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The bar has been raised !

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 21 / 26
Date: August 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've been playing Doom III for 2 days now, and I must say that it's difficult to remain coherent while battling the urge to "gush" over this game. First, Carmack, ID Software, hands down you continue to redefine the genre and display exquisite mastery of FPS's. Where do I begin? First of all, the system requirements. They are a little steep, but considering the work that went into making the game playable on older hardware, I'd say it's a perfect job. The minimum system you'd want to play on is an athlon XP 1600+ or Intel equivalent, 512mb DDR ram, and GeForce3 or higher. With these minimum specs, the game is at low settings, but VERY playable. Do turn off "specular" though, it will help the framerate. With a proper graphics card (radeon 9800 or better) gameplay is nothing short of amazing. The "haze" effect on fire, gives a shimmering, heatwave effect. Truly impressive. As far as the rest, with the dark environments, anti-aliasing doesn't add much. The sound is remarkable. The game supports 5.1 surround, and gives a perfect, spatial soundstage (this definitely adds to the creepy factor). Quality headphones also work well for an immersive experience. Gameplay is quick, tense, and horrifying. Yes, horrifying. You WILL become familiar with suspense, inch-long goosebumps, a neck hair afro, and cooldown sessions because of the intensity. I'm not exaggerating, and I'm an experienced gamer. It is that amazing.

Why are there reviews written for this already?

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 22
Date: July 23, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Last I checked it was still July. How can anyone write a review for this game?

Your preconseptions about the game are based on videos, screenshots, and a leak that's over a year old. Way to go. I'm sure people will find your speculation helpful. I hope Amazon deletes every one of these crap reviews when the game hits shelves.

And on a side note, stop comparing D3 to HL2 and vice versa. There is no drama between Id and Valve. Both games offer completely different experiences and are each worth your money.

Why do you care so much about discouraging people from getting D3? You all sound like fanboys who are afraid of a little compition.

Technically Revolutionary but Gameplay is

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 26 / 37
Date: August 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This game has been heavily hyped for last couple of years and it is a dissapointment gameplay wise but it is worth the purchase to see ID's new 3D Engine.

Single Player

I played single player for about 15 hours and it was fun for the first 10 hours then it just got tedious. The basic single player gameplay is "find the key and open the door". There are a lot scripted sequences that add to the ambience of the game. For example monsters busting down door, people getting slaughtered by demons, and demons tearing apart doors. But it is nothing new. I personally think Call Of Duty and System Shock 2 have much better single players games compared to Doom 3.

Multiplayer

This is the most dissapointing part of Doom 3 since there are no new gameplay modes and multiplayer supports only 4 players MAX!

Graphics

The graphics are truly cutting edge. I'd compare it to PIXAR like graphics. The facial animantions are life like. You can see the skin on a characters face stretch as they talk. Also the texturing is very realistic. For example on floors and walls you can see that they are not flat but are rough.Shadows also ineract realistically with the enviroment. For example you can see the shadows from a strobe light move around the room.

Overall the game is a dissapointment gameplay wise because it brings nothing new to the table. Single player gets tedious after a couple of hours and multiplayer is limiting with only 4 players and no new game modes. Technically DOOM 3 is head and shoulders above any game out there in the graphics and sound department.


Postivies
+ State of the art graphics

Negatives
- Tedious single player after a couple of hours
- Only 4 players max in multiplayer
- No new multiplayer game modes

Doom 3 Falls Flat

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 17 / 21
Date: August 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If there is one redeming quality of Doom 3 it is the impressive graphics system. Unfortunately since most people don't have computers that are up to par for this game, not to mention the fact that most of the levels are pretty much pitch black: as it is, you wont even really be able to enjoy the graphics.

Even with a high end computer this game leaves much to be desired. The story is old and lifted right out of Half-life, and you will recognize the machine gun from Halo. The levels are dark and cramped.

One of the most annoying features is the flashlight. Unlike other games that offer night vision or a flashlight that can be used in conjunction with your weapons, this game forces the user to switch between a flashlight and their weapon constantly and to great annoyance. Even a flashlight/pistol combo would be better than shooting into the dark and hoping you got a kill. To add insult to injury the flashlight is used amost consistently throughout the game (it doesn't even need to be recharged) and even adjusting the gamma levels are not going to help very much with this game. Black is black, no matter how high you adjust your gamma settings.

The enemy a.i. is stupid and the only reason they are even a challenge is because 1) its dark and you can't use a flashlight and a gun 2) enemies spawn spontaniously or emerge from walls and areas you just cleared. Forget strategy, you'll get used to having enemies spawn right on your back again and again. While its supposed to be scary as enemies pop out of nowhere, it becomes tiresome and annoying as the novelty wares off. In some ways the spawning of enemies seems to be an attempt to hide the poor and linear level design.

