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No Doom 3 Cooperative Play.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 9
Date: April 24, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I already own the P.C. version. I bought the X-box Collectors Edition version only because I was led to believe it contained a coop split screen option. I later find out the split screen option only applies to Doom II and Ultimate Doom and NOT Doom 3. The advertising on the back of the collectors edition box leads the buyer to believe coop play is available in all three versions. Read the fine print. Buyer beware.

Doom3 by D139

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 8
Date: January 31, 2007
Author: Amazon User

in their attempt to make the game more "realistic" I feel they have taken most of the fun out of it.I'm a big fan of the other titles (DOOM,DOOM2,FINAL DOOM)and this game just doesn't stand up for all it's graphics and realism.

Think it again...

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: February 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Well...Doom 3 is not what i expected, the graphic engine produces good graphics but sometimes they are too dark (maybe in order yo hide deficiencies) and sometimes is really confusing.

The sound is very well made with sound effets that help to maintain the attention.

The action is not as fast as in other games and some enemies are really really slow.

The limited edition disc includes "Ultimate Doom" and "Doom 2"...two classics (practically free) that are always welcome and the co-operative online mode can be fun.

Well...if you are thinking about buying Doom 3 i suggest that you rent the game before, then you decide. But definitely not a must-buy.

are you afraid of the dark?

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: August 28, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Any big name release with a lot of hype will inevitably bring with it some degree of backlash. But which do you believe? In the case of Doom 3 a little of both is probably a good idea. This title nails a lot of aspects necessary for an amazing game experiance. It also has its fair share of irritating (and one would think easy to avoid) faults bogging it down.

In particular, the atmosphere in this game is intensely gripping. the audio ambience combined with the dynamic lighting and enemy use of the dark makes this a pretty terrifying game to play. It succeeds wildly in transporting you inside a sci-fi horror film. Of course it's pretty much a straight nod to the Alien franchise in that way - the story is nowhere as solid (although thank heavens the voice acting is competent.) But inasmuch as Doom 3 instils in the player the visceral sensations of being hunted by bogeymen in the dark, the horror element here is pure gold.

The engine is fairly realistic and all around solid. Apparently the pc version has occasional framrate problems but you will find no such issues in the Xbox version. I went from end to end of this game's campaign mode without a single lock-up or slow-down. The character models behave in 3D space in a surprisingly convincing manner. The bump-mapping is phenomenal and no corners were cut on the visual production. The artistic updates on various enemies and weapons were well done and sensible.

A number of fairly stupid design problems do hinder the overall experiance though. For example, as the game progresses you will start to find unavoidable situations that force you to platform in first person. That's generally considered a huge no-no in first person shooters and was completely avoidable. Also, the level designs are occasionally redundent, particularely early on in the game when the story gives you no real clear goal.

Additionally, the menu system is uncomfortably sluggish. It may not sound like a big deal that it takes 1.5 seconds to go from menu to menu instead of .5 seconds, but when you're really immersed in the gameplay and you just want to customize the D-Pad weapons really quick in the middle of a fight or make a just-in-case save file, it stacks up. Another similar frustration comes in the form of save file load times. Although the ability to save at any place in the game may seem desirable, it results in a lot of time wasted staring at load screens later on in the game when you may need to retry particularely difficult passages or bosses over and over. Some sort of checkpoint system would have eliminated this flaw, even if only implemented in particular trouble spots. Besides these technical issues, there are a number of little spots in the gameplay where goals are ambiguous and general level design works against you in a way that feels distinctly unintentional.

The special edition features are decent. It does come with full emulations of the original two doom games as well as a smattering of somewhat informative interviews and other video features. Still, there isn't anything of mindblowing proportions here so if you're the frugal type you won't be missing anything by opting for the basic edition.

There aren't any especially good arguments against playing this game; it accomplishes its main goal as a horror fps quite well. At the very least it's worth a rental. The flaws keep it from being a hall of fame game but they certainly don't ruin what is mostly an enjoyable and convincing game with a well-balanced fps set up.

Dont Believe the Hype!!!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 1 / 12
Date: April 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is good, not great. Halo and Halo 2 blow it away as far as game play. I think the guys that love it like to cuddle with their blankys and get real scared of all the monsters in the dark.

A few things. Duck tape a stinking flashlight to the gun!!! I'm tired of switching constantly. I get it, it makes it scary, but come on!!!! Second, a motion detector would be nice, like halo. Third, xbox live action is really what drives the games now as far as repeat playing, and this xbox live gameplay (besides campaign) is lacking. Halo 2 is much better, as well as Counter Strike (which was way ahead of its time as far as online play).

One thing that I did like a lot is the xbox live campaign, I cant beleive Halo 2 didn't have it. It is very cool, the only thing bad is that they respawn you so far away from the action.

Thats it. Hope all you goth zombies enjoy the darkness.

All spectacle, no substance... but damn fun.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: April 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If one thing can be said about Doom 3, it's that the game merges new school and old school seamlessly. The visuals in this Xbox port are nearly perfect when being compared to the breathtaking atmosphere of the PC version. Basically this means that the cutting-edge visuals are still cutting edge, especially for a console, while they are becoming more accessible for a wider audience who may not have PCs beefy enough to run the game at full specs. As for the Doom legacy, everything a fan could want is here. The simple run-and-gun action from the socially taboo games I played as a child is mirrored perfectly in this remake.

