Doom 3
You know, I can't believe I didn't blog about this. I've had the game pre-ordered for months. I've built a whole new PC to host it. And what did I say about it on the day of its release? Absolutely nothing. 4 years of anticipation and preparation, and I'm absolutely silent. Why?
Because the game has pretty much blown me away.
I'm going to save my discussion of my new system hardware for a completely separate post. It's too long and involved. Let's just say that I'm playing the game at 1600x1200 resolution, at high detail settings, in a very dark room with surround sound.
I really don't know how to describe just how impressive this game is. You see, it's like a horror movie, or an M. Night Shyamalan movie. The most impressive moments for me have been the ones I didn't know were coming. When I turned off the game late last night, and turned off the lights in my basement, I was afraid. Sure, I knew I was ok, but I had enough adrenaline still running through me that I had to fight down my urge to run to the nearest light switch. This game is messing with my head.
But I can talk about some of the technical aspects of the game without ruining it for anyone else. This game is by far the most technically impressive game I have ever played. I don't think any of the screenshots do the game justice. You need to see it in motion. The lighting, and the shadows, and the bump-mapping all work together to create a very solid believable world. Watching an Imp drop from the ceiling, pause, and prepare to launch a fireball at you is breathtaking. You can see the fire form in the creature's hand, and you can see the red-orange glow cast across its body. At the same time, you see the huge shadow cast on the far wall. As the Imp draws its arm back to throw, the shadow lunges forward in a very believeable way. And there are subtle effects as well. You'll come across fire or steam shooting out of a pipe. At first glance you'll think they look like nice effects, but when you take a second glance, and realize that the heat makes everything else shimmer in the haze, you realize it's something that's never been done in a game before. These kind of details are everywhere.
There's one aspect of the gameplay that I was worried about. You only have the ability to carry one weapon in your hand at a time, and if you want to equip your flashlight, you have to put the weapon away. This doesn't sound like much, but you'll quickly realize that most of the game is dark. Very dark. You're forced to make the decision between the two almost constantly. And you know what? It works perfectly. There's a feeling of safety you get from carrying a shotgun, but it won't help you one bit when you're walking through a dark hallway, with nothing but the glow of computer screens lighting the way.
I'm going to stop now. Needless to say, the game is incredible. If you own even a reasonably powerful PC, you owe it to yourself to buy this game. And Depends. You need to buy Depends.
Because the game has pretty much blown me away.
I'm going to save my discussion of my new system hardware for a completely separate post. It's too long and involved. Let's just say that I'm playing the game at 1600x1200 resolution, at high detail settings, in a very dark room with surround sound.
I really don't know how to describe just how impressive this game is. You see, it's like a horror movie, or an M. Night Shyamalan movie. The most impressive moments for me have been the ones I didn't know were coming. When I turned off the game late last night, and turned off the lights in my basement, I was afraid. Sure, I knew I was ok, but I had enough adrenaline still running through me that I had to fight down my urge to run to the nearest light switch. This game is messing with my head.
But I can talk about some of the technical aspects of the game without ruining it for anyone else. This game is by far the most technically impressive game I have ever played. I don't think any of the screenshots do the game justice. You need to see it in motion. The lighting, and the shadows, and the bump-mapping all work together to create a very solid believable world. Watching an Imp drop from the ceiling, pause, and prepare to launch a fireball at you is breathtaking. You can see the fire form in the creature's hand, and you can see the red-orange glow cast across its body. At the same time, you see the huge shadow cast on the far wall. As the Imp draws its arm back to throw, the shadow lunges forward in a very believeable way. And there are subtle effects as well. You'll come across fire or steam shooting out of a pipe. At first glance you'll think they look like nice effects, but when you take a second glance, and realize that the heat makes everything else shimmer in the haze, you realize it's something that's never been done in a game before. These kind of details are everywhere.
There's one aspect of the gameplay that I was worried about. You only have the ability to carry one weapon in your hand at a time, and if you want to equip your flashlight, you have to put the weapon away. This doesn't sound like much, but you'll quickly realize that most of the game is dark. Very dark. You're forced to make the decision between the two almost constantly. And you know what? It works perfectly. There's a feeling of safety you get from carrying a shotgun, but it won't help you one bit when you're walking through a dark hallway, with nothing but the glow of computer screens lighting the way.
I'm going to stop now. Needless to say, the game is incredible. If you own even a reasonably powerful PC, you owe it to yourself to buy this game. And Depends. You need to buy Depends.