I thought I'd take a breather from Doom 3 to clean out my shorts and write a quick note on my initial thoughts.
It took some time to get the game started, as it kept complaining about CD/DVD emulation SW being loaded. I turned off CloneCD, which I had running, but it still complained. I finally uninstalled it and the game started.
Curiously, the game recommends that I run at 800x600. I've got a 2.5GHz Pentium 3 with a Radeon 9800 and 1GB RAM. It looks pretty good at that resolution, but I would have to say that it's not quite as nice looking as Far Cry (though the close-ups of people during the cut-scenes look pretty good). It seems that they haven't gotten curved surfaces completely down yet, as people are walking around with pointy heads. I will turn up anti-aliasing, if my system can handle it, and see if that helps. Also, the lighting effects (swinging lamps, for instance) in Doom3 aren't as good as in Far Cry, which were really impressive.
But the bottom line is how does it play? I've got to say that the game is pretty scary. In the hour or so that I've been playing, I've jumped out of my seat quite a few times. It's dark, dark, dark, and it's almost mandatory to walk around with a flashlight instead of a weapon so that you don't walk into monsters and so that you can get all of the equipment laying around. That alone raises the tension level, as walking around without a weapon is very unsettling. Doom 3 has a save-anywhere feature, which Far Cry didn't have when I was playing it (though a recent patch fixes that problem.) Having a headless zombie chasing you while you back away scrambling for a weapon is frightening.
I'll add comments to this post as I play more, but so far I'm pretty happy with the money I plunked down.
Later!
Comments (24)
| PermaLink
| Category: Games
Posted by APEGamer at Tuesday August 03, 2004 at 9:12 PM
© 2008 SF Signal
The requirements for this game looks like they will whip my video card into submission and make it beg to play Pong. Crap.
Oh, and for a perspective from GameSpy, check out their Doom 3 blog. You haven't lived till you've seen Doom 3 on a DLP TV...
Posted by jp on Tuesday August 03, 2004 at 9:20 PM at 9:20 PM
Oh, I forgot to mention the gore factor. Hit a zombie in the head at point blank range with a shotgun and not only does the head come off, but parts of it get embedded in the wall behind, and there's a 20-foot long blood streak on the floor. Sweet. That'll fix their wagon.
And yes, the game requires a Radeon 8500 or GeForce 3/TI or greater. I can't turn up the settings up all the way on my Radeon 9800 (not Pro).
Posted by Kevin on Tuesday August 03, 2004 at 10:54 PM at 10:54 PM
Yeah I will agree with Kevin on this topic - it is pretty creepy. And I have a Geforce 5200 I have been trying it out on and its not so good. I will have to run it on my home machine which has far better capabilities...
Posted by Tim on Wednesday August 04, 2004 at 12:22 AM at 12:22 AM
Saw it at Best Buy today, for $54.99+tax, it's pretty pricey. Luckily, I don't have the craving for it like y'all. Happy zombie killin'
Posted by Peter on Wednesday August 04, 2004 at 1:37 AM at 1:37 AM
Stupid persistant settings darned it... I am just going to change my name to Iron or perhaps Platinum :P
Posted by Tim on Wednesday August 04, 2004 at 9:29 AM at 9:29 AM
Not that there's a whole lot of strategy in Doom 3, but they're selling the strategy guide for $5 when you buy the game at ebgames. I got the game there for
Posted by Kevin on Wednesday August 04, 2004 at 1:06 PM at 1:06 PM
$45+tax for a game, who's got that kind of money to plop down on a game that requires dimenhydrinates?
P.S. In the grand tradition of misspelling one's own name for a metal alloy, I hereby declare myself as "Pewter"
Posted by Pewter on Wednesday August 04, 2004 at 5:25 PM at 5:25 PM
First: Pete, I don't know what planet you live on, but on this one - 45 plus tax aint so bad - there are worse investments and now you are saving 15+ bucks a month not playing COH...
Second (and I should say much more important) was a post Penny Arcade had about Doom 3 and I guess it is somewhat true - I have linked it here, but I will paraphrase since I think its a different view on the game:
At the time when Doom originally came out - most folks were playing low res games and liking them even if they looked like crap. Then the game hit the streets and changed everything - folks came to just look at the game since it was so different. Tycho's feeling (given his general cynical nature) is that Doom 3 does that same thing today.
I don't know if I would agree with that statement, but the game definitely brings some new things to the table...
Posted by Tim on Wednesday August 04, 2004 at 6:59 PM at 6:59 PM
I'm still wonder why Pete went with the obvious 'Pewter' name, when the more humorous 'Salt Peter' could have been used.
Alas, there is no metal/chemical name the I can riff on...
Posted by jp on Wednesday August 04, 2004 at 7:10 PM at 7:10 PM
maybe becus it's suppsed to be a typo, not a typist having an epiletic fit; besides, more humourous for you, is more self-denigrading for me... (What's my lix score now?)
Posted by Peter on Wednesday August 04, 2004 at 7:44 PM at 7:44 PM
I'm sure you haven't raised your Lix score by misspelling 'denigrating'...
We now return you to your regularly scheduled post. I think it was about Doom 3.
Posted by jp on Wednesday August 04, 2004 at 7:59 PM at 7:59 PM
What "new things are brought to the table" by D3?
New System requirements? New List Price? New Level of Hype? I have yet to complete the game, so the final score is still undetermined. First impressions are that it has not taken the leap forward that several other titles have done since ID?s last effort. On the positive side, this may prompt Valve to release HL2 this year. They would rather be compared to D3 than FarCry.
