|
By: Nick P.
NOTE: This review contains some
mild spoilers. I specifically avoided putting big ones in to make for a more
enjoyable experience for someone who hasn’t played the game yet and just
wants to know if it’s any good. If you’d rather skip even the few mild
spoilers I put in, you can skip down to my concluding remarks for the final
word on this game.
Well, it’s about that time again.
That time when the gaming world is set afire in ecstatic euphoria by id
Software’s latest iteration. It happened back in 1993 with the 24-fps
‘sprite’-filled demon-slaying, gateway-to-the-fieriest-depths-of-hell Doom
(and Doom 2) and then, 2 years later in 1995, with the mystical, medievalish,
and super-violent Quake. There upon in 1997 with the more science fiction
oriented though no-less bloody Quake 2. And then lastly somewhat bluntly in
1999 with Quake 3. Hundreds of catalogued hours of gruelling work, 84386
coffee servings, and several stress-relieving football games later, their
latest work was released. All of id Software’s games broke new ground in one
form or another, and Doom 3 is no different.
Ever have one of those days? Those days when the longing to
launch green globs of energy at some monstrosity set upon the background of
some visage of hell? No? Then you must not be a Doomer, but have no fear!
After you play Doom 3, you will be. Why? It’s a beautiful game with a
no-less beautiful engine. Last time I saw graphics this good, I was at home,
sitting comfortably in front of my TV, watching the commercial for some new
CGI movie churned out of Pixar. Well, maybe filling the shoes of my last
sentence would happen a few years down the road (more on that bit later),
but Doom 3 certainly does come close. And though through its four years of
development, other games have slightly caught up, the game still has
everything they offer, plus a whole lot more. That’s where the magic lies.
I’ll say it now:
anyone with cardiopulmonary illnesses or risk of hypertension must not play
this game. I am not a doctor, but I do know fancy terms and I do know that
Doom 3 is scary as hell. Literally.
Real-time shadowing at work.
I’ve been waiting for
this game so long, that I want to savour this moment. So, I’ll start really
basic: the box. I got my Doom 3 box several months before the game came out:
I pre-ordered. It came with a sweet poster and a highly-detailed mancubus
pewter figure. But the box itself was amazing: the beautiful logo and a
hell-knight roaring with a pentagram (or David’s star?) set astern. The box
begs for you to tear it open and play. Being a Doom fan, I restrained
myself. That, and I had to wait 4-5 more months for it…
Let’s do things orderly.
So what’s the story behind Doom
3, the one besides the gateway to hell and all that talk about demons and
hell and so on? If you still haven’t heard of Doom—just
Doom—then
I think I will quote myself in saying that if you still don’t know what Doom
or who id Software is, “then make sure you send a self-addressed, stamped
envelope to me, and I will personally come and slap you in the face.” And
maybe throw in a kick as well. As I recall, the original Doom was hailed as
the “Best game of all time” by PC Gamer. Ask anyone, it’s love all around,
nobody hates Doom (except for politicians and obsessively protective
mothers. And you don’t want to be in that category, do you? Of course you
don’t. So you’re a ready Doomer!).
Hell, there is no way to recall
Doom but in admiration and appraisal. It was a marvel of programming that
was released in 1993 that pushed id Software’s first-person-shooter quest,
continuing the innovative past games such as Hovertank and Wolfenstein 3D.
It sported groundbreaking graphics (for the time) with a beautiful design
that grabbed you like some all-too-familiar TV alien and didn’t let go. But
it was better than TV. This you didn’t watch, but you interacted. You were
the one to gun down hordes of advancing imps and zombified marines with
which you had once undoubtedly sympathised with in a drink or two.
Nearly seven years and four games
later came the announcement that id was working on Doom 3. Anticipation
grew, naturally. Doom 3 could easily be called one of the most anticipated
games of all time, or at least, recent times. As the senior editor of Game
Informer, Matt Helgeson, said ever so adequately, “Doom 3 has slightly lower
expectations around it than the Second Coming of Jesus." Couldn’t have put
it better myself, Mr. Helgeson, and I must say: I put things fairly well.
So, does the game live up to
expectations? Is it worthy of retelling the story of the most popular games
of all time? Without any further ado, or crap from me, let’s get going into
the beautiful (in a dark, evil, filthy way) universe of Doom 3.
The Doom guy.
Doom 3, the sequel to the cult
hit series, created by the people that invented first-person shooters.
Introduction
Graphics
The beginning
Hell invades!
Multiplayer
Mishaps that you shoot
Mishaps that you shoot (cont)
Odd, ends and a verdict
|
|
