Review: Doom 3
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:Your progress is automatically saved between chapters, but you can also manually save at any time using the pause menu. To pause the game and view this menu, press ESC. Viewing your inventory or PDA does NOT pause the game! Time needed per session:Plan on playing for longer periods of time, as you'll need to work your way through large areas before you finish a level.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | Yes Once again, players take on the role of a Marine who ends up trying to stop Hell itself from invading our reality. As such, there's a lot of graphic violence and demonic imagery. Of special mention is the final weapon the player will find, which is powered by the souls of defeated demons. Additionally, players now have the option to kill human allies - a first for the series. |
Screenshots
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/doom_3_0.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/doom_3_1.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/doom_3_2.jpg)
Game Overview
While the Doom franchise has been one of the staples of the industry, Doom 3 is generally treated as the exception. Looking back, it's pretty easy to see where things went wrong: it's a decent game, but it's not really a Doom game. You see, this franchise has always been about scrambling around demon infested areas, shooting anything that moves and collecting anything that didn't. Even though there's no high score to earn or leaderboards to climb, there's always been an arcade game like feel to the series. Doom 3 had other ideas, and everything that players hate about it stems from this change in direction.
At the time, many games had started turning themselves into playable movies, with detailed cutscenes and elaborate narratives driving the action. This meant that gameplay driven series, including Doom, were starting to fade into the background. Doom 3 was intended as an answer to this trend, as it's a retelling of the original game using this modern gameplay style. Unfortunately, it really didn't work. Instead of running around fighting Hellspawn with whatever weapons could be found, the player was now led around by various other characters and expected to sit around listening to audio logs of a random employee's summer vacation. You still shoot a lot of demons; just in small batches instead of in big hordes like you used to.
In addition to this drastically different gameplay style, Doom 3 wanted to be a horror game, which is kind of laughable. After all, it's difficult to scare somebody when they are built like a tank and carrying more weaponry than your average militia. One of the ways the developers tried to make things scarier was to dim lights, make them flicker, or turn them off entirely. Then they made it so that using the flashlight requires the player's character to put away their guns. Presenting the players with a choice between seeing what they were shooting at and actually shooting at that thing led to many jokes about duct tape, as a single strip could've fixed the problem with carrying the flashlight around. This also resulted in mods that do nothing more than allow you to use your flashlight whenever you want.
An additional problem with this game is the way they implemented passwords. In order to find the security clearances you need to open doors or otherwise make progress, you'll often need to find someone's discarded PDA and root through their emails or audio logs. There's no way to pause or stop playing an audio log, nor is there an option for subtitles. This means that the player is forced to listen very carefully to lengthy and often mumbled voice overs just to be able to continue their game. And if that wasn't annoying enough, viewing your PDA and playing back an audio log doesn't pause the game. Thus, you can be in the middle of some lackey droning on about what they had for lunch last week when a demon attacks you.
Eventually, a new version of Doom 3 was released, known as Doom 3 BFG Edition. This release makes a number of very welcome changes, but for several reasons (eg, this version is more popular among modders), I'm reviewing them separately. Personally, I prefer the BFG edition, but then again I don't play this title with mods.
At the time, many games had started turning themselves into playable movies, with detailed cutscenes and elaborate narratives driving the action. This meant that gameplay driven series, including Doom, were starting to fade into the background. Doom 3 was intended as an answer to this trend, as it's a retelling of the original game using this modern gameplay style. Unfortunately, it really didn't work. Instead of running around fighting Hellspawn with whatever weapons could be found, the player was now led around by various other characters and expected to sit around listening to audio logs of a random employee's summer vacation. You still shoot a lot of demons; just in small batches instead of in big hordes like you used to.
In addition to this drastically different gameplay style, Doom 3 wanted to be a horror game, which is kind of laughable. After all, it's difficult to scare somebody when they are built like a tank and carrying more weaponry than your average militia. One of the ways the developers tried to make things scarier was to dim lights, make them flicker, or turn them off entirely. Then they made it so that using the flashlight requires the player's character to put away their guns. Presenting the players with a choice between seeing what they were shooting at and actually shooting at that thing led to many jokes about duct tape, as a single strip could've fixed the problem with carrying the flashlight around. This also resulted in mods that do nothing more than allow you to use your flashlight whenever you want.
An additional problem with this game is the way they implemented passwords. In order to find the security clearances you need to open doors or otherwise make progress, you'll often need to find someone's discarded PDA and root through their emails or audio logs. There's no way to pause or stop playing an audio log, nor is there an option for subtitles. This means that the player is forced to listen very carefully to lengthy and often mumbled voice overs just to be able to continue their game. And if that wasn't annoying enough, viewing your PDA and playing back an audio log doesn't pause the game. Thus, you can be in the middle of some lackey droning on about what they had for lunch last week when a demon attacks you.
