Oh I beg to differ on Doom III. There aren't that many first person shooters that I haven't tried and this is by far one of the best. It is, however, geared toward generating a certain type of experience that will surely only appeal to selected fans of this genre.
FPS (first person shooters) come in lots of different varieties, from those that seek to model basic tactical combat like Operation Flashpoint, to those that are nothing but pure mindless running and shooting like Unreal Tournament. Some of them are very heavy on story and plot such as Half-Life, and some others border on being a mini-RPG like System Shock 2. There are all different types and many of them implement features, that although some may see as small, really add a tremendous amount to the overall experience. The Matrix-like time mode in Max Payne is a good example of this.
Some of these are truly revolutionary in the way they implement new features or completely overhaul existing ones, while others are evolutionary and simply do it bigger and better. Many would argue that Far Cry doesn't offer anything truly revolutionary, but I would argue that it does. No FPS has ever offered such incredibly realistic outdoor environments as Far Cry. If you have the PC and graphics muscle to play this one the way it was meant to be played, the outdoor environments are just awesome. This adds so much to the whole feeling of being totally immersed into this "alternate world" that you really can get into the whole story. I thought Far Cry was very good (read my review), although the actual combat is more or less only an evolutionary step up from most other FPS.
I'm about halfway through Doom III I guess. I should mention that I am one of the privileged gamers who actually has a dedicated gameroom. I always have a room in my house with all my wargame stuff, maps, books, and my PC. This system is state of the art and I can turn out the lights, turn up the volume, and play these games the way the developer intended. It's a luxury I'm lucky to have.
Doom III will not appeal to everyone. For starters, it's extremely violent and takes graphic gore to a level even I've never seen before in a PC game (and that's saying something!). I even had a guy take a chainsaw to my sorry butt last night! This game is a piece of art when it comes to creating a very dark, spooky, brooding atmosphere of fear. The levels (some are better than others) are simply incredible in the attention to detail and the truly lifelike layout. Oftentimes, FPS levels are simply a half-assed maze that the characters wander around in to play out the story. Not in Doom III. The levels are laid out like a building would be in real life. Things actually make sense for the most part and even if you don't know where something is or how it works, you can almost always apply common sense and you'll probably be right. The level design here is the best I ever seen, hands down.
Eye candy? No, the graphics in Doom III are well beyond anything any of us has ever seen in a PC game before. Even Far Cry pales in comparison to this baby. It's hard to describe the lighting and graphic effects as they simply have to be experienced in person. Screenshots are worthless as many of the effects are subtle and too difficult to describe. Now let me say this: if you play this game on anything but a mega gaming rig, you're completely missing out on much of the immersion factor. On my system the levels are borderline photo-realistic. The monsters almost look and sound "too" real, as I've has the sh*t scared out of me several times (and loved it!). And that's what Doom III is all about. Playing this game in the middle of the afternoon with the lights on would completely ruin the whole effect.
Doom III incorporates many elements from Half-Life and System Shock 2 and mixes them with one part Aliens and one part George Romero zombie movie for an experience that is . . . well, it's Doom III! If you want tactical combat and "realism," you will probably not like Doom III. If you want an excellent sci-fi/horror experience that's made to be ultra creepy and scary, then there is nothing even in the same league.
:freak:
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