Doom 3

Doom 3 is a science fiction shooter with a first-person perspective and horror elements that was released in 2004 as a reboot of the original DOOM (1995). The game was developed with a focus on a strong narrative and a lengthy single-player campaign, featuring numerous in-engine cutscenes and jump scares, for which the animation system was significantly improved.

A research center on Mars, owned by the Union Aerospace Corporation, has been subjected to a massive demonic invasion, leaving a trail of fear and chaos in its wake. As one of the few survivors, you will have to carve your way to Hell and back through hordes of terrifying monsters. Your journey will be dark and dangerous, but for your protection, you will be able to use a pistol, chainsaw, grenades, and much more.

To develop the game universe, id Software hired professional science fiction writer Matthew Costello. The studio aimed to reboot the original at a higher level, but Doom 3 was meant to scare and evoke a sense of horror, rather than offer mindless shooting.

The game still takes place on Mars in the 22nd century. Humanity has long since left its home planet, but energy shortages threaten the existence of civilization. In this regard, the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) is building scientific bases on Mars, where it searches for powerful energy sources based on new physical principles.

By the mid-22nd century, UAC scientists and engineers have made significant progress in their research, developing prototypes of numerous devices, including the famous super-weapon BFG 9000.

Unexpectedly, on the surface of Mars, the corporation stumbles upon ancient alien ruins. Long-extinct Martians developed teleportation technology through a dimension resembling the Christian Hell and implemented it "in hardware." Intrigued by the discovery, UAC directs all its efforts toward its research.

The script of Doom 3 is detailed down to specific days, months, and years. As players progress, they read, listen to, and watch numerous recordings, diaries, notes, and emails from scientists, managers, technicians, and security personnel at the UAC Martian base.

It is the messages left behind that reveal information about the events occurring in the game world and directly on Mars, reflecting the feelings and concerns of people, giving logic to what is happening, and meaning to the heroes' actions.

If you play without paying attention to the details, the impression will be very blurred, or the plot may seem unnecessary, as all dialogues and scenes in the engine relate to current problems — go there, do this, find that, see the result. Periodically, the player learns some key information that moves the events forward.

Everything begins as in the first Doom — the protagonist arrives at the Martian base, appointed as a guard. From there, the differences begin. The main character arrives with UAC inspector Elliot Swann, who is supposed to investigate employee complaints, increasing incidents, and strange deaths.

The main antagonist is Dr. Malcolm Betruger, who worked on teleportation technology and ultimately succumbed to the forces of Evil. His maniacal idea is to let the Devil's servants into our world to conquer Earth and turn humans into slaves or demons.

The main conflict is between Swann and Betruger, where the freedom of choice at certain moments is just an illusion, and the protagonist has no impact on the events or the ending. Despite all the advantages, careful development, unexpected moments, and plot twists, the player feels their limitations within the narrative framework.

In Doom 3, horror elements dominate — constant pitch darkness, jump scares, incomprehensible sounds and noises, frightening music. The flashlight is used only when the weapon is holstered; the hero cannot shoot and illuminate at the same time. Even the light from lamps spreads over a limited space.

The shooter component is subdued. The pistol, shotgun, submachine gun, minigun, plasma gun, rocket launcher, BFG9000, and chainsaw are all the weapons available, with no modifications or variability like in Doom from 2016. The protagonist carries far fewer bullets, and excess armor and health do not persist. Enemies can knock off aim, which can cost the hero their life.

As a result, Doom 3 resembles a tactical shooter. The player must constantly think: use the weapon or shine the light ahead, dodge contact with monsters or lose precious health, which takes damage regardless, deploy the minigun now or methodically shoot with the submachine gun. Instead of rushing forward and shooting at everything that moves — there are slow, measured steps with careful shooting from cover, and this applies to everything.

A unique feature of Doom 3 is the "soul cube" — a weapon that appears after killing one of the bosses in Hell and allows inflicting 1,000 damage to any monster, which significantly harms even bosses. Additionally, the "soul cube" absorbs and transfers the victim's health to the bearer.

Playing through Doom 3 resembles watching a horror movie, only the player can shoot. The locations are linear, typically a winding corridor connecting large rooms, with primitive level design, no secret passages or hidden rooms, and secrets are revealed very easily. There are virtually no open spaces in the game, only rooms and endless corridors.

During the playthrough, the player will visit almost half of Mars — various UAC complexes and laboratories, the central city, transport hubs and factories, Martian caves, and, of course, will go to Hell several times. However, the content of all levels is monotonous, and due to the pitch darkness, they simply do not leave a lasting impression.

This is related to the focus on the storyline and the designers' desire to scare the player, who is compelled to move forward to unravel the narrative. Everywhere there are cutscenes, jump scares, and "presentations" — when the protagonist first encounters a new monster from the bestiary, the camera pulls back and shows a small scene.

You have to shoot a lot, but the feeling from the weapons is completely different, they do not provide the same pleasure as before. The mechanic of enemies respawning at your feet (since the locations are small) is only scary for a couple of hours, and then it starts to get boring.

The bestiary contains both well-known creatures (various types of Zombies, Commandos, Imp, Pinky, Lost Soul, Revenant, Cacodemon, Hell Knight, Baron of Hell, Archvile, Mancubus, Spectre) and a few new ones:

Since all efforts of id Software were focused on the single-player mode of Doom 3 and its story, the studio's game designers sincerely believed that the game did not need a large-scale multiplayer. The assumption was that Doom 3 would appeal to players with its story, and its single-player campaign would be replayed regularly.

Therefore, only one mode was implemented for online play — "team deathmatch." Several players gathered on one map and could use all the weapons and grenades available in the single-player mode. The number of maps is small. No leveling up, statistics, or unlockable content.

The servers for the original Doom 3 were shut down, but with the help of a fan mod, cooperative gameplay is possible.