TIME EXTEND
Doom 3
Its way out was paved with good intentions. Can this often-maligned entry make it back?
By Rick Lane
Developer Id Software Publisher Activision Format PC Release 2004
Being the awkward middle child is never easy, even when your siblings aren’t demonic in nature. Spare a thought, then, for Doom 3. Squeezed in between two pairs of more beloved siblings, a brood that’s set to expand once more with the arrival of The Dark Ages, this first attempt at reviving the series is remembered primarily for the critiques levelled at it.
Doom 3, the common narrative goes, is a game dominated by the programmatic presence of John Carmack, prioritising technology at the expense of artistry and game design. A murky, sludgy, unimaginative shooter, devoid of the energy of the games which bookend it, competing in a genre that would be revolutionised months later by the arrival of a different hotly anticipated sequel.
And all of this is perfectly fair. But blessed as we now are with hindsight – knowing where this series would go next, that we needn’t fear for the souls of Doom or Id Software – might it be time to look at Doom 3 in a different, more forgiving light? Put another way: can our modern understanding of Doom tell us anything new about the family’s black sheep?
Ultimately, the answer is yes, though arriving there requires something of a detour. Because playing this game today, the first thing that’s likely to strike you is how much it was angled towards being something other than Doom. Where its more celebrated successors are built upon the series’ history, riffing on different aspects of the trailblazing original, Doom 3 instead has as its foundation the original Half-Life.