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Doom III (PC) Status: Stopped playing - Something better came along I started playing this game on Thursday 22 March, 2007 // I stopped playing this game on: Saturday 8 December, 2007
Current opinion of this game
Scaaary. I'm actually reminded of the fun I had playing Half-Life. This is a good thing.
June 4, 2007 12:23:33 PM
Wow. I played through two more areas the other night and I'm still surprised by how scary this game is for me. I'm playing it on my laptop with headphones which I guess helps...but still. By now, the "trick" of having monsters teleport in right behind you is starting to get lame. I don't mind enemies coming in from previously "cleared" areas, it's more about how they appear. I simply know they warp in as soon as I cross a certain threshold or hit a certain marker. The game is scary and engaging enough for me as is without having to use lame tricks like that to get my health down or deplete my ammo. I remember a lot of people complained about having to switch from flashlight to weapon and back and forth. However, having to switch works for me. It keeps the tension up, which is what I'm enjoying most about this game so far. Creeping forward into dark rooms waving a flashlight, hearing a groan, switching over to a gun and shooting wildly trying to use the muzzle flash to get some sense of where the enemy is at. For now, I all I really want to find are some new weapons! (I'm at the very beginning of Alpha Labs 3, for those of you familiar with this game)
March 29, 2007 09:29:54 PM
I've played this twice already, for about an hour and a half each time. It's a blast! I know that this game has been out for a while now and that it didn't exactly blow anyone away for a variety of reasons, but I'm still having fun despite the "cheap" tricks the game plays on you to spook you. Oh wow, a monster just suddenly appeared behind me! My, oh, my! It's been interesting to see how much Doom III owes to Half-Life rather than the earlier versions of Doom. In fact, if it wasn't for the name, the monsters and the "setting", you would be forgiven to not make any association to Doom at all. The pacing and feel of the game is so completely different. I almost feel sad that, given the fact that iD games are usually critiqued for being so light on story, they got panned this time because I feel that they really went out of their way to create a great feeling of "presence". There's a lot of background in the environments you visit, there's more backstory than you'd think..and a lot of it is tantalizingly just out of reach. I've really enjoyed reading the email I've picked up from people who work on the base, make connections between what I read and what I find later, etc. Just like what Half-Life did with the famous opening tram sequence (and intro...right up until everything went kablooey). Here's a brief list of things I've noticed: (1) Monster encounters are very small/limited in size. I don't think I've ever fought more than 3 monsters at a time. It's usually one or two. (2) Monsters are tougher than I expected. Even the really weak zombies take multiple shots from the pistol! (I've tried headshots with mixed success) (3) Space is very tight and cramped. In prior Doom games you used to (usually) have larger spaces to move around in...making it easier to strafe, circle, and so on. Doom III definitely feels more claustrophobic. I've been caught a few times in a room from which I can't back out. (4) The sequence where you fight your first Pinky (demon) was awesome. (5) I like how you can listen to stuff on the PDA and play at the same time. (6) The interactive computer screens are REALLY neat. I was very impressed when I realized they were interactive! (I knew that, but I guess I had forgotten) So far it's been really fun... I hope it lasts! And yes, there isn't really any innovation in gameplay (yet?), but I'm ok with that.

Doom III (PC)