Doom 3
I remember keeping up on all the press regarding the new Doom title leading up to it's release in 2004. Having been a huge Doom fan back when it first came out, my interest was certainly piqued; but it had been a long time since I once bought Doom II on 5 floppy disks and there had been a lot more innovation in gaming since the 90's. So needless to say, I wasn't expecting much.
But then, as it always happens, I ended up in FutureShop looking for something completely unrelated when they had that big screen TV facing the entrance playing Doom 3 on demo and it just happened to be release day.
I had no idea it was going to look that good. Those guys at id Software produced a game engine that rendered Mars City so brilliantly that I didn't think twice and grabbed a copy off the shelf for immediate purchase. As a promo for the first day of it's release, it even came with a full retail copy of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic which was $30 at the time, but the truth is hadn't even opened it up until last year..
That aside Doom 3 simply turned out to be this beautifully horrific game. Very much in the style of the first two in the series, id really didn't try to innovate in terms of gameplay, simply the visuals and to a certain degree, the story. And for me there's a place for that kind of game; a no-brainer horror FPS title where you shoot-to-win.
And although the story isn't too far from the original game, they certainly used a great method for fleshing it out. You arrive on the Mars research base as a generic space marine who fights to survive and ultimately foil a vicious plot after super advanced teleportation technology opens a gate to Hell. (Doesn't it always?) As you fight your way though the Martian landscape and dark corridors of the research station you come across various staff logs in both text and audio format. If you'd rather, you can ignore it completely, pushing through with only the necessity of the plot and just enjoy filling demons with lead. Or you can read and listen to the available material and discover the backstory behind a crazed scientist who decided to take specimens from Hell and research them for weapon's technology and ends up helping them force an army through to our world.
Doom 3 ended up doing the series proud. Though some would complain that it was simply the same run-and-gun, jump-scare gameplay as the first two games, I embraced that as a real throwback to a game that really pushed a gaming genre into what we see today. It looked fantastic for the time it was released and it still holds up today and at a time when I was still waiting for the eventual release of Half Life 2, this really filled the gap.
But then, as it always happens, I ended up in FutureShop looking for something completely unrelated when they had that big screen TV facing the entrance playing Doom 3 on demo and it just happened to be release day.
I had no idea it was going to look that good. Those guys at id Software produced a game engine that rendered Mars City so brilliantly that I didn't think twice and grabbed a copy off the shelf for immediate purchase. As a promo for the first day of it's release, it even came with a full retail copy of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic which was $30 at the time, but the truth is hadn't even opened it up until last year..That aside Doom 3 simply turned out to be this beautifully horrific game. Very much in the style of the first two in the series, id really didn't try to innovate in terms of gameplay, simply the visuals and to a certain degree, the story. And for me there's a place for that kind of game; a no-brainer horror FPS title where you shoot-to-win.
And although the story isn't too far from the original game, they certainly used a great method for fleshing it out. You arrive on the Mars research base as a generic space marine who fights to survive and ultimately foil a vicious plot after super advanced teleportation technology opens a gate to Hell. (Doesn't it always?) As you fight your way though the Martian landscape and dark corridors of the research station you come across various staff logs in both text and audio format. If you'd rather, you can ignore it completely, pushing through with only the necessity of the plot and just enjoy filling demons with lead. Or you can read and listen to the available material and discover the backstory behind a crazed scientist who decided to take specimens from Hell and research them for weapon's technology and ends up helping them force an army through to our world.Doom 3 ended up doing the series proud. Though some would complain that it was simply the same run-and-gun, jump-scare gameplay as the first two games, I embraced that as a real throwback to a game that really pushed a gaming genre into what we see today. It looked fantastic for the time it was released and it still holds up today and at a time when I was still waiting for the eventual release of Half Life 2, this really filled the gap.
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