Friend of mine managed to buy a 32" LCD HDTV last week. He purchased Doom 3 CE and we got the HD AV Pack. It looks really good.

At that size, Sony's CRT (tube) TV's are unmatched and display the best pictures for videogames. However, they're heavy and take-up a lot of room behind them unlike the LCD, DLP, and LCoS sets.

Edited to add:
All I'm saying is, the developers did a great job with pushing the Xbox graphics capabilities (nVidia chip) and a tube TV will really show how good it looks.

Played this for about 20-25 minutes at EB today, wasn't too impressed. Wasn't as blown away by the graphics as I expected to be, maybe the TV was just crappy. I will probably get this for the new computer I am buying soon just to test out the video card. Maybe it was just me but I felt like the creatures/people didn't react or reacted awkwardly when I shot them. After playing RE4 I was used to every place I hit affecting the enemy differently, the enemies in Doom 3 just seemed to be moving blocks. Maybe I didn't play long enough, I will give this game another chance on a new computer.

I'm a huge DOOM fan, so I had to buy the CE. I'm probably 7-8 hours in, and I love it. The game is bringing back all the old memories of playing DOOM at 2am with the lights out.
The hallucinations are a nice touch, similar to Eternal Darkness. The darkness, tight quarters and almost deathly silence create a very intense atmosphere. The complaints regarding these aspects of the game baffle me - the base level design is similar to DOOM, not to mention the fact that the first two games were dark also. The only noted difference to me is that DOOM 3 has toned down the action with smaller skirmishes in favor of creepy atmosphere, as opposed to throwing hordes of enemies upon you at every turn(Suburbs in II being my favorite). The game is obviously intended for a single-player experience, as opposed to a crazed co-op slaughterfest.
I wish I had 5.1 and HDTV right now, because this game is beautiful...

My biggest complaint is that the gameplay never really changes. Your seventh hour playing is exactly like every preceding hour. Just too repetitive. You really can't understand that?

I ended up telling my buddy just to rent the game so we could try co-op. He WAS going to buy it but he's short on funds and I told him he'd be a fool to spend 50.00 on the game. It's fun and all but I'd rather just have him rent it, play the heck out of it for a few days straight and save 40.00+.

Can you understand original Doom?

How about Half-life?

As much as people like to put it on a pedestal, it is basically the same thing.

Point and shoot, find your way to the next door/portal/key. Repeat.

I agree. Most FPS's have the same gameplay throughout the game -- shoot everything -- complete objective -- move to next area. You may get to use a vehicle once in a while like in Halo -- although riding vehicles was my least favorite part of the Halo series -- I enjoy shooting on foot. I really don't think the Doom 3 areas are that repetitive -- everywhere I go seems different to me.

Brothers in Arms is probably the most recent FPS to change up the system a little bit with the squad commands -- however you still kill everything -- complete objective -- move on to next area.


wlj

All games are repetitive to some extent, hell life is repetitive to an extent
So far I'm liking it alot, really scares the hell out of me at times when I'm at like 8 health, a few bullets, and all of a sudden an imp appears and starts wailing at me with fireballs.

Since I love Aliens and the original Doom left some deep memories, this version is right up my alley. I love the dark sci-fi. I have yet to die as I am taking it slow ...but then again I am just in the alpha or delta complex...

If you pre-ordered this game from BestBuy before 1/29/05 they had cards that showed the Collector's Edition with a price on the back as $49.99-$5.00 deposit for a total of $44.99 at pickup. I went in to pick up my copy on Monday and they tried charging me the full price now of $59.99 - my deposit. I asked to see a manager and they gave it to me for the $44.99 after my deposit was applied and then I also used a $5.00 gamer giftcard coupon so I got the collector's edition for $39.99 plus tax.

I also picked up the PC expansion and the cashier let me use a gaming giftcard on that as well, they actually told me to go get one and they would use it as long as I put some money on the card as well. So I used it put $5 on the card (used that on my pick-up of the XBOX game at customer service) and the clerk also told me to keep the coupon to use again later.

Monday was a very nice day for me.

As I stated before...you obviously haven't played a lot of Xbox games.

But then again, that is not the point of your post, is it? You never have anything nice to say about the Xbox and you constantly insist on posting in almost every Xbox thread spewing your negative comments and opinions in regards to either the hardware or its games. I could respond to your post with dozens of games that use 5.1 perfectly but it would not be good enough for you because with you the Xbox can't win.

I know that I and others here grew tired long ago of your constant negative posts toward the Xbox in which you hide behind the facade that its just "your opinion" and your usual array of smiley faces. I have several opinions of the Gamecube and its games but you never see me posting in those threads. But then again, what's the use in me even typing this? Another forum member reminded me that you are just a likely Gamecube fanboy kid that is just trying to push buttons as usual and I am taking the bait.

I forgot about the ignore ability on this forum and I suggest others who have mentioned your posts to use it as well. Responding to your many negative posts (as I have in the past) appears to be exactly what you want me and others to do. I will no longer contribute to your glee.

Good riddance.

My post wasn't X-box bashing. I just commented that wlj wasn't missing that much as most games I've played don't use 5.1 well. I gave a list of games that I've played and basically said none of them use it as well as Halo and I wish they did.

And I even mentioned that I'm not an audiophile and probably only notice 5.1 being much better than pro logic when it's used EXTREMELY well like in Halo.

