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NOTE: I would like to first inform all of u guys before reading this review that: Yes, I was able
to play the original Doom ... Yes, I am a fan of ID Software and their previous games like Quake 1/2/3 ... Yes, I am aware
that Doom 3 is a remake ... and Yes, I was able to play the game from start to finish.
If ur a HUGE fan of this game, IMO its better
if u just skip this review or end up cursing me afterwards. Believe me, I tried enjoying this game ... but it just didn't
worked out for me.
Why did I create a review section instead of a Doom 3 Tweaking guide?
Well, reading this article should help u figure out why.
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Genre: FPS
Publisher: Activision
Developer: ID Software
Difficulty/Learning Curve: Easy/10mins
Multiplayer Support: Internet and LAN
Estimated Gameplay Time: 18hrs (+)
Sound Providers Supported: Unknown
Recommended Controller: Keyb/Mouse
Stability: Excellent
System Requirements: Intel / AMD 1.5ghz/1500+, 384mb RAM, 64mb DX9
compatible videocard, 2.2gb HD space
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| He ain't heavy, he's my fat brotha! |
Ahhh ... Doom 3 has finally arrived! A game that millions of PC FPS fans
have been waiting for several years! Is it any good? Well, graphically speaking and as expected ... it rocks! How about
the other aspects of the game besides the eye candy? Well read on ...
I just finished playing the game a couple of days ago, as funny as it sounds, I was quite happy
to have the game uninstalled in my system and retrieve the Gb's of space it ate on my HD. From start to finish, the game has
very little variation in terms of gameplay. This review may sound as a story/gameplay spoiler, but anyway ...
The game begins on a noob marine (that's u) dropping off UAC's Mars installation along with a
guy named Swan. The first thing u'll notice after having control of the marine (after the cut-scene) is Doom 3's attempt to
immerse u into the game but at the same time will remind u that its been done before and may even make u think that its a
direct rip-off from another popular FPS title. You will then start roaming around looking for the guy who's going
to give u ur first order. And in turn will start the best or worst experience u'll ever have in an FPS game.
UAC's complex is very dark, w/c is quite irritating b'coz its hard to appreciate good looking
graphics when u can hardly see anything (reminds me of Splinter Cell). Thankfully u have a trusty flashlight that u can use
anytime u want b'coz it doesn't run out of batteries. The only problem with it is that u cannot use any weapon in conjunction
with ur flashlight. It seems that ur arms are not strong enough to hold a pistol and a flashlight at the same time, but u
can unrealistically climb a ladder while holding a huge gun with both of ur hands. The problem with the flashlight is sadly
only the beggining of Doom 3's "scares" though.
Progressing through the game will of course (like any other games) will enable u to grab bigger
and more powerful weapons. In Doom 3, these weapon sound effects are mediocre at best. Pistol sounds like a tin can getting
hammered against a wall, shotgun sounds like a balloon getting popped, and explosions sounds like a huge rock was dropped
on the floor (footsteps of some monsters also sounds like a basketball player is running on a court). The weapons doesn't
have any alternate fire, and bullets can be found scattered around the complex. U also can't "peek" ur way into
the complex, that feature isn't available either.
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| Flaming monsters head-ing ur way! |
How about the monsters? Are they scary? Yes ... the first time u see 'em. There are quite
a lot of different monsters in Doom 3, but most of them have a bigger or fatter counterpart. A thin zombie has
a fat bro (check pic), the red fireball pig squeeling monster has a bigger/fatter blue colored fireball throwing counterpart,
a small spider has a bigger version, the flaming head has one too etc etc. The monsters pop-up on pre-defined areas of
the game, w/c drastically removes the replay value of the game b'coz u will probably encounter the monsters on the same
spot/s u seen them the first time u played the game. The "boss" monsters are huge, but don't let their appearance or size
fool 'ya 'coz they can be easily killed. Most (if not all) of them have a weak spot, and it will only take u a couple of seconds/minutes
to figure 'em out ... and once u figured it out ... then u will be able to kill 'em with ease. How easy? Let's just say killing
multiple spiders is harder than killing the end-game boss. And oh ... shooting monsters with a shotgun up-close is not going
to make their limbs fly off, ur only going to see gore in this game when they're already dead, that is if they're not the
disintegrating type of monsters.
There's this PDA that u carry around and use to download info's like key combination on doors,
sound and video logs from scientists/marines but 90% of the infos there are sadly uninformative and IMO a waste of time
to read/hear/watch. You will be able to see other marines running around on other rooms but u will never have the opportunity
to kick monster asses along with them b'coz u are a "one man army" in Doom 3. You will however get a chance to be side-by-side
with a marine, but that's juz b'coz either they are badly hurt lying on the floor (and die coughing) or cowardly hiding
behind a machinery.
Graphically the game is excellent, the monsters look fabolous, the textures, the shadow effects
... everything that u could have expected from ID's graphics engine is here in this game. The objects of the game are now
moveable (ala Max Payne 2) but most objects are still undestructable (monitors here for one is invinsible to gunshots and/or
explosions). Its sound quality is sadly not on par or anywhere near its graphics quality. The weapon sound effects are flat
(and looks like a direct import from Doom 2 ... I'm not kidding!), the "mwahahaha" effects that u hear on the complex
is a nice touch at first, but gets irritating when u heard it the Nth number of time. There are no background music here,
there's a menu soundtrack that sounds like a 96kbps mp3 though. The enemy AI fluctuates from good to bad, some enemies heads
on straight to attack u, while some looks like they're trying to kill the other monsters around and/or shoot blindly inside
a room even when u'r out of sight, they also do not work as a team. Any guy who played an FPS game before should
use the highest difficulty setting or the AI might ruin the game even more for u.
The story ... what story? U will only be presented with cut-scenes that will only force u to
imagine for urself what is really happening. That's about it!
The game ran pretty well on my non high-end system (AXP 2400+, 768mb RAM, GF4Ti 4200 128mb) at
800x600 medium details. Timedemo result is 34.4fps (2nd run). Even at lower resolution, the game still looks excellent which
is good news for those folks who feel that they're not going to enjoy the game b'coz they do not have the system good enough
to run it at higher res/details.
As for the rest of what u could expect on this game, it can be summarized into: "walk, shoot,
flick switch, and shoot some more". That is pretty much what the game has on offer. Let's just hope Doom 4 isn't
another graphical remake of Doom 3!
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