Quick Doom 3 Impressions

[Gary V.]

Before I begin I must clean out my shorts for two reasons: the graphics and how scary the game is.

Ok, first the graphics. This is the best looking game I have ever seen. The graphics remind me of that Final Fantasy movie. This is the next level of visual quality. The marines and monsters look fantastic. The lighting is amazing.

Doom 3 has already scared the crap out of me. They definitely created a creepy mood with the visuals and sound. The intensity picks up rather quickly.

I'm running it at 1600 x 1200, high settings, v-sync on. No AA or AF. So far the game runs without hiccups. System is FX-53, 6800GT, 1 gig ram.

[Ojnod]

This game is very scary IMO, and I think the graphics really contribute to that. Also hearing the screams of other people while you are trying to make your way through the complex is pretty scary.

I am only on level 3 right now, but I didn't play a whole lot.

This is definately not the Doom 1 and 2 we used to know. This game is a little slower paced (about like the indoors parts of farcry), with some resident evil mixed in.

[Gary V.]

I was also thinking this reminds me a lot of Resident Evil.

[Shaolin K]

I had the chance to play the game tonight since my friend was one of the lucky ones to get a copy from Best Buy. He installed it on his computer and then connected the computer to his home theater system, so we were able to play the game on a giant screen (He has a digital projector) with surround sound. After playing for a while, I really needed to take a break just to relax from all the intensity of this game.

Here are my impressions so far. The graphics are absolutely amazing - even on medium detail. We ran the game first on medium and then switched over to high detail. All I can say is WOW!!!!!!!!!
Because of the spectacular lighting effects in this game, the atmosphere is superb. At first the Mars facility looks like a sterile, ordinary, and bland research facility. But once things start to happen and the lights go out, it quickly transforms into the scariest place you've ever seen in any video game. The lighting is phenomenal, the overall sounds, and particularly the blood-curdling screams you hear through the communication system are enough to make you pasty white with fear, but the thing that will make you jump ten feet in the air and then crap in your pants are the monsters you will encounter.
To add some extra tension to the mix, you're constantly low on ammo with all of the more powerful weapons. So unless you're an excellent shot with the pistol, you're going to find yourself searching every nook and cranny for some extra ammunition.
I don't want to give away too much here, but I must say that this has definitely been the scariest gaming experience I have ever had, and I loved every minute of it.

[Tavo]

Oh my God! I just got the game from a friend in SD. All I know is that this game will hurt my system badly. I just hope everything runs fine.

[Dwango]

I can't believe how lucky I got. I just went into Gamestop to look for an old PS1 game when the employee announced out loud, 7 minutes to Doom. There were only 10 copies for the store, un-reserved, and even though I was not really looking forward to this game, I got it anyway ($55, OUCH!).

It has been worth it. The gameplay is straight out Doom with a slower pace, and so far I'm seeing the classic monsters. Zombies and imps so far. Man, those imps kick ass in close combat. It is rather heavily scripted, but in a good way. You can see the care they used in establishing the "fear" factor. For instance, I had been passing over dead guys for a while with nothing happening. Then, I grab some ammo from the floor near a dead guy, and he jumps up to attack. I think I wasted 10 ammo just shooting him after he was dead, I was so pissed.

And the lighting, WOW. Shadows pass by in seconds and you really can barely see in the dark. I kept thinking, "Wouldn't thief look really cool with this engine!" I really could barely see enemies as they approached. I had to sometimes shoot wildly in the dark to kill the enemy.

But, there are problems. Surround sound with my Audigy gamer cuts out after 30 seconds each time I turn it on. And it really makes you cry, because when it works, its amazingly realistic and emmersive. I just wish I could experience the radio communications in surround sound.

Also, I have a 9800XT and the game started choppy. I had to update all my video drivers to the latest catalyst drivers, a real pain. But now it runs sweet at full detail at 1024x768. And it looks really real, though I don't understand why they made the round heads so blocky. But the skin is life like, some-what plasticy, but much better than the Unreal 2 engine.

Ultimately, ID has gone back to its roots and struck gold. I'm sure this narrative is a one time thrill, but the ride is worth the price of admission.

