Doom 3

[biggytitbo]

I notice there is a remaster out now on PS4, along with the first 2 games. Is it worth picking up? Looks like it has a proper Dead Space vibe rather than being a straightforward shooter, so would be right up my street.

[madhair60]

Yeah it's wicked. Though it is quite straightforward in the end. People always say it's nothing like the original Doom but it is after the first few levels.

[bgmnts]

The torch being a separate weapon makes for both scary moments and incredibly frustrating ones, although I only last played it around 5 years ago so it may have ages.

[Kelvin]

Yeah it's wicked. Though it is quite straightforward in the end. People always say it's nothing like the original Doom but it is after the first few levels.

Exactly this. Maybe at the time it came out it felt like more of a departure for the series - I don't remember - but in retrospect, the bulk of Doom 3 has much more in common with the classic fast paced, key hunting Doom games (and the most recent one) than it does with the prevalent modern FPS.

That said, the first few levels do feature a fair amount of story and "cinematic" moments. But once the game proper starts, it's a fairly straightforward shooter with very little to get in the way of killing and finding secrets.

Not an all time classic, and it lacks the strategy and unrelenting pace of Doom 1 and 2, but it's still a solid, fun few hours, and worth it at the new low price.

[H-O-W-L]

The introductory pacing and the atmosphere building at the start is really fucking thick and really fucking good. The first few minutes of chaos after the Big Bloogy Woo moment where you just trudge through dark corridors, panels shaking off the walls and the odd zombified toilet attendant lurching out to attack you undercutting the frantic, panicked screams of your teammates over the radio is a really solid moment that has stuck out to me for decades. I really love that one voice that comes over the radio screaming "WHAT DO I DO?! WHERE DO I GO?!" before it all falls silent. Crackingly dark stuff. I also like that those scared transmissions continue for most of the first part of the game, slowly petering out in frequency until it's clear you're one of the last sods left.

It really is what they wanted to make of Doom in 1993 originally, based on the design doc, and it's what Valve were trying to execute with Half-Life in 1998, thematically speaking, and it works quite well. I feel it was a slave to its own branding ultimately, were it to come out under the name Bastard with Shotgun Versus the Spirits of the Damned it would've been far more beloved.

If you replay it don't forget to check the toilets at the start in order to see a whacking great log that no doubt had the poor bastard responsible for its birth lurching for the Stimpack.

[madhair60]

The torch being a separate weapon makes for both scary moments and incredibly frustrating ones, although I only last played it around 5 years ago so it may have ages.

They've changed this now so the flashlight is shoulder-mounted and has a limited but recharging battery, which is both good and shit at the same time.

[H-O-W-L]

They've changed this now so the flashlight is shoulder-mounted and has a limited but recharging battery, which is both good and shit at the same time.

Really if you play the original game on PC I suggest getting the mod that adds a flashlight to the shotgun and SMG, so you're still vulnerable in the early levels and you still are generally vulnerable (as it's directional, reloading your SMG or pumping your shotgun makes it go off-kilter temporarily) with your lit-up guns. You also have to make the choice of using your guns with lights or the more powerful stuff.

[druss]

Shit me up, looked great.

[Default to the negative]

On the PC you can use Doom 3 OpenCoop to play through the campaign with friends. With two players the flashlight system feels completely natural. One person lights, the other shoots.

[Dannyhood91]

Back in the day my mate watched me play the first level for the first time and something made me jump and i proper freaked out and acted like a big girl so my mate laughed loads and i didn't like that.

[biggytitbo]

It's ok to be afraid.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I'd never played it before (my 2004 PC ran the demo at a blistering 2 fps) but, coicidentally, I recently watched this video on youtube about the game. With my interest piqued and it only costing eight quid, I downloaded it on the PS4.

It probably goes without saying that it's a very different experience to Doom 4. Much more tense and slow paced. Granted, some of that tension is down to the awkward feeling controls, as it was clearly designed for mouse aiming. Plus, the guns seem to fire a bit slowly. Other than some rather terrible animation on the character faces, it doesn't look too shabby for its age and it's certainly atmospheric. I was a bit surprised to see that the infamous torch doesn't cast shadows, which seems a bit sloppy.

