Game:

Doom 3 (2004)

Category:

Show

Duration: 2:54:12

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Originally recorded: October 22, 2023
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I'd just like to start by saying that I'm really, *really* proud of this episode title. It almost sounds like something id Software might've used for an episode back in the day. Maybe for an episode that was themed around those rivers of radioactive slime you'd be forced to walk through sometimes. Hell, I wouldn't be shocked if there were at least a custom map with this name floating around online.

With that out of the way, it's time to discuss the stream itself. I actually managed to make it as far as I was hoping -- though, honestly, I think a lot of that stems from the fact that the final Delta Labs level was almost a playable cutscene with so few enemies. At least we got an appropriately terrifying introduction to the Hellknights though. I also encountered the Arch-Vile earlier on in the play session, but fortunately, despite the relatively sameyness of the demon designs in DOOM 3, its trademark pose gives it away. Lost Souls seem to still be my kryptonite in this game though.

Oh, and despite Dari's accusations, I *didn't* cheat to get the Martian Buddy supply crate. Back when the game came out, you were supposed to visit martianbuddy.com -- an actual tie-in website -- to get the code, but that page has long since gone defunct. BFG Edition compensated for that by just giving it to you automatically, but fortunately, it was easy enough to find the code through a quick internet search.

And in case the title didn't give it away, I wrapped up this session with the game's most popular level: Hell. Honestly, I think it might've been overhyped... but at the same time, it's probably the best example of everything wrong with DOOM 3 in the first place. Losing all of your weapons feels like an attempt to add to the survival horror aspect of the game, but honestly, losing all the ammo I managed to gain in the last couple levels was more annoying than scary. The game does give you back *some* of your arsenal, but it's just the weapons that appeared in the original DOOM. Well, except for the pistol, which you get at the very end of the level. Having the chaingun, plasma gun and BFG at my side was nice, but losing out on the grenades was pretty lame. The game also takes away your flashlight, which is a problem because there are a bunch of low-light areas here.

KI in particular hyped up this level as the best that DOOM 3 has to offer by far, but we both came to the conclusion that that was likely due to the balancing changes made to the BFG Edition. Hell also seems to boost your stamina for sprint... but compensates by making it almost as slow as walking. Seriously, the run felt perfectly normal on "the never-ending space station", but in Hell, it was like walking in molasses. I would say that it's simultaneously the stage that has the most open environments, while also feeling the most like survival horror. Like, dropping all of your weapons and ammo after completing a stage might've been the smartest approach overall -- a decision like that would even pay homage to the old games, because dying basically sends you back to the start of the level with nothing but the (essentially worthless) pistol at your disposal. But that's probably just another one of my misguided attempts at turning lemons into lemonade.

With Hell down, I've only got 7 levels left in DOOM 3 proper. I'm hoping that I can at least wrap up the main campaign on Thursday, which would give me a week to doodle around in Resurrection of Evil without putting me *too* far behind schedule. Though if that doesn't play out, I'll probably start up RoE right after finishing the base game. I also can't wait to check out how the Soul Cube actually works, considering how I grabbed it right at the end of this play session.

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