[Tavo]

Wow, the game looks amazing. I'm currently runing at 640x??? (I know, sucks) at medium quality and the game looks really cool. I do wish I could use AA or higher resolution but at least the game runs smooth.

The scrips are really good. Characters look at you and point in the right direction with their hands in a very realistic way.

I'm going to sleep right now, so I didn't play much. The "incident" just happened and to tell the truth, I was craping myself before any monsters where in the game.

[Nova]

To be honest, I wasn't very interested in Doom 3 and I still am not (I'm an HL 2 guy) but I'm glad to see everybody finds it so good. Take that, consoles!

I might get it eventually because I'm dying to play a scary game. The last I've played were System Shock 2 and Undying.

[Mr. Natural]

Thanks for the report. I think I'm going to be making a run tonight to see if I get lucky and find it.

[RangerRick]

Thanks for the report. I think I'm going to be making a run tonight to see if I get lucky and find it.

If you can wait until Friday, circuit City will be selling it for 44.95. If you have the ad for it , most places will sell it to you for that price. Best Buy has a display full of the game as I stopped in one today.

[(H+A+S+H)ReZa]

...Who is Gorden Freeman again....Valve are you prepared to bow to your master I know i am on my knees now...okay nouf from me i have lvls to defeat

[Mr. Natural]

If you can wait until Friday, circuit City will be selling it for 44.95. If you have the ad for it , most places will sell it to you for that price. Best Buy has a display full of the game as I stopped in one today.
I checked around and here it looks like it'll be one more day before it's out. EB Games is supposed to have it tomorrow, the guy isn't sure how many will be available. Another local store said Thursday. Looks like it'll be a day or two yet before I lay my hands on it.

[RangerRick]

Mr. N,
I stopped at a local EB store, and they told me that thet received a quantity to fill their preorders. I'll have to go to Circuit City on Friday to get the game.
If you do not have a local Circuit City ad, you can go to their web page and print off there price for the game on Friday.

Do you have a Circuit City or Best Buy around you? Best Buy will match the price if you have the ad.

[Torsion]

I gotta wait until tomarrow also. The only store near where I live is an EB. I wonder if walmart (cringes) might have the game also?

[Drewby]

My EB got it in today and held a pre-order copy for me. I got it today, and WOW it is amazing and scary! The monsters look awesome, but you never get the chance to adore their beauty cuz all they want to do is eat you! :p:

[Mr. Natural]

Mr. N,
I stopped at a local EB store, and they told me that thet received a quantity to fill their preorders. I'll have to go to Circuit City on Friday to get the game.
If you do not have a local Circuit City ad, you can go to their web page and print off there price for the game on Friday.

Do you have a Circuit City or Best Buy around you? Best Buy will match the price if you have the ad.

Yep, will do, thanks.
:thumbup:

[Cirruss]

It's pretty scary and i agree the graphics are insane. But after about 2 hours of playing, the monsters(whatever you wanna call it) kinda gets predicatable when theyre gonna come.

[GodsInHisHeaven]

I gotta tell u guys ..... I AM THROUGH :eek: .
GEEZ this were about 15 hours of total horror.
Started playing it at night ..... bad mistake, i was near a hear attack :doa: .
Incredible graphic ..... incredible sound ..... incredible game play. :thumbup: :thumbup:
Btw this is my first post .... so hi everybody and remeber my words .... YOUR SOUL IS MINE ..... YOU WILL SUFFER IN HELL FOREVER :yes: .

[Jagndeke]

Btw this is my first post .... so hi everybody

Welcome aboard!

and remeber my words .... YOUR SOUL IS MINE ..... YOU WILL SUFFER IN HELL FOREVER

Unless you're my boss who just joined the forum, sorry... you're too late! :wink:

p.s. I would have said you were my wife, but she reads my posts every now and then and I want to avoid living in "real" hell if possible! :lol:

[(H+A+S+H)ReZa]

Okay gang im finished with Doom 3...i know i am going to get crap for this...but ITS TOO DARK TOO OFTEN...I mean honestly how big of a pain in the ass is it to change between flashlight chain gun ect. every encounter that you have....anyone who has played through the game as i have will hopefully remeber the Communication Level and how awsome they made Mars look, now why couldnt they have a little more exterior influence...Perhaps a glass bubble area...or maybe vents with views of your surrounding planet, or anything for that matter just to shed some light on the situation once in a while. On the same token i have to give it to "id" they are the sickest thing on the planet Earth...and i question whether or not they are infact Damned :scared: lol. GREAT GAME...and lets see what mods can be cooked up from that Engine.

