Dusty Relics: They Don't Make 'em Like This Anymore

More than 10 years ago a game broke cover, snarling and blood-thirsty, foaming at the mouth, a true monster of a game. It delivered excellent graphics, terrifying and gripping gameplay and a solid and interesting story-line. This was no ordinary first person horror shooter - this was DOOM 3. 

Even by today’s standards Doom 3 still delivers quite a punch. Maybe the graphics are showing their age but even then, they're not all that terrible. Doom still doesn't feel like any other game of its type (even now). It was and still is a pace-setter for the survival horror FPS. If you want to make a wicked scary game that keeps you riveted from the get-go, look no further than Doom for inspiration.

So what is it about this beast that we all love so much? Like a zombie lurching from the shadows; it's all in the delivery and presentation. Firstly the attention to detail in Doom is what really pulls you into the twisted world of Mars City where the game is set. You arrive on Mars as a Marine assigned to a security detail at a big research lab. It's all pretty standard and normal until you are tasked to find a missing scientist. Everyone knows what’s going to happen at this juncture, but somehow, in the way Doom handles this typically token ‘from normality to horror’ section, it doesn’t detract from the suspense. This transitional period in the beginning of the game is very smooth and well written and even if you didn’t know what Doom was, you would leave this section with an overbearing feeling that something isn’t right, which in itself is testament to the production value of the game. It draws you in nicely as things go from normal, to weird, to worse. From then on you descend into a terrifying world where every movement on the game makes you nervous and every sound in your living room makes you jump.

If there is one thing Doom excels in, it's suspense and the creation of a foreboding environment. As you play you become more and more uneasy, every new unopened door fills you with dread at what may lie behind it. The threat of every corner and every shadow being home to some grim monster waiting to jump out on you but it’s not an endless trail of destruction either, there are quiet spells; it keeps you guessing. You never know what’s coming and this holds you on a knife edge for the whole ride, something which few games can accomplish so well. Many games of this genre end up inadvertently de-sensitising the player to the action, which removes the feeling of suspense and horror that the game survives on. By the end of the game the player are left with a sense of achievement, but rarely are they left with a sense of relief that the rip-roaring ride is over, this is not the case with Doom.   

What's more is that Doom doesn't rely on just blood and gore to create the horror feel like so many others. In fact, if you took the blood out it would still be as grim. It uses simple but cleverly presented devices to horrify your little gaming world, like darkness, and flickering lights which obscure things: Did I see that? Was there something there? It creates a sense of closeness and claustrophobia, like you have no escape routes and no place to hide. It makes you choose between holding the flashlight to illuminate those dark corridors or holding a weapon to murder anything that might be in them. That choice alone keeps you on the edge of your seat; do I stumble through the darkness clutching my shotgun or light the way and go unarmed?

Doom also uses a slightly different story device, its not a zombie outbreak or some experiment gone wrong, it's not even just demons and monsters based on a story book (well, it is kinda) it's Hell in all it's horrific glory. Mars City has become something of a staging point for the opening of Hell itself. This hits on two levels. Firstly it's a great story device as almost everyone is familiar with the concept of hell, every culture has its version. Hell is huge, its' big, it's unstoppable, it is pure and unadulterated evil. Secondly, there might be an antidote to a zombie outbreak or experiment gone wrong, a quick fix, but there is no end to Hell itself. Even at the conclusion of the game the gateway to Hell is only sealed, it's still there, the door is just closed.. for the time being. 

Progression in the game is linear as one might expect, however Doom 3 doesn’t feel linear, which is a smart trick and one that many game production teams fall short of time after time; many games that are not linear by design also fall foul of this and end up becoming very linear, Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption is a good example of this. 

It is difficult to pin down exactly what Doom does differently because it is quite unique in its style, one of the linear busting devices are the PDAs that the player finds; instead of just finding a key cards or codes written somewhere to move forward, you must find PDAs which belonged to people in Mars City. On the PDA there can be useful information like codes to equipment lockers and door access. In addition there are often data files that contain the back story to the game, like voice diaries from the ex-owner of the PDA explaining the 'strange noises' or 'odd behaviour of people' they had witnessed. This adds a different dimension to the play and depth to the game which most games of this type seem to lack. The only respite you get from the suspense is listening to PDA messages and reading journals and emails about the horror that's developing. It doesn't let you escape from the story once you’re in it; it keeps you pinned down both in horror suspense and back story.

Doom 3 creates this foreboding feeling like no other has; even the Resident Evil series doesn't deliver this level of atmosphere, though it arguably delivers a far better story. F.E.A.R gets close to the kind of atmosphere created by Doom, but no cigar. Too many horror games just rely on trying to disgust the player with as much blood, guts and shooting monsters as they can code in, Doom doesn't do this. It plays with your senses and your feelings of loneliness and fear, which only works because the story and environment are so well delivered. Sure the monsters are scary looking, but they are only as scary as they are because of the atmosphere of the game; it closes you in by forcing you into tight and dark areas and never lets you feel safe, when it does allow you to feel safe it always shatters the illusion, which means you never trust safety when you find it.

In this respect Doom is the complete horror game package but it doesn't stop there; it's also wildly enjoyable to play. Especially with a friend for a wingman to watch your back while you're playing, taking it turns to get your ass handed to you by demonic monsters as you navigate the dark and grizzly world of Doom. The weapons offered by the game are fun as well, ranging from pad-mashingly ineffective to blindingly awesome. From the generic FPS staple; the hand gun, which any frequent FPS player will know is a gun shaped paperweight most of the time let alone when facing zombies, or worse, to the infamous BFG9000 which will destroy everything in a room; it kinda wouldn't be Doom without it. Even the humble flashlight can be used to batter the odd zombie to death, which is guaranteed to fill you with satisfaction. They even left in the option to use no weapons at all and go toe-to-toe with the demons brandishing only a pair of muscular arms, it’s a reasonably effective and amusing way to deal with zombies but try your luck with anything more hardcore and your ass will be thoroughly handed to you. The combat is so enjoyable because all the action dynamics are smooth and responsive, even on the console port. You won't get the response time of a mouse on a console but dial the sensitivity up to 10 and you should be able to swing round and give that demon scum a face full of lead; it is in Doom’s nature to make sure attacks are as unexpected as possible.

It's great the Doom 3 got the HD upgrade some years ago because this game really deserves not to be forgotten, because once you've played it, you never forget it. 

It delivers horror suspense like no other has, the monsters are truly scary and more so by implementation rather than design. Everything Doom does is testament to the quality for the game production and for this reason it would be amazing to see a remake on the PS4 or Xbox One. So it's old now, so it's still essentially A to B shoot the bad guys, that’s all CoD is after all and so what? If it can still scare your socks off with monsters that can rip your face off after nearly 10 years and remembering that many games are ancient history after just five years, you could do much worse than pick up a copy of Doom 3 whether on the original PC or the console port.

In fact, I erg you now to get a copy and relive the horror that is Doom 3, let yourself become absorbed into the world of Mars City, for nostalgia, for remembering how great horror gaming is, for the sheer fun that it is to play, but mostly because... DOOM 3 is still a BEAST and we love it.

Thanks for reading. 

It doesn't matter what you use, it only matters that you game.