DOOM 3

PN Review by Maral   March 2005 Exploring a deadly hellhole on Mars... I'd waited in anticipation to play Doom 3 ever since I first became aware of its development in mid-2002. Having relished previous id Software classics like the original Doom series and the Quake games, I knew that the end-product was going to be something special. The teaser screenshots and video clips that became available just reinforced my expectations. Of course, there was also talk about the game being over-hyped before its release, so I was aware that Doom 3 might eventually not quite deliver on everything that first-person shooter fans like myself were hoping for. In the end, though, there is no way that anyone can deny that this is an amazing game and well worth the wait. But at the same time, there are things one would think could have been improved on or maybe done differently - to make Doom 3 truly revolutionary in all respects. Of course, playing armchair critic is easy to do, but I'll explain in more detail below exactly what I think is great and not-so-great about this game. Graphics This is the one area where everyone was expecting great things from id Software - and rightly so. With earlier titles like Wolfenstein 3D, Doom and Quake, id had made a name for themselves as probably PC gaming's biggest innovators in terms of creating cutting-edge 3D imagery. They'd built a reputation for designing the engines that made their own games instant classics - and also provided the technological basis for countless other games to utilize. Doom 3 will probably follow this pattern of spawning new trends in 3D games, with real-time lighting & shadows as the main innovation that's being showcased this time round. FPS games have become increasingly photo-realistic in recent years and Doom 3 sets a new benchmark: its visuals are simply stunning to behold, even though the various settings of the game seem quite drab and colourless at first glance. But it's the many small details that have been crammed into every nook & cranny of this virtual world, the smooth character animations, intricate machinery, particle effects, surface reflections and glass refractions that appear so convincingly lifelike that really add to the realism and impact of the total graphic effect. Doom 3's visuals are both creepy & beautiful. Whereas a game like Far Cry dazzles the eye with its colourful eye candy, Doom 3's visual splendours are more subtle - but all the more mind-blowing when you actually pause to stare at all the graphic goodies the designers have put into their creation. A further testament to the id team's technical proficiency is the fact that Doom 3 even manages to look good on PC systems that aren't quite top of the current range. Next Page >

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