Id Software revealed Doom 3 in 1999 to both fanfare and criticism. Id Software promised a thrilling single-player game, some rudimentary multiplayer and of course, a brand new engine from Carmack and Co. I've waited impatiently, and while (without counting the presentation) Doom 3 doesn't break new ground, it follows the norm very well.
Id Software has crafted Doom 3 with a rather engaging story, for a first person shooter at least. It is the year 2145 and the people at Earth are running out of natural resources. What can be done? Well, various corporations, including the Union Aerospace Corporation have built facilities on Mars that will allow Earth to gain natural resources from the red planet. When you begin the game, you are armed with absolutely nothing and have the task of finding a scientist and completing other basic tasks. As you progress, and it doesn't take long, you begin to realize that something is clearly not right and then, well, all hell breaks loose. For fans of the classic Doom games, it is important to note that Doom 3 is id Software's retelling of the original Doom not a continuation of the story line.
Although there is an emphasis on story, it never brings down the pace of the game too much. Most of it is told through cutscenes and the rest you'll learn from your trusty PDA, a new addition for the series. The PDA allows you to receive email, audio messages, codes and other useful information. Some of this is meant to help you understand the story (so you can know exactly why all hell broke loose), while other information is meant to help you advance through the game. Even other messages (including the spam messages) are meant to add humor to the otherwise cold game.
Let's be honest, the reason that many of us have been waiting for Doom 3 is because of its rendering engine. John Carmack and the others at id Software have continually raised the bar for graphics with each successive engine. Id Software pushed the PC to the limit with the original Doom, then brought true 3D with Quake and has now created the most technically impressive game I have ever seen. Even up against recent heavyweights like Painkiller and Far Cry, Doom 3's visuals are a notch above. Using pretty much every graphical technique available like normal mapping, self-shadowing, per-pixel lighting and others that my frail brain cannot understand, the Doom 3 engine is sight to behold. Some games that use normal mapping appear too "shiny" or have a "plastic" look, but Doom 3 does not. All of the indoor environments are meticulously designed with working computer monitors and what not. Furthermore, these environments are incredibly interactive and you'll often have enemies creating their own doors from walls and stairs. A fully functional physics engine lets you toss around boxes and soda cans, and the enemies as well. The animation system is simply breath-taking, and is enhanced by the shadowing system in the game. The weapon effects are plentiful, as well. Everything casts realistic shadows and further enhances id Software's view of Mars.
Of course, to get the full splendor, you'll need quite a powerful system to run. On the my best, I was able to play at 1024x768 on high settings and get playable framerates. Just for giggles, I played the game on a 2GHz processor, 512MB RAM PC with a nVidia Geforce FX 5200 and found that was able to play at 640x480 low. Even at this resolution the game looks wonderful. HardOCP has a full and detailed article regarding Doom 3 hardware which is recommended reading. Click here to take a look at it.
While a lot of the presentation relies on the kick-ass graphics, the audio in the game completes the atmosphere. Sure, you can run the game with stereo speakers, but to get the full experience, you'll want to hook up the 5.1 speakers. Id Software has used surround sound to a great degree, and you'll be able to hear enemies coming before you can see, adding to the realism. Otherwise, the sound effects and voices are crisp and solid, as expected.
And then there's the actual game portion of Doom 3. As I said above, Doom 3 doesn't really differ from the standard FPS action of shooting things that move. Most of the time you'll move around the claustrophobic areas in the levels, shooting one of the game's many disturbing enemies. Thankfully, it isn't all run and gun and there are numerous times when I actually jumped back because a monster popped out of nowhere. A friendly looking set of stairs can tear apart, and you'll have a monster ready to feast on you. A lot of what makes Doom 3 different is the atmosphere, which includes plentiful amounts of gore and blood, and the dark, creepy environments. The fear is heightened because you can't use your flashlight and a gun at the same time. This forces you to rethink your strategy since you'll need the flashlight to see otherwise pitch black areas, but you don't want to be caught off guard.
The game's weapons should be familiar to FPS fans but work very well, given Doom 3's gameplay. At the beginning of the game, you'll only have your fists! Thankfully, before any real action starts, you'll have the flashlight, a pistol and a bit later the shotgun. The pistol is a decent weapon but only if you run out of the powerful shotgun shells. Later in the game you'll receive a machine gun, which is rather accurate and fast, a plasma gun, which is basically a sci-fi machine gun and a chaingun, which is much faster but less accurate. You'll also find grenades, the fan-favorite rocket launcher (which looks awesome), and the devastating BFG (Big F'ing Gun) 9000, which will wipe out the enemies in the current screen. There's also a mysterious Soul Cube, which is quite powerful and beneficial. Ammo is rarely scarce in the game, allowing you to have fun looking at the pretty weapon effects.
You'll find the typical Doom enemies in Doom 3, albeit with a 2004 makeover. These monsters include an assortment of demons, zombies, flying skulls, spiders, imps and the lovable pinky. Many of these will shoot at you, forcing you to take them out quickly. The larger enemies in the game take quite a few shells to take down, but they aren't very smart. They'll just keep coming at you while you shoot them. This is a little disappointing and takes a bit away from the horror. Of course, you'll be plenty scared when they break through something or come out of a shadow.
Multiplayer in Doom 3 is limited to four players, although id Software has made it clear that future mods may support more players. A basic interface lets you join or create a game and works well. There are five maps, including Edge 2, a remake of the much-loved Edge map and four game modes. The most interesting mode is Tournament where you battle an opponent directly. Once they die (or you die) another player, who is waiting, gets a turn. The other game modes are Deathmatch, Team Deathmach and Last Man Standing, all of which are exactly what they sound like.
Although multiplayer is simple in the nature, the graphics engine adds to the experience. For instance, Doom 3 features per pixel hit detection, so it is possible to shoot between someone's torso and arm. The lighting and shadowing provide areas to hide and forces you to be smart about using your flashlight.
To be honest, when Doom 3 was announced, I didn't expect anything more than a technology demo to prove how powerful the engine was. While I wasn't entirely incorrect in this statement, Doom 3's gameplay (for which the single-player mode alone is fifteen hours plus) offers enough thrills to warrant the $54.99 purchase. And thanks to id Software's support of the modding community, we'll see some kick-ass mods in the near future.
