Turn out the lights and turn up the volume: it's time for "Doom 3". The gates of hell have opened, and you're not the only one with a gun.
The first thing you'll notice about "Doom" is the sight and the sound--both spectacular. It definitely warrants surround sound and a nice big monitor, but neither is essential to enjoy it. The look is real enough to suck you in and quickly suspend your disbelief. The faces are disturbingly life-like, but just keep telling your self "they were all bad."
The weapons are pretty typical: realistic, progressive, with good sound and movement. Everything reacts to the bullets, which gives it an authentic feel. Of course, one of the coolest aspects of this PC version is the ability to modify your weapons.
The flashlight mod is a must, since you start out the game with a flashlight and a handgun soon after. To see your way around you need the flashlight, but to kill anything you have to whip out your weapon. It adds to the overall eeriness, but it's murder on the lifespan. The flashlight mod attaches a light to every weapon. Different mods offer different light intensities, so shop around.
The pistol does all right with the first few bad guys, but with tougher foes it's pretty much a paperweight. With the plasma mod it's far more effective. If you want to keep it real but still have a slight advantage, try the speed mod, increasing the firing rate instead of the typical lag between shots. There are many more mods out there, with mirrors for them on Gamer's Hell or a million other Web sites. Just run a Google search on "Doom 3" mods and go to town.
Though deserving of the hype and extended wait, "Doom 3" does have a few drawbacks. First, as important as grenades are, they're still a separate weapon and not seamlessly integrated into game play when another weapon is armed. In "Halo" you just pull the other trigger; in "Quake 2" you could just press the G hotkey to throw a grenade and it would automatically switch to your previous weapon. It's a little tougher with "Doom", so grenades become a less viable weapon in the long run.
Secondly, there's no butt stroke. Some of the creatures get right in your grill, and it would be nice to dissuade them with a rap across the face with whatever weapon your currently reloading, but alas, "Doom" doesn't have this feature. There's a punch mode, but come on--who punches in hell? The loser, that's who.
There's not a whole lot of zoom action on many weapons either, but it's mostly close-quarters combat anyway. Double-fisting weapons wouldn't have been a bad feature, but most weapons are two-handed.
Lastly and most obviously, "Doom 3" is a RAM hog. What did you expect, "King's Quest"? All of those graphics have to come from somewhere, so to optimize it try the "best configuration" from your options menu. Close all other programs you're running, and maybe even dump your virtual memory by restarting before you begin.
And oh yeah, update the drivers for your graphics card--this can make all of the difference. If you don't have a graphics card go get one, 'cause you aint' playin' this game without it.
The heads-up display is excellent. I liked the default, but you can customize just about anything on it. And it's nice to have the weapon holster itself when you come upon an interactive object. Often with first-person shooters, I cap a computer thinking I could use it, and ammo is hard to come by on Mars.
The PDA is a nice touch--it takes you out of the terrifying environment long enough to catch your breath. Games with no respite grow laborious quick: "Enter the Matrix" case and point. It allows for little side missions, granting access to better weapons, armor and health. It flushes out the storyline too.
"Doom's" bad guys are both interactive and smart--a feature id has pioneered and has since improved on. They learn your tactics and adapt to them. Shoot high and they duck; shoot straight and they jump to the side. If your like me and you run like a little girl when you get fired on, they don't always follow but wait in the shadows to surprise you again.
Some foes have precursory sounds (like in "Silent Hill") adding to the overall scare factor while still giving you a bit of an edge.
The multiplayer mode is all it should be in a first-person shooter: easy, fast and rather addictive. "Doom" maintains that spooky, trick-of-the-light feel in multiplayer just like when you're playing the storyline. With the highly dynamic environments of multiplayer arenas, you can wage a no-holds-barred killing spree or go stealth and strike from a plethora of hiding spots.
Joining or hosting an online game literally takes about 20 seconds and four mouse clicks. There's no registration, no password, no membership or any other nickel-and-diming tactic that seems to have become so popular lately.
Granted, you'll likely be beaten within the first 10 seconds by whatever eight-year-old you're playing against, but don't feel bad. You could beat him up in real life, even if he makes you look as innocuous as a floppy-eared bunny in the land of "Doom".
"Doom 3" does break another barrier, though, and that's the $50 market cap on games. Even "Return to Castle Wolfenstein" wasn't that presumptuous. With a $55 price tag, "Doom" goes where every lesser game producer was waiting for a blockbuster to go--past a price cap that has been in place for a number of years now. In "Doom's" case, it's worth the exception. Let's just hope it doesn't mean that other game makers think they can demand the same price. "Doom" will go down to $50 soon enough, though it will likely hang between $40 and $50 for some time.
Bottom line: "Doom 3" is a good buy with lots of staying power and the strong possibility of expansion packs and upgrades. Nothing beats the sound or the graphics, coupled with a smooth and reputable gaming engine. The light acts like real light. The guns sounds like real guns. The brains splat like real brains. And yes, the snazzberries taste like snazzberries.
Darren Todd is the opinion editor for The State Press. Reach him at Lawrence.Todd@asu.edu.
