Doom 3 sets out to achieve some very specific goals, and it generally achieves them very well. The key is not to expect the game to be something it's not. At it's heart, this is a very basic shooter. The gameplay is stripped down to the foundation, and often it felt like that's what this game is, an excellent foundation. At it's best it's an immersive experience like no other. At it's worst it's a glorified tech demo. Doom 3's gameplay isn't bad by any means. It's great. The problem is that it feels so limited, and gets pretty repetitive. The gameplay maintains the same basic structure most of the way through. There's one escort sequence that stands out in mind. These are normally irritating, but it worked very well in the game. Why couldn't there be more of these? Why couldn't the player meet up with a handful of marines and fight along side them for a while? There are so many options that aren't experimanted with. Sure, it deviates from the basic gameplay that the game's based on, but it would have made for a much more interesting experience. Some would say that sequences like these would cause the game to lose it's old school feel. To me, that just means that Doom as a franchise is afraid to grow and evolve. Throughout the game, you're limited to a very standard collection of weapons (though to be fair, Doom made them the standards). While not particularly interesting, they do their job. One thing that makes the game stand out a bit is the player's inability to use the flashlight and fire a weapon simultaneously. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I feel that this was definitely a good decision. It's a new way to create tension and makes the gameplay more interesting. Sure, it doesn't make much sense to imagine that a marine couldn't find a roll of duct tape in his travels, or that some form of night vision isn't standard issue for security guards/ marines this far in the future, but that makes the issue more of a plot whole than a flaw in the gameplay. It's also worth mentioning that the AI is quite average. This usually isn't a problem since you spend alot of time fighting mindless zombies, but it would still be nice to see enemies better use their enviroment by climbing on walls or try to escape when injured, instead of just standing there until you shoot them. Obviously, the graphics are phenomenal, the best in any shooter yet. Doom 3 has commonly been compared to another gorgeous first person shooter, Far Cry. There were moments during Far Cry when i was stunned by how great the game looked. The kind of moment where'd you'd just have to stop, take a screenshot, and admire the world around you. Doom 3 is different. There really aren't specific moments where you're stunned by how good it looks, because it looks that good the whole time. Where Far Cry had occassional inspired moments, Doom 3 goes the entire game looking near perfect. This doesn't apply just to the enviroments, which look fantastic technically and artistically, but to the animations of the enemies, which stand out as exceptional. My feelings concerning sound are mixed. There are some very atmoshperic sound effects that do a great job of sucking you into the experience, like random chatter and screams over your radio, or the sound of an unseen demon scurrying around in a vent overhead. The voice acting is also top notch. The biggest problem with the sound is the almost total lack of in game music. At times this feels like a good decision, but at others it just leaves the game feeling empty. Take a minute to think about your favorite horror movie, and consider how much less effective those suspenseful scenes would be without a soundtrack. Music could've greatly augmented the feelings of suspense in Doom 3. It's also worth mentioning that the effects of the various weapons are simply weak. The guns sound like toys, and just about any surface you whack with the butt of your flashlight sounds exactly the same. The game is longer than the average fps, and any longer would've just been repetitive. The game ends when it should. The multiplayer is very standard, if not below common standards. Sure, modmakers will help this, but a game shouldn't have to rely on it's community. It should stand on it's own right out of the box, and let mods serve as something extra. Doom 3 is an impressive game in several different ways, most noteably graphically, but falls short in other ways. If you expected an update of the classic Doom series, you wont likely be disappointed. If you go in expecting anything at all more, you may. Doom 3 doesn't accomplish much new, but what it does do, it does very, very well. Doom 3 is possibly the most cinematic, atmospheric shooter since Half-Life, and you should love every minute of it, assuming you don't have a problem with playing a very stripped down and basic game.
I think this game is indeed the best game I've ever played. I like it because it scares me, though I've played it before. The gameplay is really rapid, you should always load your weapons, otherwise you would be torn apa... Read Full Review
This game is not for the faint of heart, the paranoid or the weak stomached. Playing this game alone in the dark with headphones at full blast is one of the most enjoyable if un-nerving experiances you can have with a ga... Read Full Review
