Hello Internet! Today we are going to talk about one of my favorite little black sheep, Doom 3. As you should already know because you area a die-hard follower of my blog, I’m a huge fan of the Doom franchise. The original Doom has a special place in my heart for introducing me to the world of videogames. Doom 3 also has a special place in my heart for re-introducing me back into the world of videogames.
Dark Days
You see, there was a period of time where I thought that I had out-grown videogames. Videogames were only for kids and burn-outs who had no direction in life. I was the ripe old age of 15 and well on my way to manhood. I no longer had time to waste on trivial pursuits like video games. Nope, I was only going to be entertained by more “noble” art forms, like literature, motion pictures, and porn. Well, long story short, I was wrong. However, it took me having to play Doom 3 to realize that.
I was probably 17ish when I saw Doom 3 in a bargain bin and decided to pick it up. My brother had just received an XBOX for his birthday and, even though I was above videogames at this point, I thought I would make just one exception. But after that I was done playing, it was right back to being “mature”. Yeah, I’m glad that “mature” shit didn’t last very long.
The Devil in the Details and What-not
Doom 3 is a very different game from the others in the series. It has a new look, new feel, and a new sound. One of the main ways that it deviates so much from the previous outings is the way it tells its story. Doom 3 is narrative driven. There are cut scenes and voice acting and lots of fringe exposition that you could dig into if you wanted. This is in stark contrast to the previous games, which would have a block of text after you beat a major boss to kind of tie up a loose end or two.
The design of the game itself was also very different. Doom 3 is a lot more Closter phobic than its two predecessors. Instead of large, open rooms filled with monsters for you to mow down, you are ushered through narrow hallways and corridors and small room after small room.
Evil is Evolving
You could really tell that id software was trying to usher the Doom franchise into the modern era. It was a darker, more “mature” game better suited for modern audiences. In making these changes, however, I feel like the Doom franchise lost a lot of identity. I plugged it in about a month ago and played all the way through and couldn’t shake the feeling that it was just a generic sci-fi shooter. I seriously think they could’ve slapped any other title on the game and people wouldn’t have initially guessed it was a Doom game. Don’t get me wrong, I love this game, but after so many tired, gray, sci-fi shooters, I’m not sure this one holds up as well as others.
The game did introduce a lot of new things to the franchise, though. When I first played through it, I couldn’t get enough of the narrative. I listened to every audio log and watched every in-game video. I thoroughly enjoyed this game the and I still do now, it’s just not as timeless or as groundbreaking as the other two were.
Doom 3 is a pivotal game in my timeline. It was one that ushered the Doom franchise to the modern era of gaming and took me right along with it. Has it stood the test of time, or did it get lost in all the noise? I’ll let you decide. I tend to think the latter, but, like I said, it’s a game I’ll always be thankful for and it’s one you should be thankful for as well…for bringing me out of that shitty pretentious phase.
The world didn’t need another snobby teenager.
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