However, once you strip away all of the gritty realism of the environments and the nostalgia of classic Doom, you are left with an extremely rudimentary corridor-crawler that is firmly based on derivative shooting and cheap scares for entertainment. At its core, the gameplay is absolutely repetitive, but masked by convincing character animations a bone-chilling scenery. The plot is also quite thin. Half of the time, it will feel like you are going somewhere simply because you haven't been there yet. At several points in the game, I actually had to check my PDA (which was a very cool feature, by the way) to see what my "objective" was supposed to be. Lastly, the feeling of dread and unease you get from not knowing exactly what's around the corner is somewhat reduced by the "QuickSave" anywhere function.

Close-quarters combat is used for 90% of your encounters, and while this helps add to the claustrophobic feeling that Doom 3 conveys so well, it also severely limits tactical decisions for you AND your enemy. In fact, while the AI is better described as "tenacious" rather than "stupid," there are very few moments in the game where the enemy will use clever tactics instead of rushing straight for you. Add that to the seemingly innocuous "monster closets" that demons will jump out of for a quick jump-out-and-go-boo scare (Jeeze, did the guys that designed this base actually make a conscious effort to give demons and zombies a place to hide?!) and you are left with a single, repetitive outcome to nearly every battle: a zombie/imp/soldier jumps out of a shadowy era, and you blast them away with your shotgun. Rinse and repeat. The game does have interesting events every now and then, such as gunplay in total pitch-black darkness or bizarre visions that will make you wonder if what you saw really happened, but these treats are few and far between. Derivative shooting ultimately drags Doom 3 down a few notches.

It should also be noted that, for whatever reason, headshots DO NOT do anymore damage than say... a shot to the foot. As a cardinal rule of FPSs, even on consoles, I have no clue as to why the designers decided to omit headshot damage. This was extremely disappointing.

What Doom 3 DOES do well, however, is atmosphere. The dingy, mechanical walls and flickering lights of the Mars base make you feel like you are in a living and breathing (sometimes literally) industrial environment. The level of detail is simply astonishing. Everything, from a giant, gyrating energy reactor to an insignificant ruptured pipe, looks REAL. Shadows are intense and lighting is generally clever; the game designers never let you see TOO much without the aid of your flashlight. Speaking of that wacky flashlight, it seems like it's almost become a fad to talk about how silly it is to not be able to attach a light to your gun. Well, this is one leap of logic that I'm actually willing to overlook. Having guns and light separate adds to the tension. End of story. What kind of tension, you ask? How about "the dirty feeling of isolation and claustrophobia resulting from maneuvering your nameless, voiceless marine through a dark, ominous air vent smeared in the blood of your fallen comrades, making it seem like you are actually there" kind of tension. Enemy designs aid the intensity of Doom 3's macabre scenery; it's really too bad that you really won't see many of them until the last quarter of the game. For the majority of time you spend playing, you'll be fighting the aforementioned zombies, soldiers, or Imps. Needless to say, this gets predictable (and rather boring) after a while. It really is a shame that every few levels or so, you may be introduced to an interesting new enemy (like, for example, the Maggot, Wraith, and Lost Soul), but you will most likely never see that enemy again until hours and hours later in the game. Once you advance far enough into the game, the balance of demons evens out, but Imps will still be your most common threat. Still, waves of identical enemies can't take away from an excellently crafted industrial atmosphere, which becomes so creepy that the latter half of Doom 3 that it looks like something straight out of Silent Hill (in a good way).

Oh, and just on a side note... I don't care if the Revenant was in the earlier Doom game. That enemy looks totally ridiculous. It's a skeleton with awkward rocket launchers grafted to its shoulders. Stupid. Really, really stupid.

Sound is great. It was an exceedingly wise move to use music very sparingly. The naturally grating, echoing, metallic sounds of the Mars base mixed with footsteps, demonic growls, and maniacal laughter is more than enough to convey a feeling of unease.

Although the multiplayer is abysmal (not even worth playing, in my opinion), the Co-op is probably one of the most interesting additions to Doom 3. You can't Co-op on split screen (boo!), but it's not hard at all to find someone via Xbox Live (or even System Link if you get desperate). The game has been altered to accommodate two marines instead of one, power ups and multiple demons have been added, and cut scenes have been removed. The result is an extremely fluid and addictive experience.

Well, after this long, wordy, and somewhat negative critique, I bet you're wondering why I gave Doom 3 four stars. There answer is simple: this game is fun. In an age where the Xbox's FPS games are becoming more and more innovative (take Splinter Cell: CT and Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath... both excellent games), it's almost, dare I say, "refreshing" to play a game that's actually easier to learn than Halo 2. It's an extremely cathartic experience. Sit back, relax, and let yourself become scared of the dark again as you blast through hordes of Hell's minions. It's the perfect stress reliever.

