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MISHAPS THAT YOU SHOOT
As
many old cultures believe that weaving a perfect weaving might anger the
gods, it seems that that might have been the case with Doom 3; id came
close, then wandered away from what could’ve been perfection. Though the
game is extremely streamlined, there were several things that could’ve been
better, primarily weapon sounds. I mean, in some cases it sounds like they
brought over stuff from Quake 3, while in other cases I’m left desperately
wishing that they had brought sounds over from Quake 3. That make
sense? I guess not, but while we’re going to criticise weapons, I might as
well introduce them. With Doom 3, id nearly wandered into crap-weapon
territory, a place often traversed by game makers like Bungie, Valve, and
Epic.
Moving along, you have your fists. Naturally. Unlike the
original, now you use both to punch. Oh, and you no longer have those cool
brass knuckles, but have no fear! You can still deal enough damage,
especially if you get the cool berserk helmet, but chances are you won’t
have to resort to having your knuckles as the last line of defence between
hell and Earth unless you get a little trigger happy with some of the other
weapons. The other melee weapon is the flashlight, a handy tool that lights
up the darkness and shows you the stuff you’d rather not see. The trick is
to switch to a weapon when something goes awry, but if your sweat-covered
fingers fumble with the keys, you can always use this weapon to deal some
clubbing damage.
The first weapon you’re issued (naturally, not counting the
flashlight, by which logic just about any solid object can be used as a
dangerous weapon) is the pistol. Looks good and all, though I think I
would’ve rather had the marine hold the pistol with two hands (more
realistic, looks better). Like in Halo. Manner of usage aside, this weapon
comes in handy when you run across trites and other small critters that have
few hitpoints and can take little damage, but you might want to be careful
if there’s too many, in which case the chaingun would be useful. The pistol
sounds weak, but that’s because it is weak, so I guess no complaints
there.
Ah, the shotgun: the traditional weapon of choice, the most used
weapon in the original Doom, with a supremely popular double-barrelled
variant that made its appearance in Doom 2. And before fanboys start whining
and crying, you can rest assured that id went at great lengths to make this
gun rewarding to use. In fact, this single-barrel monstrosity does feel, and
look, big and bulky, and reloads slowly after dealing a load of damage.
Thus, id made this gun feel like the double-barrel from Doom 2. Although it
feels right, it sounds, well, the sound doesn’t go with its masculine
firing. It sounds like the Quake 3 shotgun, which doesn’t say a lot, but a
little deeper. It’s still my weapon of choice, and perfect for dealing with
everything from the weak to the stronger beasties. My only other complaint
would be that the lead spreads out too much, it seems, and so I found myself
having to run up to imps and zombies and blow them away before they had a
chance to swipe at me.
The flashlight illuminates a problem.
And before
fanboys start whining and crying, you can rest assured that id went
at great lengths to make this gun rewarding to use.
Next up is the machinegun. When watching the videos and
screenshots, I thought this weapon looked brilliant. Looking back at the
Quake 2 machinegun (which was amazingly fun to use) I was looking forward to
dealing some lead out with this gun. Great as it looks and fires, this
weapon really takes the cake for the ‘Worst Sounding Weapon’ award. The gun
design is brilliant, so I vote this the prettiest weapon I’ve seen in a good
while. It’s a rapid-fire weapon, so it’s a mystery why it sounds like
someone’s just shooting the shotgun rapidly. This weapon’s firing is way to
far in bass territory. I remember those videos that were released, and this
weapon sounded much better there. I mean, hell, if they were going to bring
sounds over from Quake 3, they should’ve done it with this gone and none of
the others. Even the Quake 2 machinegun sounded better.
Next up is the chaingun, which, I’m happy to report, came off
alright. All of the weapons look great, and fortunately, this one sounds
good, too. It behaves like the Quake 2 chaingun, with delayed firing, but
this time the model looks much better. No longer do you have a chaingun
comprised of ten polygons (exaggeration for the sake of making a point)!
This weapon is great for when you stop joking around with that machinegun
and seriously need to kick some ass. And if you use your PDA like you
should, you just might be able to deal this particular ass-kicking a bit
early in the game (I’ll let you figure this one out).
Grenades: sound like they should, look like they should. Way
better than those Quake 2 grenades, end of story.
The plasma gun was the most elegant weapon in the original, and
it is like this in Doom 3. The streams of plasma look great, and I just love
those plasma vents on the gun nozzle and flare up when you fire the gun.
Also, the reloading animation is awesome, where you push open the back of
the gun, which takes the ammo counter and pulls it under… it’s just so damn
cool. Sounds, well, I have mixed feelings. When I first heard it fire, I was
shocked. I mean, it sounded awful! As time passed however, I found that the
sound kind of grew on me and no longer bothered me. Soon, this became my
favourite al-around weapon. I still think they should have taken their
plasma sound, however, and added that raspy touch the original had. Its
current sound makes me think of those B-movie energy guns.
The rocket launcher has a Jekyll and Hyde deal going on, and it
all depends on the specifications of your system that you’re running the
game on. If you’re strutting along at the minimum requirements with
everything on low, you may find that it’s an ugly, weak, and disappointing
weapon. But if you run it with a DirectX 9 compatible card and everything on
high, it does look great(read: heat haze). Shockwaves spread through ground
and through the air through excellent use of the heat haze effect that
distorts the surrounding air. Also, as it turns out, there are toxic barrels
often scattered about, which usually add to the explosion and make it seem
that much more massive. Great as this is, you have to be careful that you
don’t get so mesmerised by the beautiful graphics that you wander by an
exploding barrel. And speaking of the barrels, you can roll ones that are on
their side, so you can deal a rocket-launcher level of death with weaker
weapons. Sound-wise, the rocket launcher is an ‘OK’ weapon. Could’ve been
better and stronger, but the sound doesn’t annoy too much. Sounds like the
grenades, which is fine by me.
Ah, and what’s more classic than the BFG 9000? This weapon makes
its appearance into Doom 3 in many ways like the original. First of all, it
still looks like the original (sort of). It still has that aircraft-carrier
sort of look. It is supremely sleek and massive, taking up a large part of
the screen. As I said before, design-wise, all the weapons are flawless.
When it comes to sound, however, I’ve got mixed feelings towards this
particular weapon. I imagine it sounding massive, deep, a sound that drowns
out all others. This weapon sounds more like, well, I honestly don’t know
what, but it sure as hell doesn’t sound like a weapon. It does have the
similar sounds to the original, and so I guess it’s fine. It’s a good weapon
to use when in a tight spot, though a rocket launcher is more suited for the
regular fights. I found myself playing through most of the game with the
shotgun, chaingun and machinegun, with the occasional appearance of the
plasma gun to boot when I had gathered enough ammo. Those guns, and of
course, the soulcube. Keep this one for when you
really need it. Oh, and don’t hold the trigger down too long; although
holding it down might make the blast more powerful, pushing your luck might
result you having to start from where you last saved.
Introduction
Graphics
The beginning
Hell invades!
Multiplayer
Mishaps that you shoot
Mishaps that you shoot (cont)
Odd, ends and a verdict
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