Doom 3, Resurrection of Evil, & BFG Edition Video Review

Gaming Pastime reviews Doom 3, Resurrection of Evil, and the BFG Edition for PC and the co-op campaign for Xbox.
Developed by id Software and published by Activision, Doom 3 was released for PC in August, 2004. The expansion, Resurrection of Evil, was developed by Nerve Software and released for PC in April, 2005. The BFG Edition released for PC and consoles in October, 2012. Doom 3 may not be the best Doom game but it's perfect if you're looking for a creepy and atmospheric shooter.
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[@ADR69]

The plasma rifle reload sound is the best part of that game.

[@doommaker4000]

Base shotgun is the worst part of the game

[@PersianGamer36]

Love those reload animations

[@JS-yt1zy]

It’s also the only gun that sounds cool when shooting, everything else just sounds so weak

[@fruiteusfly5307]

Well it certainly sounds better than the guns of Doom 2016. Also the shotgun is only good if you're completely point-blank, and can easily oneshot lesser enemies like the imp.

[@agbrenv]

nah, the squeeky toy noise the pistol makes when reloaded is the best

[@saisameer8771]

Doom 3's shotgun is the best melee weapon in the entire series.

[@SinCity2100]

You gotta be joking, right? I used it a lot, and I found out it's pretty useless IMO.

[@brunocar02]

and the doom 3 chainsaw is the best shield in the series

[@eliteguard225]

They made it so you can't beat the whole game with a single weapon, different from the original games. Doom 3 Bad! :^|

[@luigimaster111]

It acts like a sawed off shotgun with a 1 inch barrel, it's ridiculous. It's quite easy to fix thankfully, one of the pak files has the config settings for the shotgun where the spread can easily be modified.

[@eliteguard225]

Shotgun is easily one of the best guns in the game. Learn to play

[@miecraftandmoregames]

plasma rifle sounds awesome. that reload is extremely satisfying

[@Pin3C0ne]

What a comprehensive video!! Love how you tackled every avenue to deliver all the information in a really unbiased way. I myself really don’t have a problem with the BFG edition. I just love Doom 3 and it’s the easiest way to play it especially if you aren’t on PC.

[@adamdavis1737]

I love this game. It was great and I'm glad a game like it exists in the Doom franchise even if this is the only one

[@NathanJennings1222]

I want a Linux source port for quake IV as well. Dhewm3 for Linux (dhewm3_1.5.0_Linux_amd64.tar.gz ) works great, especially with the ducttape mod.

[@SableCraft]

Just discovered this guy's channel after desperately looking for good reviewers. This guy is clearly very high-level in his reviewing. I would love more back-story on the games during reviews, but everything else is spot on. I love your perspective

[@hardcorgamer007]

DooM 3, so atmospheric and so damn well made, many casual gamers didn't understand the greatness of it, every enemy encounter feels like something big, the enemies in the game are larger than life, the way they look, behave and sound, they're not ur typical generic, in hordes type of enemies, every encounter feel special, every room in the game feel special, the craftsmanship in the game is very high, amazing game

[@Gamingpastime64]

The enemies are very underwhelming.

[@InfernalMonsoon]

I partially agree with that - in nightmare difficulty or veteran with some well done mods, that's absolutely the case as despite their stupidity and predictable patterns, the enemies are lethal and ferocious in those situations. But you have to remember that to a casual player, they're likely to play on normal or even easy which makes Doom 3 an extremely easy game and makes the enemies a joke. Plus the game is often flooded with imps, a lot of the more dangerous demons don't get much screen time.

[@adamdavis1737]

The enemies in classic Doom games are all pretty simple too. Harder difficulties basically just mob you with them. They're all just kind of oddly animated shambling fireball tossers or hitscanners. Or the couple that bumrush you to melee you.

[@hardcorgamer007]

totally disagree, they're larger than life

[@Gamingpastime64]

It's in the review.

[@V8RacerGT]

I never understood the hate about Doom 3 back in 2004/2005. I absolutely love this game, it has an incredible atmosphere!

[@999YCM]

One thing I'm GRATEFUL for is Gaming Pastime's THANKSGIVING 2019 DooM reviews! THANK YOU!

[@duedah837]

The flashlight was literally only a thing because they couldn't correct quirks caused by the flashlight interacting with muzzle fire shadows. With that said, i still like the mechanic because the game was clearly designed around it. Enemies have glowing eyes, their projectiles illuminate darkened areas, flickering lights...the game is totally playable without the flashlight most of the time. I don't care about the "muh suspension of disbelief" argument if it makes the game better. And Doom 3's darkness is overblown. There's like one or two areas in the whole game which are so pitch black you can't see, and they're at least accompanied by a moving light source(when escorting the scientist), which i thought was awesome.

[@InfernalMonsoon]

I'm the same - I reckon people would be more forgiving of it if there was an in-universe explanation for it but as far as gameplay goes, that balance between sight and firepower makes the game so much better and being able to manage that can be the difference between life and death on nightmare. The BFG Edition ruined that fundamental piece of great game design. I love my immersion and world building but it should never get in the way of a fun, well designed game which should always take priority.

[@kingnull2697]

That’s my thoughts on it too. Personally, I’d kill for less hitscanners and spider sections instead of complaining about the light. The lights’ fine, committing Half-Life’s sins again is not.

[@turdgoblin6113]

I absolutely adore doom 3! Upgraded my rig, bought surround sound just for this game I constantly find myself stopping and always looking at the environment, all the cool pipes, industrialatmosphereare just mind blowing!! I've played through doom 3 at least 20 times. Doom 3 and quake 4 are totally kick ass!! I will always come back to doom 3!

[@emulation2369]

in BFG edition they did cut a lot of real time shadows

[@emulation2369]

@Ken Matharoo they fixed it?what about steam version?

[@InfernalMonsoon]

Let's not forget the missing wall that looks out to hell in the Delta Labs Unknown level neither as well as the floating black boxes. I don't hate the BFG Edition but it's utterly headscratching at times.

