Doom 3 retrospective and BFG edition

So recently I bought myself a copy of Doom 3 BFG edition. This well-deserved re-release of the classic Doom 3 not only contains the full game and it's expansion pack (resurrection of evil) but a never-before-seen campaign titled the "Lost Mission" as well as the original Doom and it's sequel Doom II so this is one title just jam-packed with content and extras, as well as new game modes and hidden secrets and easter eggs and all at a lower RRP than your average title (I picked mine up for £15, about the same price as a DVD and less than half the price of the new Halo game)

As I was enjoying the hell out of this game, I thought I'd best fish out an old retrospective to get you up to speed on the original Doom 3 and top it all off with some extra critique of the BFG edition content, read on;

Doom 3

Rarely does a horror game stand the test of time, have you played the original Resident Evil recently? The zombies’ muffled moans and dull textures make them more of a joke than a threat. As graphical fidelity and programming techniques improve, what was once nightmare-inducing becomes laughable and quaint. It is with grim satisfaction therefore that I recommend Doom 3 as it’s use of atmospheric lighting and themes of darkness and despair still makes it a wonderfully immersive pant-wettening experience.

You gotta have zombies...

Many ages ago, back when dragons walked the land and the black plague was still in it’s infancy a developer named id software released Doom. Crude by today’s standards, Doom was a marvel of game design that all but introduced gamers to the world of first person shooting. Combining fast paced run and gun gameplay, grotesque hellish beasts and enough firepower to make Duke Nukem blush, id software took the gaming world by storm, releasing Doom II shortly afterwards to critical acclaim.

Many years later id software decided the dust off the series for a modern sequel in proper 3D. The result was Doom 3, a chilling tale of a colony on Mars in the year 2145 as the inhabitants unearth ancient artifacts and unwittingly rip open a portal to Hell itself. Sent in to investigate the catastrophe, you play as an unnamed space marine (unofficially dubbed with the longstanding series moniker “Doom Marine”) who slowly begins to uncover the atrocities committed by the scientists on Mars and the nightmarish demons they unleashed.

The story goes that whilst researching certain artifacts, researchers were also working on advanced teleportation technology. Upon testing the teleporter, the scientists found there was an unexplained delay caused when transporting materials through the device. They resolved to send a video recorder and upon inspection of the footage found eyes, dozens of eyes staring at the recorder, they had discovered life in a dimension parallel to our own. Doing what they do best, the research team began sending human subjects through the teleporter in the hopes of capturing a specimen. Things did not go well, however as every man sent through was driven completely insane, one test resulted in the volunteer chewing off his own fingers.

There's a whole host of weapons at your disposal

One particularly dangerous scientist named Betruger took it upon himself to steal one of the facility’s mysterious martian artifacts, named the soul cube, and take it through the machine. The result was devastating as with the soul cube’s power, the demons of Hell could enter the facility on Mars, slaughtering and warping the minds of it’s inhabitants. Betruger acts as the game’s antagonist and appears to be working on behalf of the minions of Hell to spread their infernal influence and ultimately bring Hell to Earth.

So we step into the Doom marine’s boots and it’s pretty much business as usual for an FPS, controls are simple and responsive but the best part of Doom 3 is the graphics. Unique amongst games of the age, id software graced Doom 3 with a top-quality lighting engine that made shadows pitch black and light sources ominous, the result is a game world in which every shadow there could be an enemy lurking. Simply by the scarce use of lighting Doom 3 lends itself to internal fear, the fear of the unknown as you will be unable to relax so long as there is one dark corner you haven’t yet checked for monsters. One brilliant addition to the game is the fact your flashlight is large and unwieldy, meaning that you cannot have your flashlight in your hands at the same time as your weapon. This makes trying to illuminate your path or check a cranny for supplies a gamble as should you come across an enemy you’ll find yourself at a serious disadvantage (you can hit enemies with your flashlight but it won’t do much damage). The result is a terrifying panic as you scramble to back away, plunging the enemy into darkness as you ready your gun, their eyes glowing menacingly.

The flashlight, you can always whack 'em with it.

