They took their sweet time, but the long awaited game DooM III has come. Hallelujahahaha! /grin :) And it was..good?....
First of all, i must admit that i have a softspot for the legendary DooM series.
I played the first DooM game on the pc prob. back in 1994 at a friends home of mine. And although it barely ran on his crappy computer, i was hooked. Ok, partly of the convincing "high tech" 3D-graphics world( Go Carmack), something that was new at that time. And with the great graphics, sound (eary unsettling soundtrack- grumbling demons laying wating to ambush you), great "monsters" demons, gameplay (surprise attacks:) and don't forget the BFG (wonder what that stands for:) and the Chainsaw! /grin :) Cool game huh?
After DooM II was released back in 1994, nv the expansions like Final DooM etc, the franchise took a backseat. Its developer, ID-software began working on Quake. Anyway, FFWD to 2001. Or something. The year a "certain" graphics chip developer introduced the new Geforce 3 graphics chip to the world. World first nfinite fx GPU, with groundbraking features for increased visual quality. And there it was, on a small screen, a pretty, scary looking game, with amazing detailed graphics and one hell of a scary monster. What was noticable, were the shadows those rotating fans give, and the polygon count of everything. Characters demons etc. Another thing the game made it look so realistic, is the heavy and good use of per pixel bump-mapping. This technique gives the walls, ceiling, floors, characters etc depth. Like cracks in walls, stones where wall is made from etc. Ok, enough tech talk.
Anyway, DooM III was one of the first games which took full advantage of the new graphics chipsets. ID (John Carmack anyone?:) already had a reputation of being a pioneer in developing new game-engines. (and selling them)
So the graphics of this game are cutting edge. Even as i write this review now 2 years later. As for the sound, they didn't save in this department as well. Instead of just looping soundtracks like in the ol' DooMsdays, the sound is all dynamic now. Mostly ambiance, depending in what situation you are. So you hear things like your own footsteps, machines, and.... demons. And then rattling gunfire:) or a frickin chainsaw . gnagnagna.
Critical sidenote: some of the weapons sound underpowered. Especially the big mitrailleur/ So could be better.
The game's audio gives a scary feeling of forbodeness?, a sort of feeling youre being watched...
The STORY in short is based on the the first Doom game, for those who don't what i am talking about.,(shame on you:) here it is. The game takes place in the future (2145 or so) when mankind stretches it wings further into space. And so they build a base on Mars, the red planet which is interesting because of its resources, etc etc. At a certain point, there was a technologically breakttrough thanks to some smart scientists. Namely Teleportation. Gosh! But then when they did experiments with it, something wrong. Terribly wrong, because what happend, they accidently opent up the gate straight to Hell! Hence the phrase: Hell on Mars... Ofcourse everything at the base plunged into chaos and destruction . Now here's where the player comes in. You, a veteran Marine soldier, (without a name) as one of the few survivors of this invasion from Hell, must put and end to this and close the gate. And trying to stay alive in this mess along the way... So DooM III is basically a sort of remake of the original Doom game.Only much better graphics and sound. So as for the GAMEPLAY : there not much difference since then. This means the gameplay is relatively simple and straightforward. Many gamers complained about this. And to some degree, i agree with the lot. Because FPS games have made several improvements in gameplay since 1993. Like more interactive evironments, making use of physics (half-life), team-based gameplay, stealth, advanced AI etc etc. Not Doom III. Therefore it can feel a bit dated. But ID wanted to make a sort of remake, only this time making more emphasize on the horror-aspect. Because of the quality of the graphics DooM III makes a lot more impact then the original. But thats also the reason that DooM III does not play the same. DooM III gameplay is slower paced, and your enemies are not coming by dozens after you. For the sake of your computer:) In that way the game Painkiller plays more like the old DooM.
But this isn't necesarry bad. The things that hurt DooM III gameplay though, are the environments, the base locations where most of the game takes place look a bit too simular. Small corridors, (alpha, delta labs etc etc)computer rooms etc etc. And dark too. I agree that darkness adds atmosphere, but jeez! You get a flashlight right at the beginning, and boy, youre gonna need it too! So the environments get a bit repetive, although you get to play outside on Mars(read: need to go) once in a while. Where its quite dangerous, and then only because of lack of oxygen etc etc. Let alone those flying Meatballs outside,:) AND, (spoiler alert) the amazing Inferno-level. But these variations are too few too make up for its repetiveness.
There's one other thing that disappoints me a bit about this game: with all that realistic shadowcasting going on, why didn't ID-software implement a sort of Stealth aspect to it? It would be cool if you could see a demon lurking somewhere in the shadows with its blistering eyes not knowing youre there. It doesn't have to be like Thief or Splinter Cell or anything, but.... Or that you could see a shadow of a demon, but you cant see him. But no! Instead of this demons most times just come running at you. I don't have problems with demons spawning however. After all, they are coming from another dimension, right? And that they are send by that allseeing Saur...i mean Satan.:) "Final Thoughts"
The long awaited DooM III shaped up as a one hell of a scary, great looking game with some very moody atmosphere. Especially if you play this game with the lights out. Some say you see more then btw, because this is dark itself. Very, very dark:) The gameplay is pretty straightforward, in contrary to its engine and presentation. Props for ID for the art-design and animation of all the stuff, the demons really look awesome. So it was good...but it could be badder....to be DooMed, eh continued maybe? (DooM 4?)
Pros: +It is done! -take that 3D Realms! (DK:forever! , whenever?) +scary moody atmosphere... hey its DooM! +great graphics & art design +return of the Chainsaw & the BFG:) Cons -the waiting -could use more variety in places (also more open ones) -demons could be brighter. (for more exciting confrontations, making use of their (shadow) environments) -not really necessary, but a basic element of stealth could be interesting? -what happened to that cool blue horned demon with the yellow gaze seen in the preview Demo''s?