Wednesday 5-May-2004 5:14 PM All you ever wanted to know about Vicarious Visions' console version of Doom 3 but were afraid to ask Vicarious Visions' Doom 3 on Xbox is more or less a modern-day version of the original Doom but benefiting from more powerful technology - as is id Software's Doom 3 on PC - so the plotline will be familiar to those who have played the godfather of the first-person shooter genre.
But for anyone who has never had the pleasure of experiencing the classic, the game is set in the near future and deals with the unleashing of hellish forces on the Union Aerospace Corporation facility on Mars. The demonic horde ultimately seeks to take over Earth, but one marine - namely you the player - has other plans, plans that will eventually take him to Hell in his efforts to save our tiny planet.
In contrast to the fast-paced, frenzied gameplay of the original Doom, Doom 3 is more, well, cautious, and ever since first clapping eyes on the PC version at E3 2002 has reminded us of a first-person Resident Evil. Critically though, the movement speed will afford the player time to truly appreciate and soak up the ambience.
In this there is the sense of the Gothic horror, the low-lit interiors and torturous wailing voices and other eerie sound effects - hear the power of surround sound - implying lurking terrors in wait, leaving you on the edge of the seat and every step taken feeling like a step closer to, erm, doom.
Action in Doom 3, from what we've seen, is intense nevertheless, giving the impression that we'll be getting a videogame equivalent of a rollercoaster ride, tense, thrilling combat situations interspersed with anticipatory build-ups.
An array of firepower is available to the player - Pistol, Shotgun, Machinegun (reminiscent of Halo's) and Chaingun being four weapons mentioned so far - and even a torch can be employed to give enemies a crack around the head. Personally we prefer bullets, simply because we're scared of going toe-to-toe with something with a gaping maw.
Many of the enemies in Doom 3 appeared in the original Doom - on which the third game in the series is based - all be they enemies vastly improved and considerably more frightening thanks to technology updates. And an implemented physics system ensures that the player can interact with many of the objects in the environment.
Outside the frights and the fights, typical first-person shooter puzzle elements prevail - button pushing, for example - and a number of objectives to be accomplished are in place as an aid to point players in the right direction. So unlike during a recent press jaunt to winter wonderland where a bright spark hopped on a skidoo to visit the local watering hole during heavy snowfall, there's no excuse for getting lost.
Doom 3 multiplayer of course isn't being overlooked. Standard multiplayer modes feature - Last Man Standing, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch - with Xbox Live maxing out at four-player support. Two-player co-op is also being included - which is criminally being omitted from the PC version, although PC Doom 3 looks superior, plus some concessions are being made with level size in the Xbox version.
Hopefully we'll see Doom 3 on Xbox before the year is out.
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