Posted by HCl on Thursday August 05, 2004 at 10:43 AM at 10:43 AM
There! Someone who's not gushing about D3 -- all the more reason to save my $$$.
Posted by Peter on Thursday August 05, 2004 at 10:47 AM at 10:47 AM
inquirer.com points out a config file setting that will help your game run faster.
Posted by Kevin on Thursday August 05, 2004 at 3:13 PM at 3:13 PM
Interesting tweak really, but as it points out on the site it has not really been benchmarked to see what level improvement there is. As for what D3 brings to the party - I think they did step things up a notch. Games have always pushed the envelope of system requriements - anybody remember Wing Commander and its obscene requirements at the time. I don't mind really - I guess my feeling is that if you don't want to play PC games and deal with the continual upgrade that is that industry - try console games. I enjoy both worlds these days - although I blame Kevin for that....
Posted by Tim on Thursday August 05, 2004 at 9:05 PM at 9:05 PM
I tried the config file fix above and am now able to run the game with all the settings turned completely up. FRAPS says I never fall below 30 fps - most of the time I'm hovering about 60. I put the setting at 256.
Posted by Kevin on Thursday August 05, 2004 at 10:21 PM at 10:21 PM
Sweet - that is excellent news - thanks Kevin...
Posted by Tim on Thursday August 05, 2004 at 11:05 PM at 11:05 PM
My 3GHz P4 (w/ HT), 1GB RAM, 9700Pro system can't play the game with the settings turned to Ultra even with that cache setting upped to 256. Well, at least not at 1024x768. YMMV
I'm nearing the end (at least I sincerely hope so - I'm in Delta Lab 3) and I've got to say that Doom 3 begs the question - can you be on edge too much? This game has many very scary moments, but even just the average moments have you jumping. After hours of this, I'm honestly getting tired of it. I want to see where this game is going, but I think you really can have too much tension for too long. It's also getting repetitious - how many times can the lights go out and you fight a mob that (nearly) jumps on your back? Apparently often!
The graphics just don't seem as cool as Far Cry's - but that might be because you can't see them in the dark. One knock I'd have on Splinter Cell is that while it does have a good graphics engine you don't get to see it all that much because you spend most of the game wearing night-vision goggles (which are cool, don't get me wrong.) I think D3 suffers from that a little here too - things are so dark you don't get to see the cool textures, shading, bump maps, etc.
I really like how the computer terminals are in-game (you can touch the screen to control machinery, enter access codes, etc.) I also like how the game gives you clues through audio, video, and emails - that's a really nice touch (and you have to follow the clues if you want that BFG9000!) The weapons feel right and the audio is awesome.
The most spine-tingling moment for me was when I walked into this corridor and a womans ghostly voice says 'Help me!' and blood footsteps take off down the corridor (encouraging me to follow) and end up asking me to 'Save the babies!' and the audio switches to babies crying. Oh my - I had goosebumps over that one! The fact that the footsteps led me to something good (I won't spoil it) was great too.
The time I jumped the highest was when I was looking at an Imp held in a stasis field behind some glass, reading the research reports on it when it suddenly lunges for me but bangs into the glass. Wakka!
Posted by Scott on Sunday August 08, 2004 at 12:39 AM at 12:39 AM
It might have been the level I was on when I turned the settings up, but when I started it up the next night I got some bad lag, so turned the settings back down from Ultra to High. Still, the game looks pretty good - especially considering it's mostly in the dark.
I'm still very early in the game (Alpha Sector 3).
Posted by Kevin on Sunday August 08, 2004 at 2:57 PM at 2:57 PM
I think I am on the same page with Scott and for the most part - the GameSpot review. They went gaga over the graphics, i just don't see it (pun intended) I was halfway through Painkiller when i got D3. I played a few hours/levels of D3 and went back to finish Painkiller - it was just more FUN. Yes, its less sophisticated and it's not state of the art but when i found my self with a spare gaming hour to spend, Painkiller would always do me right.
Since i finished PK i am back on D3. i want to finish it, give me strength.
If I was voting for Game of the Year today - FarCry would get my vote. Your thoughts?
Posted by HCl on Tuesday August 10, 2004 at 3:02 PM at 3:02 PM
I've not finished either game, but I like both Far Cry and Doom 3 for different reasons. Both are good looking games, so basing my rating strictly on gameplay, I like Far Cry for the versatility and freedom of action and Doom 3 for the sheer creepitude. Aaah, I can't decide which I like better!
Will Half Life 2 live up to either of these games? Even if not, 2004 is shaping up to be an awesome year for computer/video games! And 2003 was none too shabby, either!
Posted by Kevin on Tuesday August 10, 2004 at 3:36 PM at 3:36 PM
I found that for some creatures, including the imp and those darned revenants, you can confuse them by alternately running up to them and backing away. They get into a state where they want to hit you, but then you back away and make them want to fire at you, then move up, etc. until they're dead. I'm a total klutz, so can't get this to work all the time, but it seems to improve my health quite a bit.
Posted by Kevin on Monday August 16, 2004 at 10:09 PM at 10:09 PM
In my attempt to keep the Doom 3 post active, I'd like to mention that the new CGW mag gave Doom a 5/5, a rating that they do not frequently bestow.
Posted by Kevin on Wednesday August 18, 2004 at 12:04 PM at 12:04 PM