Many other people have already talked a great deal about how Doom 3 did not live up to their expectations, was all glitz and no substance, missed the point of the Doom franchise, or a combination of all three of those arguments. However, my own concern is actually quite a simple (but fundamental) one; ID have tried so hard to make Doom 3 film-like that they have completely missed the point of the medium, i.e., that it is actually meant to be a game! A simple example that gets to the very core of what I am talking about is the way in which Doom 3 handles flashlight/gun switching. Now, many people have already stated how much they dislike the functionality of this aspect of the game play. Personally speaking, when I first began to play the game I actually liked the idea a lot. The need to switch between what are essentially defensive and combative modes adds a real tactical element to the game play, as well as a real sense of unease. However, after a while I started to realise that even in this most basic element ID had shown that it had been far more interested in how things looked rather than how well they functioned. It’s fair to say that it has become almost pointless to talk about how lovely Doom 3’s graphics engine is. It excels with great world detail, lighting and shadows, and this plays right into the hands of the games flashlight. To accentuate the film-like presentation (which is by and large faultless) your flashlights beam is offset to one side - right along the Golden Mean – and while this turns almost every other frame into a perfectly composed painting full of atmosphere and horrific images, it isn’t that great if you actually want to be able to see anything that’s in front of you! On top of this, when you need to change back to your gun for shooting (which for all the lovely graphics is actually the guts of the game) you quickly realise that the direction of your guns crosshair is not the same as the beam of your flashlight! Constantly having to adjust your viewpoint when switching between your flashlight and gun really starts to build up a lot of frustration over time. Often you get the feeling that you are battling the game instead of playing it, and that is something that should never really happen. For all Doom 3’s excellent presentation you constantly get the feeling that the look of the game was far more important to the developers than the way it actually played. Whether it’s the inclusion of unnecessary cut scenes, the relatively sluggish feeling of the player characters movement, or the fleeting impact that the PDA actually has on game play, your immersion is constantly being broken by niggling things. All in all Doom 3 makes for some very nice eye candy (and ear candy - the sound is fantastic), but your experience is constantly marred by annoying game play and balancing issues that make it more annoying than it really should have been.
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