In closing Farcry+Half-Life+Alone In the Dark+My Ex=Doom 3

What are you waiting for!!!!
:thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup:

[Tom Servo]

I got it, and I'm amazing how well they coded it. It looks better than Far Cry, and runs much better. Especially with that ATI driver beta release, I've gone from 800x600 medium detail to 1024x768 high detail, the only hiccups I get is when loading into a large room.

Multiplayer seems to be kind of messed though. EVERY server says it's full, even 0/4 ones. I started my own, but my FPS level dropped in some rooms, and people's ping's were 175-200, though the guy that actually stayed on my server for a while was really nice.

[Logan]

Ok, so the question I'm burning to ask - is it worth the ~$50 price tag? I haven't bought a game yet in 2004. I have such little time these days, and such little extra money, that I want all of my games to give me a long, thoroughly enjoyable experience, preferably with a single player that I would want to at least play through parts of again.

I've gathered from the various forums that the general consensus is the gameplay is rather repetetive. Any comments on that? More importantly, are there any breaks in the repetition? Any sequences that you will remember forever in your gaming lifetime? Anything you are dying to play through again?

Lastly, are the graphics really worth it? I know, they're amazing, but this is also the first game sporting the new, much-touted engine. There will definitely be many more games in the future that use this engine, as it gets more refined each time. So does it really make sense buying a game that is really intended to be a demonstration of a brand new technology? Thanks for all replies.

[NotSoFast]

This is not Quake. It is not a software demo like Quake 3 was.

If you are going to buy a game this year, this, in my mind, would be it. It's dark, it's scary as hell (no pun intended), the sounds are as good as the graphics. The voices are quite well done. The cutscenes are done within the game engine and all look very believable and in place for the game's settings.

I drove an hour to find my copy this morning and paid the full $50 price. I do not feel shortchanged at all.

[Torsion]

Yeah, Got my copy today and its definately an amazing game. Its so intense I have to take breaks. I recomend playing on veteren because the other difficulties seem too easy. Awsome graphics and sound.

I suppose its kind of repetitive but each encounter is unique. There is a good sense of progress to keep you motivated. Tons of awesome and memorable scenes that you will remember. Overall, its quite a great game.

For multiplayer, I got onto an eight player server with no lag and it was great. I wish the pistol was not so useless though.

[bobbigboote]

I'm going to have to disagree on this one and be the odd man out.

I got it today and played it for about 4 hours straight. Got through quite a few levels.

The graphics and sound are REALLY good. The graphics are so good that I can't run 1024x768 High quality with a FX5950 Ultra/1 gig ram/3.2 P4. (it works most of the time at high except for certain areas with lots of effects going) I'm running it 1024 at medium quality and it's plenty fast and still looks pretty good.

The game play is VERY repetitive. Half of the game is in the dark. You can't use the flashlight and a weapon at the same time. This slows the game down a lot. Every level is: walk 5 feet, monster jumps out of dark, you fire wildly to kill it. Rinse, repeat. In a way, this game is VERY like Doom 1/2. But for me, shooters have gotten much more sophisticated and I can't go back and enjoy something this primitive.

The multiplayer SUCKS. Crazy lag, lame levels, etc. Perhaps they'll improve it in a patch.

In short, not worth the $50 for gameplay. Wait for Half Life 2.

If you're like me, you'll buy it and enjoy the amazing graphics and not mind that the game isn't all that. Before I got it I almost bought a new 6800 to play it on, but now I'm happy I waited since the games not worth it. I'll get a new card when Half Life 2 comes out (assuming it's as good as the first).

