DOOM 3 BFG Edition - Hell Walks Mars Once More.

DOOM 3 BFG Edition - Hell Walks Mars Once More.

Originally posted on and copyrighted by Blast Away the Game Review on 8/16/2013

Review by Dustin Murphy

DOOM 3 BFG Edition original promotional poster.

Authors Note: This review will be quite long and we will section it so that players know where one begins an the other ends. This title is also ABSOLUTELY not meant for gamer's below the age of 18. Check ESRB listing for more information.

Pros:
   -Very noticeably upgraded graphics
   -1080p upscale makes the game more beautiful than the original
   -Includes DOOM, DOOM 2, Resurrection of Evil, and Lost Mission
   -Welcomed flashlight mechanic change (see review)

Cons:
   -At times confusing moments of finding completion goals.
   -Graphics at times get muddy
   -Too many flashing lights for epileptics (yes this is a big issue)
   -Game on anything, but the hardest difficulty was to easy.

  DOOM 3 by idSoftware when it initially launched, was praised as one of the largest graphical advancements in gaming when it was released on August 3rd of 2004. In the later years there had been rumors trickling out of the gaming industry that DOOM creator John Carmack had been working with a group known as Oculus VR to work on making DOOM 3 a HMD (head mounted display) friendly title. In turn John Carmack CTFO at Oculus VR decided to use Oculus Rift to do this and in turn players are greeted with a full HD scale of DOOM 3 BFG Edition. This version greets players with the full DOOM experience, included in this Edition players are gifted DOOM 3 HD, The Lost Mission, and the stand alone expansion Resurrection of Evil. Much of the game was written by well known Author Matthew J Costello and in it he welcomes us to this series as a reboot of the series, which puts players on Mars in the year 2145 where the UAC (Union Aerospace Corporation). The corporation having left Earths boundary's operates at such a function that has gone outside of legal and moral reason. At this base, the UAC are able to conduct research into several scientific areas, including advanced weapons development, biological research, space exploration and teleportation. 

DOOM 3 Original PC cover art

   In the game players will discover much of the games background through video documentaries, journal logs, and of course cut scenes that will convey and explain much of the story going on around them. Our story for the base game opens with Elliott Swann and Jack Campbell arriving at Mars City, the main access of the UAC's Mars base where players will revisit only to see a much changed scene. Players will get to see their anonymous marine just behind them only to experience in the conference room we pass Swann and Campbell have a heated conference meeting with Doctor Malcom Betruger. As part of the marines job players are quick to head off leaving Swann and Campbell to their meeting, which leads us to meeting up to our first investigation point with Master Sergeant Thomas Kelly for orders. In turn players are given orders to find one of the scientists who has gone missing only to eventually find him in a nearby decommissioned communications facility, where he is about to send a warning to the UAC on Earth about Betruger's teleportation experiments. As players progresses through the beginning areas, they will learn that the employees on the base are unsettled due to a large number of incidents involving hearing voices, unexplained sightings and increasing cases of paranoia and insanity, often leading to fatal accidents with the facility's machinery. Rumors regarding the nature of experiments in the UAC's Delta Labs division are especially continuous among the people inhabiting the UAC Mars Base as players walk past them. Once players are greeted by the scientist from Delta Labs, players will witness on the screens a teleportation test take place only to lose containment and cause demons and of course once living personnel turned zombie become our new forces to fight against.

DOOM 3 BFG Edition - Resurrection of Evil -

PC Case cover art

Doom 3 BFG Edition gave players even more story with the HD remake of this entry where players once more take place as the marine once more in the year 2147. Two years after the original invasion of Hell on UAC's Mars Base the UAC is greeted with a strange signal coming from one of their Martian satellites. In this title we are quick to start exploring only to find an ancient alien relic that enables players to use it as a weapon and utterly destroy the demons around them, but with this relic they are quick to awaken a new invasion from the forces of Hell. Players are quick to meet a man by the name of McNeil, who remained unseen in DOOM 3, who was the whistleblower that notified Elliot Swann and Jack Campbell of Malcolm Betruger's illegal and morally destructive experiments in the Delta Labs. Once again our story is explained through journal logs, cut scenes, radio communications, and of course video documentaries explaining the events going on around the unnamed Marine. 

DOOM 3 BFG Edition - The Lost Mission -

Original Promotion Picture for Doom 3 The Lost Mission

     The Lost Mission was content that had originally been cut from the initial launch of the title due to the content being heavily re-used, according to many critics. However, it gives players another perspective of the events that occurred on the UAC's Mars base as the last remaining member of Bravo Team, which players saw being attacked and chased by demons earlier in the original entry. Our character is contacted by Doctor Richard Meyers, a scientist working in Exis Labs, and we are asked to once more seen out and destroy an experiment, but in this case a teleportation array that was captured by the forces of Hell and is currently being held deep within Hell. The array as we learn is a potentially powerful enough device that it could send the forces of Hell to Earth, and gives us our reason to carry on our fight.

    In the three titles we also are greeted with the ability to play DOOM (Ultimate Doom version, included the fourth mission "Thy Flesh Consumed) and Doom 2 fully restored in HD as well as kept to their originality with no changes, which come unfortunate for DOOM 3's entries. In the DOOM 3 titles players will be quick to notice a few things that were shunned away from the original PC title as well as XBox Original title. One that came was the dynamic lighting and shadow effects that were designed to give the player a true light to shadow feeling so that the title would portray a sense of reality, and this was not welcomed with the always on and usable flashlight. In the original titles players would notice rolling fog, dynamic shadow effects, and of course a very limited use of the flashlight utility. In DOOM 3's stand alone expansion Resurrection of Evil players were greeted with a flashlight on their gun in the console version, which did not see existence in the earlier released PC version. DOOM 3 BFG Edition aside from just graphical upgrades and sound upgrades also greeted players who use 3D TV's and glasses and opportunity to experience the space horror masterpiece in HD to give them a more fulfilling experience for the 3D junkies. Players will also be quick to note of the improved controller schemes as well as the ability to toggle their controller set up as well for those who prefer southpaw over north paw. Overall DOOM 3 BFG Edition has remained its masterpiece players saw almost ten years ago.

A warning we have yet to understand why it exists in the first place since it's all on disc

Graphics: With the game having been upgraded visually to 1080p as well as a new dynamic lighting system players are sure to get some shivers, scares, and heart pounding moments out of the title. Especially for those who are welcoming to HDM's or 3D game play.

Screenshot from DOOM 3 BFG Edition of a Hell Knight

Sound: Known for the bone chilling atmosphere that titles such as Dead Space took their queues from, DOOM 3 BFG will leave players creeping around, hiding, and even attempting to blast their way through a paranoia filled atmosphere.

Controls: At first the controls will seem clunky, hard to use, and down right frustrating at the beginning. Over time players will be able to adjust and grow used to the familiar FPS overtone that the control settings have

Official Facebook Page: 
idSoftware Official Facebook Page

Official Website: 
DOOM 3 BFG Edition Official Page

Official Twitter:
@idSoftware

Replay Value: Moderate.

Over all rating: 7.5 out of 10.

Final Verdict: This game represents a Hell I would not want to see, but also gives me a reason to play it for the very well rounded story, scenery and artistic creativity in a Hell damned universe. For story fans, this game is a must have.

Cost: Available now for PS3, PC, and XBox 360 the  DOOM 3 BFG Edition will run most gamer's between 19.99 and 29.99 USD at most major retailers online or off.