First Doom 3 review from PC Gamer
07-14-04, 01:15 PM
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First Doom 3 review from PC Gamer
Minor Spoilers within...
You have been warned.
You have been warned.
DOOM 3 THE WORLD-EXCLUSIVE FIRST REVIEW
You've waited years. Now the wait is over. PC Gamer was the only publication in the world to review Doom 3 a split-second after id declared it "Done." We thought we were ready...
Turn out the lights. Get the surround-sound speakers in place. And say goodbye to sanity for the next 20-odd hours. The guys at id Software are famous for delivering a game "when it's done" - and we're here to tell you that Doom 3 is not only done, it's mind-blowing.
X The game opens up with your arrival at Mars Research Facility of the massive United Aerospace Corporation. It's the year 2145, and you're a Marine newly assigned to the facility's security detail. For the first 15 minutes, you’re not even issued a weapon - the action unfolds in a pace reminiscent of the opening of Half-Life, as you get oriented around the security building and watch some video primers on your new job and new home. In this opening act, you're familiarized with your Personal Digital Assistant, which will be your invaluable interface throughout the rest of the game. Using this handy gadget, you can download info from other people's PDAs as you come across them, adding codes, access keys, and emails that contain crucial information you'll need to progress through the 28 maps to follow. Here's what you really spent those first 15 minutes doing: gawking. This is your chance to absorb the full shock of magnificent graphics engine put to stunning use. The environments are huge-scale and packed with detail. The base is a convincing Mars Station - less a far-future design than a depressingly postmodern corporate park. It feels lived-in, too - from the skin mags scattered on the kitchenette tables to the nastiest in the public rest room toilet bowls.
But no sooner do you get oriented with your gear - and with the very cool physics model that lets you rearrange just about any object in the place - then all hell breaks loose. Literally.
The base is hammered by a shockwave of satanic force, and immediately discover that almost everyone around you has turned into a flesh-eating zombie - with a mindless devotion to snacking on you. Worse yet, the base has been invaded by a horde of nightmarish demons. Cut off from your fellow Marines (and stalked by some of their well armed zombie versions!), you've got only a comm link with your still human Sarge to steer you to safety
DOOM AND THEN SOME
For those expecting a "classic" run and gun Doom gameplay, the biggest surprise may be just how substantial this game is. If you try to blaze through any of these 28 missions you WILL be humiliated. Instead the only route to access is a slow and steady one, sticking to shadows, searching every nook and cranny for health, ammo, and access keys, and generally advancing as methodically as you can.
You've also got to figure out what’s happening. As you make your way through the different levels of the base, the pilot is revealed via the PDAs you pick up, and in brief conversations with the few NPCs who weren’t "turned" by the satanic attack. To make your way through the inevitably sealed-off access doors between levels, you'll have to read through email that progressively reveals a conspiracy of apocalypse proportions - the nefarious scheme of psychotic Dr. Betruger, UACs chief scientist, who's perverted a teleportation to open up a portal into hell-like dimension. (Oh and if you didn’t notice Dr. betruger is also keen on transporting his hellion army to earth.)
Gear is an absolute premium. All the old Doom weapons are back, but preciously rationed, and with an ever dwindling supply of ammo for each. The shotgun is your basic in close sledge hammer, while the assault rifle is your best down hallway exchanges with armed zombie marines. The chaingun provides a heavy punch for those hectic occasions when you need to yell "LETS ROCKKKK!" The plasma rifle was my personal fav, dealing streams of fiery blue death, although it runs out of ammo quickly. The rocket launcher scores devastating hits at a distance, while the stock pistol is suitable for minor enemies and desperate last stands. (And as for the BFG 9000 - you'll have to wait a bit before you get to arm it, but the wait is well worth it.)
But there’s no need to worry that Doom 3 is as slow as splinter cell - hardly a minute goes by without a furious exchange of hostiles with some manner demonic beastie, imps, Hellknights, and Archviles are all back to shock and awe you with viscerally jarring attacks, and the endless stream of zombies and scuttling nasties gives you plenty to chew on (and chew up). The gallery of grotesquerie is the product of almost limitless imagination for horrors - spiders that make your flesh crawl, infant "cherubs" mutated with fly wings, and other unnamable terrors that blight the corridors of the possessed base
TO LAUNCH A THOUSAND PC PURCHASES
Early in the game, you're tasked with sprinting outside the mars Facility (with rapidly depleting air canisters) in search of the next airlock. It was here that I really started to notice what I was seeing was graphics superiority that not even current hot tech showcases like Far Cry could match. Dust blew around the Martian surface and the dull brown/red hue of the sand and the twisted metal of shredded structures all seemed so perfectly plausible.
