Doom 3: review
PostPosted: Sun Aug 07, 2005 12:39 am
I asked about subitting a review for Doom 3 to this site and was told that the game review database is still in the works. Well... that didn't quite answer my question, but the convo Ink and I made it sound like it would be a good idea to post a review for this game from a Christian standpoint. So, while that database is still in the works, I'll post it in here till then. Using my better judgement, this should go fine with the mods and admins.
Doom 3
Maker: idSoftware
Age: 18 at lowest, recommended for 21 and over
Overall rating: 9.6/10
Violence: 10/10
Language: 4/10
Sexual content: 1/10
Nudity: 3/10
Bad Religion: 6/10
Image Urls: (if you would like image captions/explanations, I can supply them) [These are high quality pics, so I won't img tag them here.] {These pics have some blood but are pretty much gore-free. I took them, so I know}
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21723560620.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21723581449.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800004157.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800025333.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800072350.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800124163.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800174791.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800100527.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800153788.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800195419.jpg
Genre: FPS, Horror, Sci-fi, Suspense
Main Review: The "sequel" to the Doom series that took the world by storm has been out for about a year now, and upon playing it at long last, I have to say that those of you who haven't played it yet have to get out from the rock you're hiding under and buy this game if the Doom series is something you found as entertainment. It's got a surprisingly good story, which isn't something one would expect looking at the Doom series previous games. It lacks in no area if you're looking for a good FPS and is exactly what you want to play if you want to leave sweat stains on your favorite chair or couch. Be sure to use the toilet before playing this at night with the lights off, or sweat stains might be the least of your worries. Very spooky and frighting, and full of surprises.
Gameplay: The playability is well done. Very configurable controls will allow you to set things just how you like them. A lot of planning went into how to make things work well for the player since he will need to be accessing and manipulating computer screens with a mouse. Only once did this cause a problem for me: I wanted to unload a shell into an imp at very close range and ended up dropping my gun to reach through his body and activate a lift. So fret not: this is a game that you can pick up and quickly get the hang of.
Difficutly: This is hard to describe. A lot of the game's difficutly is psychologica... Was that clang in the corner over there an imp? Is that the sound of a pump valve or a revnant? Is there something lurking in this long coridor? The makers of the game have made it so that the player has to keep guessing at what might be ahead. Overcoming the fear that runs through you is a big part of the battle, but it's not everything. Even if such situations don't scare you, you'll be able to find plenty of challenges in this game with variable difficulty settings. It can either be moderately difficult, or you can pump things up and make this game a living Nightmare.
Detail/graphics: Supurb. Few games have this kind of detail, and I haven't even played with the highest detail settings. Textures are very nice and high resolution, whether you're reading a computer screen or looking a Pinky Demon down the throat. Lighting is perfect too. The flashlight will come in handy, and unlike a lot of quality FPS games out there, the flashlight's light actually looks like it's coming from a flashlight. When doors open, light from the other room will partially illuminate the room you're in if it's darker (see the room at the beginning where the guard scans you, for example). The physics engine is pretty sweet too. Barrels move easier if rolled rather than just pushed, rockets will launch your foes, and lighting fixtures sway when stuff (like bullets) crash into them (and as you'd expect, the lighting effects keep up with such an event). So, as long as you have a halfway decent computer (I have 2.2 GHz processing speed and 512 MB of RAM), you'll be able to enjoy fairly good gameplay, save a few horrible loading times which are pretty unavoidable but are few and far between. They shouldn't impede your gameplay much. Enemy and people models and textures are also very nicely done... the Dr. Betruger will have your eyes fixed with his... one eye. Demons and zombies will make your skinn crawl just looking at them, and they'll bleed if you shoot them. Very realistic, it'll seem like you're looking at something non-fictional.
Music: There is music here, but it's mostly ambiance. However, it's very good ambiance. It creates a strong mood for whatever situation you're in, but never overpowers the sounds of things going on around you, so it will never be a distraction.
Sound: Supurb. Every sound will play on your immagination. You'll be listening carefully to sounds as you walk through the UAC Mars base (and Hell later on in the game), and over time you'll be able to tell the difference between the breathing sounds of zombies, imps, revnants, etc. Voice acting is pretty much flawless as well. Throughout the game you pick up PDAs (Personal Data Assistants) which contain audio logs of the owner of the device. I didn't notice any reuses of any voice actors. Their emotions play out well; you'll hear everything from joy to fright, from regret to frustration at their coworkers and working conditions. In short, your ears won't be complaining for want of sound quality.
Violence details: If Doom3 is anything, it's violent. This game is not for the faint of heart, nor for the weak of stomach. Blood litterally paints the walls and floors of certain parts of the game. Often you see the signs of a corpse being dragged through hallways. Bloodstained skeletons aren't hard to find lying around the place, nor are corpses. Occasionally you'll spot a zombie feeding on a victem of the hellish assault on the mars base. Some scenes are even so gorey as to make me shudder, one such scene standing out in my mind involving a dying man being pinned to the ceiling by some strange spikes... too grotesque to go into details about here. And of course there's the shooting... Lots of shooting. But that's the fun part. Anyways, if violence, blood, and gore aren't your thing, neither is this game.
