Doom 3 (stylized as D00M3) is a science fiction survival horror first-person shooter video game developed by id Software and published by Activision. Doom 3 was first released for Microsoft Windows on August 3, 2004.[6] The game was later adapted for Linux, as well as being ported by Aspyr Media for Mac OS X. Developer Vicarious Visions ported the game to the Xbox console (now backwards compatible to the Xbox 360), releasing it on April 3, 2005. British developers Splash Damage also assisted in design for the multiplayer elements of the game.[7]
The game is a reboot of the Doom franchise, disregarding storylines of the previous Doom video games, it is however a prequel to Doom I and II (according to the Doom RPG website they are all part of the same universe, it places Doom RPG as a sequel to Doom 3, and prequel to Doom/Doom II all starring the same marine character[8]). Doom 3 is set in 2145 on Mars, where a military-industrial conglomerate has set up a scientific research facility to research into fields such as teleportation, biological research and advanced weapons design. However, the teleportation experiments inadvertently open a gateway to Hell, resulting in a catastrophic invasion by demons. The player, an anonymous space marine, must fight through the base and find a way to stop the demons attacking Earth.[9] Doom 3 features an award-winning game engine, id Tech 4, which has since been licensed out to other developers,[10] and later released under the GNU General Public License in November 2011.
The game was a critical and commercial success for id Software; with more than 3.5 million copies of the game sold, it is the most successful game by the developer to date.[10][11] Critics praised the game's graphics and presentation,[12] although reviewers were divided by how close the gameplay was to that of the original Doom, focusing primarily on simply fighting through large numbers of enemy characters.[13] The game was followed by Resurrection of Evil, an expansion pack developed by Nerve Software in April 2005, while a Doom film loosely based on the series was released in October 2005. A series of novelizations of Doom 3, written by Matthew J. Costello, debuted in February 2008.[14] An expanded and improved BFG Edition was released in the fourth quarter of 201 |
