Doom 3 on the Xbox is a fantastic technological achievement, and a great port of its PC cousin.
Considering that the Xbox was already out-dated old news back in 2005, and almost ready to be replaced by the 360, Doom 3 is a true testament to what the console was really capable of, and I'll get down to that shortly. First though, unless you've been living under a rock, or you just don't play first person shooters full stop, you'll probably know exactly what Doom 3 is, and what it's all about. Therefore, the main point of this review is to tell you how it holds up to the PC version. But here's a short summary anyway…
…Doom 3 is basically a throwback of the original Doom. You're a lone space marine, and you travel to the Union Aerospace Corporation's (UAC) reasearch base on Mars. After a short 'introduction' that consists of walking around the base just waiting for something to inevitably happen, occasionally interacting with various UAC workers and marines, you are soon told to report to marine HQ where you're made to search for a missing scientist. Naturally, when you actually find this guy, all hell literally breaks loose. From thereon you blow away demons and zombies throughout the UAC complex and even visit Hell itself. So other than the fact that the game takes place on Mars itself instead of it's moons, Doom 3 is almost a remake of the original game.
Doom 3 on the Xbox plays EXACTLY the same as its PC cousin you'll be glad to know. Nothing has been touched from the original gameplay. All the enemies are there as with all the weapons and the whole PDA thing (the PDA basically displays your simple 'objectives' and lets you view emails and listen to audio logs of UAC personnel and gives you an insight in to what is and has been going on as well as storage cabinet codes that provide ammo and health). You can even quick save at any point in the game. It's ALL there.
The only noticeable sacrifice to the gameplay I can think of is that many of the levels have been split into 2 sectors. In other words, all the levels from the PC are still there, it's just a lot of them have been cut into 2 mini sectors, a 'part 1 and 2' if you will. Also, 1 or 2 minor areas have been removed from the game – the large hangar at the very start of the game and part of Mars City Underground. That's about it. Hardcore PC gamers may laugh at first, in fact, I probably did too, but it all makes sense considering the console's memory, and it barely has any effect on the gameplay at all. It is literally just a minor con, and seeing as every inch of the PC game is basically present anyway, I'm not complaining. Plus, it was all done for the right reasons – probably to maintain a smooth framerate. I'd rather have these small sacrifices and play a stable port anyway.
The Xbox version has a co-operative mode that the PC game never had. It can be played via Xbox live or system link. No split-screen sadly, although playing Doom 3 on 2 tiny screens on the same TV would probably ruin its incredible atmosphere. Anyway, co-op mode is great, definitely the best aspect of the multiplayer. Some of the levels have been slightly altered in places from the single-player game in order to make them more functional, seeing as there are 2 marines instead of just 1. While a lot of the atmosphere and horror of the single-player mode is lost in the co-op, I can honestly say that playing the game with a buddy is hands-down more fun. Definitely worth playing along with the original campaign.
As for the rest of the multiplayer…meh, it's pretty much the same as the PC version, which, if I'm honest, was quite unimpressive to begin with. Just your standard deathmatches and CTF modes. It's fast-paced no doubt, but it just feels a bit rushed and generic. Again, no split-screen multiplayer support, which would have actually suited this aspect of the game well. The maps are fair, and well suited to the small number of players, but really, Doom 3's competitive is probably it's weak spot, and there are other Xbox shooters out there offering far more exciting deathmatches such as Unreal Championship or Halo 2 of course.
The big question though, is of course, how do the graphics hold up to its PC counterpart? Well I'm glad to say that Vicarious Visions somehow managed to do an amazing job, I mean, seriously, for an original Xbox game, Doom 3 is unreal. Oh sure, a couple of fancy lighting and particle effects may be missing from the PC game, but overall, Doom 3 on the Xbox looks incredible. The crystal-clear textures are amazing, the enemies both look great and animate exactly how they should and the impressive dynamic lighting and shadows remain. Heck, even the interactivity of computer screens and locks are made it.
The game is still dark no doubt, but I found it to actually be just a tad lighter than the PC game. Whether or not this is a good thing is up to you. A lot of people complained the original game was too dark to begin with, so this could be a preferance. On the other hand, you could argue that some of the creepy atmosphere has been lost because it's not dark enough, although you'd have to be really picky to say something like that, because in general, the atmosphere of the PC still remains. And yes, you WILL still be using your flashlight!
In my opinion, Doom 3 on the Xbox is the best looking game on the console. Half-Life 2, Far Cry Instincts and Halo 2 come close, but I think Doom 3 just about surpassed them. It actually does look like the PC game on medium and at times, maybe even high settings, and that's one hell of an achievement. It's even more surprising to say that the framerate rarely, if ever slows down. It is smooth throughout the entire duration of the game, in fact, the only time I even noticed a drop was at the final boss, and I'm pretty sure that was still at above at least 20fps. Overall, there are no catches with Doom 3's visuals, especially considering the age of the console. How Vicarious Visions manage to port the game as well as this is beyond me.
Sound-wise, everything is once again intact. Not only is Doom 3 amazing to look at, it also sounds great. Of course, it'll sound better if you have a big surround sound to hear it all on, but at the end of the day, there are no issues with the sound and music either. All the intimidating monster sounds, mechanical and electrical noises of the UAC base and the intense weapon fire is still there.
There isn't much else to say really. Doom 3 on the Xbox is a near-perfect port of the PC game, especially considering the hardware. Not only does it do the original game justice, but it also does the Xbox as a whole justice, and stands as one of the finest games on the console. Oh sure, it doesn't look as good as its PC cousin, and it may not have a split-screen option, but that was expected anyway. Doom 3 still looks incredible on the console, and surpassed my expectations BY FAR. And for multiplayer fans, it may appeal even more than the PC version for its exclusive co-op mode. High, highly recommended, even with the PC game out there. Definitely worth the 8-or so month wait.