Language details: There isn't a whole lot of cussing... well, not too much. The Lord's name is used in vain quite a few times, but there aren't any F-bombs. If this were a movie (as it will be soon) and we were grading the language, I'd mark it PG13.
Nudity details: There are some naked zombies and corpses, but you aren't gonna be blinded by them... No private parts. Also, the demons don't care much for clothes, if that counds
Sexual Content details: Not much. One type of demon (the first boss) is... well... rather well endowed. It's not a big issue though; there is no nip, and you won't care about her chest while she's trying to bash your skull in with her telekenetic powers and some rocks.
Religions Material details: The amount of bad religion was lower than I thought it would be going into this game. Naturally, it's still there though. Plenty of pentagrams and demonic signs are painted around to help the demons get from place to place. I found it particularly bad when I found an e-mail from the antagonist which told the player the "propper" way to draw a pentagram and other blatently occultic rituals. Comforting, however, is the rememberance that only the bad guys use these foul religious things in the game. I like to think of the protagonist as a powerful, righteous warrior against evil, and he can fit that model well.
The level which involves going to Hell to retrieve the Soulcube is a non-Christian view of hell (remember, hell is not a home of demons, but a place where they will be sent to be tortured for all eternity), but not much of a problem.
The soulcube is odd. According to the story (and you might wanna skip this part if you don't like spoilers), the soulcube contains the souls of an entire martian race who sacraficed themselves to make the ultimate weapon for fending off hell.
Last to be mentioned is something that irks me quite a bit. The game makes subtle but true references to evolution, claiming that that the human race evolved from the martian race.
In conclusion to this section, bad religion shouldn't be much of a problem. I've seen worse stuff in E-rated RPGs, so maybe rating this section 6/10 is a bit harsh, but better safe than sorry.
Conclusion: This is a good game. Christians need not fear it, it isn't evil like many have tried to make it out to be. However, this is not a game that you'd play with children under the age of 18 around. It is made for mature adults who can handle the content found inside the game. I'd easily imagine that many people over the age of 21 wouldn't be able to handle it; after all, there's still a lot of hate towards FPS games out there. But if you feel ready for some good scares and a good FPS, 50 dollars is a small price to pay for this great game, and I doubt you'd have to pay that much for this game nowadays.
If you're not ready to decide yet, the demo can help you. http://www.doom3.com/demo.asp
end review
Doom 3
Maker: idSoftware
Age: 18 at lowest, recommended for 21 and over
Overall rating: 9.6/10
Violence: 10/10
Language: 4/10
Sexual content: 1/10
Nudity: 3/10
Bad Religion: 6/10
Image Urls: (if you would like image captions/explanations, I can supply them) [These are high quality pics, so I won't img tag them here.] {These pics have some blood but are pretty much gore-free. I took them, so I know}
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21723560620.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21723581449.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800004157.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800025333.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800072350.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800124163.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800174791.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800100527.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800153788.jpg
http://x1.putfile.com/8/21800195419.jpg
Genre: FPS, Horror, Sci-fi, Suspense
Main Review: The "sequel" to the Doom series that took the world by storm has been out for about a year now, and upon playing it at long last, I have to say that those of you who haven't played it yet have to get out from the rock you're hiding under and buy this game if the Doom series is something you found as entertainment. It's got a surprisingly good story, which isn't something one would expect looking at the Doom series previous games. It lacks in no area if you're looking for a good FPS and is exactly what you want to play if you want to leave sweat stains on your favorite chair or couch. Be sure to use the toilet before playing this at night with the lights off, or sweat stains might be the least of your worries. Very spooky and frighting, and full of surprises.
Gameplay: The playability is well done. Very configurable controls will allow you to set things just how you like them. A lot of planning went into how to make things work well for the player since he will need to be accessing and manipulating computer screens with a mouse. Only once did this cause a problem for me: I wanted to unload a shell into an imp at very close range and ended up dropping my gun to reach through his body and activate a lift. So fret not: this is a game that you can pick up and quickly get the hang of.
Difficutly: This is hard to describe. A lot of the game's difficutly is psychologica... Was that clang in the corner over there an imp? Is that the sound of a pump valve or a revnant? Is there something lurking in this long coridor? The makers of the game have made it so that the player has to keep guessing at what might be ahead. Overcoming the fear that runs through you is a big part of the battle, but it's not everything. Even if such situations don't scare you, you'll be able to find plenty of challenges in this game with variable difficulty settings. It can either be moderately difficult, or you can pump things up and make this game a living Nightmare.
