Doom 3/FO3/Oblivion bad....dohoho. To each his own I suppose, but still.....

Not a real doom game? C'mon, they may be linear as hell, but that doesn't suddenly make them not doom games.

Agreed, though having them both for completion's sake wouldn't be too much of a bad thing.

(Heck, even the censored german version of HL is becoming a collector's item nowadays.)

No mod support, for one thing.

I actually REALLY enjoyed the game through the first 2/3 of it. Then the game went from horror to action thriller with tons of monsters popping out of no where. I was actually turned off by the change in tone. Blood smears and pentagrams on the walls were cool until they were literally on every wall in the last few levels.

Ah, you must be talking about the hell levels/delta labs 3(4?). Tbh, it reminded me of the change in tone from HL's Black Mesa levels to the Xen levels.

Yeah, coming back from Hell into the Delta labs was just a somewhat jarring experience. Going into Hell, it was about what I expected. Back on the station, the mood was ruined by the invasions of enemies.

Yep and that's why they won't be getting my money.

Neither of those companies owns the Heretic and Hexen rights.Raven software owns them. ID did distribute Hexen and Heretic when they were first published, but never owned the actual rights to the games themselves. They were not included when Bethseda acquired ID.
Doom 3 had flaws (IMHO it became too reptitive after a while) but the worst FPS ever made???????????????????

And even if it was a bad game this whlle "GOG should not sell it because I thought t sucked" strikes me as incredibly arrogant.

Someone once said that the original Doom Games were like James Cameron's movie "Aliens" but Doom 3 was more like Ridley Scott's original "Alien".IMHO a good comparasion.

So after all this, I decided to grab my original CD copy of Doom 3 and install it, for the first time.

And in one sitting, I played long enough to fight some lost souls, get a plasma rifle, and get out of alpha labs.

So far, it's been a good game. Perhaps not 5/5, but it is not bad. There are definitely *way* worse shooters out there, even here on GOG...

Oh and I love the darkness. I expected something else, based on all the complaining. Turns out most of the game so far is pretty well lit. But the light doesn't bounce off walls and spread to every nook and cranny. It's like some sort of infernal darkness is trying to suck out the light so it doesn't reach the back of the room. It's unrealistic for sure, but the effect is powerful.

You grow suspicious of the dark, even a little paranoid. You start taking some calculated risks. You assess whether there could be something in that corner over there. But if it were a spider, it would have already stepped out for you to see. If it were an imp, you'd see it casting its fireballs. If it were a fat zombie, well these guys are slow, and it's unlikely he'd be just standing there. So you move on and quip the flashlight for a second to illuminate the larger patch of darkness up ahead -- there's definitely more room for baddies to hide there. Oh, found some. And the zombies' eyes glow...

There's enough light that even the enemies in pitch black darkness usually reveal their silhouette against some lit area behind them. Enough light that they will be lit soon enough if they come at you. Only some of the campers that hide in dark corners against equally dark walls are truly hidden, but that's where the calculation comes in. You learn to anticipate them and look out for them. Quip the flashlight for a moment if you can, or step in boldly with the shotgun in hand. If something is going to attack you, they'll make some noise. You fire and deal with it. Most enemies make some light of their own.

Sometimes, you make a miscalculated move and miss some enemy. That might surprise you a little, when they finally reveal themselves. And that is good. It would be so boring otherwise.

In any case, the number of times I've been taking pot shots at enemies covered in perfect darkness I can count with less than half the fingers of one hand. But even then, I knew they were there. And by sound, I could tell whether I was hitting them, or whether they were still alive. And after the shooting, I found there's a light switch. *grin*

I think the relationship between you and the darkness -- the anticipation, the paranoia, the choices and calculated risks you take, are a massive contribution to the game's atmosphere and identity, and the way you play the game. Yes identity -- I really can't think of many other games that play out like this. Doom 3 is unique, and worth playing for that reason alone. And let's face it -- the game is more of an atmospheric thriller than a pure action shooter. Like so many other games after the trend set by Half Life..

I can understand that some people are disappointed, expecting another action shooter like the mid-90s (and, for most part, classic Dooms) were. Yes, I prefer action shooters too. But that does not make Doom 3 a bad game.

I can also understand it if the darkness causes more anxiety and discomfort than you can handle. There are many people who dislike horror games for the same reason. But the effect is intentional; that's why the rest of us love them. And, well, I can understand the complaining if you're stuck playing in a daylit room that ruins the atmosphere and blinds you with glare. Yeah, that would suck. The experience would definitely suffer if you were stuck playing in such conditions. That doesn't make it a bad game however, and I'd rather try to change the conditions than ruin the game by diluting one of its strongest unique factors :)

Sure, the game has other problems. The way enemies spawn in isn't the greatest design (but monster closets I love, and I'm glad the concept carried over from classic Doom). Shotgun is disappointing after you get past the slow and weak zombies. Too much yada-yada in the PDAs. Levels aren't as large and open as I'd like? It's not a fast paced action shooter like Doom (it doesn't need to be, however). All that said, it works out, and I've seen *way* worse. What else, I'll find out as I get further along. Maybe the darkness will get excessive, and in that case I would have to reassess my opinion about it. But so far it looks like all the complaints are way exaggerated. Or they come from players who just don't see how to deal with it.

I suspect anyone calling Doom 3 a terrible game has only played a handful of shooters and doesn't really have any perspective.

Anyway, I look forward to playing more today, and I look forward to the day when Bethesda & GOG bring the game with its expansion here. (Please! Make sure we have the option to play the original version instead of just the BFG edition)

I just finished the game. It sure didn't get excessively dark.

If anything, around delta labs it felt brighter than at the start of the game. Either that, or I adjusted to the darkness.

Someone said the action gets heavy after the return from hell but I didn't notice a big change of pace. You still get an enemy or three spawning every couple rooms. Well, now you have these pesky arch viles that bring some more enemies to the battle. But overall, the intensity or frequency of battle didn't seem to increase substantially. That said, maybe you spend a little less time reading PDAs, especially in delta labs. So it might feel like there's more action.

The finale was pretty underwhelming, but I don't really fault Id for that. I can't really remember a single game whose ending I really liked -- apart from some original doom community wads that have some real meaty action at the end.