[@VinoIxRxMxA-cq2iy]

Btw the original DOOM 3 and resurrection options allow you to "activate" a ZOOM command that its not allowed in the BFG edition.

[@Gamingpastime64]

Happy Thanksgiving

[@rid71k]

Happy doomsgiving

[@GuyMontag0451]

Happy Thanksgiving to you too friend

[@agentoosnake5490]

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Oh lookee DoomGUY killed a demon turkey for us to eat!

[@noahvadertheberserkerpacki6604]

Happy Thanksgiving! So much Doom content! I approve!

[@NathanJennings1222]

I just played dhewn3 on Linux Mint 17.3 64bit and it plays great. I appreciate being able to play Doom 3 on my favorite open source operating system. Your review and its links were a big help. Thanks!

[@paulrazvan2425]

Flashlight switching is not a technical issue. The devs just wanted to add tension.

[@Gamingpastime64]

But they didn't. The whole mechanic makes no sense.

[@InfernalMonsoon]

I do wish there was an in world explanation for the flashlight mechanic but it's far more thought out on a gameplay standpoint than the shoulder light in the BFG Edition by forcing the player to balance their sight and firepower, it works absurdly well in heightening tension on nightmare difficulty where enemies can literally one shot you. The BFG Edition ruined that fundamental design and went ahead and made the levels brighter anyway.

[@CustomGamesStudios]

Gaming Pastime I don’t think that’s a good argument to use for games all the time. “It makes no sense, my character should be able to do that” I believe that argument may bump heads directly with game design. For example, people said the same thing with Halo Spartans being able to sprint, and in turn the game design was watered down and maps elongated to its detriment just to accommodate for “making sense”

[@paulrazvan2425]

@@CustomGamesStudios True. Same goes with regenerative health and this kind of stuff. The weapon change in Doom 3 is acceptable and it does not break the game in any way.

[@InfernalMonsoon]

Regenerating health can suck a fat one - absolutely awful game mechanic, just allows level designers to get lazy since the player can just sit behind a wall doing literally nothing and is punished for being the slightest bit aggressive thus rewarding players to be cowards which is horrible. That's one game mechanic that offers absolutely nothing other than sheer apathy by developers and gamers.

[@DigitallyDelirious]

All your complaints about the flashlight were common place when the game first came out. It was used by many as a reason to flat out hate the game. Funny how things change over time. Everyone bitched about the lack of light in the original and then bitched about the light in BFG Edition The fact that they got it working on the Xbox at all is impressive.

[@Supersonic_Supernova]

The reason they didn't have the flashlight strapped onto a weapon with duct tape or shoulder mounted is because of the atmosphere. John Carmack at ID Software wanted to the game to be atmospheric, at the time Doom 3 stood out with it's shadows, muzzle flash and realistic lighting thanks in par with the new ID Tech 4 engine! Pretty sure that's the reason.

[@wundermax1993]

nice review, though I have to disagree with the game not being tense or scary. The lack of visibility and the level design being claustrophobic provides a reason to be afraid namely being cornered in these tight, dark corridors. The sound design complements this aspect because many times you hear things that are similar to demons and you can never know when they will mask a demon spawning in behind you. Of course if you play the bfg edition on marine it is not surprising you had no reason the be afraid. About the flashlight and realism, well this is a shooter game where you carry a ton of weapons so realism is already not something you should necessarily use as a metric. To me personally the bfg changes were against the concept of doom3 as I specifically came here for the darkness. Most enemies have visual clues, like glowing eyes or the fireball of the imp, not to mention there is a muzzle flash to give you some light when really needed.

[@WolfPlayer0]

Such a unique game. I'm absolutely in love with its dark atmosphere created by amazing sounds and visuals. Doom 2016 and Eternal might learn a few things from it. Especially in terms of hell levels design.

[@49mozzer]

Pretty sure hell in Doom 2016 isn't hell but another world absorbed by hell

[@michaellozada1077]

Wow... I actually agree with you...

[@limocars3412]

I didn´t like Doom 2016, got bored after around 4 hours. Not only the story and atmosphere is shitty, and it's a simple minded twitch action shooter, but the enemies look like they belong in Quake, they sure aren't demons.

[@VenusHeadTrap2]

I only play Doom 3 on Nightmare and without save states, it's the only way of playing that still puts up a challenge. Adds much more tension because you know the consequence for dying is being sent back. My favorite thing about the game are its soundscapes, every room sounds spooky, put on a headset and play it loud.

[@javierrenecano]

This game is awesome. Playing it right now on xbox 1 x

[@downwithputinsaveukraine1313]

I have to disagree for several reasons, 1)ROE & TLM feel more like classic Doom and give a ton of replayability 2)Graphics help up well 3)Best plasma rifle in the series (and the super shotgun kicks ass in ROE/TLM) 4)Hell seems to have its own feel and is great. 5)The missions are simple but logical and and it feels creepy. Play with no sound. 6)Gunplay is better than you think. Crouch and take cover. Shoot down their projectiles... or not. You get to decide how to do it. The bad parts? Vanilla 3 Doom shotgun is awful and the grenades bounce around via RNG (it seems). Why no weapons upgrades? Also, you don't get much ammo directly FROM enemies. This probably would've really enhanced things, where you get ammo, health or armor from dead baddies. On balance, a very good game even now. Resurrection of Evil (ROE) and The Lost Mission (TLM) added a ton to keep you playing. Just go through all 3 and ratchet up the difficulty each time. 4.5/5

[@EddyTheDevil1]

A rather negative review for such a good game :/ You've also kinda of rehashed some of the things that the haters said like for ex. DOOM 3 is not a "DOOM game", which is a pretty tired old meme by this point.

[@MideonProductions]

I have seen so many doom 3 reviews and i think this is the best one.

[@Deltamedic68w]

This sounds like a critique from a guy who wants to rush through every game effectively instead of savoring the ambiance. It’s similar to a food critic who sticks the food down his neck and tells everyone there was barely any flavor. You cannot play this like classic Doom, Doom 64, 2016, or Eternal. You must get immersed.

