DOOM 3 - my opinion

i know its old but for a while i was thinking about playing this game seriously, played it b4 for a level or two then stopped and now i reinstalled it and trying it again now,

the graphics in this game is awesome considering the age of this game, the interfaces and the whole computers terminals/pda are unique and really nice, the mosters design is great and the whole enviourment is really good, the sudden stuff thats happening to you and the whole idea of the game being on mars and stuff,

but sometimes i feel like i wanna kill the devs of this game, cause the gameplay is poor:

theres no secondary attack on any weapon, alot of dark places where u must use flashlight and u cant have both fl and weapon u need to cycle them making it annoying, theres no melee attack (not an availble usefull one anyway), alot of monsters knockback you on melee or ranged attacks but u cant (another annoying thing, u open a door then suddenly gets knockbacked to somewhere in the dark... ermm where was i?), this game is basiclly linear but still sometimes u have to backtrack yourself and can go half way back for a small mistake, enemies sometimes appear behind u and noting triggered them (they werent teleported to the place or crawled out some vent or wall), too much indoor activity - not enough outdoor..

this game could have been so much better if the developers came up with a better gameplay mechanic, feels like the game is trying to annoy the player sometimes, overall its a good game but could have been awesome, i'd like to hear other opinions, out :)

i know its old but for a while i was thinking about playing this game seriously, played it b4 for a level or two then stopped and now i reinstalled it and trying it again now,

the graphics in this game is awesome considering the age of this game, the interfaces and the whole computers terminals/pda are unique and really nice, the mosters design is great and the whole enviourment is really good, the sudden stuff thats happening to you and the whole idea of the game being on mars and stuff,

but sometimes i feel like i wanna kill the devs of this game, cause the gameplay is poor:

theres no secondary attack on any weapon, alot of dark places where u must use flashlight and u cant have both fl and weapon u need to cycle them making it annoying, theres no melee attack (not an availble usefull one anyway), alot of monsters knockback you on melee or ranged attacks but u cant (another annoying thing, u open a door then suddenly gets knockbacked to somewhere in the dark... ermm where was i?), this game is basiclly linear but still sometimes u have to backtrack yourself and can go half way back for a small mistake, enemies sometimes appear behind u and noting triggered them (they werent teleported to the place or crawled out some vent or wall), too much indoor activity - not enough outdoor..

this game could have been so much better if the developers came up with a better gameplay mechanic, feels like the game is trying to annoy the player sometimes, overall its a good game but could have been awesome, i'd like to hear other opinions, out :)

HSRP

i thnik its great too, but i havent ran into that door knocked bak to the dark prob yet

Just like you said - I think Doom 3 is a decent game that has a crapload of wasted potential. The problem with the game is that you can see where the developers felt really inspired, like the beginning of level 8 I think, where you have a little spider bot and navigate a bunch of corridors painted a dim red by emergency lights. This part is pretty intense and makes great use of Doom 3's shadows. But this is a rare occasion in a game that lives off of repetitive, monotonous, point-and-click shooting action. All enemies behave the same, aren't very scary and once they start teleporting into the environment the game loses its cinematic nature, which was enhanced by enemies breaking out of vents, staircases, the ceiling and all that.

If id could have made the entire game as exciting as its first three-four levels, it would have been a really awesome game and a true classic. As it stands, it's just a pile of stretched-out, waster potential.

I would've been happiest if id had stuck to the original Doom formula. Games like Serious Sam, Painkiller and Starship Troopers show that the genre can still work today.

But I doubt id will ever make another game like that - they're too busy trying to push the technological bar higher. It's probably in the company's best interest to go that route, since their goal is to make a serious entry into the engine licensing market, but I would be far happier if they went back and made a real Doom sequel.

On its own merits, Doom 3 is just about tolerable, but Quake 4 plays and looks better.

doom 3- fact

it's garbage

the enemy AI was not dense enough..you would harldy face 3 or 4 demons at the same time..how about 20 or 30 of them then you can actually put your wepons to complete use....i miss the chainsaw!!!!

I would've been happiest if id had stuck to the original Doom formula. Games like Serious Sam, Painkiller and Starship Troopers show that the genre can still work today.