Doom 3 offeres very little inovation as far as FPS games are concerned and other recent games to emerge like Call of Duty, and Far Cry are superior games in terms of story, level design, A.I pacing, and use of color palet to create interesting levels.

Doom 3 also attempts to use a PDA as a mandatory way of transfering information. I found the PDA system to be annoying as well, because it cuts off the pacing of the game by forcing the player to comb through emails, audio, and video files looking for clues. there are even a couple of clues that force a player to break from the game and search the internet if they really want to find some nice secrets in the game. Again, going to the internet takes away from the pacing and feel of the game.

There is also no excuse for the poor multiplayer options that come with this game. The max is 4 people, and while it make take you back to those days when you played the original Doom, it certainly doesn't hold up to all the FPS that are available today. Besides, the orignial Doom multiplayer was better because it at least offered cooperative play.

Doom 3 does have some interesting inovations that would be great to see in other games. While inovations dont make an interesting game in and of themselves, having interactive computers throughout the game was a nice touch. it was nice to walk upto monitors and TVs and see short video clips or interact with the environment in that way. The all purpose targeting recticle was a nice touch as well.

My recomendation would be to wait until this title reaches budget prices before you purchase it. That way you wont be too disapointed when you play this lack luster game.

Don't sit in the dark, go buy some goldfish and a light.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 11 / 11
Date: December 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game will fill you with Horror,
the horrible feeling of boredom!

Hear that strange, scary thumping sound effect?
ZZZZzzzz Thump.
That's you falling asleep at the keyboard.

Worse than your player getting wasted, is the money you would waste if you buy this lame, oops, I meant game.

This lame (ah, game) drops you on Mars, only to have the base station go bonkers with monsters popping out everywhere. In the dark.
Bang, Bang, etc. etc. Ad Nauseam. So Original!

It would have been more interesting to actually explore a working
Mars base station for the first HALF of the game.
And you would have to understand how some of it is working.

The second half of the game could have been you fighting monsters
AND fighting to fix the station to keep the air, lights and heat on.
Think X-Man super hero + McGyver + Star Trek Scotty. That would have been neat.

But No, that's not how it is.

The fact it is a station on Mars is basically ignored, so much opportunity is wasted (Like your money).

If the monsters were smart, they would have just cut the main power and wiped out all the humans, instead of acting all 'big and scary, oh my! Golly, a scary monster in the dark!' Big deal. Cut life support at the central station, and in 60 minutes, the base would have been 99.9% empty of human life. The monsters won the game, turn the power back on, and have the whole station, unharmed, for themselves.

Just another mindless monster shoot-em up.
With very poor lighting.
Seen one shoot'em up, seen them all, except in this game you hardly see where you are going!

And to walk around in the dark, Doom3 wants you to drop $500 for a top-of-the line expensive graphics card, if not outright buy a whole new system. So you can sit in the dark.

No, your monitor isn't broken, it Really IS that dark,
stop trying to turn up the brightness and contrast on your monitor.

I guess they figured they couldn't get the polygon count high enough on most graphics systems, so, just cloak it all in black, and the rendering engine can keep up with the game.

Spend your money on something better, like something you can see.

Buy a bowl and a few real Gold fish,
much more entertaining to watch!

Remember to feed the fish, they don't have any 'save points' to recover from if you don't feed them and clean their water on a regular basis.
Ask the pet store guy for a booklet on 'The care and feeding of your goldfish!' Yes - a fish tank is far more interesting than this game, or any game by Activision, in my opinion.

AMAZON has lots of good books on fish and fish tanks - at least you will learn something interesting about waterlife, biology and chemistry while caring for your fish.

HELL ON MARS - DOOM 3

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 14 / 16
Date: August 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've been anticipating this game for quite a while now, hoping that it would be all that I heard it was going to be. Am I satisifed. Bet your #!@.

GRAPHICS: The graphics are second to none. Absolutely the best I've ever seen. (And my PC will only run it on medium detail). They are eerie, atmospheric and overall, smooth and interesting. The humans look excellent and the monsters look outrageous. Being that the game so dark, however, you really aren't able to see that much of the level design. (Though what you do see is very cool). The cutscenes are very well done and a pleasure to watch.

STORY: The story is very cool and interesting. When I play - I'm interested in watching the cutscenes and interested in what's going on. The story is pretty easy to follow and the dialogue acting is pretty well done.

GAMEPLAY: Here is my only complaint with the game. The game can be kind of repetitive. It sticks to a pretty basic FPS outline. Go in room, clear room, get items in room, move on to next room. There are some variants to that formula, but not a lot. Otherwise, it plays just like a classic FPS. The game is definetely a blast to play. The atmosphere to this game is the best I've ever seen. This game is creepy, really creepy. Sometimes, when you go into a room, the lights will just go out and an evil laugh and then... you get the idea.