[@random_gamer_guy82]

I owned DOOM3 on my modded xbox back in the day along with 100+ games on my Hd. I played it for a while and never finished it, soooo I decided to buy it on playstation 4 last month and I can honestly say its absolutely amazing this was a xbox game. It looks genuinely still half decent now and holds up. I'm loving it and serves a decent amount of challenge. I'm surprised how survival horror it is and not just a fps by any imagination. (Playing it with headphones is a blast) good review 👌👌👌

[@emulation2369]

Doom 3 was and is great Also,just look how creepy the monsters are in this game and compare it to the new DOOM monsters...that look like they escaped Disney-land or smthng.Hell in D3 looks like hell to me..and in DOOM it look like you're just somewhere on mountains...

[@MRx36000]

I reccon It's by design.... DOOM/Eternal were never supposed to be terror games, you are literally HELL on hell! One man appocalipse who's sole purpose is to make hell suffer... How badass is that?! xD Not saying Doom 3 is inferior or superior, just saying that comparing their atmospheres isn't fair with any of them. All different beasts o/

[@emulation2369]

@@MRx36000 But it doesn't make sense,hell is hell and should be scary,gory,dark etc and monsters that live there should be as well...I beated DOOM on the hardest difficulty(not the one with one life),without any HUD and it was easy and I never felt like I was in danger...wich is wrong in my opnion...and I'm not even good,new Doom eternal monster design look much better already,but the colorful piсk ups and HUD makes me wanna puke...why...😢

[@InfernalMonsoon]

I love Doom 3's enemy designs but don't forget that Doom 2016 isn't meant to be a creepy horror game, it's meant to invoke the heavy metal run and gun style of the classics and thus has monsters that look as ridiculous as the tone it's going for and it works for that reason. But I will admit that Doom 3 definitely has the best and most creative interpretation of Hell in the series and I love how surreal it is.

[@Arvidus89]

Here's my take on the flashlight 'controversy': Sure enough, equipping a pistol in your second hand would be fine and make sense. As for the realism-argument though... well, as any decent game developer would say; "You never sacrifice gameplay for realism".

[@CustomGamesStudios]

Arvidus I agree with that quote. Sometimes game design needs to trump realism just like the Doom Guy can carry 12 weapons in his back pocket and no one says it ruins immersion

[@medes5597]

There are rare exceptions to that quote but they are basically only for games aiming for specific artistic statements. _Pathologic_ comes to mind as a game that definitely benefitted from making "realistic" choices that impacted gameplay negatively. But onto Doom3 - I didn't play Doom3 because of the flashlight. My friend bought it on the first day, and playing on his PC I hated the flashlight mechanic. I hated how dark it was, hated switching between guns and vision, I hated the little illumination that torch provided, I hated the pointless wait for recharges... Over a year after it came out, I saw a thread on 4chan's gaming board advertising some dudes flashlight mod. I watched the video and checked the images and finally decided that was good enough and picked Doom3 up cheap the next week.

[@Entropic_Alloy]

The gameplay isn't "enhanced" by sacrificing the realism. It just becomes tedious and annoying.

[@medes5597]

@@Entropic_Alloy exactly. They made their game worse for a "feature" that literally limited play. Didn't add to the atmosphere or anything.

[@CustodianVergil]

I always saw Doom 3 as ID's expirament, their way to try and shake things up because shooters were changing at the time. They were probably afraid that if the gameplay was too similar to the originals, it would've been called dated or stale. Suffice to say, Doom 2016 was definitely a good return to form.

[@rileyrosswalker]

Doom 3's Hellknights were pretty damn spooky in my opinion. The loud growl and shaking footsteps along with its towering height always made me uneasy when traversing the Hell level.

[@danchristiani]

They didn't make the flashlight integrated because they wanted to make it a game mechanic. There's no 'sense' to it. People don't expect everything in a video game to make perfect sense, they want it to be fun. Why do demons throw ammunition and health when they die in the new Doom? That's so unrealistic amiright? At the time of release switching to the flashlight did add tension for most people and that attention to detail in the game made it unique for it's time. Love from the game devs makes that happen. Otherwise you end up with things like a repetitive COD franchise.

[@Gamingpastime64]

I'm all for sacrificing realism for game design, however this mechanic does nothing. It just doesn't make sense. Any tension is eliminated once you realize the enemies aren't very dangerous. Their patterns are easy to memorize and they go down very easily. Furthermore, the jump scares become predictable so that does get repetitive and, ultimately, becomes ineffective. At first, the horror might work but it stops working long before the adventure is over. I would say long before the halfway point. And all your left with is a Marine who can't figure out a way to see and shoot simultaneously.

[@naryanr]

After completing the game I few times on BFG Edition, I decided to do a run where I had to switch between flashlight and gun, and actually found it a lot more immersive. The lighting in the game is really beautiful, and you *_can_* always see your target, even if only barely. I really don't care if it doesn't “make sense” in the game world, because to remove that mechanic is to remove most of Doom's 3 character in one click. I'll admit though, I don't really enjoy vanilla Doom 3. There's a bunch of little tweaks which I just can't live without. The game desperately needs sped up. Here's a little gameplay video of my Doom 3 (2004) setup: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r3XZZoVpippnoM0

[@miecraftandmoregames]

highly unfairly criticised game

[@n00bfishie]

This is probably the first Doom 3 review I’ve read that is almost entirely negative and says the entire game “fails as a whole.” It was still an entertaining video review, regardless. I know the game got a mixed reception at release (deservingly so), but I still feel it had some redeeming qualities. It was a technical showpiece, had brilliant atmosphere and a sort of System Shock-seque element to walking through this destroyed base and listening to audio logs to piece together what happened, that people tend to gloss over. It probably had as much in common with System Shock (and it’s later spiritual successors Dead Space and Bioshock) as it did Doom. Which is admittedly kind of it’s downfall ... by calling it “Doom,” I think people expected it to be a better action game. It will probably always be loathed for its faults, but I’m still happy it released, as I think it did a lot to move the bar forward in terms of technology, atmosphere, and environmental storytelling in a first person shooter. I think it paved the way for the Dead Space series and some more adventurous FPS/horror design.

