DOOM III

Platform: PC
Genre: 3D action/adventure
Contact: Activision
Phone: 1902 263 555
Web: http://www.idsoftware.com
Release date: March 2004

Activision recently held its big ‘Activate Asia’ event in Sydney at the plush Shangri-La Hotel (formerly known as the ANA), and I was one of the lucky few to get an invite. One of the games on display was a modest little 3D shooter called DOOM III. Before I could see the game, I had to sign a NDA (nondisclosure agreement) which, if violated, gave Activision the right to have my immediate family executed, along with any pets I might own.

The demonstration was being handled by two guys from id Software: Tim Willits (lead designer) and Todd Hollenshead (CEO). For the hardcore gamers among us, being in the presence of these guys was akin to having an audience with the Pontiff himself, so everyone looked a little edgy to say the least. After taking a seat in front of a large screen, the lights dimmed and we settled in for a real-time demonstration of DOOM III, which consisted of Tim playing through a variety of levels from the game.

Before I give you my impressions, I'd like to highlight a couple of issues. First, id Software have promised a compelling single-player component with a complex and involving story-line; indeed, the game's multiplayer capabilities appear to be taking a backseat for a change. While many will attribute this shift in design philosophy to the success of Unreal Tournament (Quake III's major competitor), I can't help feeling that id Software were blown away by what Valve achieved with Half-Life (using id's venerable Quake II engine). And let's face the facts: while many games have tried to emulate Half-Life's astonishingly atmospheric single-player component, to date, none (perhaps with the exception of the Thief series) have quite succeeded. With this in mind, I couldn't help drawing comparisons between DOOM III and the video footage I'd seen from Half-Life 2.

DOOM III impressions
According to Tim Willits, the game was running on a 2.8GHz machine with a GeForce FX card in 800 by 600 at high detail. Despite the fact that they were somewhat diffused by the huge display screen, the visuals of DOOM III looked amazing! The textures were incredibly realistic and great care had been paid to the light and shadow effects. In fact, this is probably the first game where characters cast truly believable shadows.

While the character models looked very detailed, they weren't quite as spectacular as earlier screenshots of the game seemed to indicate. I guess it was inevitable that there would be some scaling back in order to make DOOM III playable on a medium-spec PC.

Gameplay consisted of classic DOOM shooting action. Despite earlier reports that there would be fewer enemies, the basic gameplay mechanics looked very similar to previous iterations of the series. In other words, the player's character appears to spend most of their time on the run while attempting to dispatch hordes of demonic creatures. The game's realistic physics engine allows monsters to pop in from anywhere, adding yet another element of tension to proceedings. Apart from unleashing a rampaging horde of creatures hell also starts to manifest itself in the architecture and machinery (fiery pentangles, lava streams, twisted stalactites and so on) of the levels themselves.

DOOM III contains numerous scripted cut sequences, but I only saw a few in the demonstration. In one, the lights go out in a bathroom and creatures drop down from above (according to Willits, all bathrooms in DOOM III are very dangerous places to be). In another, as the player's character operates a computer console inside a small room, a huge bulldog-like creature almost immediately smashes its way through the metal door to get at you. In yet another an NPC (nonplayer character) carrying a lantern (who is known as Ed after the sound engineer who supplied the temporary voice) guides you through a darkened maze of corridors and a wounded marine gives you valuable information.

Most of the levels I saw were set in the labyrinthine corridors of a high-tech science installation. In one area, you can see the surface of Mars through thick windows. Since Mars lacks an atmosphere, shooting out a window creates a vacuum where air is being sucked out. When this happens, you need to leave the area quickly or die an agonising death!

As you'd expect, DOOM III features a HUD (heads up display) and a sort of electronic journal that gathers information such as immediate mission goals and conversations. The game also contains some puzzle elements, although the ones I saw in the demo mostly related to gaining entry to new areas (in other words, a reworking of the old red and blue keys from the original DOOM). There was also a lifting puzzle where you must use a crane to lift barrels of toxic slime into an incinerator before you can safely enter an important room.

Final thoughts
In terms of visuals, DOOM III is the most impressive-looking PC game I've ever seen! In particular, John Carmack has done a magnificent job with shadows and lighting. While the game was undeniably creepy, it still remains to be seen whether it will have the complexity or emotional clout of Half-Life 2. Nothing I saw in the DOOM III demonstration matched the Half-Life 2 Trap Town video footage, for example.

However, one thing is crystal clear: DOOM III technology will change the face of PC gaming forever!