Κυκλοφόρησε το Doom3 !! +review

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Δημοσ. 1 Αυγούστου 2004

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και ένα review

Doom 3

Reviewed by Requiem99 on 08/01/2004

Doom III lives up to the hype.

Introduction

Its here folks, the biggest, most hyped title to be released in a long, long time. I'm here to tell you that Doom III lives up to its pedigree as well as its hype, and is going to delight gamers worldwide. At least, those who have a powerful enough system to run it!

Testbed system, and settings used for screenshots/playing:

AthlonXP 2100+

Geforce 6800 Non Ultra @ 351/777

1gb PC2700

Turtle Beach Santa Cruz

Game Settings: Maxed advanced settings, NO AA, Vsync on, 1024x768, MEDIUM GRAPHICS.

Graphics (10/10)

Screenshots:

The evil one behind The Evil One? (1024x768, 72k)

Drool. (1024x768, 88k)

Disintegrating monster, ala Blade. (1024x768, 68k)

Clausterphobic much? (1024x768, 70k)

The visuals are, of course, jaw dropping. It feels like you are playing a cutscene. The use of shadow is stellar, best seen in a computer game to date, and the environments simply drip with authenticity and realism. The PDA function looks great as well, and is integrated into the engine seamlessly with audio and video, which can be played even while the PDA is not maximized. A VERY nice touch!

The Doom 3 engine is going to be powering a lot of games in the coming years, and it is very capable indeed, with many powerful features. (I especially like the fact that nearly all surfaces are bump mapped. Fuck Halo, that engine looked like a joke compared to this!) I can only imagine what a game like System Shock 3 would be like with this engine... well I would, but then I'd have a mess to clean up.

The graphics come at a price, though. On my test rig with the test settings the framerate would often dip into the 20s, and even the high teens on occasion. Not a pretty sight. I predict a lot of people upgrading the hell out of their rigs after they realize just how demanding this engine is. Don't expect to play on Ultra detail until we get 512mb video cards; it just ain't gonna happen, as the engine requires 512mb of video memory to pre-load the textures and other assets. High detail needs 256mb, which lots of cards have now. Medium, which still looks unbelievable, as you can see from the screenshots, requires 128. Low needs 64.

Audio (10/10)

Ah, the audio. The audio is impressive in a manner I've never seen in a PC game before, excepting possibly System Shock 2. Everything about it fuses to create a sensation of, yes, you ARE there on Mars, on a base where everything has gone horribly wrong. The screams of the butchered, the snarl of zombies, and the powerful blast of your shotgun are crisp, clear, and vital. The voice acting is top notch; special mention goes to the announcer of the 'Information Update' videos you pick up on the PDA. The guy reminds me of that narrator on Starship Troopers. "Would you like to know more?"

Don't be surprised if you're playing in the dark, and, after killing a series of monsters, you scream, 'Take that mothafuckas!!!! YAAAAAAA!!' -- I know I did. The audio slays more than just your poor little corpse.

Gameplay (8/10)

You've seen all the screenshots, you've seen the videos, but the one thing nobody could tell from the media released was the 'feel' -- Does it 'feel' real? Does it 'feel' polished? Hell yes it does! It feels MUCH better than Quake 3, thats for sure. Much less 'on a rail' than previous ID shooters, and much more 'you are in a grunt's shoes'. I love it, it feels great!

Prepare to be scared shitless, as this is the scariest game I've ever played in my life. The dark shadows, terrifying audio samples, and overwhelming sense of "hell is coming" all conspire to make you wet your little isopants. Watching a monster disintegrate under the blast of your shotgun is immensely satisfying, and the flashlight adds such a great bit of frightening atmosphere, I would be extremely surprised if other games don't start including this sort of thing as standard.

The story is plausible, and just the kind of kick in the pants we were hoping to see when it comes to such a series. Although its essentially the same story as found on the original Doom, there are enough twists to make it seem fresh and exciting. We KNOW what has happened to the UAC facility, but seeing it happen in what is essentially 'real life in a computer game' is monstrously satisfying. It really is a horror movie come to life.

Concluding Thoughts (18/20)

Great game? No question. Worth buying? Shit yeah. The only question in my mind is: How quickly some modders make a co-op patch, because this game would be absolutely mind blowing with one. Hopefully soon!

I still stand by what I said earlier: Half-life 2 will own Doom 3. That doesn't mean Doom 3 isn't a great game, and it is. Show these devs that you care about quality releases: Buy them both, starting with Doom 3. On tuesday, I'll be heading to EB to do just that.