But I doubt id will ever make another game like that - they're too busy trying to push the technological bar higher. It's probably in the company's best interest to go that route, since their goal is to make a serious entry into the engine licensing market, but I would be far happier if they went back and made a real Doom sequel.

On its own merits, Doom 3 is just about tolerable, but Quake 4 plays and looks better.

fatshodan

everything i wanted to say, he already did, so...

I thought Doom III was an excellent game, very much in the spirit of Doom without being a carbon copy. They overdone the "easy" setting, if you play it on easy, it will suck.

I

I was rather disapointed with Doom 3. I was struck with the feeling that they never really decided if they wanted to make a horror / survival game, a run and gun game or something more along the lines of a story driven 'bio shock'ish' game. And to be honest I think in the end they failed at all three.

Beef #1 - The so called 'closet' monsters. They seem to rely way to much on monsters magically appearing behind you. It not a matter of you having missed something that is now sneaking up on you. They just appear out of thin air and jump you. It might help the scary atmosphear along at first, but the 5th time its just old, stupid and lazy game design.

Beef #2 - The Flash light. Ok, dark and scary.. got it. But ina world where they got laser cannons and space ships they apparently havent eveolved to the point where you can duct tape a flash light to your gun. Again annoying and frustrating more than scary and challanging.

I think I made it about half way thorugh before I just lost interest and put the game away.

I love doom 3's gameplay, it gives you the feel that you have enough weaponry to defend yourself, but not to get caulky cuz any ol' demon can still rip you to shreds :p

Seriously though....Doom4.....

It was a tech demo for the engine, which spawned quake 4 and yet that engine just was blown away when UT3 engine came out.

I enjoyed it years ago, and i remember when developers were saying that current hardware couldnt run doom 3 and now old hardware can run it... crazy.

I just beat crysis, now THATS graphcis and gameplay, but its too damn short. I wish the two games could share pros, and dump the cons.

Just like you said - I think Doom 3 is a decent game that has a crapload of wasted potential. The problem with the game is that you can see where the developers felt really inspired, like the beginning of level 8 I think, where you have a little spider bot and navigate a bunch of corridors painted a dim red by emergency lights. This part is pretty intense and makes great use of Doom 3's shadows. But this is a rare occasion in a game that lives off of repetitive, monotonous, point-and-click shooting action. All enemies behave the same, aren't very scary and once they start teleporting into the environment the game loses its cinematic nature, which was enhanced by enemies breaking out of vents, staircases, the ceiling and all that.

If id could have made the entire game as exciting as its first three-four levels, it would have been a really awesome game and a true classic. As it stands, it's just a pile of stretched-out, waster potential.

NoAssKicker47

i agree, the part with the little spider is indeed amazing. i think more variety in this game would have make it better

You couldn't go outside much because it's freakin' MARS! Mars, in case you forgot, does not have oxygen and the planet, obviously, has not been terraformed in the game setting. Besides, Doom has always been about coridors and monsters jumping out and appearing behind you. To do it different just wouldn't feel like Doom. And, yeah, the flashlight thing was a deisgn choice that I think worked for the better. The flashlight mod totally ruined the feel of the game, IMO.

I would've been happiest if id had stuck to the original Doom formula. Games like Serious Sam, Painkiller and Starship Troopers show that the genre can still work today.

But I doubt id will ever make another game like that - they're too busy trying to push the technological bar higher. It's probably in the company's best interest to go that route, since their goal is to make a serious entry into the engine licensing market, but I would be far happier if they went back and made a real Doom sequel.fatshodan

Have you seen this?

Production has begun on DOOM4™, the next journey into the legendary DOOM universe.We are expanding our internal team and are currently hiring to work on this highly anticipated title.

"DOOM is part of the id Software DNA and demands the greatest talent and brightest minds in the industry to bring the next installment of our flagship franchise to Earth," said Todd Hollenshead, CEO, id Software. "It's critical for id Software to have the best creative minds in-house to develop games that meet the standards synonymous with our titles."

The DOOM franchise is one of the most recognizable and important in gaming history, having been named "one of the ten most influential games of the decade" by PC Gamer and "the #1 game of all time" by GameSpy. DOOM4 will join the award-winning series which has consistently topped sales charts throughout the world.

