So... I've heard far many people repeat the same phrase over and over again.
"Doom 3 is a good game but a bad Doom Game" followed usually about how 2016 and Eternal revived the series... well, I'm sick of that, and I wanna set the record as straight as I can.
Doom 3 is excellent, and a criminally underrated gem that stands as the best game in the series, rivaled only by 64.
The pacing, yes, is slower... but the game is only as slow as people make it out to be in the first few levels. It gets faster and faster as the game progresses, and the focus of both the action and horror elements turns from quiet and tense to chaotic and anxiety-inducing.
The story is much more well-rounded than people give the game credit for, and despite the strange decision to not have subtitles, the worldbuilding and the glimpses the PDA files give us into the lives of dozens of people working on Mars is remarkable, and it doesn't require several weird, esoteric cutscenes to do this (looking at you Eternal).
The weapons in this game are the best they've ever been. They feel legit, but also powerful. Now every shot feels impactful and important, and the exact angle your shots hit at mean the difference between life and death. It's not just "run around frantically and shoot" like in the other games, THIS is how you do a shooter where hell is invading, where you need to plan things carefully, and act quickly in tandem with that planning, rather than just winging it.
I will speak of three negatives I do have with this game. The whip enemies are extremely overpowered and annoying, sometimes things aren't as clear as they should be on where you need to go, and there could've been much more music than just the title and a few ambient tracks.
That being said, this game is a perfect summation of what Doom can be, you're not some god-like slayer who is invincible and the Demons run away from him. You're an average Marine fighting to save humanity and put hell in its place. When you win, it feels like a genuine triumph over impossible odds, rather than just a given.
Also, despite coming out in 2004... this genuinely looks better than the reboot duology, I'm not kidding. The technology and lights are prettier or whatever in the new games, but Doom 3's visuals are gonna stick with me for years to come, while I've already forgotten nearly everything about Eternal.
This game is intense, terrifying, extremely well paced, challenging but fair, interesting, and above all else, fun as fuck, because THIS is peak Doom.
9/10.
"Doom 3 is a good game but a bad Doom Game" followed usually about how 2016 and Eternal revived the series... well, I'm sick of that, and I wanna set the record as straight as I can.
Doom 3 is excellent, and a criminally underrated gem that stands as the best game in the series, rivaled only by 64.
The pacing, yes, is slower... but the game is only as slow as people make it out to be in the first few levels. It gets faster and faster as the game progresses, and the focus of both the action and horror elements turns from quiet and tense to chaotic and anxiety-inducing.
The story is much more well-rounded than people give the game credit for, and despite the strange decision to not have subtitles, the worldbuilding and the glimpses the PDA files give us into the lives of dozens of people working on Mars is remarkable, and it doesn't require several weird, esoteric cutscenes to do this (looking at you Eternal).
The weapons in this game are the best they've ever been. They feel legit, but also powerful. Now every shot feels impactful and important, and the exact angle your shots hit at mean the difference between life and death. It's not just "run around frantically and shoot" like in the other games, THIS is how you do a shooter where hell is invading, where you need to plan things carefully, and act quickly in tandem with that planning, rather than just winging it.
I will speak of three negatives I do have with this game. The whip enemies are extremely overpowered and annoying, sometimes things aren't as clear as they should be on where you need to go, and there could've been much more music than just the title and a few ambient tracks.
That being said, this game is a perfect summation of what Doom can be, you're not some god-like slayer who is invincible and the Demons run away from him. You're an average Marine fighting to save humanity and put hell in its place. When you win, it feels like a genuine triumph over impossible odds, rather than just a given.
Also, despite coming out in 2004... this genuinely looks better than the reboot duology, I'm not kidding. The technology and lights are prettier or whatever in the new games, but Doom 3's visuals are gonna stick with me for years to come, while I've already forgotten nearly everything about Eternal.
This game is intense, terrifying, extremely well paced, challenging but fair, interesting, and above all else, fun as fuck, because THIS is peak Doom.
9/10.