Doom 3 Review

Well another week has gone by and the Xbox has once again surprised me with what that lump of black plastic can do. This is getting to be a habit. So what is it this time? Well it's Doom3 from id software and Vicarious Visions of course, and it's now available for the Microsoft console allowing the player to battle the minions of hell from the comfort of their couch. This time around, they can take a friend with them too.

Look out behind you! I can't, I'm playing Pac-Man!

Hoorah!

Anyone who has been within spitting distance of a computer or a computer geek in the last 8 months has to know about Doom3, one of the 800 lb. gorilla First Person Shooter titles that we were graced with last year. Doom3 tells the 'story' of a greedy mega corporation that cracked open a gateway to Hell on Mars, spilling forth all sorts of nasty creatures who want to do vile things to you and yours (much like 2Lions if he is denied steak for more than a few days). (That hasn't happened yet. I am fed well. - 2Lions)

The main hero is a tough, yet silent, space marine who has to literally fight his way though a horde of creepy demons and undead in the dark confines of an off world industrial complex. Some enjoyed the game play, which they said reminded them of the original Doom games from so long ago while others pointed out flaws such as weak monster AI and the monsters that seemed to spawn as soon as you grabbed power ups (like armor and first aid kits). Everyone agreed that the graphics engine that powered this latest romp through Hell was another cutting-edge, fire breathing wonder that has made id's reputation as PC gaming gods.

Ok so that's all well and good. The PC has another game that is a beauty to behold, provided you have the high-end hardware to run it with all the whistles and bells. The worry was how Doom3 would fare when it was announced that it was coming to the Xbox. You can read about the transition I went through from doubter to believer in our preview article here. So now that Doom3 for the Xbox is out, how has it fared? Read on to find out, you lazy bastards.

Vicarious Visions and id have taken a game that was originally crafted for a much more powerful platform, (the PC) and managed to improve on the original when moving it to the Xbox. First the game has been 'tuned up' so that some of the levels that were a bit long on the PC, due to lulls in the action or being forced to back track through cleared sections to get to others areas, have now been trimmed to better convey the frantic game play pace. Second, the game has had the lighting turned up a few notches to compensate for the Xbox usually being placed in a room with more light from windows (like a living room) and while the Xbox cannot handle the same bleeding edge graphics that a high end PC can, the game look really damn good nonetheless.

Show me your socks and you may enter.

I hope the marines don't have arachnophobia.

Sound is quite good and caused me several uncomfortable moments as the demons came crawling out of the corners. Basically everything that the PC title had going for it, you will find on the Xbox version. And a little bit more. Players can play co-op with a friend as you slog your way through the depths of hell. In this mode, the game has been tweaked to allow for extra ammo and more nasty beasties to keep you on your toes. Also, if you really want to get the adrenaline flowing, turn on friendly fire and then watch the fur fly as you try to get a bead on the bad guys without ventilating your buddy. It's a real rush. If you happen to be taken out, you simply respwan and run back to the place where you went down to retrieve your backpack full of weapons and ammo. This cache of supplies is tagged just for you so you don't have to worry about your cohort scooping up your loot while you are gone.

The controls are well laid out and are very easy to get used to. The inclusion of the quick weapon swap using the direction pad is an idea I really took to. Doom3 also includes a quick save feature that allows you to decide where and when to save the game and I was very surprised to see that they have sped up the saving and loading process considerably since I played the game a few months ago.

Players who are expecting a Halo killer will be disappointed as the action here is not quite so frenetic and the maps are much more claustrophobic. However, that being said, Doom3 for the Xbox should be a title that all FPS fans should add to their library. Thanks to a few new features like the co-op play and some in game tweaks, like the streamlining of some of the slower parts of the game, it turns in a solid performance.