[@doomedspartan3608]

I loved the BFG flashlight.Maybe it runs on high tech rechargeable batteries that makes more sense.But what I really hate of the BFG Edition is the lighting it’s too bright and any sense of atmosphere is taken away more because of the lighting than actual flashlight

[@malicant123]

The metal intro to Doom 3 always reminds me of Down with the Sickness.

[@matthewnichols6687]

Great review👍 Ive recently played doom 3 BFG on x box one x in backward compatible 360 games. The game noticeably runs better with better picture quality , more stable framerate for sure. Xbox now has doom 3 in store for £8 and its Xbox One x enhanced giving you 4k ultra HD. Also including Resurrection of evil and the Lost missions expansion pack but obviously you don't get doom 1 and 2 like you do with the 360 BFG edition. You don't get doom 1 and 2 but still think that this would be the best version on console visually and sound. My recommendations for console are as follows - 4K TV - Xbox One x - home theatre surround sound system - Doom 3 digital version from Xbox store - get the free dolby atmos app from store and use that sound setting - turn all lights off and enjoy 😍

[@KilroyWasHere1941]

20:14 “Now when you do end up in Hell it’s a wonderful change of scenery.” Funniest fucking thing I’ve ever from you and your fantastic reviews!

[@VaderTheWhite]

Perfect review! You hit the nail on the head. I do want to add some details: The recent ports of Doom 3 to the Switch, PS4, and Xbox One is the BFG Edition, but doesnt come with the classic games (including "No Rest for the Living") and does not have any multiplayer component at all. I will add that the Switch port was handled by the wizards at Panic Button, the same company who did the phenomenal Switch ports of Wolfenstein: The New Order and Doon 2016. And their port of Doom 3 shines with their usual brilliance. It runs 60 FPS, no problem and I haven't had any issues. So if you want a portable version of Doom 3, it is a great purchase.

[@asais1024]

Doon 2016

[@VaderTheWhite]

@@asais1024 huh?

[@asais1024]

@@VaderTheWhite You mistyped Doom 2016 on your comment as Doon 2016. I have a fascination with the word 'doon' now.

[@VaderTheWhite]

@@asais1024 oh, lol! Gonna leave it alone cause that is funny

[@cylonjiujitsu66kev7]

I remember an interview that said the technology at the time D3 first came out wouldn't be able to handle the processing necessary to have the flashlight out with the guns at the same time

[@yetanotherrandomviewer]

They took out the neat effect in ROE where one of the lab levels would shift from normal to hellish and back again.

[@tacticalnewfie2922]

I loved Doom 3 and own it on every platform

[@Lippeth]

How often do you even need the flashlight anyway other than looking into corners for items? It's such a non issue and both sides of the argument can suck an egg. The crosshair turns red when your bullets make contact in the dark and the whole screen turns red when monsters make contact on you, and nearly every monster has something on them that glows. Plus the game's not nearly as dark overall as it's made out to be, there are glowing/blinking/flashing/strobing lights everywhere.

[@Foebane72]

I agree with the original intent of the flashlight. Id Software knew what they were doing with that. BFG Edition changes SUCK.

[@StigDesign]

7:28 i feel teh same i love Doom3,ROE and BFG i liked bfg youst for the extra levels and story but also for the mounted flashlight it felt more lik doom and flet mor to runn and gunn like doom 93 etc :D

[@isaac_759]

fuck off

[@pippo17173]

I really like this package of a game. I stand by its a great experience on console.

[@SpikeoutBattleStreet]

This would be the best gaming review I've ever seen.

[@LonelySpaceDetective]

Man, I've been watching a ton of DOOM 3 reviews and retrospectives to see other people's takes on the game and points they bring up before writing my own mini-review of the game for some friends, and I have to say that this is the first video I've seen that hits the nail on the head so well regarding this game and the aspects I found lacking. I lean more towards favoring the handheld flashlight than you do, but that flashlight is still something I can take or leave. Two things I wish to personally add is that as well-intentioned as they are, the audio logs end up having a negative effect on the game's pacing since combat easily drowns out the voiceover so you want to sit there and wait for them to finish, and besides locker codes you don't really get much out of them for doing it; generally they just repeat one or more of the same three plot points: "man this place is poorly built", "man this place is poorly managed" and "man this place is spooky". The other thing is that for as much focus as the game puts on its story, the story is really not interesting or even particularly entertaining; it doesn't _have_ to be interesting necessarily but it feels very by-the-numbers for the most part, and hard to get genuine enjoyment out of. The only two story-related elements that stood out to me were Betruger being a huge ham, and the ancient Martian civilization stuff which I actually found genuinely intriguing; even if there isn't a whole lot there (owing to it not exactly being a huge focus of the plot and obviously them wanting to retain some mystery) and knowing that they use it to imply a really stupid plot twist.

[@benzoguitar]

There is no way you can logically explain why you wouldnt be able to use a flashlight and a gun at the same time. I spent some time in the military and i was never assigned to any super dark research facilities but all our weapons had rail sections where you could add on a flashlight, even our helmets had them. Night vision is cool but its expensive and not likely given to guys on guard duty. But they would have flashlights on their weapons or helmet.

[@Gamingpastime64]

With how big the UAC supposedly is, I think they could have afforded night vision. They built a massive complex on Mars. The lighting conditions are questionable.

[@InfernalMonsoon]

While for gameplay reasons it's great, especially on nightmare difficulty but as someone who adores Doom 3, even I wish the game had some sort of explanation for the flashlight - a single PDA message could have gone a long way on this one.