*** I will mention at this point that the flashlight is missing from the BFG edition in favour of a shoulder-mounted light that allows players to use a weapon simultaneously. Whether this is an improvement or not is a matter of personal taste, personally I miss the flashlight and would have liked the option to choose between the hand and shoulder versions. If you want the old style light, buy the old style edition like I did***

A great deal of time and effort has been put into the environments of the Mars facility. You are rewarded for exploring dark corners and air ducts with much needed ammunition and health pickups and scattered about every level you will come across PDAs (Personal Data Assistant) which hold emails and voice messages sent amongst the researchers. Not only do these titbits hold interesting information on the storyline and the events leading up to the catastrophe, they will occasionally hold pass codes to get you into various storage lockers scattered about the game. At first I found I would skim messages looking for such codes but before long I was hooked on reading them, they’re remarkably well written and offer genuine insight into the plot. id software really nailed getting the player to get involved in the plot by rewarding such tangents.

Enemies in Doom 3 are both charmingly retro and terrifying. In a call back to the old Doom days of yore, id software decided to keep the enemy roster to familiar faces such as flaming skulls, floating fire-breathing mouths, plasma-hurling imps etc. These monsters, whilst quaint really do seem to have come from the traditional ideas of Hell we all envision with pools of lava and plenty of flame so go a long way to strengthening the setting. One particularly scary level sees you enter into Hell to retrieve the soul cube and do battle amongst floating rocks and lava pits with terrifying demons lit only by the flames of the inferno.

I'm guessing this fella's not the friendly type

So there you have it, Doom 3 is a wonderful amalgamation of tension, action, exploration, stunning graphical and sound design all rolled into a brilliantly detailed game world. It's a true pleasure to play and a modern classic, well deserving of it's HD remake. Any fan of first person gaming or horror should play this game!

BFG edition extras

So you've finished Doom 3, think it's all over? Well, not only did you have the pleasure of playing in full HD, you have a whole host of other things to keep you entertained, you can play the classic Doom games (with the extra missions included for hardcore fans), try out the online modes for competitive or cooperative balls-to-the-wall action or dive into the Doom 3 expansion packs to satisfy your craving for more hellish carnage!

First up is the Resurrection of Evil campaign, here id software have done what all developers should do when creating additional content; include all of the original game's strengths and build upon them. There's more action, more weapons and more enemies meaning more ways to play! Now id software don't pussyfoot around when it comes to gameplay, they know you're here because you want more Doom 3 so instead of a gradual build up and tutorial phase you're thrown into the action from the get-go, with a new relic that can slow time by feeding on the souls of dead humans and the all-new "grabber" tool that can pick up and throw objects including the ability to hurl enemies' plasma balls back at them for that oh-so-sweet "in your face!" moment. Like all great games, you're encouraged to mix up your play style and learn to use the new mechanics to your advantage with a brief explanation and a lot of opportunities to practise so before long you'll be throwing exploding barrels about and slowing time to really punish your adversaries. The best way to learn is to do, afterall.

This doodad can slow the passage of time!

Story-wise, Resurrection of Evil features Bertruger back and more pissed off, with a posse of three deadly daemons called the "hunters". After the Doom marine defeated him the first time around, a replacement band of fuckwits discovered a new relic in an underground excavation site on mars, proving that not even the apocalypse can make mankind leave well enough alone.

Next up we have the never-before-seen "Lost Mission" expansion, a planned add-on that was panned before it saw a release, which is a shame as although it's short, it's a veritable cornucopia of action and a non-stop gauntlet that will challenge all Doom veterans.

The story goes that whilst Bertruger was working on the teleportation projects in Delta labs, the UAC was secretly working on a much larger-scale version in the hopes of being able to teleport large pieces of equipment (like tanks) over large distances. The problem is, when all hell broke loose (zing) this larger teleporter meant a much bigger rift for unholy beasties to cross through. You play as a lone survivor frantically struggling to close the portal before everything goes tits-up in a big way, real fast. It's non-stop action and has a few easter eggs for fans to find along the way. Not to be missed.

The super shotgun makes a return in the expansion packs

And finally, special mention goes to Doom and Doom II that were generously bundled in, they may look seriously dated but they're still damn fun to play if you want to waste an hour or so, it's great fun to try and find all of the easter eggs and hidden rooms (you'll be rewarded for doing so with a trophy or achievement) and using your controller instead of a keyboard circa 1993 is a definite advantage. Once you get into the swing of it, you'll love mowing down corridors of sprites to a delightfully retro metal soundtrack. Keep your eyes peeled for the Wolfenstein secret levels and the hidden ending to Doom II ;)

We've come a long way, baby.

So there you have it, Doom 3 BFG edition is an absolute treat for old and new fans and really greases the gears in anticipation for Doom 4, which is in production right now! Grab yourself a copy and whether you're and old-school Doom fan or a newbie looking to see what all the fuss is about, you won't be disappointed!