Ah, Doom, I remember you so fondly back when you were shareware a friend would pass along with promises that “this is the coolest game you’ll ever play.” It so turned out that it was true and Doom became something of a cult classic, a PC game that has practically given birth to a genre that to this day has console gamers enthralled. Let’s face it, Xbox gamers, we wouldn’t be enjoying Halo today if it weren’t for John Carmack’s classic first-person shooter.  So here we are, several years later, with a Limited Collector’s Edition of Doom 3 - an Xbox port of the PC hit and it’s all we’ve ever dreamed it would be ... and more.

First of all, you can find the game on the store shelves right now for a somewhat cheaper price but then again you’ll be missing out on something really special. I’m not talking about its tin box (although it’s downright nifty); rather it is what’s packed in the single disk that makes the edition a real Must Have. Along with the main game the Extras menu is filled with concept art, video interviews and a four-part G4 look into the making of Doom 3 with a brief history of the series. Oh, but that’s not all. Included in the game is the full versions of Doom Ultimate and Doom II. That’s right, the old PC classics available from the get-go. If that wasn’t enough to hook you in there’s the main game and man, is it a good one. 

Being a marine is hard, but even more so if you’re a marine shipped out to the colonized planet of Mars as a replacement for a fellow marine that has mysteriously disappeared and never heard of again. This is the situation the nameless marine you play finds himself in and it isn’t until you receive your first order by the Staff Sergeant in charge of the Union Aerospace Corporation’s research facility’s security that you find out that the UAC is playing with fire. You see the UAC is experimenting with teleportation technology and on your first day of duty a routine test ends up opening a rift that lets all of hell’s minions into the facility. Soon you’re watching people getting possessed and the dead get up and start savagely attacking you. This has definitely turned out to be one of those bad first days at work.  

Almost immediately you’ll see the changes the hell spawn spreads across the research facility and thanks to your communication device you’ll hear fellow marines fight for their life but, most importantly, you’ll find out that you’re not the only survivor. Yet, in the dimly lit (and often darkened) corridors you’ll encounter plenty of possessed armed marines gunning for you as well as undead scientists or staff members just waiting to claw at your face. Within minutes other creatures start appearing like the Hell Knights and the unfortunately named Pinky monsters. Yet, thanks to your training and the fact that you can pick up weapons from the dead, you’ll be able to give these monsters a taste of lead they’ll never forget.

In true Doom fashion, you’ll have plenty of weapons at your disposal. Aside from the fact that you can use your fists (used as a last resort, of course), there’s the standard pistol, machine guns and even the classic combat shotgun (a favorite of most Doom fans out there). There’s even a better version of the Series 3 Plasma Gun as well as the addition of grenades and other great guns. You’ll need it too, especially since you’ll be surrounded by plenty of newly revamped versions of classic monsters. There’s also some new monsters added to the mix of returning favorites. One such monster in particular comes in the form of a frighteningly deformed cherub. My only complaint (if you can call it that) is that while there’s a healthy number of monsters you’ll feel as though you’ve fought the same ones over and over throughout the game.

Yet it’s hard to complain about a game that brings us plenty of action and just the right amount of scares to throw you off guard. There are many moments in the game when the lights in a particular room would just flicker off ... leaving you in dark room with something stirring somewhere in the corner. You’ll be happy they’ve included a flashlight as well as a PDA you can link up to terminals to download helpful emails, voice recordings and key codes that open up doors with higher security clearance.

The game’s controls pay homage to the PC classics in that the controls scheme is pretty basic and simplistic. You’ll be able to jump and duck for cover and you can even switch weapons on the fly. Click the right thumbstick and you’ll be able to aim a bit better, but I must admit that you’ll sometimes miss your target a lot but not because of the controls but because the enemy is good at lunging at you. Yet, simple is good and it works well for this game.

Here’s something that will make multiplayer addicts leap for joy, this edition is big on multiplayer modes and it features Xbox Live support. Not only can you play with or against up to four friends in Doom Ultimate and Doom II (there’s a co-op and Deathmatch) but you can play co-op in Doom 3. The game just doesn’t pretend you’re not playing with a friend during cutscenes, rather it speeds cutscenes along to make it feel as though you and a friend are involved in the game’s plot.  While the game doesn’t support split-screen multiplayer using a single Xbox, you can play using System Link. The Xbox Live stuff features Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Last Man Standing and Tournament (where other players watch as you take on a single gamer and the winner takes on one of the spectators). It’s stuff we’ve played before but it’s still a lot of fun. 

