Closed Gestalt – Doom 3

Doom 3, which I tried to master for about 15 years.
Doom 3, which came out like 19 years ago.
And don’t think, it’s not about some complexity or outdated graphics, no. It’s just that my relationship with him didn’t work out from the very beginning, back when the computer had an old GT9800. It was at that time that I bought a pirated disc.

And naturally because of the awesome cover.

And I left him. I can no longer remember the reasons, but it seems that one of them was almost the darkest location in the game, in which I simply got lost. Well, and also platforming, which is neither for the village nor for the city. Therefore, I treat those who complained about platforming in Eternal with a grain of irony. They apparently either forgot about DOOM 3 or didn’t play it at all. Because in Eternal… At least it works.

All in all. After several unsuccessful attempts, I successfully demolished it. However, it stuck in my head for a long time. And, again, not least thanks to the outstanding aesthetics of the game. Therefore, when the opportunity presented itself, I bought it on Steam about 7 years later. And, after playing for 4 hours, I quit again.
However, after another couple of years, the desire to complete it has not faded. I always remembered it, it stuck in my head, like “a game that I never mastered”. On the basis of which my next [Un]Closed Gestalt associated with this game arose. So, only after another year (and at the time of passing a whole fifteen years from the moment of release) I finally got to it. And, with a sense of accomplishment, I tell you about this game.

And we’ll start, perhaps, with https://privecasinouk.net/mobile-app/ that very aesthetic component.

And the music from the main menu will be a great start.

Dark corridors of a spaceship, teeming with demons, the inability to light your way if you are holding a weapon, or vice versa, restrictions on firing, if you are holding a flashlight, intense ambient, not the worst graphics, PDA… Mmm, PDA..
There’s even a little more detail about it, because it’s executed and implemented just perfectly. When I replayed it, I was even a little taken aback. It contains many texts with the lore of the game, letters from station employees (some of which are useful, because they contain codes for safes), and in another section there is even a video player. Moreover, some of the correspondence directly correlates with the plot twists of the game.
Even the design is good. For 2004 – absolutely chic.

We figured out the visual component. What about the narration?? And there are 27 levels. No, I’ll even write it in text. Twenty seven levels. And if the first ten are not perceived so badly, then later those same “dark corridors” begin to become quite boring, because they are… still corridors. Yes, of course, shooters have always suffered from corridor sickness, but… These are also the same. Also dark. And sometimes – unacceptably dark.
Again, the very idea of ​​putting the player before the choice of seeing what is in the dark or shooting, but not seeing where, has the right to life. And maybe it should have worked. And what can I say, it worked. But EXACTLY until you have a plasma gun.Ammo for it, of course, is an important resource, but NOW in battle you no longer need a flashlight, and it does good damage. And as a result, you now have two weapons for the whole game. This is a plasma gun and… Oddly enough, a shotgun. And since we’ve touched on the topic of weapons, let’s get straight to it.
Don’t think I’m a particularly casual gamer, one of my favorite franchises is DMC. I love to get fucked up. But at the same time, I am aware of the efficiency of this or that weapon. And if I don’t see the point of using, for example, a rifle, when there is a machine gun that shoots faster and uses the same cartridges, but with a slightly increased spread – then it’s normal for me. Also, another weapon in the game is a chainsaw, which I personally haven’t used at all. And as I said above, I played almost the entire game with a shotgun, since it is both convenient and lethal if you get close. What is noteworthy is that at the release, if my memory serves me correctly, many complained that the shotgun was implemented in this part in a crap manner.

Next – gameplay. And just a few words about resource management. More precisely micromanagement. More precisely, he is not here. There’s nothing more to say here.
However, there is one more obstacle to the gameplay – scripted jumps of the main opponents in the game, which cannot be avoided and they constantly destroy HP. Well, and then an uberwunderwaffle appears in the person of BFG and a cube of souls. The first allows you to kill everyone, and the second allows you to replenish your health during the massacre, which is why in the end you die only because of the clumsiness of the game.

When you cross the equator of the game, you realize that this is an absolutely corridor-like, dark, identical shooter. The second third of the game is played with the feeling that the game is already getting pretty boring. “Go there to get the key for this door halfway through the level,” but in the end your wanderings resemble zigzags. Question for those who “built” such a complex. Is it convenient for the station employees to work there, no? Moreover, please note, the plot sags on this note.

But the third part of the game – you’re already thinking “when will this running around end??». And the funny thing is that it is essentially the most “saturated”. For example, our weapons are taken away from us twice (before entering hell and after), which is where the need for resource and ammo management arises for the first time, but how is that… Boring. On the one hand, it is clear that the developers have introduced many mechanics, all sorts of mini-games, of course including platforming, which works clumsily.
Who even came up with platforming in Duma?? (again, excluding the eternal in which it operates).

To sum it up, DOOM 3 is a so-so shooter. It’s clear why she was bullied at the start, but at the same time I understand why I love her. Plot-wise, it’s good. Cut out at least one third of the game from there and it will be great. From 27 levels. Think about it, from 27th. For example, from the first third there are two levels, from the second two and from the third. Remove these 6-7 levels and it will be great.
There are also interesting locations in the game. What are two levels worth in hell, although the second one is only for the final boss, frankly merged. With everything, it’s clear where Grandfather Space got his inspiration from, because there are at least a couple of similar locations.

The game itself is controversial, but it is definitely a passable game. There is, of course, some interest in the spirit of “what will happen next” and “there is an addition”. At the moment I even want to go through them, but play “IT” again? No, I’d rather watch the fictional film.

These are the ambiguous results of an ambiguous game. Thanks for reading to everyone who has read this far. In the future I undertake to work on the quality of my articles. Otherwise, everything is as usual – I wish you a pleasant time, wherever you go in your wanderings next.