::Doom 3 may be scare you in more ways than one::
Written: Dec 13 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: ::Incredible graphics, scary::
Cons: ::Repetative gameplay, online mode could use some work::
The Bottom Line: ::Looking for a great first person shooter on Xbox? Eh, keep on lookin'::
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| SParkfan77's Full Review: Doom III for Xbox |
It’s been well over a decade since PC gamers were dazzled by the first person shooter that everyone knew and loved (including myself at the crisp age of 8). It’s fair to say that id Software introduced the world to this new genre, and Doom ran with this popularity. Series like Quake, Unreal and Halo were love children to the idea of only seeing a pistol or perhaps a shotgun on screen while you destroy aliens, monsters or Nazis. So while scores of die-hard fans lined up to purchase entirely new supped up computer systems to even run the return of this series on the minimum requirements, I just sat back and waited for it to reach my beloved Xbox. Sure, it took a good nine months for me to finally get my hands on such a title, but they say that good things come to those who wait; but after playing this title through and through, that cliché doesn’t seem to apply.
I guess the most obvious place to start would be to tell you that this is a completely evolved installment than previous versions of Doom, whether or not it’s an evolutionary step in the genre of first person shooters is another question; and perhaps, where Doom 3 falls flat.
Being probably one of the most anticipated PC games of 2004 (alongside Half Life 2), I remember being in awe while seeing the game in action when having a friend demonstrate it on his newly purchased PC with all the bells and whistles to make the game run smoothly. As far as first impressions go, it was fun, exciting, scary, and gorgeous. I never played more than a few minutes so I never got into the logistics of the story, or the online multiplayer; this was all to be waiting for me once it hit my Xbox. That day finally came, and so I played.
I began with your basic campaign mode, and being a fan of the originals, this story did not seem to strike me as the most original idea that they could have used for a game that’s been hiding for over a decade. Pretty much your basis sci-fi horror plot; a secret military base being taken over by monsters/demons that you are pretty much on your own in stopping. Let us say that I was less than impressed with the overall structure of the story, though I must say they added a few interesting elements such as the voice logs found by downloading PDA files scattered around the levels (these will also give you access codes to open weapon crates, etc.). The story in that regard is only expanded when looking through every last inch of a level. There are plenty of spots in a given area where hidden weapons, ammo, and armor are kept as an incentive to keep exploring and not simply just running around aimlessly.
To steer conversation towards what weapons you will be using, I should say that there is your basic first person shooter arsenal here. The return of the BFG is here, along with a very cool rocket launcher and chain gun; but once again, nothing out of the ordinary. While on the topics of weapons, I should mention that they seem to be overpowering in comparison to your enemies. I found that a shotgun would take out a mini-boss in only a handful of strategically targeted shots; the rocket launcher even less. Not to mention the imbecilic AI that act like chickens without heads; the real kicker is that an attack may only take off a handful of health, and in addition to the seemingly endless armor/health viles will only make dieing a challenge upon itself. On the default difficulty setting I found myself breezing through the game with little problem, the harder settings were nothing impossible either.
The basic element of “go here then go there” gameplay was definitely apparent in this title as well, as it is seen in many other games. To me, it simply feels like there was little innovation as far as the structure of gameplay was concerned when approaching this title. Playing through the various missions in the single player campaign made me realize how redundant this title was. Even though I found myself shrieking in terror whenever I was about to get attacked, I found a boring nature to its deliverance. It’s like I played the same 5 minutes of gameplay over and over again. A good game developer will admit that 5 minutes of unique gameplay is all you’ll ever get from a first person shooter, but the cleaver ones find ways to keep it interesting; and in that respect, id Software failed. They figured that the return of a Doom series was exciting enough, and the graphics alone (which I’ll discuss later) will be enough for the gamer to take in.
With a subject matter of monsters and hell, I certainly think that id Software did a fairly decent job with taking a story that’s been done over and over again by creating an eerie atmosphere that had me turning on the light in my room and looking over my shoulders every time a monster popped on screen. I can confidently say that this game scared me out of my seat. Being trapped in a poorly lit room where shadows are your only sense of location of enemies can be a bit creepy. Having monsters drop down from air vents, busting through walls, and out of tunnels stopped my heartbeat for a second each and every time they occurred throughout the game.
So you can imagine my shock and awe when I played the Hell level. I really must applaud id for this one, they truly created an atmospheric game where you at times need to rely on your senses, or be petrified by them. I can only remember hearing this game in surround sound and being scared senseless from impeding monsters creeping up behind me, or the dastardly bash from a zombie approaching me. More times than not, I found myself tensing up my muscles as I approached a room and acting as if I was actually in a room filled with god knows what.
The graphics in that respect went hand and hand with this feeling of actually being trapped in darkness only to be food for zombies and such. Doom 3 is most likely the most beautiful looking Xbox title to date, though it most resembles Chronicles of Riddick; most notably for its striking similarities to lighting and facial models. The decrepit look of the metal plated but run down base is visually stunning; especially when zombie blood is splashed on it. I also enjoyed the magnificent lighting while drawing out your flashlight to keep yourself from going insane within a dark room filled with things that want to eat you. It’s hard to tell if this game had any graphical building since the levels were so dark, but this was never an issue anyway. The graphics ran smooth, I never once experienced slow down while playing offline. Online however, was a different story.
While on paper Doom 3 on Xbox Live sounds like the bees knees, it ended up slightly disappointing me in the end. What better way to experience true multiplayer support online than to play with a friend from a different part of the world and team up online to play co-op; and with 20 missions to play with friends online, id Software made me a happy customer.
I must stress that there is only a maximum of four players online, which is miniscule compared to Halo 2’s 16 and upcoming Delta Force’s 50 players online simultaneously. You’ll soon realize that this is not the kind of game that will cater to a room of more than 4 people as the environments are a lot more route/tunnel specific and make it impossible to add any more. I would compare this to the Splinter Cell online feature and how Ubisoft found a great middle ground between gameplay and only allowing only a handful of players.
These 4-player deathmatches are uneventful, boring, and ultimately yawn worthy. To get to the bottom line, it’s not worth playing in my opinion. Considering that the game played like a redundant first person shooter with dazzling visuals to begin with, the game did not soar with online deathmatch. Co-op is where it’s at. Connectivity was only a slight problem as it is with any online title; though no big latency problems were experienced.
Control was nothing that stood out while I played through this game. I will say that I was not incredibly troubled by learning how to maneuver or toggle through weapons, though I must say, pressing the white button by mistake and drawing out my PDA got annoying; especially since it takes a few seconds to load up on the screen each and every time you use it.
For those waiting years for this game to be released, they may be crying inside. As I said before, the hype of the return of such a series, and the stunning visuals may have had id Software thinking that it’s all they need to include in order to make gamers happy. And while some gamers were, some fans of the series weren’t. Superficially, this game looks incredible, but digging deeper will spell out otherwise. Doom 3 is by no means a bad game, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was lacking. For the potential that it had, there is no way that it should have turned out like this. I will still take it online for a fun romp now and then with some co-op, but all in all I found myself bored between the scares of monsters trying to kill me. Redundancy is NOT a gamer’s best friend, or a favorable game trait for that matter. Rent it first to be razzled and dazzled by its look and feel; then realize if this game’s for you. Most of you will be like me and see all they want within that rental period, but that is not to say that some will love this game flat out for its name. Purchase with caution.
Recommended:
Yes
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SParkfan77
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Member: Dan Schiller
Location: Long Island NY
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