Speaking of; I sort of wish they'd kept the original torch system. As it is, I just keep it on while clearing an area, then twiddle my thumbs for a bit while it recharges.

[greenman]

Exactly this. Maybe at the time it came out it felt like more of a departure for the series - I don't remember - but in retrospect, the bulk of Doom 3 has much more in common with the classic fast paced, key hunting Doom games (and the most recent one) than it does with the prevalent modern FPS.

That said, the first few levels do feature a fair amount of story and "cinematic" moments. But once the game proper starts, it's a fairly straightforward shooter with very little to get in the way of killing and finding secrets.

Not an all time classic, and it lacks the strategy and unrelenting pace of Doom 1 and 2, but it's still a solid, fun few hours, and worth it at the new low price.

My memory is that it was the worst of both worlds, lacking much in the way of plot/set pieces but still being very comfined with the combat mechanics being incredibly dull, endless "meet lone monster around corner and shoot at each other at point blank range". The originals were much more open in design allowing for a lot more combat tactics and skill taking on large numbers of enemies at range.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

I'd never played it before (my 2004 PC ran the demo at a blistering 2 fps) but, coicidentally, I recently watched this video on youtube about the game. With my interest piqued and it only costing eight quid, I downloaded it on the PS4.

It probably goes without saying that it's a very different experience to Doom 4. Much more tense and slow paced. Granted, some of that tension is down to the awkward feeling controls, as it was clearly designed for mouse aiming. Plus, the guns seem to fire a bit slowly. Other than some rather terrible animation on the character faces, it doesn't look too shabby for its age and it's certainly atmospheric. I was a bit surprised to see that the infamous torch doesn't cast shadows, which seems a bit sloppy.

Speaking of; I sort of wish they'd kept the original torch system. As it is, I just keep it on while clearing an area, then twiddle my thumbs for a bit while it recharges.

You can turn on flashlight shadows in the settings. For some reason it's disabled by default.

[H-O-W-L]

Aye, flashlight shadows are an issue with the BFG Edition. If you're on PC, have a bit of a strong rig (not that strong, just med-tier in modern terms) and know how to do a bit of installation bollocks I might suggest this mod if you want it looking really special. I quite liked it, and it solves most of the guns handling like complete arse.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

the combat mechanics being incredibly dull, endless "meet lone monster around corner and shoot at each other at point blank range".

I'm a fair bit into the game and, unfortunately, this seems to be an accurate summation of the experience. I've tried being all tactical and such, but the narrow corridors and bad aiming* discourage movement, while the monsters indifference to being shot makes weapon choice feel arbitrary. The Doomguy, on the other hand, is a great big wimp. Your crosshairs swing about wildly with every hit, which can let even low level baddies stunlock you - which isn't helped by them frequently sneaking up behind you.

No doubt some clever dick would say, "Oh, but it's designed to be that way. The sense of disempowerment is essential to the horror atmosphere." Except it isn't actually scary, it's just a bit of a slog.

I feel it was a slave to its own branding ultimately, were it to come out under the name Bastard with Shotgun Versus the Spirits of the Damned it would've been far more beloved.

Nah. If it weren't for the venerable name, I think it would have been entirely overshadowed by Half-Life 2 and all but forgotten today.

On the plus side, it's really whetting my appetite for Doom Eternal.

*Yes, it would be better with a mouse, but I've never had such a hard time with other console shooters.

[H-O-W-L]

Nah. If it weren't for the venerable name, I think it would have been entirely overshadowed by Half-Life 2 and all but forgotten today.

It DID release significantly before HL2 so I feel it would've gotten fair amounts of attention. Maybe if it released a bit after HL2 it would've been even safer. Though releasing in 2004, for any game that wasn't a name, was basically a death knell anyway. So I agree with you but I also sort of don't; timing for sure, principle, nah. If it wasn't branded a Doom game, and released in a safer season, it would've fared a lot better IMO.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Nah.

