DOOM 3

 Switch
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

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  1. 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 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 freshI 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    … Expand
  2. usmanusb
    Aug 24, 2019
    9
    This is a great port of one of the best first person shooter of it's era. If you like First person shooter then you have to have this game on switch. I can't imagine that back in the day it was difficult to run on good PC and now switch can render it at 60fps. Panic button did a good job. It has alot of content and I get every penny out of it.
  3. Dom20
    Aug 1, 2019
    9
    A nearly Perfect Port. Panic Button made an another Great Job to make Doom 3 runs smooth at 60 Fps.And definitly better than the unuseful Bfg Edition or the Horrible port for the first Xbox.
  4. ragnarokandroll
    Nov 18, 2019
    10
    This game is amazing. It makes me sad that I missed playing it on it's original release. It's the one Doom game I never got to play and as it turns out it's my favorite. It feels true to the franchise but it also doesn't feel like all of the other Doom games. The other games are faster paced run and gun kind of games and this one feels more like a horror/thriller game. It reminds me of ifThis game is amazing. It makes me sad that I missed playing it on it's original release. It's the one Doom game I never got to play and as it turns out it's my favorite. It feels true to the franchise but it also doesn't feel like all of the other Doom games. The other games are faster paced run and gun kind of games and this one feels more like a horror/thriller game. It reminds me of if the Doom and Dead Space franchises melded (but only the good Dead Space games).… Expand
  5. Wawicio14
    Mar 18, 2020
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand 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… Expand
  6. ScorpionOvHell
    Sep 21, 2019
    10
    Scary, Bloody, Suspense, Big **** Guns. Best Doom Ever, And its great to play in Nintendo Switch.
  7. Mattaclysm
    Aug 19, 2019
    8
    Doom 3 is a game that I've always had a bit of a soft spot for. Having not played the game in over a decade (I originally played this on the original Xbox) I figured to give it a shot with its release on the Nintendo Switch. First of all I want to say that the port is fantastic. Panic Button always seems to do a marvelous job with their work bringing games over to the Switch, the qualityDoom 3 is a game that I've always had a bit of a soft spot for. Having not played the game in over a decade (I originally played this on the original Xbox) I figured to give it a shot with its release on the Nintendo Switch. First of all I want to say that the port is fantastic. Panic Button always seems to do a marvelous job with their work bringing games over to the Switch, the quality with Doom 3 on the Switch continues that trend. Doom 3 on the Switch includes the base game along with two expansions (Resurrection of Evil & The Lost Mission) for the price of $9.99, a decent price for something that you could spend around 15 hours playing through entirely.

    The game itself was a shift from the traditional style that you would expect from the older Doom games or even the 2016 reboot. Doom 3 went the horror route by creating a very dark, gruesome atmosphere. The shooting felt great for its time, though replaying this made me feel like the enemies could, at times, be a bit sponge-y. I still feel that I enjoyed replaying the game after so many years, it was a great nostalgia trip.

    Getting all of that out of the way, I honestly didn't feel that Doom 3 has aged particularly well from a game mechanic standpoint. I found myself frustrated a countless number of times at how annoying the flashlight was. It seemed to last maybe 2 minutes top, which was absolutely horrendous considering how poor the lighting is in the game. It doesn't make the game unplayable or anything, its just an annoying inconvenience. Then there was the way enemies spawned. Do yourself a favor and turn around a lot. I can't count the number of times I found myself focusing on enemies from the front when I'd find myself dying from an enemy who spawned behind me. This is something that happens throughout the game a lot, it doesn't really make the game anymore difficult than it already is - just a bit more stressful - especially considering that the level design can be a bit confusing at times during certain points of the game. Do yourself a favor and save manually every so often as well. I found that I died more to the environment than I did to the enemies. Random debris falling on top of me or just straight up falling off of a ledge to my impending demise to name of a few of the unexpected deaths that had occurred during my 15 hours worth of time playing. I would also recommend playing around with the settings a lot. The field of view and horizontal/vertical sensitivity felt really awkward to get used to for some reason (I was using a controller to play).

