Doom 3

Visit Hell all over again with the Xbox port of Doom 3. But this time, you can bring a friend with you!

Last year, id forced thousands of gamers to upgrade their outdated graphics cards when they released Doom 3, the highly polished "remake" of the original Doom. Now, thanks to this port by Vicarious Visions, the seminal sci-fi-noir shooter looks pixel-perfect on the Xbox and contains a marvelous extra not seen on the PC: a two-player cooperative mode that is playable split-screen or over Xbox Live.

Hell in a Bucket

As you wind your way through the blood-smeared labs of the Mars Research Facility, you are quickly immersed in a terrifying world overrun by murderous jack-in-the-box demons whose springs have been wound by a demented scientist. To get out, you must fight your way through the very bowels of hell itself, facing off against a seemingly endless parade of grotesquely deformed creatures that leap at you from the darkness.

The visual design of the game lends itself perfectly to the horrors of the unknown: stark, flickering lights illuminate vividly rendered environments and cast deep shadows into corners and hallways. The feeble flashlight, accessible by tapping the white button, illuminates the wreckage but replaces your weapon. This forced defenselessness heightens the already anxious mood, and the masterfully mixed soundtrack drives the tension over the edge with subtle, perfectly timed music and effects.

Enjoying the Ride

Flashlight mechanics aside, Doom 3 is essentially a stripped down, run-and-gun hallway shooter that features simple gameplay wrapped in cutting edge presentation. The star of the show is the cooperative mode, which allows two players to fight their way through the campaign story. In co-op mode, the maps have been tweaked to make them more challenging and force the players to work together.

If youre not feeling cooperative, up to four players can play death match, team death match, last man standing, or tournament games on five different maps. Some maps contain rooms that can be sealed off (i.e. the Frag Chamber), or light switches that plunge areas into darkness. The multiplayer options cant hold a candlemuch less a flashlightto Halo 2s gold standard, and lack the visceral, horrific intensity of the campaign and cooperative modes. Matches are still fast and fun, even if the options are limited.

If you get all misty-eyed and nostalgic at the mere mention of Doom, youll want to pick up the Limited Collectors Edition and revel in full versions of Ultimate Doom and Doom II. Though good for a few laughs, the blocky graphics and wonky controls are tough to stomach after experiencing Doom 3s polished performance. At least in this case, it seems that you can never go home.

Hell Hath No Duct Tape

Rather than distracting gimmicks, Doom 3 offers a refined shooter with a smooth frame rate and tight controls. At this point there are no plans for a duct tape cheat for the Xbox version, so youll just have to fumble with the buttons and learn to live with your fear. Though Doom 3 is lacking in innovative gameplay, it more than makes up for it with amazing graphics, flawless sound design, and excellent storytelling.

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AntiAmericanArmy

Don't think I'll ever get around to beating the game. That sucks too, cuase I've liked all the doom games, even DOOM64... Well whatever... I havn't got ride of it yet, there is still time!

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