PC gamers are thoroughly familiar with the DOOM series as DOOM was one of
the first first-person shooters to appear on computers, but DOOM 3 is actually
DOOM 1 as far as consoles are concerned. Because of this I’ll look at the game
on its own as a shooter and not wax nostalgic about the computer gaming days
of yore as many game reviewers are apt to do. With that said, on with the
review…
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| You're having a bad first day on the job... |
DOOM 3 is set on Mars a few hundred years in the future. You are a Space
Marine who has just arrived at Mars City, a scientific research center run by
the Union Aerospace Corporation, or UAC. Things are not well in Mars City –
the scientists have been hard at work on a strange research project and the
UAC is none too happy with the time and money that the station has burned
through without producing any marketable technologies for the corporation. The
tensions between Mars City and the UAC and among the staff at the station are
at an all-time high as mishaps and disappearances are occurring with an ever
increasing frequency. No sooner than you set foot in Mars City and report to
your CO, you are ordered to track down the station’s latest missing scientist.
Soon all hell (literally) breaks loose as you find that the scientists have
been working with things better left untouched and are forced to battle demons
determined to kill every last person in Mars City.
DOOM 3 does a masterful job of creating Mars City and bringing it to life.
Before the chaos begins you will find yourself in a facility that looks and
works as you’d imagine an off-Earth research station to do so. There are
computer stations and terminals, working information kiosks, soda machines,
magazines sitting on tables, and plenty of other such touches which make the
station feel like it is inhabited and in use. You’ll also encounter the base
personnel and fellow marines as you make your way through the station. They’re
all busy going about their business, but you can stop and speak with them as
they pass – although they’re usually too busy to stop and chat. In addition,
you will find video disks, tapes, and PDAs, all of which you can download into
your own PDA for viewing. These files will provide a wealth of information on
the game’s storyline as well as give out clues such as locker access codes.
The PDA also serves as your catchall security device and downloading
information from other PDAs will give you access to their owners’ security
levels which will literally open doors for you in the station. The PDA is
easily accessed by pressing the Black button, allowing you to quickly view new
PDA messages or video disks. Of course if you’d prefer not to delve into the
game’s story at a deeper level and concentrate on shooting things, you don’t
have to read through all of the PDA entries. This makes the PDA a good device
for allowing players to choose how much they want to get into the game’s story
on their own. My only complaint with the PDA is that the skinny letter font
used for the messages can be a little difficult to read.
The game features a number of interactive panels and security code keypads,
all of which are easily manipulated. Move the aiming reticule over a panel and
if you can interact with it the reticule changes to hand pointer. You can then
use the trigger to press buttons instead of unleashing bullet rounds. It’s a
simple but elegant mechanism and it works quite well.
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