[@muhammadsarimmehdi]

I never bothered played doom 3 bfg till the end because of the unskippable cutscenes. It was very annoying. Now, I found out that RBDOOM 3 allows you to cutscenes. Thank god. Doom 3's story is just so generic and cliched that I never bothered. It was a chore to sit through the audio logs to know the passcode for some lockers

[@ultraskull9101]

Doom 1: Shotgun good Doom 2: Shotgun and Super Shotgun, also good Doom 64: Shotgun still good Doom 3: no Doom (2016): Shotgun and Super, damn nice job Doom Eternal: GOD LIKE

[@ultraskull9101]

@K W I faced the most badass imp in the entire game and tanks through 10 shotgun blasts, Imps in this game are badass.

[@seriousshuck3484]

My thoughts exactly with the flash light. Happy Thanksgiving.

[@fearthepointman3134]

I did not know there was co-op in the Xbox doom 3, that's pretty niiice.

[@InfernalMonsoon]

You can still play it if you have a system link cable or hook two Xbox systems to the same router.

[@SinCity2100]

Resident Evil 2 Remake has Duct tapes for the flashlight and the Shotgun, and it's set in the 90's , there is no excuse switching between the Flashlight and the Weapon in Doom 3.

[@adamdavis1737]

I like it way better than the shoulder lamp

[@rocky.sroger8855]

The Malcom looks screams "I'm up to no good"

[@MoonMinHo]

There are some awesome doom 3 mods called “Perfected Doom” and “Overthinked Doom” that add tones of gameplay changes and contents. I really would like to see your opinion on those mods in the future! Great informative review as always and happy thanksgiving to you as well :)

[@BMW-sd6nn]

Okay but the gunplay in doom 3 is fucking fantastic.

[@mintmag8748]

What mods would you recommend for Doom 3?

[@purebaldness]

I think Carmack confirmed sometime since this video was uploaded that the flashlight mechanic was simply a performance based desision - in that even high end PC's would chug if the flashlight was up during fire. I imagine that was especially true when firing the BFG, plasma rifle or rocket launcher

[@HansAlRachid]

As ridiculous as that may be, the standard shotgun in Doom 3 is genuinely what dragged the whole experience down quite considerably for me. Even if you manage to make it work as a weapon, the visual and auditory feedback is just horrible. The same goes for the machine gun. The super shotgun and chaingun are decent though. Not that my opinion matters - heck, I quite like The Lost Mission.

[@Andulvar]

So what you're saying is that the Wraiths tried the Han approach but it wasn't effective?

[@VanGohman]

I agree with you, but I can understand why people value the unexplained "light or gun not both", game mechanic. It's a game play mechanic that was only there to augment the horror aspect they were trying to achieve, which itself was there to show off how dark they could make things get in this new engine, along with the real time lighting on enemies. If the lights were on all the time, the shadows wouldn't have the same impact. That said, I also think the BFG version is just more pleasant to play. They really should have just made a toggle in the options menu so players could play the classic way or the new way. If they really wanted to be cool, they could have had the entire game classic or new, because the environmental lighting was brightened up in the new version, but just being able to switch between either or, or both light and gun settings, that would have gone a long way towards making the debate about which was better less visceral :D If you haven't already, you need to play this game in VR. You should play all the Doom games in VR, it's amazing.

[@Gamingpastime64]

"It's a game play mechanic that was only there to augment the horror..." And that's precisely why it doesn't work.

[@adamdavis1737]

Disagree it was always one of my favorite parts of the game and I far prefer it to the BFG shoulder lamp

[@VanGohman]

It's a game play mechanic for the game play mechanic's sake. It's not meant to be realistic. It's just putting their game play mechanic concept ahead of the story. But it's true that this does break "immersion" for rational thinkers out there. It's kind of like those invisible walls in early "open world" games. It's there because the game play relies on you not being able to do what they don't want you to do, but there's no logical reason for it, so you sort of end up pushing your nose up on the glass of what you want to do to on your quest to take part in the intended game play. Some people want to play that game, for others it's just not a fun game to play. :D I personally prefer playing the BFG version. Although it does sort of ruin the level where you are supposed to rely on the guy's lantern. I think they should have given us the flashlight style option, and for the always able to use it version, add a quick thing in to explain why your light doesn't work in the "Buddy's Lantern" level like your battery on the flashlight ran out and then you get a new one at the end of the level. Then they could have had the flashlight on all the time for the other sections that weren't built around not being able to see, I'm not a fan of the quickly depleting charges. But at the end of the day, Doom 3 is one of the all time greats no matter how you like to play it. Playing it in VR is a revelation if you haven't already.

[@MistressMary...22-u9j]

the BFG Edition game was awesome

[@paranoyd70]

I recently re-bought this game for the Nintendo Switch. needless to say, I personally love Doom 3, however I do acknowledge its flaws. I just prefer its atmosphere and more grounded in reality approach. It also has a very long campaign. And I agree that the flashlight swapping made absolutely no sense. BTW, I still think you (Gaming Pastime) should give Zombie Army Trilogy or ZAT (Nazi Zombie Army) a try. I can try to gift it to you on Steam if you like? I have a Steam account, though I haven't bothered with in in some years, since I don't have a PC capable of running games anymore, and haven't for some time. I'm pretty sure that I need to update my account, or set up a new one, but I'll give it a try should you want to try ZAT nd Steam allows one to gift a game. Just let me know what I need to do. ZAT is available for PC, PS4, XBO. If you prefer a physical copy, just provide me with an address and I'll mail a PS4 or XBO copy to you to try. ZAT had three campaigns that ended and then picked up where it left off, so the trilogy feels more like one long campaign than 3-separate campaigns. Combined its a fairly lengthy campaign. ZAT too has its flaws, and gamers tend to either love it or hate it. Here are a few youtube links to watch to see if its something you might (or not) want to try... kzbin.info/www/bejne/ipvFkn94f8h_iJY kzbin.info/www/bejne/fKa3ZaOuqsmBg5o

[@luigimaster111]

Half Life 2 did their Flashlight mechanics much better, there was that particular part where your waiting for an elevator with Alyx in the dark and it takes long enough that your flashlight will die while you are being attacked by a massive horde of zombies, that part was absolutely terrifying. You're not left wondering why Gordan is a dumbass, instead you're left wondering why Gordan's HEV suit is such a piece of crap.