Each girder, door, and window adds tangible substance to each scene, and even the \e effect of your flashlight shining into a darkened corner looks ridiculously real - as the light floods through a room, swinging back and forth, shadows are cast perfectly; dust particles gently drift into the cone of the flash light, eerily visible. And these are just the basics of the environment: just wait until you enter the depths of hell, and dive into some of the later mass melees, \. Doom 3, with all due awareness of hyperbole, is the best-looking game you've ever seen.
Not surprising you'll need a monster system to render these monsters in all their intricately textured glory. But the ability to play Doom 3 with all its visual magic maxed out is really a good excuse to trade up. A P4 3GHzwith a Geforce 5950- class card will see u through okay. One of our test systems had a geforce 6800 ultra and ran flawlessly at 1024x 768 with high detail. (A higher level of quality and resolution is available, but the PC to run it well isn’t) running with a geforce4 MX card and 512 MB RAM, the texture detail was great, although the game was choppier in spots.
Bottom line: If Far Cry didn’t convince you, then Doom 3 should - the time to upgrade to a next generation 3D chip, or even an all new rig, is now.
SOUND, FURY...AND SCARES
While I was expecting amazing graphics, it was the sound effects and sound design that had me reeling. Footsteps echo spookily down halls; monsters issue bloodcurdling shrieks; every hallway has an audible drip of menace and dread. Doom 3 is the reason to own surround sound speakers. The collective impact of sound design on the whole experience cant be overstated, adding to the urge to switch out all the lights, close the curtains, crank up the volume, and let yourself be scared s***less.
And you will be jolted right out of your seat. I'm not going to spoil any of the socks here, but there were at least four occasions where I lunged back in y chair. Lead designer Tim wiltis is inside your head like a physiologist - and just when he’s let you think you can lower your guard, he sticks the psychic shiv right into your nervous system.
Even when the scares aren’t heart stopping, there’s a constant, simmering anxiety at each and every step. You basically subjecting yourself to a 20-hour cardiac episode. At times, death brought sweet, momentary respite from the fear-drenched mayhem.
The zombie-plagued space station is creepy enough, but about mid way through the game you make a teleport-raided detour to hell. The whole feel of the game changes utterly - if you thought you were in desperate straits before, you now find yourself in a balls shriveling nightmare netherworld. (With no weapons!)
It's all leading up to a knees knocking climatic spelunk into the archeological ruins beneath mars base where you enter a final showdown against evildoers amid the remnants of a fallen Martian civilization. As the massive fright lifter descends so agonizingly slowly into the darkness, you may find yourself as I did, cursing out loud at the grim hold this game has on you.
Does Doom 3 have any missteps maybe just one; its attempts at humor feel way out of place. There are a few lame running gags: PDA Spam and an uber-nerdy string of emails between members of a role-playing club. (The Spam gag actually becomes a puzzle that requires you jump out of the game and use you web browser to find a code. Huh?) In one appalling instance, you even even become privy in a tongue-in-cheek directive by archvillian Dr. Betruger, advising hellions on the proper way to prepare virgin sacrifices. These limp jokes server only to dump me out of the games carefully calibrated dread machine.
But no matter: The rest is all dynamite. Doom 3 took me 23 hours to complete on the medium difficulty setting. (For all those who rumored that the game would be over in a few hours- you couldn’t be more wrong.) And for those 23 hours, you will never experience a dull moment. Or even a less than mesmerizing one. Doom 3 is a masterpiece of the art form - staying true to the frantic legacy of the Doom series, while ambitiously reaching new heights and bashing down the doors of the next generation of PC shooter. The bar is raised. Lets see someone else climb over it- Dan Morris
You've waited years. Now the wait is over. PC Gamer was the only publication in the world to review Doom 3 a split-second after id declared it "Done." We thought we were ready...
Turn out the lights. Get the surround-sound speakers in place. And say goodbye to sanity for the next 20-odd hours. The guys at id Software are famous for delivering a game "when it's done" - and we're here to tell you that Doom 3 is not only done, it's mind-blowing.
