Doom 3 (2004)

#673

Doom 3 is amazing. It is the long awaited sequel from its 2D predecessors to the new 3D era. And it did exceptionally well. I enjoyed every minute of it and it marks the beginning for my modern age gaming, because of the enormous upgrade in graphics.

In Doom 3 you play as the good old Doom Guy that we know and love. You did not get a name to keep the mysterious character of “Doom Guy” intact. You arrive on Mars as a soldier, ready to join the military there. You already have been given an secret assignment and need to see your superior, Sergeant Kelly to discus further details. But once there, all hell breaks lose and your arch nemesis attack the base. You get your trusty shotgun and start killing your way to the Mars station to clean up the infestation and, when possible, try to rescue your fellow humans stationed on Mars.

All the classic enemies from Doom I and II are there. The Imps are ready to throw their annoying fireballs at you once again, the zombie soldiers point their rifles at you and the Revenant is just as overpowered as he was in the previous games. They added some new enemies and they are well done. I have to say that the baby-mermaid-fly abominations really creeped me out the first time I encountered them. They came out of the blue and took me by surprise.

Doom 3 has some unique features, especially for its time. You interact with a lot of monitors and displays without entering an overlay GUI and use those screens for opening doors, read lore and information about the station on Mars or just to play a nice game of Turkey puncher. The use of your PDA is also a very nice feature to keep all your lore, weapon information, quests and map in one place. It is organized and I like it very much.

The AI in Doom 3 is also incredibly decent. They react to your movement and when you stare too long at their computer screens, they get annoyed and let you know. Later, the possessed zombie soldiers use cover and actually use tactics and care when attacking you.

The graphical upgrade from the previous installments is legendary in contrast. It looks really beautiful, while still maintaining that classic dark corridor theme from earlier installments. The new weapon models, enemies and environments was, and still, is amazing for its time. I especially like the really clear and sharp text that is displayed on TV screens and computers and many times you can interact with it.

Doom 3 has one of the best sound designs that I experienced in games so far. The effects for loading your weapons, shooting your weapons, bullet impact, enemy hits and the screams and death rattles of your foes is just epic. You can almost feel the impact of your shotgun, blasting an Imp into oblivion and the scream it makes afterwards lets you know: “Oh yeah, I murdered your ass”. There is almost no ambient music, so you are left with your own thoughts and the creepy unexplained sounds in the distance.

The overall upgrade from Doom I and II is just great. It is fresh and new, while still remaining faithful to the original series. It really feels like a well-deserved sequel and id software can be proud of themselves for creating this gem.

Definitely recommend it to everyone.