[@ChaseMC215]

Well, the flashlight mechanic works eell in Half Life 2, the issue is that it's also tied to sprinting and air, so if you're sprinting with the flashlight on, you'll lose juice much faster. I believe Half Life 2 Episode 2 fixed it by making the flashlight have its own recharging energy supply

[@Berindei_Stefan]

Amazing review :) id like to see a review for silent hill 2 and 4 and the suffering 1 and 2 :D

[@spiderjerusalem100]

I just picked up BFG edition in the Steam sale and it's my first time playing it. The shotgun is ok, there's MUCH better shotguns in other games but it's not as bad as people say.

[@robbyg1232]

tried to play it on pc recently got to about chapter8/9 before i got bored of the constant monster closets and monsters spawning behind you, i remember Vice? or a gaming magazine contacted the dude who made the duct tape mod and how split the community was after it dropped, iirc he even got death threats over it.

[@WarpScanner]

I played them all with the VR mod and it convinced me that Doom 3 is a game best played in VR.

[@amile3643]

I imagine the "slow time" abilities of RoE would make Co-op very very difficult to implement with that one

[@InfernalMonsoon]

I'm pretty sure all co-op mods remove the artifact for that reason.

[@Eric_Nomad_Hixtone]

As i remember, the brought down site of the DOOM RPG told that D3 exist in the same timeline with other games and canonical RPG is their sequel. So it is not a reboot but events during first two games set on Deimos and Phobos. And yes John Romero and Tom Holl confirmed the theory of connection between id games in old canon (new games have nothing to do with the old ones).

[@l3esme568]

That pink lava looks cool af actually

[@Artman2004]

Doom 3 is the best Aliens game.

[@ABOLZOZ1]

but why not play it on veteran? did u beat it on veteran?

[@GoldSrc_]

I used to hate the flashlight thing, but now I like it, though after playing it so many times I pretty much know where the demons spawn lol. Though it kind of was a technical limitation at the time, as the game couldn't handle that many dynamic lights at the same time with all of them casting shadows, and when it came out we didn't have the powerful computers we now have, so it isn't 100% a stupid decision. Hell, I even played the game with no lights, as in you use the "clearlights" command, so I only had the flashlight if I wanted to see shit lol. One thing though, is that Doom 3 version of hell looks amazing, Doom 2016 rendition of hell looks meh in comparison. Also, you need to increase your FoV my dude, 100º at least. Doom 3 shotgun has a horrible spread that's why it sucks unless you get in their face, which is the best strat that I recommend 100%, no need for other guns. Good stuff, I just subbed.

[@me4pie]

A good review but criticisms of the flashlight switching feel weak. The games levels and encounters are built around this. Its fine to say the mechanic isn't very good but the "Its not realistic " argument falls flat when you're fighting demons on mars. I think we're fine to accept loads of video game jank (e.g not being able to shoot locks off doors) but this flash light really sticks out to people. Maybe its because its to ever-present in the game. Maybe it hits at the core rub of this game, its a power fantasy that's trying to be a horror experience. I can't imagine this mechanic being out of place in a Silent Hill game.

[@Gamingpastime64]

The flashlight is a major mechanic to add "tension" but it doesn't work. The enemies are pushovers and the jump scares are predictable so there's not much to fear. So all your left with is a Marine who can't figure out a way to see and shoot simultaneously. Implementing a mechanic simply because "game design" and then having it not work efficiently is a failure. And the darkness doesn't hide the fact that the enemies look more threatening than they actually are. This is not about realism vs game design. It's about how the game fails to be the horrifying experience it aims to be because the gameplay doesn't back up the tension and horror it tries so hard to convey.

[@me4pie]

​@@Gamingpastime64 I agree with the above and I think we're making a similar point. The mechanic isn't inherently wrong but the wider themes and mechanics of the game don't support or integrate with it.

[@Gamingpastime64]

Well it would still be questionable if it did work. We should be able to see and shoot and the gameplay should have been designed to actually be tense. Simply making the game dark with an added artificial restriction doesn't actually do anything. The mechanic does nothing except not make sense in the game world. It just doesn't work.

[@s2korpionic]

@@Gamingpastime64 it does work. You are suppose to use your image-memory from the flashlight to fire your weapon in the darkness. You're also suppose to use sound and understanding of the enemy behaviour when seen in more brightly lit areas.

[@Gamingpastime64]

For what purpose? The enemies aren't threatening. Just being dark and reducing visibility doesn't change that or make it tense. Nor does it make the gameplay more challenging. Darkness does not automatically equate to tension.

[@fattony75]

If I own every doom game on steam EXCEPT BFG edition of doom 3, is it worth buying it?

[@adamdavis1737]

Looks nice in 4K. But unless you're a big fan of 3 (I am) I would say it's nothing you haven't experienced already. Unless having the shoulder mounted light and a few new graphical options mean that much to you If I wasn't a console peasant IDK how much BFG edition would have appealed to me

[@SinCity2100]

If you are a Doom 3 fan, then this game is worth to buy..

[@Kenshiro3rd]

4:28 Yes I did. It's what I WISH they had done for the BFG Edition rather than the OP Should Flashlight. That way you'd be forced to fall back on your peashooter to see in the dark, thus still ratcheting up the tension. The Shoulder Flashlight just kills any and all suspense. As does the Ammo. The original DID have way too little ammo for certain types. However that was mostly a case of not being able to hold enough. BFG edition however not only ups the amount you can hold, but the amount you can pick up... Giving you WAAAAY too much.

[@Gamingpastime64]

I can honestly say I always had plenty of ammo.

[@Kenshiro3rd]

Gaming Pastime lucky for you. My problem wasn't that there wasn't enough ammo. I just couldn't HOLD enough of it to stay in stock, due to how spongy the enemies were in this compared to the other games.