X The game opens up with your arrival at Mars Research Facility of the massive United Aerospace Corporation. It's the year 2145, and you're a Marine newly assigned to the facility's security detail. For the first 15 minutes, you’re not even issued a weapon - the action unfolds in a pace reminiscent of the opening of Half-Life, as you get oriented around the security building and watch some video primers on your new job and new home. In this opening act, you're familiarized with your Personal Digital Assistant, which will be your invaluable interface throughout the rest of the game. Using this handy gadget, you can download info from other people's PDAs as you come across them, adding codes, access keys, and emails that contain crucial information you'll need to progress through the 28 maps to follow. Here's what you really spent those first 15 minutes doing: gawking. This is your chance to absorb the full shock of magnificent graphics engine put to stunning use. The environments are huge-scale and packed with detail. The base is a convincing Mars Station - less a far-future design than a depressingly postmodern corporate park. It feels lived-in, too - from the skin mags scattered on the kitchenette tables to the nastiest in the public rest room toilet bowls.
But no sooner do you get oriented with your gear - and with the very cool physics model that lets you rearrange just about any object in the place - then all hell breaks loose. Literally.
The base is hammered by a shockwave of satanic force, and immediately discover that almost everyone around you has turned into a flesh-eating zombie - with a mindless devotion to snacking on you. Worse yet, the base has been invaded by a horde of nightmarish demons. Cut off from your fellow Marines (and stalked by some of their well armed zombie versions!), you've got only a comm link with your still human Sarge to steer you to safety
DOOM AND THEN SOME
For those expecting a "classic" run and gun Doom gameplay, the biggest surprise may be just how substantial this game is. If you try to blaze through any of these 28 missions you WILL be humiliated. Instead the only route to access is a slow and steady one, sticking to shadows, searching every nook and cranny for health, ammo, and access keys, and generally advancing as methodically as you can.
You've also got to figure out what’s happening. As you make your way through the different levels of the base, the pilot is revealed via the PDAs you pick up, and in brief conversations with the few NPCs who weren’t "turned" by the satanic attack. To make your way through the inevitably sealed-off access doors between levels, you'll have to read through email that progressively reveals a conspiracy of apocalypse proportions - the nefarious scheme of psychotic Dr. Betruger, UACs chief scientist, who's perverted a teleportation to open up a portal into hell-like dimension. (Oh and if you didn’t notice Dr. betruger is also keen on transporting his hellion army to earth.)
Gear is an absolute premium. All the old Doom weapons are back, but preciously rationed, and with an ever dwindling supply of ammo for each. The shotgun is your basic in close sledge hammer, while the assault rifle is your best down hallway exchanges with armed zombie marines. The chaingun provides a heavy punch for those hectic occasions when you need to yell "LETS ROCKKKK!" The plasma rifle was my personal fav, dealing streams of fiery blue death, although it runs out of ammo quickly. The rocket launcher scores devastating hits at a distance, while the stock pistol is suitable for minor enemies and desperate last stands. (And as for the BFG 9000 - you'll have to wait a bit before you get to arm it, but the wait is well worth it.)
But there’s no need to worry that Doom 3 is as slow as splinter cell - hardly a minute goes by without a furious exchange of hostiles with some manner demonic beastie, imps, Hellknights, and Archviles are all back to shock and awe you with viscerally jarring attacks, and the endless stream of zombies and scuttling nasties gives you plenty to chew on (and chew up). The gallery of grotesquerie is the product of almost limitless imagination for horrors - spiders that make your flesh crawl, infant "cherubs" mutated with fly wings, and other unnamable terrors that blight the corridors of the possessed base
TO LAUNCH A THOUSAND PC PURCHASES
Early in the game, you're tasked with sprinting outside the mars Facility (with rapidly depleting air canisters) in search of the next airlock. It was here that I really started to notice what I was seeing was graphics superiority that not even current hot tech showcases like Far Cry could match. Dust blew around the Martian surface and the dull brown/red hue of the sand and the twisted metal of shredded structures all seemed so perfectly plausible.
Each girder, door, and window adds tangible substance to each scene, and even the \e effect of your flashlight shining into a darkened corner looks ridiculously real - as the light floods through a room, swinging back and forth, shadows are cast perfectly; dust particles gently drift into the cone of the flash light, eerily visible. And these are just the basics of the environment: just wait until you enter the depths of hell, and dive into some of the later mass melees, \. Doom 3, with all due awareness of hyperbole, is the best-looking game you've ever seen.
Not surprising you'll need a monster system to render these monsters in all their intricately textured glory. But the ability to play Doom 3 with all its visual magic maxed out is really a good excuse to trade up. A P4 3GHzwith a Geforce 5950- class card will see u through okay. One of our test systems had a geforce 6800 ultra and ran flawlessly at 1024x 768 with high detail. (A higher level of quality and resolution is available, but the PC to run it well isn’t) running with a geforce4 MX card and 512 MB RAM, the texture detail was great, although the game was choppier in spots.
