By Hetfool Aug 4, 2004, 1:11 GMT
Doom 3 is one of the most anticipated games of all time, and boy did it take its sweet time getting here! So, the big question is, was the wait worth it?... Well this question is hard to answer, I would say "you bet your sweet ***". But I have a feeling the typically opinionated gaming world will be divided.
While the game really brings nothing new to the genre, there is nothing currently available on the market that can match the Doom 3 experience; It is sub-standard in complexity in terms of gameplay for the FPS genre but it is at the cutting edge of the gaming technology it utilises. Fans will say it is a return to the 'old school', while critics will call it dull and forgettable.
What appears to have happend, at least from a development point of view, is a descision by id software to sideline all the emerging game play features of such titles as Half-life, Far Cry and others in the FPS market for a pure adrenalin rush of streamlined gaming. It focuses on ease of control, simplicity of interaction, and atmosphere. The success of this choice is irrelevant when it comes to sales figures, but its long-term gaming success is probably going to subject to much debate.
The story-line, the creatures, the characters and the weapons of the original ground-breaking Doom return, with a host more – for those hardcore gamers, there is no doubt this is a slice of gaming heaven.
Id Software have pedelled the notion of cinematic quality graphics since the games announcement, and boy does it deliver. The graphical quality of the game is matched only by the cost of the GPU you will need to buy in order to experience the game the way it was meant to. So intense is it that the game recommends a 512mb card to play it in Ultra Quality mode even though a card of that size is not yet available on the market. But trust me; a good quality video card will be worth every penny.
If you play the game on a card any lower than 256mb, expect lower polygon counts, low quality smoke and fog, pixelated textures as well as some rectangular characters. Unfortunately, the game is designed for the high-end stuff and you will miss out otherwise. Perhaps id will get some negative feedback about this, but I won't complain.
The cinematics and the game play action moves seamlessly between each other. Just when you thought you were watching a pre-recorded sequence (because generally cuts of this quality are), you suddenly realise this is in game, real-time.
But the most impressive aspect of Doom 3 is the sound quality. If you don’t play this game with a reasonable quality surround-sound system then you will be missing out, big time! It is darn eerie, and as you move through the world you jump and turn to moans, groans and freaky voices terrorising your character as well as you in the safety of your chair.
Aside from the technical quality, the game is unmatched in atmosphere. The closest comparison would be the Marine missions in the first Alien Vs. Predator FPS. Anyone who played that on the highest difficulty will understand. So take that adrenalin rush and multiply it about a 30 million times and you start to get the idea. The lighting (or lack thereof), the sound, the crappy flashlight, the blood, the – the – the – the – it is definitely overwhelming!
Keeping consistant with streamlining the game play, the games makers must have been obsessed with making the game easy to control. You can interact with almost any video screen simply by moving toward it. Your weapon lowers and your targeting reticle becomes a pointer for you to click buttons and selection options on different screens. This allows control of elevators, air-locks, security systems, and so on that add to your feeling of empowerment in the game and realism without any annoying interfaces.
So given all these pluses you're probably asking yourself, why will it divide the gaming world? Well, in terms of a modern FPS, there are a few disappointments. The weapons are designed with a basic reload and shoot theme in mind, your choice is not about what weapons work best in each situation but rather which one has the most ammo. They also lack a bit of oomph when it comes to sound quality.
On top of this you are forced into using a crappy flashlight just to see, leaving you vunerable to enemy attack. Sure, it adds to the tension and provides a very interesting gameplay mechanic that causes you many difficulties when it comes to actually seeing what is hitting you .The trouble is, it is a mechanic that annoys and does not really add to the tension a great deal because moving into the darkest areas of a room generally does you no harm.
The plot is also light and the game sidelines any A.I. for scripted linear action, as a result the nature of events in the game can feel too staged. What this means is that Combat will become slightly repetitive, and you can spend more time jumping around in fright instead of kicking some serious butt. Then again, once you work out the setup, you can easily predict where the frights will occur and plan effectively. I found as the game went on I moved faster and compensated for enemy tactics too quickly, resulting in a lack of satisfaction at reaching the next point. That said, once you hit the final act... it is worth it! You wouldn't trade improvement on these features for anything in this game, so it is worth tolerating.
In total you have an advertised 20 hours of game play, but others have reported a 24 hour time frame. I took the time to explore and enjoy the surrounds, so I was in there for around 30 hours.
In the end however, don’t take my word for it! Buy it, lock your self in your room, turn off the lights, turn up the sound and prepare! See you in a few days!
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