Doom 3

Id software is back at it again. Committed to scare the pants off of players, Doom 3 will take its players through blood soaked hallways and the depths of hell. Apparently a mad scientist opened a portal into hell and you have to find a way to fix it. Your arsenal mostly consists of a large assortment of guns, a PDA and a flashlight. Since you cannot use a flashlight and a weapon at the same time, you must choose wisely. Many enemies can be dispatched simply by wandering into the light. With that said, it would have been convenient to give you the option to have a mounted light.

As you walk through the science labs you will often see machinery with bright lights, casting beautiful light and shadow. Enemies are frightening and convincing but human characters look blocky. This is not much of an issue considering Doom 3 moves so fast, but the graphical impressiveness of Doom 3 certainly has its holes.

Another decision that holds back Doom 3 from being more surreal is dissapearing bodies. Whenever you kill an enemy they burn away. Part of the fiction or not, it feels cheap and antiquated.

But if you can depend on Doom 3 to one thing right, its the shooting. You have a hefty aresenal to pick from. Every gun has a specific feel and purpose. Bobbing and weaving with a shotgun is a great way to do damage at close range, or perhaps you may hang back and shoot down the fireballs with your plasma gun instead. Even though the single player is lengthier than most shooters on the market, the combat is fun right up to the end.

Doom 3 is somewhat of an ugly duckling. It is flawed but it still delivers on superb action and visuals. If you are looking for wide open fields and important decisions to make, this may not be for you.But if you are looking for a macho action game with some of the best shooting in the business, Doom 3 is the way to go for you.