Twitch

Doom 3 (well the Doom series in general) doesn't pretend to be clever. With a menacing grin it points to it's multi-barrelled pump action shotgun and says 'Others may be smarter than me but I’d like to see them try and outsmart a blast of this to the face.' With this it isn't ever fake in it's cause, it aims to provide an adrenaline pumping experience from start to finish keeping, you, the player constantly on edge throughout. Those with pacemakers beware! This effect is achieved by blending packed claustrophobic areas with dark brooding interiors that constantly keep you jumping at the shadows as enemies can appear from anywhere, above behind and even below. This goes to provide a fast paced arcade action packed first person shooter that keeps a blistering pace that pushes you forward keeping you tense and watching every corner throughout.

Set in the distant future of the 23rd century you play the character of a nameless and fairly generic marine who has just been sent on duty to the Union Aerospace Corporation's Mars research facility. As soon as you arrive it becomes comically evident that things are obviously going to go pear shaped, from the hushed conversations you pick up on about men going insane to information you pick throughout the game including audio logs and e-mails that detail very unorthodox human experimentation. You find these in the form of PDA's, which are small electronic storage devices, picked up from recently deceased members of the Mars station; they are accessed through your menu system and as well as providing your only background story, tell you the important codes for the numerous storage lockers around the facility as well as opening locked doors. The game begins in full after you are equipped with your pistol and customary body armour to find a missing scientist. When discovered he informs you with ragged breath that 'The devil exists, I built his cage!' Then promptly all hell literally breaks loose. The majority of the base population are turned into zombie like creatures who want you dead, while creatures begin to appear who glow red and hurl fireballs at you then lunge swiping and screeching. You really feel the full impact of an attack as you are slammed back and attempt to shoot the assailant.

Of course it wouldn't be a Doom game without the weapons! The game provides all the weaponry you come to expect from the trusty shotgun (don't leave home without it!) to the more exotic plasma weapons and of course our old favourite the rocket launcher. Unfortunately the weapons don't have the full punch you expect from them as futuristic killing machines, the machine gun spits out a weak 'phut phut' of bullets and feels like nothing more than a pea shooter and even the shotgun lacks the impact you'd want from such a devastating close range weapon. Though hyped throughout the course of the game even the super weapons discovered towards the end are anti-climatic. Though to be honest you'll be having so much fun blasting through demonic hordes I don't think you'll even care and Doom provides this and makes it look incredibly pretty.

The graphics are something special and highly rendered, the shadows cast over the dingy interiors are highly realistic and immerse you in the game play environment of tightly knit metallic corridors and huge rooms full of all forms of hi-tech machinery; while the enemies are beautifully modelled. The imps for example are grotesque beings ,with multiple eye sockets and a muscled yet agile physique, that produce brilliant glowing flames and attack with razor sharp claws. The zombies you find are gruesomely done with faces decayed, skin sagging and greyed and intestines occasionally spilling out. Shells of their former human self’s. Work has also gone into the bosses to make them as good looking as possible, disturbing arrays of creatures are assembled. Including a spider queen with the body of a female but eight legs scuttling towards you in a furious onslaught. Though impressive to view most go down without much of a fight, primarily due to the power of the arsenal at your disposable. The graphical intensity is shockingly good, everything’s as realistic as you could want it be and a look at the screenshots shows I am not over exaggerating on the games graphical quality. This is exactly what computers were made to do and Doom 3 showcases how they can be pushed to create excellent viewing entertainment.

The sound effects used also add to the terrifying atmosphere the game attempts successfully to create. As you wander through the hell infested base your senses are on fire as you listen out for every sign of a possible attack, the game utilises this by say having a metal vent burst open with a crash. You find yourself urgently shooting at nothing but a wall and then suddenly, bam! With a great cry an imp appears behind you and leaps, ready to tear you a new stomach. To get the most out of this game I highly recommend you play it in the dark, with a nice surround sound system to scare the living daylights out of you this is nothing short of awesome and video gaming at its best. Though beware, frequent trips to the lavatory may result!

Doom 3 doesn't ever try to be an intelligent game, while other games such as Far Cry give a player options to tackle different situations and objectives. Doom firmly moves you down a strict path and throws wave upon wave of enemies upon you until your nerves and clicking finger are both shattered. Though this repetitive game play of running, shooting, searching the inky blackness for hell spawn and then shooting some more does get a little tiresome towards the end of the game. I believe now we have come to expect more from our shooters than Doom provides and in staying rigidly as the Doom series has always been it is holding itself back. However this really doesn't ruin the experience as Doom never wanted to be anything but this shock filled run and gun shooter that jumps out at you from every corner. Even though it keeps these formulaic elements of the genre it does it with such pace, tension, violence and expertise that these factors can be ignored and the game can just be enjoyed in its heart racing journey from start to finish. In the end Doom 3 says 'What I may lack in grace I certainly make up for in force and firepower.'

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Raghh said I!

Carpe Noctum!

Leon

Nice review! Since all reviews are indexed and is linked via home page be sure to put [Review] in the title.

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Twitch

Thanks! Yeah i'll keep that in mind, I enjoy writing reviews so expect a few more :P

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Raghh said I!

Carpe Noctum!

Shooting Palanx

Not to be picky, I mean the review is great, but a few screenies wouldn't hurt, makes the reviews more interesting, and adds pizzaz

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Twitch

Mmm,y eah I agree a good layout can really make a review sadly it's a skill i'm quite lacking in. I enjoy the writing but suck at making things look pretty:P I'm working on it though so i'll try to make it look as shiny as the game

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Raghh said I!

Carpe Noctum!

Jorgi

Tehee, try 600 in width, for pictures. And center it, that makes it look great.

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random turnip

i gotta say, thats nicely composed, and a great game too

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L O P L <- Happy Birthday from Jorgi =]