Detail/graphics: Supurb. Few games have this kind of detail, and I haven't even played with the highest detail settings. Textures are very nice and high resolution, whether you're reading a computer screen or looking a Pinky Demon down the throat. Lighting is perfect too. The flashlight will come in handy, and unlike a lot of quality FPS games out there, the flashlight's light actually looks like it's coming from a flashlight. When doors open, light from the other room will partially illuminate the room you're in if it's darker (see the room at the beginning where the guard scans you, for example). The physics engine is pretty sweet too. Barrels move easier if rolled rather than just pushed, rockets will launch your foes, and lighting fixtures sway when stuff (like bullets) crash into them (and as you'd expect, the lighting effects keep up with such an event). So, as long as you have a halfway decent computer (I have 2.2 GHz processing speed and 512 MB of RAM), you'll be able to enjoy fairly good gameplay, save a few horrible loading times which are pretty unavoidable but are few and far between. They shouldn't impede your gameplay much. Enemy and people models and textures are also very nicely done... the Dr. Betruger will have your eyes fixed with his... one eye. Demons and zombies will make your skinn crawl just looking at them, and they'll bleed if you shoot them. Very realistic, it'll seem like you're looking at something non-fictional.
Music: There is music here, but it's mostly ambiance. However, it's very good ambiance. It creates a strong mood for whatever situation you're in, but never overpowers the sounds of things going on around you, so it will never be a distraction.
Sound: Supurb. Every sound will play on your immagination. You'll be listening carefully to sounds as you walk through the UAC Mars base (and Hell later on in the game), and over time you'll be able to tell the difference between the breathing sounds of zombies, imps, revnants, etc. Voice acting is pretty much flawless as well. Throughout the game you pick up PDAs (Personal Data Assistants) which contain audio logs of the owner of the device. I didn't notice any reuses of any voice actors. Their emotions play out well; you'll hear everything from joy to fright, from regret to frustration at their coworkers and working conditions. In short, your ears won't be complaining for want of sound quality.
Violence details: If Doom3 is anything, it's violent. This game is not for the faint of heart, nor for the weak of stomach. Blood litterally paints the walls and floors of certain parts of the game. Often you see the signs of a corpse being dragged through hallways. Bloodstained skeletons aren't hard to find lying around the place, nor are corpses. Occasionally you'll spot a zombie feeding on a victem of the hellish assault on the mars base. Some scenes are even so gorey as to make me shudder, one such scene standing out in my mind involving a dying man being pinned to the ceiling by some strange spikes... too grotesque to go into details about here. And of course there's the shooting... Lots of shooting. But that's the fun part. Anyways, if violence, blood, and gore aren't your thing, neither is this game.
Language details: There isn't a whole lot of cussing... well, not too much. The Lord's name is used in vain quite a few times, but there aren't any F-bombs. If this were a movie (as it will be soon) and we were grading the language, I'd mark it PG13.
Nudity details: There are some naked zombies and corpses, but you aren't gonna be blinded by them... No private parts. Also, the demons don't care much for clothes, if that counds
Sexual Content details: Not much. One type of demon (the first boss) is... well... rather well endowed. It's not a big issue though; there is no nip, and you won't care about her chest while she's trying to bash your skull in with her telekenetic powers and some rocks.
Religions Material details: The amount of bad religion was lower than I thought it would be going into this game. Naturally, it's still there though. Plenty of pentagrams and demonic signs are painted around to help the demons get from place to place. I found it particularly bad when I found an e-mail from the antagonist which told the player the "propper" way to draw a pentagram and other blatently occultic rituals. Comforting, however, is the rememberance that only the bad guys use these foul religious things in the game. I like to think of the protagonist as a powerful, righteous warrior against evil, and he can fit that model well.
The level which involves going to Hell to retrieve the Soulcube is a non-Christian view of hell (remember, hell is not a home of demons, but a place where they will be sent to be tortured for all eternity), but not much of a problem.
The soulcube is odd. According to the story (and you might wanna skip this part if you don't like spoilers), the soulcube contains the souls of an entire martian race who sacraficed themselves to make the ultimate weapon for fending off hell.
Last to be mentioned is something that irks me quite a bit. The game makes subtle but true references to evolution, claiming that that the human race evolved from the martian race.
In conclusion to this section, bad religion shouldn't be much of a problem. I've seen worse stuff in E-rated RPGs, so maybe rating this section 6/10 is a bit harsh, but better safe than sorry.
Conclusion: This is a good game. Christians need not fear it, it isn't evil like many have tried to make it out to be. However, this is not a game that you'd play with children under the age of 18 around. It is made for mature adults who can handle the content found inside the game. I'd easily imagine that many people over the age of 21 wouldn't be able to handle it; after all, there's still a lot of hate towards FPS games out there. But if you feel ready for some good scares and a good FPS, 50 dollars is a small price to pay for this great game, and I doubt you'd have to pay that much for this game nowadays.
If you're not ready to decide yet, the demo can help you. http://www.doom3.com/demo.asp
end review