I personally can't wait till Return to Castle Wolfenstein 2 comes out based on this engine! It should rock!

Anyway, I'm going to go back to playing Enemy Territory now :)

[Bruenor]

Well, got it today and have played a bit.

I love it, although I may just have to buy new shorts, the game bloody well scared the crap out of me so far.

I'm surprised though, so far I have been able to play the game at 1024x768 at high detail and it looks freaking great.

[MarkN]

I got the game today, loaded it up and long story short, due to my slightly changing a few options, it froze on me twice, forcing me to do hard reboots. Then I later remembered to install the ATI 4.7 driver update, but as yet haven't tried DOOM 3 again. When I do I'll give my impressions of it.

Well, ok, here are a couple. Looks great so far (although I only got up to talking to Chang, went around a corner from him where it froze for the second time), but I was a bit disappointed that bare human heads still have slightly pointed corners! I was hoping that by now games like this and HL2 would have smoothly rounded curves; we'll see how it goes with HL2. Ok, so this is a minor quibble and might be fixed on higher settings, too.

[phaelanx]

Ok so first off id like to say that i had to get a new video card to really enjoy the game, I am now using that new fangled 128MB Geforce 5900 XT, i didn't want to make the leap of ona then 500$ cards, but this is sufficient to run it on 800x600 on high quality graphic settings with little chop, usually only when it has to load an excessive amount before a level starts. no biggie, its mostlikely motherboard/CPU lag than VPU.
Any ways the game is visualy outstanding, i don't have surround sound, im almost glad i don't other wise id be afraid to go to work (i work in a gov-research facility lol!)

Anyhow, the game does tend to get repditive and after a few hours of play you can start predicting when and what kind of monster will leap out and munch you. But that is just playing into the hands of ID dev team. Just when you think you know whats going to happen you get them creepy visions in your head.. When your screen gets red tinted and looks like an old old old tape real from 1940's. Or how about when they introduce a new monster or a boss monster and theres that cut-move that just fortels your impending "doom".

As for "the game is to dark" people, i say fooey on you. First there is not a whole lot of exploring outside the facility, because that wouldn't keep you scared as much, plus the oxygen only lasts for 90seconds till you need to get another tank, or back inside. And for those of you who complain about flashlight vs gun... I do admit it would at least be nice if in a patch they let you hold the flashlight and say the pistol at the same time... But for the most part I use the flash light when running around to check dark areas, and then switch to my gun.
---One might ask isn't that a pain in the arse to do?
---My answer is simple, change the default right mouse button from jump to flash light. Select the gun you think will be most appropriate for the next fight, and then right click to flashlight, then when monsters apear right click again and start blasting away..

I gotta get back to work, so i will leave you with this, The game is scary as hell, and they made it semi predictiable to have the player fall into a routine, just so they can change it on them... Genious.

OUTSTANDING GAME! GET IT! PLAY IT! MESS YOUR PANTS!!!

[Ojnod]

I also think that the "f" key is switch to last weapon on the default keyset.

[Tom Servo]

The graphics and sound are REALLY good. The graphics are so good that I can't run 1024x768 High quality with a FX5950 Ultra/1 gig ram/3.2 P4. (it works most of the time at high except for certain areas with lots of effects going) I'm running it 1024 at medium quality and it's plenty fast and still looks pretty good.


That's odd, since I can play at 1024 with medium-high detail on my Radeon 9000, you shouldn't have any probems.

If you play ET, go to my clan's server, 208.63.55.90

[uber_soldat666]

Well... it kind of sucks for me because I don't get my new comp until September. The specs will be (2.8 GHZ P4, 1GB Kingston PC3200 Ram, ATI RADEON 9800 PRO Video Card, 120Gb HD, and 5.1 Dolby Sound) and I think this will run Doom 3 on excellent settings. I want to know the release date on HL2 also.. can anyone tell about this?

Later,
Uber

[GodsInHisHeaven]

My opinion of this game is ,its worth every single buck ..... :yes: :yes:
Go buy it .... amazing things will happen soon :joker: .