103.7 hours played
Written 13 days ago
[list]
[h1]📌Detailed review below[/h1]
[/list]
[h1][b]📝The Gist[/b]
[table]
[tr]
[th] • Section[/th]
[th] • Rank[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[th]📕 Story[/th]
[th]DOOM 3: ★★★☆☆
BFG Edition: ★★★☆☆[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[th]🌄 Atmosphere[/th]
[th]DOOM 3: ★★★★☆
BFG Edition: ★★★☆☆[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[th]💻 Performance[/th]
[th]DOOM 3: ★★★★★
BFG Edition: ★★★★☆[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[th]🎮 Gameplay[/th]
[th]DOOM 3: ★★★★☆
BFG Edition: ★★★☆☆[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[th]🔁 Replayability[/th]
[th]DOOM 3: ★★★★☆
BFG Edition: ★★★☆☆[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[th]🔥 Difficulty[/th]
[th]DOOM 3: ★★★★☆
BFG Edition: ★★☆☆☆[/th]
[/tr]
[tr]
[th]💰 Value[/th]
[th]★★★★★[/th]
[/tr]
[/table][/h1]
[h1]The Beginning of a New Era[/h1]
My first foray into the [b]DOOM[/b] franchise was [b]DOOM 3[/b] on the Xbox when visiting a classmate sometime around 2007. I didn’t get to play much of it, as my classmate was more interested in showing me his “skills”, but it caught my interest. I wasn’t aware that this threequel came from gaming royalty: A franchise loved by many avid gamers, with many ports of the originals released before this game even hit shelves. [b]DOOM 3[/b] attempted to take the franchise’s concepts and gameplay mechanics and mold them into a story driven FPS. Whether or not this shift in style was the right choice or not can be debated, but [b]id Software[/b] playing with the formula wasn’t bad in hindsight, because we eventually got the best of the originals with what some of 3 brought to the franchise in [b]DOOM (2016)[/b] and its sequels.
[h3]DOOM 3 (BFG Edition [BFGE] differences below)[/h3]
[h1]Invasion! DOOM Marine is on the Case![/h1]
The year is 2145. You play as the [i]DOOM Marine[/i], a recent transfer to the [i]Mars City Security Division[/i], tasked with quelling the growing fears of the city’s workforce. Working under the [i]UAC[/i], the [i]Mars Research Base[/i] serves as an R&D facility, operating outside of conventional law with limitless funding. After countless incidents of insanity-fueled accidents and a growing concern for workplace safety, demons have managed to bridge the gap between dimensions, assimilating and otherwise killing the inhabitants of this isolated space station.
Similar to the original [i]DOOM[/i] games, you have access to an inordinate amount of weapons, acquiring them as you progress through the facility. [i]DOOM Marine[/i], like [i]DOOM Guy[/i], doesn’t suffer the limitations of mortal men and can carry a multitude of firearms all at once. He isn’t as nimble as [i]DOOM Guy[/i], having a stamina bar and taking staggering amounts of damage from short falls, so combat is more about positioning more than running and gunning. An average combat scenario would be 1 – 5 demons of varying sizes (sometimes spawned in a way that entraps the player) closing in on your position. How do you proceed? CQC? Ranged? Explosions? Enemies can pop out of walls, spawn in through portals, and can hide in the shadows, waiting for you to approach them before diving in for a hit. Your reaction timing (and memory in re-runs), as well as proper utilization of your weaponry, is key to success. [i]The Shotgun[/i] is no longer the generalized power house it once was, but since weapons don’t share ammo pools the [i]Pistol[/i] is a good side arm to use when anything else would be overkill, giving it a justifiable use case and allowing players to conserve ammo.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3521620425
[h1]The Atmosphere[/h1]
Darkness engulfs the base, with your only reprieve being a handheld [i]Flashlight[/i]. Switching back and forth between the [i]Flashlight[/i] and weapons to see and fight in the dark is by far my least favorite aspect of the game: I find it more annoying I’m not able to see what I’m aiming at more than I find the enemy’s shift in positioning unnerving. Something that was meant to instill unease and panic only filled me with frustration, mostly because some enemies can dive out of your line of fire. The dark adds a lot to the game, certain areas just didn’t do it for me is all.
As you wade through hell’s infestation, you’ll come across the [i]P.D.As[/i] of the city’s workforce. Reading their emails, you can create a timeline of events, get a feel for the day to day goings of the populace, and get codes for doors and storage lockers. Some have audio logs as well, with a few of them also having codes… At the very end of the log. I’m all for story, but many of them felt like forced filler more than worth while world building, demanding my attention in exchange for a code. Some [i]P.D.A’s[/i] are required to access certain rooms, serving as door keys for progression.
[h3]BFG Edition[/h3]
The [b]BFGE[/b] “improves” upon [b]DOOM 3[/b], though the improvements aren’t necessarily for the best. The biggest hit in my opinion is combat: ammo is so abundant that you never really need to put any consideration into what you use. The original has enough resources, so this change ruins what the OG was going for and combat suffers from the change.
The atmosphere also takes a big hit. Shadows aren’t as dark, and some textures suffer thanks to the visual tweaks employed in this version. They did add a shoulder-mounted [i]Flashlight[/i], but its inclusion would hold more value if it was in the OG, especially with the increased brightness of the [b]BFGE[/b]. [i]DOOM Marine[/i] also has more stamina in this version, removing more of the tension the original created. You can now comfortably run into nearly any situation with little concern for danger, at least more so than in the original.
[h3]Resurrection of Evil[/h3]
[b]Resurrection of Evil[/b] was released as a stand-alone expansion for [b]DOOM 3[/b], and is included in this bundle (original release and BFGE). Roughly a year after the events of [b]DOOM 3[/b], it was decided that one invasion wasn’t going to stop science, so the program was reborn under new leadership. You play as a different Marine, originally assigned with a recovery team, which end up disintegrated from a massive hell wave. The gameplay is roughly the same, with a few notable differences. The [i]Super Shotgun[/i] is added, and there are two new weapons: [i]The Grabber[/i] (likely influenced by Half-Life’s Gravity Gun), and the [i]Artifact[/i] which can slow down time. There are also a few new enemies and means of progression.
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3521617310
[h3]The Lost Mission[/h3]
[i]The Lost Mission[/i] expansion can only be played on the [b]BFGE[/b] and is essentially a handful of maps included to make the game more appealing to potential buyers. At least, that’s my takeaway, as there isn’t all that much new here. This expansion takes place during a specific time within the story, and you play as a soldier during the events of [b]DOOM 3’s[/b] story. The [i]Super Shotgun[/i] is here too, which makes me happy.
[h3]My Thoughts?[/h3]
Both versions are playable, but each have their own feel. The only thing I like [b]BFGE[/b] more for is the shoulder mounted [i]Flashlight[/i], everything else makes the game feel too much like the previous [b]DOOMs[/b] in terms of combat. This might not sound bad, but it takes away from what the game is supposed to be at its core while still not quite packing that punch a [b]DOOM[/b] game should have. [b]DOOM 3[/b] has more of a horror feel, attempting to take away any sense of safety, using its enemy placement and darkness to its advantage. I believe the OG is overall better, but I don’t think the [b]BFGE[/b] is unplayable, just too different from the original while still not feeling like its predecessors. For what its going for, I honestly don’t think it is a bad game, just not a good [b]DOOM[/b] game.
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