    All of that being said, I can still recommend Doom 3 on the Switch. It's a great port for a game that I feel is still pretty solid despite any issues that I've had with it. It's something that I find nostalgia playing and I was extremely happy to jump at the chance to go through it again. Definitely worth picking up!    … Expand
  8. CDizzness
    Jul 26, 2019
    10
    This game is amazing and terrifying. I remember when it first released on my original Xbox how impressed I was with the graphics. Yet, I was much younger and thus did not get that far into the game...(when all hell broke loose "literally" I pretty much gave up on the game due to how scared I was! lol)) Anywho, the Switch version is amazing, the performance is smooth and the visuals areThis game is amazing and terrifying. I remember when it first released on my original Xbox how impressed I was with the graphics. Yet, I was much younger and thus did not get that far into the game...(when all hell broke loose "literally" I pretty much gave up on the game due to how scared I was! lol)) Anywho, the Switch version is amazing, the performance is smooth and the visuals are clean and I am pretty sure, it's hitting 60fps at 1080p. You get the expansion pack Resurrection of Evil, (havent played yet) and you also get one more set of bonus missions. Totally worth the 10 bucks. If you have never played this and scare easily I would totally suggest it. Your heart will be racing the entire time!! Still freaks me out to this day but I had to pick this one up.… Expand
  9. innnnconceivabl
    Jul 29, 2019
    10
    Very good port for the switch I must say. I played hours and hours with no issues. FPS appears to be really smooth and this runs better than any PC I have ever had in the past when I bought this game. Very happy with the price and quality of this port.
  10. gddurruti
    Jul 31, 2019
    9
    A Master piece on Nintendo switch, this gave us a great control, impressive graphics.

    The problem is the lack on the frame rate... Another bad news is the lamp, who does not physically exist (to hit and save ammo) ... the lamp battery runs out very quickly ... that does not detract from the excellent game that is really ...
  11. Flipdigital
    Sep 20, 2019
    10
    Un clásico traído de vuelta a nuestras manos, yo estoy contento con este juego, revive años de jugabilidad que se daban perdidos, nintendo siempre pensando en todos.
  12. LaconicSpaceCat
    Aug 19, 2021
    8
    Perfect port of a classic AAA game. My first time experiencing Doom 3 was on the original Xbox, so I had somewhat of the "castrated" experience. Glad to see it back and running perfectly on Switch! My gripes are that when in Hell, the toggle for ruining is oddly disabled; something not present in the other levels and makes the Guardian of Hell boss a pain to beat, because you're going toPerfect port of a classic AAA game. My first time experiencing Doom 3 was on the original Xbox, so I had somewhat of the "castrated" experience. Glad to see it back and running perfectly on Switch! My gripes are that when in Hell, the toggle for ruining is oddly disabled; something not present in the other levels and makes the Guardian of Hell boss a pain to beat, because you're going to need that running to be toggled on all the time; having to continuously have the thumbstick mashed down to run while moving, aiming, firing, and reloading is a little unnecessary and I'm puzzled why they turned that feature off in the Hell levels. Also, I do not like the auto save system; it'll save when you're in a bad spot health, armor, and ammo wise and you end up with several unnecessary save slots. I'll take the save anytime, anywhere system any day. Lastly, I don't like how there's no weapon wheel. Something they did for Quake Remastered and you'd think it would be a staple nowadays - especially with the pacing of the game and having to cycle through weapons in the heat of CQC in the games's already confined spaces is inconvenient and can lead to deaths. In the original Xbox port, you could bind any weapon of choice to the d-pad, conspicuously absent here.



    Regardless enjoy!    … Expand
  13. MayMoJo
    Feb 24, 2023
    9
    One of the finest ports of the Switch. Graphics are way better as in the original, I guess they took the bfg PS3 edition as base. No performance issues of any sorts. The game itself ist still the most atmospheric horror entry of the whole franchise. You feel more vulnerable and more drawn into the story as in any other Doom. The character models show there age. Controls work fine onOne of the finest ports of the Switch. Graphics are way better as in the original, I guess they took the bfg PS3 edition as base. No performance issues of any sorts. The game itself ist still the most atmospheric horror entry of the whole franchise. You feel more vulnerable and more drawn into the story as in any other Doom. The character models show there age. Controls work fine on Switch. Got it for 1,99€ in offer, regretted nothing.… Expand

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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. Nintendo Force Magazine
    Apr 28, 2020
    80
    DOOM 3 has since been surpassed in everything it set out to do by DOOM 2016, but it's still worth a look if you can't get enough of the series. [Issue #42 – October 2019, p. 21]
  2. 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.
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  3. Nintenderos
    Sep 15, 2019
    85
    What Doom 3 proposed was of great quality and is still worth playing today. Among other things, it is a great game because it is the title of the franchise that has more elements of other genres, especially survival horror.
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