 |
Doom 3 (PC)
by cheffrey
Twenty years ago (cripes I feel old typing that), id Software's 'Doom' came along and permanently changed the face of video games. With its high-octane first-person action, visceral graphics and controversial cod-Satanic imagery, it was a both loved and hated in equal measure. It was a blast to play, but concerned parents and tutting ... columnists disapproved, fearful that it would turn a generation of kids into psychopathic Devil-worshippers. In my instance at least I managed to prove them wrong, as I played it several times through and turned out to be a fairly placid vegetarian who volunteers to plant trees and teach children about water vole habitats and the like. But I still like to revisit Hades and frag a load of Hell Knights into bits with a BFG when the mood takes me.
All this controversy was stirred up again, albeit in a slightly watered-down fashion, in 2003 when Doom 3 was announced. I was intrigued to see how it would look and play with new, 3D technology. Would ID have the balls to set the game in Hell again? Would it have Cyberdemons and chainsaws in it? Would it be any good?
~The Story~
Essentially, Doom 3 is the game that ID made in 1993, but with more emphasis on the back story. In the original this was skipped over quickly in order to get to the important part -the action. The premise is a pretty simple one that was recycled for the movie 'Event Horizon'. In the future, a science lab on Mars is messing around with experimental teleportation technology. However, it turns out to be a Pandora's Box when the teleporters open a wormhole to Hell itself, and all manner of horrible demonic forces leap out and try to end your life as quickly as possible. As one of the few survivors of the initial attack, you (as your archetypal muscle-bound Space Marine) must stop the hordes of evil. This premise is the same, except this time there is more background to be found out about some other featured characters, such as the sinister scientist acting oddly (*cough it's all his fault cough cough*), and the other marines and scientist who are trying to stop him.
~Gameplay~
This is where Doom 3 drops the ball. From the off it's obvious that it can't decide if it wants to be an updated version of Doom replete with silly weapons and arena battles, or some kind of creepy sci-fi survival horror in the System Shock mould. The back story is filled out with PDA entries and audio logs, which can be accessed at any point. Logs sometimes contain useful information on areas in the Mars base, or combination codes for locked gun cabinets. In theory this is fine, but I found it detracted from the original spirit of Doom; that is, we know we're the last survivor on the base, so tool up and kill all those blasted demons! The whole game suffers from modern FPS syndrome, in that the action is constantly broken up with cut-scenes to tell a fairly predictable story, or even worse, the camera zooms out of first-person to introduce a new monster in another 'cinematic' cutscene. Ugh. If they'd designed the levels properly, they could have had great effect in just throwing new monsters at you and having the surroundings act as a backdrop. Remember the first time encoutnering the Arch-Vile in Doom 2? There was no need for a cutscene, because the encounter was so dramatic in its own right.
There are also too many cheap, predictable scares thrown in, straight from the crap horror film text book. The lights go out, zombies lurch out of it. A switch is pressed and it opens a door behind you for another monster to jump out. It's so lame and predictable that there are very few moments that are genuinely creepy. There are genuine moments of tension around the deserted Mars base though, with utterly graphic scenes of corridors smeared with gore and the words 'REPENT' written in blood in twelve feet tall letters. And weird poltergeist acitivity will fling objects around, sometimes pelting you with debris from unseen forces.
The level design is also easy to criticise, suffering from it does the same blandness that plagued the earlier Quake games. Generic looking corridors and chambers open up to other generic looking corridors so often it's very confusing... and boring. At least the levels make some sort of sense though, as a military base on Mars would be functional and dull, rahter than the bizarre arenas and mazes of Doom 1. There are some cool moments where you have to venture onto the surface of Mars and brave the dust-storms, but the potential was wasted. It would have been really cool to traverse the deserts and cliffs of Mars, but they missed a trick. The Hell levels are better, with weird architecture and rivers of lava and twisted sculptures; it really does feel like some sort of demonic realm designed by a total sadist.