Bottom line: If Far Cry didn’t convince you, then Doom 3 should - the time to upgrade to a next generation 3D chip, or even an all new rig, is now.
SOUND, FURY...AND SCARES
While I was expecting amazing graphics, it was the sound effects and sound design that had me reeling. Footsteps echo spookily down halls; monsters issue bloodcurdling shrieks; every hallway has an audible drip of menace and dread. Doom 3 is the reason to own surround sound speakers. The collective impact of sound design on the whole experience cant be overstated, adding to the urge to switch out all the lights, close the curtains, crank up the volume, and let yourself be scared s***less.
And you will be jolted right out of your seat. I'm not going to spoil any of the socks here, but there were at least four occasions where I lunged back in y chair. Lead designer Tim wiltis is inside your head like a physiologist - and just when he’s let you think you can lower your guard, he sticks the psychic shiv right into your nervous system.
Even when the scares aren’t heart stopping, there’s a constant, simmering anxiety at each and every step. You basically subjecting yourself to a 20-hour cardiac episode. At times, death brought sweet, momentary respite from the fear-drenched mayhem.
The zombie-plagued space station is creepy enough, but about mid way through the game you make a teleport-raided detour to hell. The whole feel of the game changes utterly - if you thought you were in desperate straits before, you now find yourself in a balls shriveling nightmare netherworld. (With no weapons!)
It's all leading up to a knees knocking climatic spelunk into the archeological ruins beneath mars base where you enter a final showdown against evildoers amid the remnants of a fallen Martian civilization. As the massive fright lifter descends so agonizingly slowly into the darkness, you may find yourself as I did, cursing out loud at the grim hold this game has on you.
Does Doom 3 have any missteps maybe just one; its attempts at humor feel way out of place. There are a few lame running gags: PDA Spam and an uber-nerdy string of emails between members of a role-playing club. (The Spam gag actually becomes a puzzle that requires you jump out of the game and use you web browser to find a code. Huh?) In one appalling instance, you even even become privy in a tongue-in-cheek directive by archvillian Dr. Betruger, advising hellions on the proper way to prepare virgin sacrifices. These limp jokes server only to dump me out of the games carefully calibrated dread machine.
But no matter: The rest is all dynamite. Doom 3 took me 23 hours to complete on the medium difficulty setting. (For all those who rumored that the game would be over in a few hours- you couldn’t be more wrong.) And for those 23 hours, you will never experience a dull moment. Or even a less than mesmerizing one. Doom 3 is a masterpiece of the art form - staying true to the frantic legacy of the Doom series, while ambitiously reaching new heights and bashing down the doors of the next generation of PC shooter. The bar is raised. Lets see someone else climb over it- Dan Morris
07-14-04, 01:28 PM
#2
DVD Talk Legend
I'm no FPS fan, mostly due to the unbalanced multi-player emphasis.. but this sounds like a good single-player experience. I forgot, was the Xbox version coming out at the same time or is it coming later?
07-14-04, 01:32 PM
#3
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Originally posted by PixyJunket
I forgot, was the Xbox version coming out at the same time or is it coming later?
I forgot, was the Xbox version coming out at the same time or is it coming later?
07-14-04, 01:32 PM
#4
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If only more companies would follow id's approach of waiting until the damn thing is done proper before releasing it.
I, too, will be waiting on the Xbox version, only because I just can't afford to upgrade my PC requirements right now. I don't expect the same level of graphical detail, but if the gameplay is as solid as what this reviewer claims, it'll be money well spent.
I, too, will be waiting on the Xbox version, only because I just can't afford to upgrade my PC requirements right now. I don't expect the same level of graphical detail, but if the gameplay is as solid as what this reviewer claims, it'll be money well spent.
07-14-04, 01:48 PM
#6
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Originally posted by PixyJunket
Pah.. this game is about ATMOSPHERE. I couldn't imagine playing it on a 17" monitor with stereo speakers.
Pah.. this game is about ATMOSPHERE. I couldn't imagine playing it on a 17" monitor with stereo speakers.
But anyway, it's a moot point for me as I only have a laptop and certainly couldn't play this game on it.
07-14-04, 01:51 PM
#8
Retired
Originally posted by DavePack
If only more companies would follow id's approach of waiting until the damn thing is done proper before releasing it.
If only more companies would follow id's approach of waiting until the damn thing is done proper before releasing it.
