Doom 3
It’s creepy, kooky, mysterious and spooky.

PLATFORM: PC

PUBLISHER: Activision

DEVELOPER: iD

GENRE: Action

ESRB: Mature

The long-awaited Doom 3 has finally arrived, and it’s pretty much exactly what we expected. In fact, it’s pretty much what everyone expected. The fan boys are just as happy as they thought they’d be, the hardware geeks are beside themselves now that they get to use their $500 videocards and the naysayers are satisfied that they were right about the game’s lack of originality.

In truth, they’re all correct. Doom 3 is a great looking game, and even running on lower-end systems, you’ll love how it looks and plays. But, to be fair, it is a basic corridor shooter, and suffers from a lot of the same problems that people slagged games like Unreal II over.

One of the more telling comparisons we’ve heard people make is to Fry Cry, the year’s “other” major achievement in game programming. Compared to the new elements Far Cry brings to the table in terms of free-roaming maps, AI, graphics and different gameplay styles, Doom 3 seems dangerously out of date.

The game is essentially a remake of the original Doom, and in that sense, it works well. But today’s gamers expect more than a linear hunt through a space base on Mars. Too many locked or broken doors, and you start to feel like you’re in a carnival funhouse, being led by the hand to the next scare.

But lest we sound too negative, Doom 3 is also one of our gaming highlights of the year. The care and attention that went into every element is evident, and you’ll enjoy just looking over every ruined hallway with your flashlight.

Guns and ammo can be scarce, and the pop-up nature of the monsters mean you’ll be moving slowly and deliberately throughout most of the game. The haunting sound effects and plenty of sorta cheap “gotcha!” moments will keep your pulse up, especially if you play at night with all the lights off.

You play as a burly space marine, and generally meet other burley space marines, or zombified versions of said burly space marines. Despite the overwhelming sheen of testosterone spread thick over the entire game, we had a great time, and if you have the stomach for some serious scares, you will, too.