Few games need an introduction and Doom III is one of them. Coming from the same software company that brought you the Wolfenstein and Quake series, id seeks to create the greatest game yet. Arguably one of the most anticipated games of all time, Doom III first was shown two years ago. Doom III is extremely dark, which is nothing new to id since Quake is the same. Both series have been largely rooted in the occult. With more pentagrams in the game than pellets of sand on a beach you get the idea that the game is really demonic.

Gameplay:

Id has been long known for poor, weak, and just plain horrible story lines. Quake and Doom have been associated with ?kill big guy, find red key, find red door ?etc?. So id sought to disprove this by almost totally focusing on the single player game of Doom III. And after a better part of a decade to complete, and an all new engine to boot Doom III hits a sour note. The story is still the same story as the original Doom only retold. The game is very similar to id style only now after years since the first it only becomes dumber. Almost everything is scripted in the game and almost every room is the same thing. Go past a certain point and two guys pop in front of you and a guy appears from a doorway in the wall behind you. You would think that this was only a couple times, but this set of sequences reoccurs the entire game. As you can see from the screenshots, darkness is an understatement in this game. Where you?re using your flashlight almost exclusively in every room before the repetitive formula happens again and again. One thing I did notice is that in Doom III the pentagrams seemed to be toned down quite a lot since Doom and Doom II. The pentagrams were more of a lighting affect on the floor and thus couldn?t be seen quite as much. There is no question this is the most evil game I have ever played and I feel incredibly slimed after playing through the game. The main enemy is constantly telling you every half hour that ?your soul is mine?. The later levels are by far the worst with upside down crosses with people nailed to them you can?t get much worse. Dimly lit candles that surround a sacrifice are the norm towards the end of the game. You just wonder if these are things that id actually sat there for over five years creating you can really understand how much of an influence the satanic cult has been on that organization. Not only the Doom series but Quake as well id has been know for creating the most satanic games of any company. Also too this game is very gory. This would definitely be in the extreme category and I could honestly make the claim that this game is no where near the mature rating of 17+ that it has been given, this is strictly an adult game. I really don?t see any valuable aspect in playing this game, it?s not fun. It literally eats away at you spiritually and really sucks you dry. Most games have some sort of multiplayer aspect that is incredibly appealing, but Doom III has almost nothing in that category with capping the players to server to only four you can?t have much fun. After you beat the game there really is no replay value since it?s the same monotonous formula over again.

Graphics:

The graphics were simply unheard of two years ago, but now they just don?t seem quite as impressive. Don?t get me wrong the game is really beautiful graphically speaking, but there are many things that are seen that could have looked better. As you can see from the screenshot below the face is largely detailed, but the legs are really poor. If you look at its left leg you can see the transition from the leg to the foot is just not there, it?s just a block. My point is clear graphics are great but would have looked a lot better if this game came out a year earlier. Some would argue that the video card industry would not have been able to keep the necessary frame rates up to play the game, but that is just not true. My video card is a Geforce 4 ti4200 and the game runs perfect.

Sound:

In my opinion this is where Doom III shines. The game is completely done in 5.1 surround sound, and for those that can?t afford system like that for your computer you?re just not getting the full affect this game can give. I?ve played this game with both standard speakers and a set of 5.1 speakers and the difference is as clear as day. You can hear things crawling behind you, noises, shrieks, and cries all around. It?s down right disturbing. From time to time you get the very scary ?over here? sound from someone and when you look no one is there. Other times, like when you?re in hell, you hear constant screaming and babies crying. After an hour straight of this and the lights being off I can honestly say I was freaked out. This is what Doom III sought to bring, a completely horrific and terrifying game and that it has accomplished.

Christian Rating:

There hasn?t been a game that I would more than happily throw away after I just purchased it for fifty-five dollars than this one. The graphics are superb and sound is just down right awesome, but nothing will make up for the complete satanic feel and exposure this game will bring. As a twenty-one year old I have to say I was freaked out, disturbed, and horrified by Doom III?s content. I can?t imagine what a thirteen year old would feel like. After hours of exposure to this game, I could see a child?s attitude and personality change because of this game. I would have displayed more images but due to the graphic and satanic nature of this game I just couldn?t show it. Stay far away from Doom III it has no value to it at all. I would highly recommend that anyone who professes themselves to be Christians, to NOT PLAY THIS GAME.

Conclusion:

This game contains high levels of occult images and sounds, massive gore, and terrifying exposure to hell and demons. No game has gone so far as Doom III. ~Dan Harrison

Overall Score: 70%