That's not a knock on the X-box, it's great hardware. It's a knock on developers not implementing it well in EVERY game. Maybe a lot more games use it well that aren't on my list, but that's still not it being used well in EVERY game, which once again is a knock on the DEVELOPERS, not your beloved X-box.

I'm sure 5.1 support on the PS2 is just as lacking. I've just never tried it as it's more sparse, so the X-box and my DVD player get my receivers two 5.1 ports.

As for being a "gamecube fanboy kid." I'm 26, finishing a masters degree and own all three consoles with no loyalty to either of them. The only way I could rank them was by number of games I've enjoyed this gen and that would be: PS2, GC, XBOX. Nintendo is my favorite game maker, but I have no particular loyalty to their console and wouldn't mind if they quit making them and just put their games out on the PS or X-box's in future gens. Would be one less console for me to buy.

The problem on this forum isn't console bashing anymore. It's console loyalists who can't take any perceived criticism of their console of choice. Which in this case was criticism of developers, IMO, not using 5.1 sound to its full potential.

Okay guys...back to Doom 3, a buddy and I played this last night using the co-op function for the campaign. Is there a save feature for this? It does not appear you can quick save or even hard save. It just has the various levels of the campaign and you just choose one. Is that correct? Seems rather silly to do it that way.

We played thru Full Spectrum Warrior together and you could hard save on it so I know it's possible.

just picked this game up today. hopefully I get a chance to play it soon. to anyone who has beat it already, how long is it approximately?

Of course it depends upon what level you play on and how good a gamer you are but most people seem to say around 10-12 hours.

To the people who don't find the game any more repetitive than other games, which Doom 3 level is your favorite? I'm curious if anyone can give me a real answer, and if so, I'll be impressed.

In Half-Life 2, I liked Ravenholm. In the new Splinter Cell, I get a real kick out of the first level. In Far Cry, the "River" and the "Boat" levels both stand out.

With Doom 3, however, I simply cannot think of any one level that stands out from any other.

Just my opinion, but also one that happens to be widely shared as well.

I was thinking about the levels tonight as well. As I was putting some time in the game I looked at the level select option in the menu and kind of laughed to myself. Is someone really going to say..."I really like that one hallway where that thing jumped out at me and I had to back into that room with the supplies to stock up before I killed the demon."?

I'm almost done with the game and I'm thankful for the scenery change.

The levels are the same? It does take place on a (joint scientific/military?) Mars installation. Of course it's going to look the same. There's no Martha Stewart or Queer Eye on Mars to remake the look of the various base sectors.

I for one am having a blast. I am taking my time, inching my way from room to room, jumping at any sound and searching every nook and cranny. I play at night with the lights off and when alone. So far I can play for about 30 minutes a stretch before I turn it off. Suspension of disbelief is where it's at.

I realize it is all opinion..but I can't help feel that some gamers are so jaded and cynical to the point they can no longer enjoy games without criticizing and nitpicking games based on a belief of what a game should be. Doom is doom. It's about a lone marine on a Mars installation. It's not about a globe-trotting, time-machine having, reality altering, billionare who owns leprauchans.

I still have not finished it yet....I am taking my time as well....I think I am near the end though. I have loved every second of the game....it will go down as one of my all time favorites. I will probably go though it again after I finish it in a day or two. I hope they come out with the Resurrection of Evil too....but not likely .

wlj

I think I am about a third of the way, and I kind of feel the levels are all similar. I think I would enjoy the game more with the duct tape fix that the pc had. Maybe I could tell the difference between rooms, instead of just being in another dark room. Hopefully some kind of cheat for this will come out in the future.

Still, that's a cop out. They could have designed it differently, say have other demon bases or something, more time in with a lot of different areas, to add variety in the levels



Well, at least for me it's not because I have beliefs of what a game should be. It's that I've been playing games for 20 years, and for the first 10 there was a lot of innovation that made getting a new game exciting. For the last 10, and especially the last 5, we just seem to be getting basically the same games with a new coat of paint and a new storyline.

So yeah, Doom 3 is the way it is as it's just Doom and Doom 2 with incredible graphics. I just can't get excited about playing a spiffy looking version of games I enjoyed a decade or more ago.

Just like I love Zelda games and will buy the new GC one this fall. But I'm not that exicted as it will probably be the same game I've played 10 times before with a new coat of paint.

[QUOTE=Josh Hinkle]It's that I've been playing games for 20 years, and for the first 10 there was a lot of innovation that made getting a new game exciting. For the last 10, and especially the last 5, we just seem to be getting basically the same games with a new coat of paint and a new storyline.[QUOTE]

I am about the same age as you, and I tend to agree with you on this point. The larger the gaming industry became the focus seemed to shift from making fun and original games, to retreading old games with better graphics.

Ummm...yeah. So wouldn't it sink in at some point over the past 5-10 years that there is a pattern. Why are you still complaining? It must be sad to complain about the same thing year in year out for a decade. I doubt you'd have to be in Mensa to figure out Doom was going to be ...well Doom.
Although you might need to not have been on the short bus to get it.

I disagree. Doom 3 is not just the same as Doom and Doom 2 but with better graphics. The first 2 Dooms were "run and gun" games. Doom 3 definately breaks the mold and does something different. Whether that is good or bad is up to debate. But I would say Serious Sam is more Doomy than Doom 3 is.