[@Loopy1330]

I know people this may offend some people but in my own opinion, I have never cared for Doom 3 much as I find it to be not a very good Doom game (just as you said yourself in the review). Previous Doom games were fast-paced and encouraged it in their level, enemy, and weapon design. As Gabe Newell once said- "In Doom you're trying to be the most powerful thing in the universe." In Doom 3 you're just about the weakest thing in the universe, and Doom 3's overall design encourages this. The original games did have moments of dark areas too like the maze in Doom I's E1M2, but they were only moments, not the entire game. Lighting and trying to be a horror game come first, while also trying to be a good Doom game is whatever's left. Doom 3 is slow, cramped, too dark, the gunplay is weak, and you get locked into screen-shake when you get hit as your health goes down (which happens often when you get unavoidably pounced on from behind a door). The PDAs also slow the game down significantly too. I don't mind the PDAs working as keycards like in the original games, but Doom 3 relies on them heavily for finding locker codes. In previous Doom games you'd discover a secret and the stash of hidden goodies was your reward. In Doom 3 you have to track down a PDA for a locker code, usually stated at the end of a voice log you have to sit through. Personally I just printed out a list of all the lockers with their corresponding combinations on a piece of paper, and I've just used that instead whenever I've played. Doom 64 beats Doom 3 at it's own game in my opinion. It nails the spooky theme while still being a good Doom game, and it serves as an actual Doom 3 in story too as opposed to Doom 3's "remake/reboot" approach. I think Quake 4 also beats Doom 3, as it showcased Id Tech 4's capabilities wonderfully without getting in the way of itself as a Quake game. Some people do like Doom 3 which is fine, I don't have a problem with that, but I think any sequel (especially a later sequel within an already established series) should carry enough core DNA from its original property to be considered a decent sequel. Change too much of the property's core DNA and it's not really the same thing anymore, the only thing in common at least is the name. I would be more accepting of Doom 3 had it been its own thing separate from Doom (or Quake), but I've never been able to look past the fact that it's supposed to be a Doom game.

[@MRx36000]

A darn good classic o/ Personally I do not see much reasons to replay this game if I'm aiming for something scary and creepy! Now a days we have dead space, and I have yet to see a game nail terror and creepy like that game did! lol But Doom 3 was a good game on it's own right, I had fun playing it and it scared me a lot at the time lol

[@adamdavis1737]

Meh. Maybe I'm just a DOOM fanboy but I've played this many more times than dead space and am currently running through it again. Still love it

[@MRx36000]

Adam Davis hey, whatever floats your boat pal! :D

[@adamdavis1737]

Don't get me wrong Dead Space was Ace too 👌🏻

[@TheSixteen60]

Wraith's don't actually teleport, they turn invisible. And you still damage them when they are invisible.

[@redips8947]

You've seen the Trent Reznor sound mod before?

[@matrix255]

Best way to play Doom 3 imo is with Redux. You get HD textures, better sound effects for weapons, HD HUD/PDA, HD loading screens, remixed voice files (they're now similar to the ones from System Shock) and best of all, no changes to gameplay.

[@Pygargue00fr]

Back before the release of the original game, we where gonna have a shoulder mounted flashlight, and the shotgun was originally gonna be stronger yet slowly reload, it also was gonna be found for the first time in mars administration next to a wounded marine acording to story boards, id had also planned chasing 4 barons of hell who each had taken a piece of the soul cube who originally used 10 souls to recharge, possesed monkeys in the labs that where use by the uac as lab rats, zombies where faster and could get up after being gunned down and imps could ocasionally walk on all four and where a lot more stronger, . having acces to the e3 2002 demo, some of thoses features such as the faster zombies, stronger imps and better shotgun where there! The player was a lot more slower and had less stamina making swarming enemies and spectres, Yes! spectres that where planned and are mensionned in the e3 files! What apparently happend is that some devs where against making a new doom game and the tech was prioritised.

[@NigBickDoomguy12345]

The biggest reason people hate the BFG edition is probably how they needlessly censored and changed the original IWADs for Doom and Doom II. Also, they added redundant ammo counters when the guns (most of them anyhow) had some sort of ammo indicator, which pisses me off to no end.

[@NigBickDoomguy12345]

But please, keep the doom content up, you are on fire.

[@nmpltleopardi]

The "no duck tape on mars" argument is ridiculous. Since when, I ask, every game mechanic of every title has to be justified by extrapolating the game's lore/setting. Yes - it's pretty stupid that there was no shoulder mounted sources of light given the high tech setting of mars city but that doesn't make the fact that having to choose between visibility and firepower does make the game incredibly tense at times any less true. The game was SPECIFICALY DESIGNED by id to be played with this mechanic for a reason. Take it away and what your left with is an uninpired game of peek-a-boo made with now obsolete tech. If the reviewers see this: check out the the great co-op mod "mars city security" (as I understand you don't care for competitive mp) EDIT: Game mechanics do not need to make sense in the game world to be effective. I rest my case

[@Gamingpastime64]

This idea that darkness automatically makes the gameplay tense is ludicrous. The enemies ruin any sense of tension because they're pushovers.

[@nmpltleopardi]

@@Gamingpastime64 sure - but the point is that they're less pushovers when you are panicking because you have to relly almost only on your weapon muzzle flash to be able to target them after a couple of them got out of 'em closets to surround you. If you re read my comment you'll notice I didn't mention darkness as the source of tension but low visibility (combine with the clausthrophobic level design). The comment you mentioned on your video of the user that claimed that the flashlight mechanic ruined his immersion is also a little silly. The way "suspension of disbelief" works for me made me not loose any immersion. We gamers do it all the tame for way more silly reasons. You mentioned several times you are not very fond of horror. I wonder if that influenced your dislike of the mechanic. Anyway was just watching your great review of slayer's testaments. As of late you have showered us with great reviews. Again I humbly suggest the mod "mars city security" if you ever return to doom3 reviews. Cheers :) Edit: with all that said I really don't like d3 all that much.