We are looking for talented, ambitious and passionate individuals eager to join our accomplished team of developers working on the industry's most innovative and anticipated games. For a complete listing of available positions, visit our id Careers page. Resumes can be submitted via email to jobs@idsoftware.com. All applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. id

http://www.idsoftware.com/ (May 7, 2008 entry)

Have you seen this?

BewilderedRonin

Yeah, but I don't believe id will want to make a classic Doom style game, and I'm no longer sure they're capable of making a genuinely great game, even if they tried. id's tech is first class, but they haven't put out or been associated with a great game since Quake 3.

I really enjoyed Doom 3 (even though I'm still yet to finish it - I'm slowly getting through it). It's good fun, looks great, and runs well. The only thing that annoys me is the lack of checkpoints/save spots, because I'm always going along nicely until I die and have to replay 10 minutes worth of game. That's pretty much my only complaint about it. It is pretty simple (it's a 'modern' re-imagination of the first game remember), but the PDA element gives it a bit of depth to it, and the 'magically materializing' monsters is kind of explained by thinking of it as the monsters entering through the gateways on Mars into the base. I also like the flashlight mechanic, it gives those dark sections a bit of drama and makes the more intense.

I will, one of these days, finish this game (I've just walked through the portal into hell), but I also have so many games (especially on Steam) to finish for the first time, and more that I'm trying to play through for a second time.

The only thing that annoys me is the lack of checkpoints/save spots, because I'm always going along nicely until I die and have to replay 10 minutes worth of game. That's pretty much my only complaint about it.HIMSteveO

Why don't you quicksave?

[QUOTE="HIMSteveO"]The only thing that annoys me is the lack of checkpoints/save spots, because I'm always going along nicely until I die and have to replay 10 minutes worth of game. That's pretty much my only complaint about it.Herrick

Why don't you quicksave?

lol. seriously. i didn't even realize that doom 3 had checkpoints.

I would have loved Doom 3 if it wasn't for thetele-portingenemies. A game spawning enemies behind you constantly like that is just completely cheap. I have notolerancefor lazy level design like that. I hate spawning enemies all together. Every bad guy should have to actually be somewhere as opposed them them just constantly spawning all around you as you move threw the level.

I mean why introduce the awesome mechanic of them busting out from behind things if you are just going to cheap out and have them teleport in because you got lazy. it's a reallyartificialway of making a game harder. Not cool at all.

I'm actually thinking of replaying Doom 3 and then getting the expansion. I heard it's much better than the original. artur79

i got the expansion, gonna play it when i finish the original but i bet it wont be that different on the gameplay aspect

[QUOTE="Herrick"]

[QUOTE="HIMSteveO"]The only thing that annoys me is the lack of checkpoints/save spots, because I'm always going along nicely until I die and have to replay 10 minutes worth of game. That's pretty much my only complaint about it.fireandcloud

Why don't you quicksave?

lol. seriously. i didn't even realize that doom 3 had checkpoints.

[QUOTE="fireandcloud"][QUOTE="Herrick"]

[QUOTE="HIMSteveO"]The only thing that annoys me is the lack of checkpoints/save spots, because I'm always going along nicely until I die and have to replay 10 minutes worth of game. That's pretty much my only complaint about it.NoAssKicker47

Why don't you quicksave?

lol. seriously. i didn't even realize that doom 3 had checkpoints.

there are certain points which are not a beginning of a level where the game autosave, very few tho

No QS in Doom3? I was sure that there was... Oh well, guess I'll drop replaying it them, unless there is a mod that allows you to quicksave.artur79

BS. There is a fully functioning quicksave option in Doom 3.

I think the game started out awesome. I had a lot of fun. I felt immersed and somewhat into whatever storyline that was there. I read all the screens and emails etc. I felt like it was pretty realistic (for a fictional game).

But then about halfway through, monsters started just randomly showing up. They would just teleport in from nowhere. That greatly reduced the realism and immersion of the game. They didn't explain it. There was no way to stop them. You had no control over it and it was entirely random. When they were coming out of vents, or broken doors at least you felt like it was realistic and you had a chance to spot them before they attacked you. You had a chance. With totally random bull**** the game takes on a feeling of random bull****.

And of course, there are the nit-picking items that many people have already brought up before:

• separate flashlight (not attached to gun)
• oxygen runs out super quick outside (what's he do? Open the tank and blow it in his face?)
• lack of outdoor action

Overall I liked the game a lot, but they blew it on a number of things.

