Publisher: Activision
Ages: teens & up
Parental
Advisory:
War theme
When it comes to violent first-person shooters, Id Software clearly defined the genre. It's a fact that lots of serious players first cut their teeth on the company's Doom and Quake titles. In its third incarnation, Activision's Doom 3 offers the best looking and most visually detailed game ever. On the other hand, its bloody and violent gameplay just adequately measures up to players' high expectations.
In the game, a demonic invasion has taken over the Union Aerospace Corporations' (UAC) Mars Research Facility. As one of the few survivors, players have to fight their way out of the chaotic mess. Endless levels await, as do weapons, and it's up to players to survive. The game emphasizes a compelling and lengthy single-play mission and only offers a few multi-play, deathmatch arenas. Players were expecting more depth to the title's multi-play.
Throughout, the game is dark. In fact, it's downright creepy. Hideous monsters, many of which are updates to creatures in prior Dooms, die their graphic and bloody deaths. The environments and monsters are rendered in a detail never before seen in a game and that almost resembles movie-quality computer generated animation. The visuals are that good.
If your kids are trying to talk you into this title, be warned. Not only is the game ultra-violent, you'll need a high-end computer with a souped-up video card to load and play this one. The computer requirements are a huge hurdle and the game won't play on many off-the-shelf PCs.
Doom 3 is just about everything that gamers have been waiting for. And the graphic, bloody game is no title for the family-even though the kids will undoubtedly be asking for it.
9/1/04 www.daytrum.com editorial staff
