - if you enjoy it, then it's not a problem.

After a stunning opening sequence you get you first orders to report to Sergeant Kelly at marine HQ, who asks you go in search of a missing scientist in the decommissioned com facility. The first couple of levels in the game are fairly easy, even if you've never played a first-person shooter, but the level design and the atmosphere never lets up, and there are surprises, shocks and revelations galore for all of the games many beautifully crafted levels.

One of the most useful bits of equipment that you are given is your PDA. This stores your mission objectives and also can scan other PDA's that you will come across, giving you the security clearance needed to unlock doors to other parts of the research facility. It also scans for emails, audio and video logs that explain, piece by piece, what the hell happened on Mars. You can even listen to the audio logs; some of which are quite disturbing, as you continue in your exploration - giving you a little bit of company, so to speak. Another must-have for you kit is the flashlight. Most of the facility is dark, really dark, and your flashlight will come in handy for exploring the base. This game drips of atmosphere; lights flicker, electrical wires spark, and even the flashlight lights up your doomed journey with and incredible amount of realism and tension. Although you can't fire and use you flashlight at the same time, you can bash the flashlight over a zombies head to conserve on precious ammo.

As with any good FPS, Doom 3 has a great arsenal of weapons, although some of the most devastating of these weapons you won't pick up until later on in the game. Pistol, Shotgun, Machine gun, BFG - they're all back and better then ever. There is something incredibly satisfying in blowing a demons head off with the shotgun just as it leaps for your throat. As for the monsters in the game, there must be over fifteen different types, not including some terrifying bosses. From Zombies to Zombies with guns through to Imps, Wraiths, Spiders and the hellish dog-like Pinkies. Each and every enemy is incredibly animated and you will often come across them dining on the remains of the crew of the research facility. Other times in the game you will be startled as they force themselves up through gratings on the floors, or out from the walls and ceilings. As you progress throughout the games the enemies become tougher and more varied, and the levels darker, complex and more disturbing. Sometimes you will have to leave the facility through an airlock and race quickly to get back inside the base as you gasp for air, only stopping briefly to snatch an air canister and maybe fire off you shogun at a demon that's getting too close for comfort.

To break up the action slightly as you progress through the game you will learn about what has happened on the Mars base over the last few chilling months. The story is far better that I had expected, worthy of any of the recent Hollywood type blockbusters. Another clever addition is the puzzles that you will find in a few of the levels. While there's only a few of these, they always make for a nice break in the action, albeit a short one.

Online co-op is finally here. Why take on the demon hordes on you own when you can fight them over Xbox Live with a friend or a complete stranger? While we were all hoping that this feature would have been included in another rather well-known FPS, in Doom 3 it's here and it works very, very well indeed. I have personally had some of my best online experiences ever playing Doom 3 co-op. The game also features Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Last Man Standing and Tournament online, and while all these work very well, they don't quite live up to Halo 2's online multiplayer, but the online co-op is worth admission alone.

The graphics in Doom 3 are absolutely stunning, the best I've seen on a console. While some may argue that there is not too much variety in the environments, the developers have created exactly what a Mars research base full of demons would look like. And boy do those demons look good. If you have ever seen and enjoyed Aliens, then you will love the level design in the game. You even get the chance to go to hell and back, but I don't want to give too much away…

The sound in the Doom series has always been revolutionary, and the sound setup in this Doom is a fantastic achievement. Alongside the wonderfully impressive graphics, the developers have included sound full of atmosphere. The sound, coupled with the graphics, will make you jump more times than I'd care to admit, and the voice talent in the game is also very impressive. All the guns and weapons sound as they should and the noises, cries and screams that the monsters in Doom 3 make will scare even the boldest of players. The game even features sound specifically designed for headphones, in case you don't want to turn your 5.1 surround system on if it's a little too late at night.

Overall Doom 3 is a fantastic port of the PC title; in some ways it's a lot better than the PC original. It features a truly great single player campaign, but the online co-op is something that many of us have been waiting for along time and Doom 3 does it very, very well.

John Grothier

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Review Summary:

Doom is back - looking and sounding better than ever. This first-person shooting sci-fi horror masterpiece features a dramatic storyline, heart pounding action, terrifying sound and truly incredible graphics. Doom 3 also features online play via Xbox Live, which includes the eagerly-awaited intense 2-player online co-op. Great single player campaign, but not for the faint hearted.

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Doom 3
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