DOOM 3

 Switch
Metascore
81

Generally favorable reviews - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
  1. Cubed3
    Mar 11, 2020
    70
    Compared to previous entries, Doom 3 is... well, different. It's a linear and repetitive, low-key horror first-person shooter, which looks great, but can also be frustratingly dark. Some like it, and some don't, as taste is subjective. What isn't, though, is the quality of a port, and in that regard, DOOM 3 is a near flawless one, and of the best version yet, with all additional content included, and - usually - a great price attached to it all.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 95 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 73 out of 95
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 95
  3. Negative: 13 out of 95
  1. ScorpionOvHell
    Sep 21, 2019
    10
    Scary, Bloody, Suspense, Big **** Guns. Best Doom Ever, And its great to play in Nintendo Switch.
  2. PrimordialSrpnt
    Jul 28, 2019
    9
    I think perhaps that time has been kind to Doom 3. I remember feeling a little underwhelmed by it back in 2004. I would have given it aboutI think perhaps that time has been kind to Doom 3. I remember feeling a little underwhelmed by it back in 2004. I would have given it about an 80/100 back then. While it is fairly simplistic in terms of gameplay, in modern times with all of the bloated unnecessarily complex cinematic games that have to tell you what button to press every 10 seconds, it kind of feels like a breath fresh air. It's just a good, simple, fun retro game. You go through the levels, you shoot stuff, you find keys and backtrack, and that's about it. However, Doom 3 does a good job of gradually introducing you to new weapons and new enemies and new environments to keep things fresh. It starts off pretty easy, but difficulty gets harder and harder as the game progresses. You'll get more powerful weapons, but it will be tough towards the end.

    The enemies spawn in and relentlessly attack you. The game started off as a survival horror early in development, but turned into more of an action game. The enemies will get harder and come in larger numbers as the game progresses. There's no duck and cover or regenerating health in this game, so you're going to have to keep moving, shooting, jumping and strafing to avoid getting hit. This is what you expect from a classic shooter. Luckily, the game takes its time introducing you to these mechanics. I was especially glad about this as I'm not used to playing fps games without gyro aiming or a keyboard and mouse, so it took me some time to git gud at it. Luckily the difficulty increased at just the right rate. I should mention I started with the Resurrection of evil expansion since I never played the expansions to this game. With Half-Life 2 out, I just didn't have much desire to go back to go back to Doom 3. That said, I think time has been less kind to Half-life 2. Half-life 2 heavily revolved around elements other than shooting. And while that was great at the time, that kind of stuff ages much worse than straight-forward action. I played Half-life 2 again fairly recently and got bored with it. With Doom 3, I was addicted, and it kept me away from Fire Emblem. It's strange how time can change your perspective. I honestly am enjoying Doom 3 more in 2019 than i did in 2004. And at only $10, this is a pretty good bargain, seeing as the game is very long for a first-person shooter, and there are two expansions. You can do far worse with a $10 indie game than a 2004 AAAA game.

    Speaking of 2004, how does it look 15 years later? Though Doom 3 was released during the PS2 era, it didn't shine on consoles until next generation where it ran in 720p/60 fps with framerate-drops. The Switch version ups the resolution to 1080p in docked mode, but performs the same as the 720p PS3/Xbox 360 versions in handheld mode, which is the max that the Switch can run natively in handheld mode. This is what we've come to expect from Switch ports of PS3/Xbox 360 games. I only played in handheld mode, because why the hell else would I get the Switch version? Running in the max 720p/60fps of handheld mode, it still looks damn impressive, even if it's basically an early PS3 game. Sure the characters are bit rough around the edges(the monsters look a lot better), and the textures are very low resolution and blurry(except for HD interactive computer screens, which was mind-blowing 2004), but that wasn't where Doom 3 was trying to excel. Doom 3 was all about the lighting and shadows, and it did that REALLY well. It doesn't have the crazy dynamic flashlight shadows like Silent Hill 2 and 3, which you don't even see in present times, but the environments still look amazing at times. Unfortunately this amazing environmental lighting is usually the cause of pretty severe frame-rate drops when you get into an area with a lot of lighting effects. Turning off the flashlight helps a lot, and you can turn off flashlight shadows and reduce field of view to help the frame-rate a bit, but this is a serious issue. It's disappointing that a 15 year old game has frame-rate drops, though these were present in the PS3 version, and in handheld mode the Switch is basically a PS3.

    Aside from frame-rate drops, there is no gyro aiming, and the lack of a weapon wheel or easy access to things like grenades or the "gravity gun" or "bullet-time" can make the game feel dated, and you'll likely almost never use them. Antialiasing would have been great too, though temporal AA on such an old game is too much to expect. It's a great game, but a bare bones port. I really hope they patch this game like they did with Doom 2016 or Wolfenstein. Adding these things could vastly improve the game. The fact that it is such a minimalist port when it's ported by Panic Button is pretty surprising. But I guess you have to keep your expectations low when the game is only $10.

    In the end, the game gives you many hours of great fun for only $10. But I would have preferred $20 for a great port.

    Final Score: 86/100    … Full Review »
  3. Wawicio14
    Mar 18, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click full review link to view. Excelent game, it's kinda lineal game but I love it, there's a big touch of scary parts and some mystery, and the big thing that makes me love the game, it's than I can play anywhere with my Nintendo Switch… Full Review »
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