Did I say the lights go out? That happens ALL the time and this game is daaaarrrrrk. And I don't mean in a Planescape: Torment sort of way either; I mean you can't see a damned thing most of the time, which is a shame considering the effort they poured into the graphics department. The only way to see anything most of the time is to use a flashlight, but since you can't wield a weapon at the same time it isntantly become redundant. And no, you can't duct tape it to your rifle. Not without modding the game, anyway.
~Happiness is a Warm Gun~
Fans of Doom will recognise the arsenal of weapons that can be used, albeit they have some differences. The pistol is now slightly less useless than slightly useless, which is good. The shotgun is UTTERLY RUBBISH and only does anything at point blank range, turning it into a melee weapon. Speaking of which, yes the chainsaw is available, and it's one of the best weapons in the game. Sort of makes up for the shotgun, I suppose. The chaingun is here, as is the rocket launcher, plasma gun and BFG, all of which are useful but have their limtiaitons, forcing you to think tactically. Perhaps the biggest gripe though is the sounds they make, in that they sound more like a cabbagey fart than devastating weaponry. Except the plasma gun, which makes a sound which turned up on countless 70s disco songs.
~Sound and Vision and Scary Monsters~
Ten years on now, and I have to say that graphically it has aged remarkably well. Doom 3 was instantly impressive on the visual front, with new-generation graphics, detailed textures and mapping, and a very well made lighting system. Shadows moved in real time from multiple light sources, and the physics was, for the first time, believable, with objects falling and moving realistically. The creatures are well animated, and designed in a lovingly gruesome way. The Hell Knights resemble blind, peeled gorillas; the Cacodemons no longer look like tomatoes but more akin to the abyssal fish of Earth, and the Mancubus is utterly revolting. And the less said about the half blue-bottle, half baby, three-quarter scorpion things the better. Those things gave me nightmares on at least three occasions. Unlike the weaponry, the monsters make creepy noises, gargling and roaring and shrieking at you like they should.
In all, Doom 3 was a bit of a disappointment. Stuck between trying to be creepy and trying to replicate the monster-slaughtering action of its predecessors, it didn't do either of them particularly well. It's not appalling though, and fans of the originals will find much that is familiar. It takes about 2/3 of the game to really get going, but it's worth a look now that it's old and cheap. You can also get it bundled with the add-on, Resurrection of Evil, which finishes the story off (albeit through the eyes of a different marine), adds new monsters and the chance to use an elephant gun. Boom! Click-clack...
Worth a tenner to blow up some updated Hell Knights, but I find myself returning to the originals much more often. Rumour has it that Doom 4 will be a re-telling of Doom 2, with the demonic hordes attacking Earth... now that could be awesome, if done properly,
Read the complete review |
 |
Space Invaders (PC)
by Burning_Darkness
Space Invaders is up there with Pac Man and Pong as one of the most instantly-recognisable early video games, an like all successful games there were hundreds, likely thousands of clones made to capitalise on its' success. Originally a jostick and button-controlled arcade machine, Space Invaders is siilar in some respects to chilling ... Cold War simulator Missile Command in that you operate as a defence battery, defending against waves of incoming threats, in this case lines and lines of little blocky aliens that advance from left to right in lines across the screen, gradually moving down the screen and speeding up as they do, making gameplay more and more frenetic the longer it goes on.
The player controls a little mobile gun battery or tank that can move left or right but not up and down, firing single rounds that kill the aliens in one shot. there are also 3 little barriers between you and the invaders, which can be used as cover by you and which absorb shots fired by both you and your foes, although the barriers disintegrates a little more each time they take a hit. It's a nice feature, and adds an extra layer of strategy to the game.
This updated PC version doesn;t relly add anyting new.. just nicer, shinier, crisp visuals nstead of the ultra-blocky. monochrome visuals of its predecessor, along with some nicely implemented sound effects and a thumping soundtrack that helps keep things tense and exciting.
To be hoenst though, i much prefer the visuals blocky original, and sound-wise I prefer its simple bleeps and splashes for gunfire and explosions, whilst the gradually-speeding-up bleep/rumble that reminded corresplonded with the aliens' incraesing speed is perfectly tense and exciting in its' own right.
Whilst fun, it's an unnneccesary remake really, and you'd be better off just finding a free version of the original game to play online.
Read the complete review |