• separate flashlight (not attached to gun)

df853

Am I the only person who thought this was a good idea? From a rational perspective, sure, it's stupid and doesn't make sense - but can anyone name me just one game that doesn't make irrational consessions in the name of gameplay?

Doom 3 is (meant to be) a horror game, and central to that horror is a sense of vulnerability. The whole self-preservation thing, when we feel vulnerable, we feel afraid. Doom 3 is built around this concept - either you can see or you can shoot, meaning you always have a great vulnerability, keeping this constantly tense.

It may not work quite as well as it was supposed to, but I blame the implementation rather than the gameplay mechanic itself. I think the see-or-shoot device is a smart one, and I think using torch mods trivialises the game and undermines the core concepts.

I'm not defending Doom 3 or anything - I think there are games out there that do everything Doom 3 does much better, but I think it's a little unfair to criticise the light thing.

[QUOTE="HIMSteveO"]The only thing that annoys me is the lack of checkpoints/save spots, because I'm always going along nicely until I die and have to replay 10 minutes worth of game. That's pretty much my only complaint about it.Herrick

Why don't you quicksave?

I do when I remember, but sometimes I get into the flow of the game and end up forgetting, and I don't end up realising that until it's too late. Sometimes I do, but sometimes I forget.

[QUOTE="df853"]

• separate flashlight (not attached to gun)

fatshodan

Am I the only person who thought this was a good idea? From a rational perspective, sure, it's stupid and doesn't make sense - but can anyone name me just one game that doesn't make irrational consessions in the name of gameplay?

Doom 3 is (meant to be) a horror game, and central to that horror is a sense of vulnerability. The whole self-preservation thing, when we feel vulnerable, we feel afraid. Doom 3 is built around this concept - either you can see or you can shoot, meaning you always have a great vulnerability, keeping this constantly tense.

I'm with you on that one. I liked the torch mechanic, because it adds a layer of drama to the proceedings which make it a nice experience. While I liked the torch-on-gun in Quake 4 (another great game), I think the environment surrounding it's application was totally different from Doom 3. Raven weren't going for that dark-as-all-hell and 'horror' atmosphere that id were going for with Doom 3.

Either way, while never all that earth-shattering, Doom 3 is still a great game

[QUOTE="df853"]

• separate flashlight (not attached to gun)

fatshodan

Am I the only person who thought this was a good idea? From a rational perspective, sure, it's stupid and doesn't make sense - but can anyone name me just one game that doesn't make irrational consessions in the name of gameplay?

Doom 3 is (meant to be) a horror game, and central to that horror is a sense of vulnerability. The whole self-preservation thing, when we feel vulnerable, we feel afraid. Doom 3 is built around this concept - either you can see or you can shoot, meaning you always have a great vulnerability, keeping this constantly tense.

It may not work quite as well as it was supposed to, but I blame the implementation rather than the gameplay mechanic itself. I think the see-or-shoot device is a smart one, and I think using torch mods trivialises the game and undermines the core concepts.

I'm not defending Doom 3 or anything - I think there are games out there that do everything Doom 3 does much better, but I think it's a little unfair to criticise the light thing.

Yeah, I didn't clarify. I understood why they didn't have the flashlight on the gun. It made the game more spooky. You could see or shoot, but not both. That's true. And I liked it for that, but it did seem unrealistic, and I think it could have been done better.

I wonder why they couldn't do something where only a few of your guns had the light, or you had to find the light attachment, or you could find it and get it, but it could break/short out. Think about it. You could be in some really dark place where you know enemies are. You can hear them, and see a glimpse here and there of them. Then suddenly your gun-light goes out. Do you go to flashlight or try to shoot in the dark?

Eh, it's not so bad. The gunlight thing didn't really bother me. Like I said, those were just nit-picking items.

[QUOTE="artur79"]I'm actually thinking of replaying Doom 3 and then getting the expansion. I heard it's much better than the original. HSRP

i got the expansion, gonna play it when i finish the original but i bet it wont be that different on the gameplay aspect

It is.

You have a gravity gun that's not exactly like HL2's and I like it better, you have less PDAs, there are new kickass monsters and scripted sequences etc.

The artifact you get in the beggining of the game is awesome, way better than the Soul Cube.