I just don't think there's anything particularly remarkable about it. The lighting engine might have been technically revolutionary for the time, but in practice it's nothing we hadn't seen in the likes of Silent Hill 2. Otherwise, I think Half-Life 2 was graphically more impressive with its expressive characters.

Gameplay wise (again, making allowances for the fact I'm playing on a console) it's just not that good. As greenman said above, it lacks much in the way of memorable set pieces or level design - although I haven't reached any of the Hell levels yet - whereas HL2 was chock full of memorable sections from the get go, even doing horror better in Ravenholme. You mentioned the opening sections, but those are pretty much a straight up rip off of the original Half-Life and less effective, in my opinion. If we're talking demon shooters from 2004, Painkiller is far more enjoyable.

Take away the name and it would still just be a bit of a plodding, drab experience.

[H-O-W-L]

Each to their own, honestly.

[madhair60]

Nah.

I just don't think there's anything particularly remarkable about it. The lighting engine might have been technically revolutionary for the time, but in practice it's nothing we hadn't seen in the likes of Silent Hill 2. Otherwise, I think Half-Life 2 was graphically more impressive with its expressive characters.

Gameplay wise (again, making allowances for the fact I'm playing on a console) it's just not that good. As greenman said above, it lacks much in the way of memorable set pieces or level design - although I haven't reached any of the Hell levels yet - whereas HL2 was chock full of memorable sections from the get go, even doing horror better in Ravenholme. You mentioned the opening sections, but those are pretty much a straight up rip off of the original Half-Life and less effective, in my opinion. If we're talking demon shooters from 2004, Painkiller is far more enjoyable.

Take away the name and it would still just be a bit of a plodding, drab experience.

It's great after maybe an hour of gameplay.

Painkiller is the most boring dogshit game imaginable. Run backwards in circles clicking LMB. That's literally all you do.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Your face is the  most boring dogshit game imaginable. That's why you need such mad hair.

Each to their own, honestly.

I suppose so. A bunch of people seem to like Wolfenstein: The New Colossus and I thought that was a bit tedious as well.

[H-O-W-L]

I suppose so. A bunch of people seem to like Wolfenstein: The New Colossus and I thought that was a bit tedious as well.

I'll agree to that. I liked The New Order, vastly preferred The Old Blood, but TNC was utter shit. I ranted about it in the Youngblood thread.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

I'm surprised to see you stumping for this then, as I'd say they have basically the same gameplay issues.

At least the Doomguy isn't constantly moaning about how tired he is.

[H-O-W-L]

Something about Doom 3, perhaps the fact it's a video game version of Event Horizon, just tickles me in the right spots. Wolf 2 felt like a shit Tarantino movie where the devs were actively wanking over the idea of making you kiss your best friend's severed head in first person. The tone of Wolf 2 was all to shit and the game crumbled into itself.

[Beagle 2]

I think I'm maybe at this magic one hour in stage, I've just picked up a machine gun anyway. It's pretty dull so far but it certainly looks very nice for such an old game. So far there have been no interesting puzzles and no exciting shooty shooty action, so it really does feel like a modern single player fps game. 

[Zetetic]

The introductory pacing and the atmosphere building at the start is really fucking thick and really fucking good.

I think this is very generous, given both how pointless the cutscenes are and how much they break both the pacing and atmosphere with their drivel. Get rid of those and it'd be a bit better.

[Elderly Sumo Prophecy]

The character models for the NPC's in Doom 3 always struck me as a bit odd looking. They're all these grey looking, slightly chunky blokes with wandering eyes and teeth.

[Beagle 2]

Does this get better? I just keep getting lost because everything looks the fucking same, just like the newest Doom. Doom is shit, isn't it, why do I keep buying Doom games.

[madhair60]

Doom is shit

WHAT A DAY I'M HAVING.

[Claude the Racecar Driving Rockstar Super Sleuth]

Does this get better? I just keep getting lost because everything looks the fucking same, just like the newest Doom. Doom is shit, isn't it, why do I keep buying Doom games.

I played about five hours or so into the game before deciding that it wasn't getting any better and giving up.

On the other hand, the other Doom games are great and only some sort of dirty pervert would think otherwise.