SOUND: There are some really creepy sounds in the game, some really scary random noises. There isn't really much music in the game, but what sound there is sounds really good. Especially with the 5.1 that the game comes with. The noises the monsters make are pretty scary too.

OVERALL: This game is awesome. The complaints I have are rather minor when you compare it to how much fun this game is to play. Graphically it is the best I've seen to date. (8/9/04). And it is also the scariest game ever. I've jumped playing it on several occassions. The atmosphere is so good that it just puts you right there. You feel truly immersed. (At least I do!)

Taking into consideration my complaints about the repetitiveness - Also, the weapons could have been a little better designed and sounding. They don't sound that incredible and they could have added a few better ones. But another positive note I want to add is that the interface in this game is one of the best I've ever seen. Very user friendly and very well arranged. So hats off for that.

Taking everything into consideration, my final grade is: A-

PC Note* - Have a damn good one. lol.

Good but not great

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 14 / 16
Date: October 25, 2004
Author: Amazon User

To make my review hopefully useful to you, I'll keep it short and to the point. Like many others I have followed the Wolfenstein and Doom progression over the years and I too got caught up in the hype surrounding this game. For me, any PFS is about 3 things; graphics, sound and gameplay. Yes, the graphics are very detailed and life like, but the levels all look very similar and after a while I wished they'd added some variety. The sounds are standard fare, low droning noise, industrial clanks and clonks, distant screaming, whispered voices, etc. etc. Yawn. Yes, it does create an atmosphere of suspense and drama, but like the graphics, after a while I yearned for some variation. The gameplay is the weakest aspect. It's linear which means there's only one way to get somewhere or achieve something. Pity. Also, nearly everything you come up against is triggered by you. Pick up some ammo, enter creature stage left. Locate the required PDA, enter monster stage right. Yawn. What about some realtime events? What about some random events? What about turning the lights on? It's way too dark and after a while that gets irritating. Doom 3 is good, but does not live up to the hype. For me, the most engaging FPS so far is Half-Life and the best FPS shooter overall is Deus EX. Just my opinion. If you desperately need Doom 3 to check it out for yourself, wait a few months for the price to drop. Let's hope HL2 does live up to its hype!

Could this be the best Doom EVER?!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 36 / 60
Date: September 03, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have seen several movies of Doom 3, and I got a close look at the game when I went to E3 in L.A. a few months back. Overall in the show, this game was one of my favorites. I love Id software, and hopefully, they will make Doom 3 an awesome game. So far, they are fully on track! In an early preview build, the game featured terrific sound, great gameplay that was similar to that of UT 2003, another awesome game, but most of all, the game had a mind-blowing graphical engine, which demonstrated unbelievable graphical power never before shown in a PC game. The game stepped away from the original two games in terms of style. Doom 3 will still be an FPS, but instead of side scrolling 2D gaming, it is an amazing shooter more along the lines of Unreal or Star trek Elite Force. In fact, the game played almost exactly like these two games mentioned here. Doom 3 is still very far away from being released, and there weren't too many details, but I think that we all could be in for a treat when 2004 rolls around!

Honest review

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 17 / 22
Date: August 13, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First of all, I hear a lot of people saying that doom 3 is copying half life 1. Not true at all; Doom 3 is basically a remake of Doom 1 and Doom 1 came out before half life 1. Graphically the game is great. My computer has a P4 @ 2.4GH, 512MB Ram and an ATI Radeon 9600XT. I can't set the graphics higher than medium, but it still looks great. My problem with the game is the replay value. There isn't any replay value, I don't even think there's much play value. Most of the game takes place in the dark, which is annoying because none of your weapon are equipted with a flash light on them. You have to continuously switch between your flash light and weapon. Trying to find your way through the dark is much more challenging than the monsters you face. The path you take is linear and its all the same, run thru the darkness and kill some monsters, run thru the darkness and kill some more monsters, the game just gets boring. The makers try to get you into the story. Thru out the game you pick up PDAs left by characters in the game and within them you can read and hear logs and messages that hint about what happened or what's going on in the story. You have to listen to some of the logs to get locker codes. It's just a pain to have to go thru all this stuff. In the begining you don't really care about the story because you just want to see the monsters; later in the game you still don't care about the story because you desperately want there to be something different in the game (because it's boring).

bad info above about Doom 3

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 24
Date: August 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

just so you all know, doom 3 will not run on a 128 or 256 machine, and the lame graphics of hitman 2 wont hold a candle to doom 3. people really shouldn't post here if they don't know their stuff, as people are using this for information, not false information. Hitman 2 compared to Doom 3...lol what a joke. The minimum specs for DOOM 3 are 1.5 ghz with 384 MINIMUM ram. The recommended is 3.0ghz 1GB ram. And a serious video card, so people here don't be led to buy something u can't play. This game is literally the biggest computer HAWG ever, it compares to nothing, especially a 3 yr old game like hitman 2.

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