With the added features (including retro Doom games, as I'm sure you already know), the Doom 3 Collector's Edition for the Xbox is the perfect addition to any FPS and/or Survival Horror fan's library... repetitive gameplay and all.

Would be a five...if there was duct tape on Mars

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: April 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

LOVE Doom 3. Love everything about it...except one utterly weird design decision on id's part: you can have either the flashlight OR a weapon handy...not both. I can just see this decision being made in classic committee form: "It'll heighten the tension in the game!" Well, a wide variety of things would heighten the tension in a game, and they're not all smart. How about making our space marine one-legged? Or hey - BLIND! THAT'S some TENSION! We won't even have to render any graphics - we can stuff the whole disc with sound! But no...our boy can't do the simplest thing they teach a cop to do: hold your flashlight with your LEFT and your pistol with your RIGHT, or cross them over. Or simply find a roll of duct tape (there are ducts all OVER this facility) and tape the darn thing onto your shotgun. There's already a wide variety of hacks on the PC version to do this (there's even a Hello Kitty flashlight hack), so the PC folks are already enjoying a saner, more fun game...all I can do is plead for an XBox Live update that does the same.

BEST HORROR GAME EVER MADE!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 7
Date: April 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Doom 3 is probobly the best horror game ever created for any gaming console. Although the graphics are better on the PC, you can enjoy the game just as much on the Xbox, knowing that you don't need a fast processor.

I will make this review in PRO/CON format.

PRO:
1.Graphics are amazing/scary at the same time!
2.Audio is brilliant, adds to the horror of the game.
3.Its online!
4.F@#$%$ SCARY!
5.Controls are very easy to memorize/master.
6. Cutscenes are impressive.
7. Relieve the previous DOOM games with the collectors edition!

CON:
F@#$%$ SCARY!
Online can lag quite frequentely which is annoying.

I know i didn't mention very many CONS in this game, but the online aspect is seriousely an issue. Every game that you go into will lag quite often which is very annoying.

Besides that though, The new horror hit, DOOM 3 is a must have!

You have no chance survive make your time!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: February 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Painful as it is to admit, when DOOM III came to the PC, I was among those poor lost souls whose PCs couldn't handle the strain of playing it. After agonizing over the great reviews the PC version and not being able to play it, you can imagine my delight when DOOM III burst onto the Xbox a month or two later in all its gory glory. Ok, so it doesn't look as beautiful as on a top-of-the-line PC, but I have to say it looks pretty great all the same. And it plays great, too. The name DOOM isn't just a cool title, it's actually what this game is about. Death and destruction are the name of the game, all rendered with pristine textures and models. For the first few minutes of the game you will literally be afriad for your life. It will make you feel as if you are truly trapped in he dark with horrifying monsters. And though the graphics are some of the best of any Xbox game, the framerate never slows down once. But no game is perfect, and DOOM III does have a few (minor) shortcomings that I should mention.
First of all, though it looks and plays great, you realize after a while that the gameplay is actually very simplistic. Basically, you run around dark corridors, shoot monsters, and open doors with key-cards. There isn't much to it. However, this really doesn't matter because you'll be having too much fun blazing away at groups of zombies with your chaingun to notice it anyway. The gameplay (like the original DOOM for PC) is simple but fun.
One other gripe I have with this game is that some of the monsters seem to have much more bark than bite. The first time I encountered the ferocious-looking Demon (a remake version of Pinky from the original DOOM), I was already preparing to reload my last save game as I blasted away at it when, without much fanfare at all it just keeled over and died. It didn't even take away any of my health. This is true of many of the other monsters as well, making for some anticlimactic fights. Still, DOOM III is really fun to play, and there are some great weapons that you get after a while, such as the plasma rifle and chaingun (as well as the BFG 9000, a DOOM classic)which are really quite fun to shoot.
There are a few good reason's to by the collector's edition too, the main one being that you get Xbox ports of the classic DOOM and DOOM II, great games not available on the Xbox anywhere else. There are also some good commentaries and interviews if you're into that sort of thing.
All in all, DOOM III is a game worthy of any shooter fan's collection, and if you missed it on the PC, the Xbox version is a great alternative. It's a great experience, dark and sinister to the last and chock full of over-the-top violence and lots of really big guns. So if you;re looking for a good shooter and some genuinely unsettling atmosphere, pick this one up at your local Gamestop or here on Amazon, and you won't be disappointed.

"My heart is black, and my lips are cold
cities on flame with rock and roll
three thousand guitars, they seem to cry
my ears will melt, and then my eyes." - Blue Oyster Cult

DOOM 3 Great fun!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 1
Date: January 10, 2007
Author: Amazon User

No matter what you read on all the big review sites you will always see them compare this game to the PC version. Im not sure when video games becasme something more than a toy or entertainment device. This game is fun, plain and simple. Its fun the shoot the undead people, or beat them down or however you choose to kill them. The aliens are also fun to shoot.

The sound is fantastic. The gun sound effects and monster noises are very well done and really draw you into the game.

The graphics are great! The graphics in the game really set the mood of the game.

The colectors edition also has the old version of doom included. Very cool!

Its worth the price of entry.

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