The expansion is closer to what everyone was expecting fromm Doom3.

[QUOTE="HSRP"]

[QUOTE="artur79"]I'm actually thinking of replaying Doom 3 and then getting the expansion. I heard it's much better than the original. Baranga

i got the expansion, gonna play it when i finish the original but i bet it wont be that different on the gameplay aspect

It is.

You have a gravity gun that's not exactly like HL2's and I like it better, you have less PDAs, there are new kickass monsters and scripted sequences etc.

The artifact you get in the beggining of the game is awesome, way better than the Soul Cube.

The expansion is closer to what everyone was expecting fromm Doom3.

Speak for yourself buddy :)

I like the expansion, but i like the original doom 3 a lot better. The expansion were too many monsters. I liked that it was A monster against you instead of as many as there could be on the screen.

Id said what doom 3 was long before it was released, so i got exactly what i was expecting, and i LOVED IT. Painkiller is a more modern doom, and as much as i love doom 1 and doom 2 i love the direction id took with doom 3. Awesome sci fi horror shooter, and its one of the most atmospheric games ive ever played.

I think the reason why RoE had more monsters was the Artifact, or Hellstone. Using it would get you through any situation quite easily.

It was one of the games I actually went and played when I upgraded my PC about 2 years ago... Despite not being a fan of FPSes Doom 3 looks damn good!!! I mean at High Graphics it just blows you away. The only thing is that it gets rather repetative after awhile. + I've got one complaint. The entire game is too dark!!! Strains the eyes...If you're in for a FPS experience I'll recommend Half-Life 2 or even Fear. Fear comes very close to Doom 3 in terms of atmosphere. But it provides a more action-packed experience in my book.

If it wasn't dark, the whole atmosphere would have gone down the drain.

Or if the flashlight was attached to the gun, it would have ruined the feeling.

Really, try to imagine how bad Doom3 would look with the light turned on...

Exactly. The dark was one of the key things i loved in doom 3. Flashlight was not logical, but it provided a gameplay element that i loved, the feeling of being useless when you took the flashlight to see but not having a weapon at that moment.

[QUOTE="df853"]

• separate flashlight (not attached to gun)

fatshodan

Am I the only person who thought this was a good idea? From a rational perspective, sure, it's stupid and doesn't make sense - but can anyone name me just one game that doesn't make irrational consessions in the name of gameplay?

Doom 3 is (meant to be) a horror game, and central to that horror is a sense of vulnerability. The whole self-preservation thing, when we feel vulnerable, we feel afraid. Doom 3 is built around this concept - either you can see or you can shoot, meaning you always have a great vulnerability, keeping this constantly tense.

It may not work quite as well as it was supposed to, but I blame the implementation rather than the gameplay mechanic itself. I think the see-or-shoot device is a smart one, and I think using torch mods trivialises the game and undermines the core concepts.

I'm not defending Doom 3 or anything - I think there are games out there that do everything Doom 3 does much better, but I think it's a little unfair to criticise the light thing.

i think we can criticise the light issue among other things after all, there seem to be a consensus about it and it make sense - a game shouldnt annoy its player :)

[QUOTE="fatshodan"][QUOTE="df853"]

• separate flashlight (not attached to gun)

HSRP

Am I the only person who thought this was a good idea? From a rational perspective, sure, it's stupid and doesn't make sense - but can anyone name me just one game that doesn't make irrational consessions in the name of gameplay?

Doom 3 is (meant to be) a horror game, and central to that horror is a sense of vulnerability. The whole self-preservation thing, when we feel vulnerable, we feel afraid. Doom 3 is built around this concept - either you can see or you can shoot, meaning you always have a great vulnerability, keeping this constantly tense.

It may not work quite as well as it was supposed to, but I blame the implementation rather than the gameplay mechanic itself. I think the see-or-shoot device is a smart one, and I think using torch mods trivialises the game and undermines the core concepts.

I'm not defending Doom 3 or anything - I think there are games out there that do everything Doom 3 does much better, but I think it's a little unfair to criticise the light thing.

i think we can criticise the light issue among other things after all, there seem to be a consensus about it and it make sense - a game shouldnt annoy its player :)

That's true enough, but people might find it annoying simply because they don't understand the rationale behind it - focusing instead on how it doesn't make sense. But no games really make sense.