Eventually, a new version of Doom 3 was released, known as Doom 3 BFG Edition. This release makes a number of very welcome changes, but for several reasons (eg, this version is more popular among modders), I'm reviewing them separately. Personally, I prefer the BFG edition, but then again I don't play this title with mods.
Points of Interest
New and better monsters
Doom's monsters were quite famous by the time Doom 3 came around. To make things more interesting, all of them were upgraded in some fashion. Many received new attacks and abilities, while others simply gained a new appearance and more aggressive AI. Of course, there are also a large number of new demons for you to fight, including new bosses and some creatures that would be scary even if they weren't Hellspawn.
On a side note, the AI in general is worth commenting on, as it's really rather impressive. Monsters have been known to seek shelter, dodge attacks and even circle around the entire level to track down the player. The level design certainly exploits this, as you'll often discover monsters spawning in unexpected places.
On a side note, the AI in general is worth commenting on, as it's really rather impressive. Monsters have been known to seek shelter, dodge attacks and even circle around the entire level to track down the player. The level design certainly exploits this, as you'll often discover monsters spawning in unexpected places.
Story-driven gameplay
Unlike the original two games, this time things are very goal driven. Instead of just wandering through a complex until you reach the exit door, you'll be searching for something specific, such as a keycard or a certain piece of equipment you'll need to activate. Some objectives are spread through multiple levels as well.
Retells the story of Doom in a modern way
In the original Doom, a teleporter malfunction results in opening a door to Hell, and by the time you get there, the Mars Colony is already lost. Here, you arrive before the fateful test is performed and witness the breach yourself.
Additionally, it's quickly made apparent that it was no malfunction that caused the disaster: one of the scientists is actively dealing with the devil in a bid for power. Thus, the Marine is now dealing with an enemy that has a face and motive, rather than the generic "here are monsters, go shoot them" plot of the original games.
Additionally, it's quickly made apparent that it was no malfunction that caused the disaster: one of the scientists is actively dealing with the devil in a bid for power. Thus, the Marine is now dealing with an enemy that has a face and motive, rather than the generic "here are monsters, go shoot them" plot of the original games.
Poking through PDAs isn't entirely fun
Many games have the player learn about the game's lore via old logs or transcripts found in the levels. In most cases, these are there for the player's amusement or to flesh out the story, and so they are an optional aspect of the game. Here though, it's an annoying requirement, as you can't progress without the passcodes recorded in these logs. You also can't always tell which log has the information you need, so you might get stuck listening to a lot of useless chatter. The Steam community is extremely helpful in this regard, as there are guides that list every passcode.
People are divided over the flashlight
For some, fighting monsters in the dark makes the game scarier. Others, including myself, feel that this franchise was never about the scare factor. Instead, it's about the action and "saving the day". If you fall into the latter group, the lack of lighting in the game is more annoying than fun.
Apparently most players fall into the second group, as the remastered BFG Edition gives you a shoulder mounted light so that you can see what you're doing.
Apparently most players fall into the second group, as the remastered BFG Edition gives you a shoulder mounted light so that you can see what you're doing.
Concerns and Issues
You can kill people
It's probably a bad idea to do this in most situations, but you can kill non-hostile characters if you really wanted to do so. This is the only way of getting your hands on some optional PDAs, though considering how annoying these can be, I'm not sure why you'd want to do this.
One particularly graphic moment comes later in the game when you encounter a scientist that has been trapped in a processing chamber. He begs for you to let him free, and if you do so, he'll unlock a door that leads to some useful loot. However, while you can activate the chamber if you're just feeling cruel, the panel that controls it is designed so that you can easily activate the chamber by accident. Either way, if the chamber is activated, the most you can do is turn away so you don't have to watch as he is killed by the processing equipment. You're still forced to wait for the chamber to finish operating, so you can't avoid listening to his grisly death.
If you do kill him, karma is waiting to bite you, as his screams will alert nearby zombie soldiers, who come in shooting.
One particularly graphic moment comes later in the game when you encounter a scientist that has been trapped in a processing chamber. He begs for you to let him free, and if you do so, he'll unlock a door that leads to some useful loot. However, while you can activate the chamber if you're just feeling cruel, the panel that controls it is designed so that you can easily activate the chamber by accident. Either way, if the chamber is activated, the most you can do is turn away so you don't have to watch as he is killed by the processing equipment. You're still forced to wait for the chamber to finish operating, so you can't avoid listening to his grisly death.
If you do kill him, karma is waiting to bite you, as his screams will alert nearby zombie soldiers, who come in shooting.