Do you remember how The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher’s Bay made you drool over the incredible details and all the Xbox graphical bells and whistles? Doom 3 will make you drool even more thanks to the fact that the game pushes the visuals to the system’s limits. The lighting is perfect in this game and so are the facial details of characters during the game and during cutscenes. The environments seem to breathe to life and the great visual effects will not fail to impress. Kill a Hell Knight, for example, and watch his carcass dissolve in embers. The game is also pretty bloody. I’ve shot an undead marine whose gore splattered the walls yet the way the body contorts and the damage done to it is perfect. Even the shadows of your enemy look good.

As for the sound, it compliments the visuals and does an even better job of sending chills down your spine. The sounds are directional; meaning you’ll know an undead is coming from your left because his slow shuffling footsteps come from your left. One minute you’re walking down a silent corridor when you hear the unmistakable sound of an infant crying but when you walk around the corner all you’ll see is the deformed cherub ready to rip you apart. The score is dramatic and it becomes more intense at all the appropriate moments. In short, this is the best sound I’ve heard in a game thus far.

Imagine a tin box filled with all the goodies you could ever want from a single Xbox disc including the full versions of two classic first-person shooters and you get the Limited Collector’s Edition of Doom 3. Alone the main game is just one amazing shooter with plenty of frights and gunfights, but bundled up like this it’s enough to make a true fan want to cry with joy. Yes, it’s that good so buy this one right away if you can. 

Gameplay: 9.0
Doom 3 doesn’t stray from the basics as far as the controls are concerned. Sure they’ve added a jump button and you can focus for more precise aiming but its simplistic control scheme suits the game perfectly. It’s also great to see some of the classic weaponry (combat shotgun, I love you) and favorite monsters to take down. And somehow Doom Ultimate and Doom II just feels and plays better using a Xbox controller.  

Graphics: 9.5
The words “visual masterpiece” comes to mind when you see the game in action. With its great dynamic lighting effects, beautifully rendered characters and gorgeous environments, this is a game that really pushed the Xbox’s graphical capabilities to its limits. It’s graphics like these that make you glad you own an Xbox.

Sound: 10
Quite possibly the best atmospheric sound effects and pulse-pounding score found in a game, Doom 3 feels like an experience thanks to the fantastic sound. If you have a good sound system hooked up then you’ll want to crank that baby up because you’ll be hearing sounds from all around you. You’ll even know if there’s a monster behind you just by the sound of its moan or growl. This is great stuff. 

Difficulty: Medium
The things that go bump in the dark really bump back hard enough that you’ll be changing ammo clips (and fresh underwear) fairly often in the game. While some enemies blindly rush into your line of fire, you’ll find plenty of monsters that attack fiercely enough that you’ll have trouble keeping your aim precise.   

Concept: 9.5
Maybe it’s just me but I’d like my Collector’s Edition to include plenty of sweet extras like loads of videos, concept art and even full versions of the classic PC games that inspired the nicely done main game. Lucky for gamers like me this edition does give us these things. It brings tears of happiness to this reviewer’s eyes (man tears, mind you) just to see all these great extras.

Multiplayer: 9.8
Just about everything you could ever want in a multiplayer option is available and even more so in this edition of Doom 3. We’re talking Xbox Live support that features the usual suspects in terms of game modes but a good frag-fest is just so hard to say no to ... and believe me, you’ll be playing a lot online. There’s System Link support and you can even play Doom Ultimate and Doom II’s co-op and deathmatch games.

Overall: 9.6
Think of Doom 3’s Limited Collector's Edition for the Xbox as the version of the game you should get without even thinking about it. It is, hands down, the best thing to come in a tin box since Halo 2’s Limited Collector’s Edition but more importantly it’s one of the scariest and most action-packed first-person shooters to come out this year. Do yourself a favor, Doom fans; buy this version right away ... your Xbox will thank you.