Anyway, each to their own. I think it's the only thing that makes Doom 3 interesting.

I think it's the only thing that makes Doom 3 interesting.

fatshodan

That, and the fact that they made facial animations for the Imp although 99.9% of the gamers don't even see them.

I thought the gameplay was exceedingly good, the flow, the enemy placement, the weapons, the level design. It was a very polished experience. Not being able to use flashlight and weapon was a design choice, not a logical world choice, and for me it worked well.nutcrackr

I totally agree with you man. The game might have come as a disapointment to many because of its "simple" design: linear corridors, repetitive tasks (like looking for a PDA or activating a terminal) and the monsters coming out of the closet. But if you think about it for a moment, many things are just like in the original Doom. I remember that in the original, on several levels you had to reach a switch in order to get the key. Sometimes, you would enter an empty room with a BFG in the middle. When you grabbed the BFG, all the lights went off and monsters started coming out of the walls.

So, in the end, Doom 3 is not that different from the original, which is a good thing (at least for me). I enjoyed every aspect of it: the graphics, the scary momentos, the sound and the run and gun fights. Its a really solid shooter for gamers that want an "old school" experience. Now, if you are the gamer that gets tired of a game when an enemy doesnt take cover or because that game doesnt have an inventory system, then you might want to skip it.

[QUOTE="df853"]

• separate flashlight (not attached to gun)

fatshodan

Am I the only person who thought this was a good idea? From a rational perspective, sure, it's stupid and doesn't make sense - but can anyone name me just one game that doesn't make irrational consessions in the name of gameplay?

Doom 3 is (meant to be) a horror game, and central to that horror is a sense of vulnerability. The whole self-preservation thing, when we feel vulnerable, we feel afraid. Doom 3 is built around this concept - either you can see or you can shoot, meaning you always have a great vulnerability, keeping this constantly tense.

It may not work quite as well as it was supposed to, but I blame the implementation rather than the gameplay mechanic itself. I think the see-or-shoot device is a smart one, and I think using torch mods trivialises the game and undermines the core concepts.

I'm not defending Doom 3 or anything - I think there are games out there that do everything Doom 3 does much better, but I think it's a little unfair to criticise the light thing.

I actually didn't mind the flashlight from a gameplay perspective. My problem regarding light in the game is that you do need the flashlight so often. The darkness throughout so much of the game serves to amplify the repetition of the gameplay and environments twofold, and the need to constantly bring out the flashlight again and again and again and again kind of works against the extra layer of complexity added by it.

So, I didn't mind the flashlight mechanic itself, but as you say, the implementation could have been better, and for me, the mechanic's uniqueness rather ran dry from having to use it too often. After that, it no longer served to make the perpetual darkness seem like a medium for a unique mechanic, but rather an unnecessary nuisance.

I really enjoyed Doom 3 (even though I'm still yet to finish it - I'm slowly getting through it). It's good fun, looks great, and runs well. The only thing that annoys me is the lack of checkpoints/save spots, because I'm always going along nicely until I die and have to replay 10 minutes worth of game. That's pretty much my only complaint about it. It is pretty simple (it's a 'modern' re-imagination of the first game remember), but the PDA element gives it a bit of depth to it, and the 'magically materializing' monsters is kind of explained by thinking of it as the monsters entering through the gateways on Mars into the base. I also like the flashlight mechanic, it gives those dark sections a bit of drama and makes the more intense.

I will, one of these days, finish this game (I've just walked through the portal into hell), but I also have so many games (especially on Steam) to finish for the first time, and more that I'm trying to play through for a second time.

HIMSteveO

Lol I absolutely loved Doom 3 however, I have never beat it. And for a good reason lol.

I was a good length into the game, and I had just gotten out of a certain area sector. So I took a elevator to exit it, but I was low on health, and right when I exited the elevator I see a health pack in a closet like incave. Well, I didn't take a second to think about it when I was already in the closet. The next moment, I pick up that health pack, and I feel very safe and secure now, and RIGHT then and there, the closet closes, locking me in and the whole screen goes pitch black. Soon after, I hear that evil devil laugh, and a demon spawns IN the closet and attacks me. I was so scared and shocked I simply paused the game, stood up, turned the computer off manually and walked out of the room lol.