Lots of blood, some gore
This wouldn't be a game in the Doom franchise if it didn't contain a hearty dose of blood and gore. However, there's actually more of both than you could find in the earlier games in the series, and that's fairly disturbing. Most of the blood is part of the scenery, which makes it easier to ignore during the game, but that's still not a good thing. The later levels of the game feature a living "corruption" that spreads throughout the base, and there are sometimes skeletons found among the debris.
Unfortunately, quite a bit of the blood and gore is either on the enemies or caused by the player fighting them. Zombified humans are the biggest offenders, as they are often mutilated before the player gets to them. Examples of this pre-battle damage includes missing jaws, visible entrails, and partial decapitations.
During combat, most attacks cause the target's blood to stain nearby objects. In an extreme example, a powerful attack (such as close range shotgun fire) can blast a zombie's skin and muscles off, revealing their skeleton for a moment. Of course, Doom is famous for gibbing enemies, and Doom 3 continues the trend by allowing you to blow enemies apart with rockets.
One trend regarding the combat that's worth mentioning is that purely demonic beings, such as the ever present imps, leave no bodies behind when they are slain.
Unfortunately, quite a bit of the blood and gore is either on the enemies or caused by the player fighting them. Zombified humans are the biggest offenders, as they are often mutilated before the player gets to them. Examples of this pre-battle damage includes missing jaws, visible entrails, and partial decapitations.
During combat, most attacks cause the target's blood to stain nearby objects. In an extreme example, a powerful attack (such as close range shotgun fire) can blast a zombie's skin and muscles off, revealing their skeleton for a moment. Of course, Doom is famous for gibbing enemies, and Doom 3 continues the trend by allowing you to blow enemies apart with rockets.
One trend regarding the combat that's worth mentioning is that purely demonic beings, such as the ever present imps, leave no bodies behind when they are slain.
Demons and demonic imagery
When you're dealing with a story that revolves around a doorway into Hell itself, this is sort of expected. Pentagrams burn themselves into the ground wherever a demon spawns, and all of the enemies are either demons or humans that were twisted into demonic forms. Lastly, Hell itself is rife with horned skulls, lava, and other nightmarishly evil designs.
The Soul Cube presents some issues
The last weapon the player acquires is the Soul Cube, a supernatural weapon designed by an alien race during their fight against the forces of Hell. This artifact was created by a ritual sacrifice of their strongest warriors, and since it remains sentient, it's likely that their souls are bound within it.
Although this is a somewhat macabre device, it's not uncommon for fictional weapons to have a spirit or soul of their own and a desire to strike down great evil. The main difference between the Soul Cube and other traditional living weapons is that the Soul Cube needs to absorb energy from slain monsters before it's ready to unleash it's attack. However, once it's charged up, it's attack is the only thing in the universe that can strike down the final boss of the game.
While this does present some climatic drama and a more cinematic end to the game, it's basically repaying evil with evil; something that the Bible advises us not to do.
Although this is a somewhat macabre device, it's not uncommon for fictional weapons to have a spirit or soul of their own and a desire to strike down great evil. The main difference between the Soul Cube and other traditional living weapons is that the Soul Cube needs to absorb energy from slain monsters before it's ready to unleash it's attack. However, once it's charged up, it's attack is the only thing in the universe that can strike down the final boss of the game.
While this does present some climatic drama and a more cinematic end to the game, it's basically repaying evil with evil; something that the Bible advises us not to do.
Swearing
On top of everything else, there is also some swearing. Sargent Kelly is probably the character you'll hear profanity from the most, but considering the next and final point, it's also probable that a lot of the swearing will likely be coming from the player instead of the game.
Interruptions are NOT welcome
By far one of the most damning problems with Doom 3 is how badly the game requires your constant attention. As I've mentioned above, the audio logs are hard to understand and you must listen to them in order to progress in the game. This means that if anything distracts the player, they'll need to listen to the log again. Monsters also use audio cues so that the player knows a threat is present before it's been seen, making it even more important to listen closely.
In case having to listen closely wasn't enough, the game's camera becomes obscured when the player is attacked. This makes the combat more "real", but it also means that when the player is dealing with multiple attackers they can be disoriented easily. It doesn't take much to kill you, so losing your bearings in a fight is an easy way to get a game over. If you get frustrated easily, watch yourself so you don't take it out on other people.
In case having to listen closely wasn't enough, the game's camera becomes obscured when the player is attacked. This makes the combat more "real", but it also means that when the player is dealing with multiple attackers they can be disoriented easily. It doesn't take much to kill you, so losing your bearings in a fight is an easy way to get a game over. If you get frustrated easily, watch yourself so you don't take it out on other people.