As far as a Half-Life clone goes, it's... fffine?? It's atmospheric and the lighting is still pretty legitimately fantastic - they were doing shit with lighting rigs and shadows in 2004 that several other companies still haven't figured out. The landmarks, setting, and background textures really draw you into this dark, murky facility the game spends most of its time at, but... yyyeah, that's the thing, it's just Half-Life but spookier, less silly, and far less innovative and creative and interesting and generation-defining. Doom 3 is, funnily and decidedly enough, not an actual Doom game at all - it's only nominally similar to Doom, masquerading as the third entry to the series presumably because this middling Half-Life clone would have been forgotten about without the all-important 'Doom' tagline plastered on the front.
And yet, at the same time, that's exactly what (pardon the incoming pun) dooms this game from the get-go. It is so vastly different from the two boomer-shooter kings before it that Doom 3 might as well not even exist in the same universe as its predecessors. Doom 3 is slow and decisive where Doom 1 & 2 were fast-paced and chaotic. Doom 3 makes you feel like a fragile, pathetic meatbag; Doom 1 and 2 made you feel like a roided-up jock marine that chows down on demon ribs for breakfast and sucks on bullets for dessert. Doom 3's level design is linear, a stark contrast to the open-ended mazes of Doom 1 and 2 (not much of a net loss, though, the labyrinthine levels of the first two games were a chore more often than not). Doom 1 and 2 were often carried by their music, energetic slabs of MIDI rock and 1980's metal pastiches; Doom 3 barely has any music whatsoever, most of the background dominated by ambient noise. Doom 1 & 2 were light on dialogue, practically bereft of it. Doom 3, by comparison, is a much chattier game in spite of its overall darker and more subdued atmosphere. There's NPCs with actual names and motivations, audio logs you can pick up and listen to on the go. Doom 3's existence and overall tone is baffling when compared to its goofier and far more violent predecessors, but I guess it makes sense when you consider the time in which this was released. Action-based shooters were out, and atmospheric shooters were in. They were hot. Half-Life and Halo were financially kicking ass and taking names, and thus every other shooter at the time wound up following in the floatier, moodier, slower, and more tactical footsteps of those two FPS monoliths.
It makes sense. And yet, through the simple act of riding coattails and chasing trends, Doom 3 wound up being the black sheep weirdo of the family solely because of how that damning choice to "do what's popular" stood at such a stark contrast to the series' roots. This can hardly be considered 'Doom 3'; this feels more like a spinoff than the logical third entry to such an acclaimed series. It's not a bad game, it's just... hardly a Doom game at all, really. And the fact that this was basically the last original Doom product we got for a solid twelve years is a damn shame - it wasn't exactly the note that anyone wanted the series to (temporarily) end on.
At least when you finally get to hell, it's kinda cool. Also, the gun sound design is fucking atrocious, oh my god.
And yet, at the same time, that's exactly what (pardon the incoming pun) dooms this game from the get-go. It is so vastly different from the two boomer-shooter kings before it that Doom 3 might as well not even exist in the same universe as its predecessors. Doom 3 is slow and decisive where Doom 1 & 2 were fast-paced and chaotic. Doom 3 makes you feel like a fragile, pathetic meatbag; Doom 1 and 2 made you feel like a roided-up jock marine that chows down on demon ribs for breakfast and sucks on bullets for dessert. Doom 3's level design is linear, a stark contrast to the open-ended mazes of Doom 1 and 2 (not much of a net loss, though, the labyrinthine levels of the first two games were a chore more often than not). Doom 1 and 2 were often carried by their music, energetic slabs of MIDI rock and 1980's metal pastiches; Doom 3 barely has any music whatsoever, most of the background dominated by ambient noise. Doom 1 & 2 were light on dialogue, practically bereft of it. Doom 3, by comparison, is a much chattier game in spite of its overall darker and more subdued atmosphere. There's NPCs with actual names and motivations, audio logs you can pick up and listen to on the go. Doom 3's existence and overall tone is baffling when compared to its goofier and far more violent predecessors, but I guess it makes sense when you consider the time in which this was released. Action-based shooters were out, and atmospheric shooters were in. They were hot. Half-Life and Halo were financially kicking ass and taking names, and thus every other shooter at the time wound up following in the floatier, moodier, slower, and more tactical footsteps of those two FPS monoliths.
It makes sense. And yet, through the simple act of riding coattails and chasing trends, Doom 3 wound up being the black sheep weirdo of the family solely because of how that damning choice to "do what's popular" stood at such a stark contrast to the series' roots. This can hardly be considered 'Doom 3'; this feels more like a spinoff than the logical third entry to such an acclaimed series. It's not a bad game, it's just... hardly a Doom game at all, really. And the fact that this was basically the last original Doom product we got for a solid twelve years is a damn shame - it wasn't exactly the note that anyone wanted the series to (temporarily) end on.
At least when you finally get to hell, it's kinda cool. Also, the gun sound design is fucking atrocious, oh my god.