07-14-04, 01:53 PM
#9
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Originally posted by PixyJunket
Pah.. this game is about ATMOSPHERE. I couldn't imagine playing it on a 17" monitor with stereo speakers.
Pah.. this game is about ATMOSPHERE. I couldn't imagine playing it on a 17" monitor with stereo speakers.
Also, if the game is about atmosphere, why not play it at the absolute best resolution possible, thus adding to the realism? I love my Xbox, but Doom 3 will be played on my PC.
07-14-04, 01:54 PM
#10
DVD Talk Hero
I am so tired of opening sections of games with no weapons. You KNOW you're going to find a pistol on the floor eventually. Just give it to you to start the game off.
The atmosphere sounds nice, but I actually prefer run and gun to sneaking around in an FPS, so we'll see what the Xbox version is like. It's not worth completely revamping my computer for one game.
The atmosphere sounds nice, but I actually prefer run and gun to sneaking around in an FPS, so we'll see what the Xbox version is like. It's not worth completely revamping my computer for one game.
07-14-04, 01:57 PM
#11
DVD Talk Legend
Originally posted by Flay
The majority of people who want to play Doom 3 on the PC shell out a crapload of cash for a brand new graphics card, faster processor, and more Ram to actually run the game, but they skimp on the monitor and get the $20 set of speakers? I don't think so. IMO, They are more likely to own a larger monitor and a nice set of speakers.
The majority of people who want to play Doom 3 on the PC shell out a crapload of cash for a brand new graphics card, faster processor, and more Ram to actually run the game, but they skimp on the monitor and get the $20 set of speakers? I don't think so. IMO, They are more likely to own a larger monitor and a nice set of speakers.
07-14-04, 01:59 PM
#13
DVD Talk Legend
Originally posted by Draven
I am so tired of opening sections of games with no weapons. You KNOW you're going to find a pistol on the floor eventually. Just give it to you to start the game off.
I am so tired of opening sections of games with no weapons. You KNOW you're going to find a pistol on the floor eventually. Just give it to you to start the game off.
07-14-04, 01:59 PM
#14
Retired
Originally posted by PixyJunket
They have 32-36" monitors?
They have 32-36" monitors?
Resolution does nothing for me, but others love it and would rather have higher res on a smaller screen.
Different strokes for different folks.
07-14-04, 02:00 PM
#15
Moderator
Originally posted by PixyJunket
They have 32-36" monitors?
They have 32-36" monitors?
07-14-04, 02:09 PM
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Originally posted by Groucho
Screenshot of the Xbox version:
Disclaimer: this is actually a pre-rendered cutscene.
Screenshot of the Xbox version:
Disclaimer: this is actually a pre-rendered cutscene.
07-14-04, 02:44 PM
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Originally posted by Groucho
Screenshot of the Xbox version:
Disclaimer: this is actually a pre-rendered cutscene.
Screenshot of the Xbox version:
Disclaimer: this is actually a pre-rendered cutscene.
07-14-04, 02:46 PM
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They gave it a 94%, so I'd say yes, they did like it.
Also, it went gold today. Should be out for PC the first week of August.
http://www.idsoftware.com/firstweb/b...20040714000000
Also, it went gold today. Should be out for PC the first week of August.
http://www.idsoftware.com/firstweb/b...20040714000000
07-14-04, 02:56 PM
#23
Moderator
I preordered this on Amazon back in November for less than $38 shipped. It'll be interesting to see if it goes through since their selling it at $54 now.
07-14-04, 03:16 PM
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Is anyone the least bit skeptical in reading this review? The world exclusive review and they say it's the greatest game in the world. Kinda sounds like AICN's pre-release review for Armageddon. Remember, how he cried at the ending? 
I think a world-exclusive review would almost certainly guarantee a superior rating. I wonder if, as I have heard is happening recently, id allowed them to review it first in exchange for a superior rating.
I think undoubtedly it will be a good game, but just how mind-blowingly great it is remains to be seen.
Jeremy
I think a world-exclusive review would almost certainly guarantee a superior rating. I wonder if, as I have heard is happening recently, id allowed them to review it first in exchange for a superior rating.
I think undoubtedly it will be a good game, but just how mind-blowingly great it is remains to be seen.
Jeremy
07-14-04, 03:18 PM
#25
Moderator
If it were IGN I'd be skeptical, but I think PC Gamer is pretty fair in their reviews. I've seen them tear games a new one in the very same issue of a magazine that has a two-page full-color ad for the same game.