[@Gamingpastime64]

@@nmpltleopardi there's no need to panic. The enemies are pushovers. It doesn't take much to bring them down. And you can always hear them coming. The developers forced darkness to make the gameplay feel tense. Nothing else. Once you realize nothing else really backs it up, it becomes much less scary. The jump scares become predictable fast and the enemies aren't very dangerous. And this is all masked by the darkness which fails to hide the fact there's no real danger to worry about. The scares stop working long before the adventure is over and the tension becomes nonexistent.

[@nmpltleopardi]

@@Gamingpastime64 true - those monster closet scares were extra cheap. I still don't agree that the game is tentionless and that those enemy encounters are all there is to the game. But doom3 is alongside hl2 a textbook case of design serving (as a slave) technology istead of both sides complimenting one another. Quake 2 also comes to mind... For instance when you go to hell the game becomes way more interesting due to the less restrictive and delightfully abstract level design. BUT because those environments didn't really showcase J. Carmack's tiresome baby oil fueled specular highlighting, that section was cut incredible short. D3 is not a great game but the flashlight mechanic is interesting yes and is also what keeps ze gayam from being totally useles imo. Cheers & keep up the great work. ;)

[@s2korpionic]

Agreed. Seems like this is something GP will never agree on.

[@RandallStevenson]

Doom 3 and Lost Mission is fine with the bethesda cash grab version, but they made too many changes to ROE so play the OG version on dhewm3, it's not that expensive on Steam

[@razordoom1]

Man I didn't know about the Xbox version having a pistol mounted flashlight. Honestly I really like that a lot more than the flashlight switching just for that 'OG feel'. I can concede only having access to the Pistol with the light, but nothing at all is a bit much. I'd be able to accept having to use the pistol light and there being NO flashlights at all vs. being a marine that didn't read the *'UAC Form 1.7.43 Addendum 1.4.13 Tactical Flashlight Operational Manual and Simultaneous Flashlight and Ballistic Weapon Combat Techniques Guide'* and therefore by his Space Marine code he will not perform any action that he was not specifically trained to perform, no matter how detrimental or life threatening independent though/ingenuity might be. Honestly I think I like the BFG version the most. It hurts the art style a little bit but the higher running speed, ammo, and level flow changes makes the game more fun to play for me as an action/horror rather than a straight horror game with action in it. And a hard flashlight on a scary thing tends to have the same jumpscare quality as seeing little to nothing at all in an action oriented game, though if this was a game with more unpredictable types of enemies and/or more contextual horror situations I could see far more darkness being preferrable. I know this is not a popular sentiment, but eh. Also I like Classic RBDoom, you can add the Roland sound fonts to those versions of classic doom with a mod and it's all wrapped up in a nice simple package, that said not my favorite way to play classic doom. Not to mention how tedious it is to get those versions of Doom 1 and 2 to see mods and/or final doom.

[@WhatzHappeningNow9]

I believe Doom64 was made by Midway Games.

[@mogensschmidt2498]

you forgot to mensien that cheatcodes dosent work in the bfg edition like in the orginals that kinda sucks in my openion

[@jothain]

RoE is one of my favorite Xbox games (yes original Xbox)

[@contrabandresearch8409]

I started to replay the OG Xbox port of Doom 3 and thought all the weapons were insanely wimpy. I need to re-check in on the PC because I don't remember it being this way. But it did lead me to using a strategy where all I did was run around with the chainsaw roaring.

[@claytonbeeney]

Not having flashlight upgrades for specific weapons throughout the game in some of the lockers is a big missed opportunity imo. You could even hint at where the are in the logs

[@NaumRusomarov]

after having played the original doom 3 and the bfg edition, I have to say that the latter is more focused on action. I do prefer to use the flashlight from the original doom 3.

[@ViolentVista]

Oh shit I thought I was the only person to use the words "action horror" as a game genre

[@GoldSrc_]

The engine isn't "brighter" on the BFG edition, it's just r_lightscale 2, if you set it to 1 you bring it back to og Doom 3 levels lol. Removed levels, changed levels, unskippable cutscenes, removed muzzle flash lighting, removed level effects, are good reasons to use the sourceport for the BFG edition. Also, I find it weird how you didn't shat on the armor system, it's basically useless, you can die with 100 armor lol. And when I played it as a kid on the OG Xbox, you can be damn sure it scared the shit out of me, so it's a horror game. Today though, I just have fun playing it and never get tired of it. Nobody has ever said Doom 3 is a "masterpiece", where did you heard that? I love the game but it ain't no masterpiece. Doom 3 is a good Doom game, misunderstood, but a good Doom game.

[@Gamingpastime64]

steamcommunity.com/app/379720/discussions/0/357286663673597589/ www.gamespot.com/forums/games-discussion-1000000/i-think-doom-3-is-a-masterpiece-and-a-really-great-26000858/ www.reddit.com/r/Doom/comments/ciy2xj/for_doom_3_newcomers_how_to_bring_the_new_doom_3/

[@GoldSrc_]

@@Gamingpastime64 A few people saying that they "think" it's a "masterpiece" is not enough to call it that, I love Doom 3 but come on, even I wouldn't call it that lol. Hell, those posts even admit that, "it ain't on the level of X or X game", that means you are omitting a couple of flaws.

[@edskt_]

This game is so fucking dark, is so annoying as fuck, but... this review is gold.

[@tedytoncek2378]

Wasnt it released in August 2004?

[@SwornHeresy]

2004

[@xposhboyx]

Great review! I guess I am very low skilled and an extreme pussy because I played this on Xbox series x in 2024 and I had to play on Recruit level and I was scared pretty much the whole time. On novice level I did not regularly die, but I still found the combat intense at many points.

[@airmicrobe]

It is weird till 21xx gunfightings with shotgun,?

[@Mad_Max_RW]

I highly recommend Project Brutality 3.0. Grab the latest version on github (fast google search) and the latest GZDoom. The new features blow me away like setting the movement to be like Dusk with Doom 2016’s double jump. There’s so many monsters and a thousand things to configure how you want.

[@l3esme568]

I have been playing that and dusk lately, I'm going to blow my brothers mind by showing him priject brutality when I visit next