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The Doom franchise bought the First-Person-Shooter genre to the forefront of
the gaming industry. Contrary to popular belief, Doom was not actually the first FPS, nor
was it actually the best of it’s era, but none-the-less, the Doom franchise goes down
in history as being responsible for what is now one of the most well-represented genres on
any format. That’s not to say it was a bad game, as it fills a certain gap in any
hardcore gamer’s legacy, but can John Romero do it again eleven years later?
You play as a Marine on a
trip to the Mars Research Facility of the United Aerospace Corporation (UAC). That's all
the information the title allows you. Doom3‘s story line isn‘t exactly
interesting, or any good for that matter, but in this sort of game I don’t suppose
that really matters much. Action is the main theme of the game here, and there’s
plenty. After a few minutes of wandering through the facility, listening to whispered
roomers about the disappearing of staff and the strange goings on, it’s time to kick
monster butt. Fight your way through incredibly detailed dark damp scary rooms, making use
of the Xbox's extra horsepower.
Groaning zombies suddenly
leaping seemingly from nowhere and attacking you from behind when you least expect it are
just the beginning of the horror and deadliness of Doom3. Floating Cacodemons
attack from no where with a full jaw of sharp pointed teeth. Fat zombies, slim zombies and
all manner of creatures feared are ready to kill and hungry for blood. Oh yes, all the
meaty beasts means you’ll be needing some equally meaty weapons. The range of
weaponry on offer is magnificent; you’ve got simple pistols and shot-guns all the way
to chainsaws, machine guns and rocket launchers. Most of the weapons have the classic Doom
feel, but unlike most modern FPS’, precision is essential.
 The
graphics are fantastic - some of the best I have ever seen on the Xbox, or any other
console. The development team has delicately and extensively crafted every inch of the
scenery will the utmost attention-to-detail. The best demonstration of their talent is, of
course - the monsters. Every nook and cranny of the lumbering essence checked three
hundred times over to make them smooth as a baby’s bum. With an accomplishment such
as this, being practically equal to the PC version running on a top-spec system, it
clearly won’t be long before PC player’s are beginning to play catch-up
graphically. The only minor niggle is the lack of any real-time lighting on the walls or
other unalterables – clearly not the Xbox’s strong point.
While the game features a
Multi-player mode, its limited nature when compared to the likes of Halo 2 deems it
flawed instantly. While the PC players have the advantage of expansion packs and
downloadable updates, I can’t see Xbox gamers getting quite the same level of
appreciation.
The title features a very
strong Single Player Mode which, at its best is atmospheric and down-right spooky, and at
worst a competent blaster. There is one thing that puzzles me about the release
though… has the development team ever played the original Doom? From my
memory, the action was based around rooms teeming with life hungry for yours, and yet, Doom3
firmly bases itself as a corridor-shooter, with enemy quantities appearing to be strictly
limited. To tell you that Doom3 was bad because of this would be a straight-out
lie; however it does often feel as though something missing. Very, very good, but not
great.
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