Doom 3

Over the last several months, I’ve been playing through my backlog of first-person shooter games. Next up on the list was Doom 3. I remember playing the shareware version of the original Doom back in the mid 1990s. It was a technological marvel. Pretty much everyone who played it at the time was blown away. The story was nothing exceptional, and the game play was repetitive, however. After playing Doom 3, I had similar feelings. The game engine that powered Doom 3, id Tech 4, was impressive. It’s handling of lighting and shadows was first rate.

As an action/horror title, it mostly succeeded. The pervasive darkness and use of a flashlight heightened tensions. Particularly early in the game, I found myself on the edge of my seat as I entered new areas. Monsters would leap out and attack or spawn behind me. It’s amazing how you can become a bit jaded to it all after 25+ levels. The vast majority of the game took place on board a Mars research station. As with the original Doom, I found myself getting a bit bored with the sameness of the experience. There are only so many imps you can kill before the excitement wears off!

I can’t bring myself to add Doom 3 to my all-time favorites list. However, I did enjoy playing it. At its core, it certainly contained the key elements that made its predecessors successful. Supposedly, there is a Doom 4 in the works. It will be interesting to see what the next entry in the series delivers.