If you’re exhausted from loot-heavy first person shooters like Borderlands 2 or the stealthy and morally ambiguous gameplay in Dishonored, perhaps it’s time to to revisit the roots of FPS gaming and simply shoot monsters.
Bethesda today released Doom 3 BFG Edition, allowing gamers to relive the mayhem of the Doom franchise. All three Doom games and the Doom 3 add-on Resurrection of Evil are included in the package, but Doom 3 has been re-mastered and can now be played in 3D. In addition, Doom 3 now has improved rendering and lighting, 5.1 surround sound, a new checkpoint system, and achievements/trophies to earn.
Aside from all the technical upgrades, Bethesda has included eight new Doom 3 levels titled “The Lost Mission.”
Doom 3 BFG Edition is now available in the U.S. on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 for $40 or on PC for $30. The package goes on sale in Europe on October 19.
Check out the launch trailer below and see if you’re ready to take on the legions of hell once again:
Doom 3 still remains one of my favorite shooters of all time. It created a perfect atmosphere that was true to the original games while bringing some new ideas to the table that made the game far scarier than it ever should have been. A lot of id fans have been waiting for Doom 4 since then, but today’s announcement will have to do.
Bethesda announced on their blog today the existence of Doom 3 BFG Edition. As you can probably guess, it’s going to be one of those HD remakes that are all the rage these days. Of course, most HD remakes consist of just making the game look crisper on HD resolutions. id promises to make Doom 3 actually look and play better by adding a number of improvements to the game.
The changes coming to the actual gameplay are welcomed after the initial game did have some disappointing low points. The annoyance of having to either wield a flashlight or a gun is now gone with an armor-mounted flashlight that allows for the player to illuminate the admittedly too dark hallways of the game while shooting every thing that moves. The game will also introduce a checkpoint save system so that players won’t get frustrated by having to start entire levels all over again.
“DOOM 3 was enthusiastically embraced by gamers worldwide at its release,” said John Carmack, Technical Director at id Software. “Today, the full experience has been enhanced and extended to be better than ever, and is delivered across all the platforms with a silky smooth frame rate and highly responsive controls. New support for 3D TVs, monitors, and head mounted displays also allows players to experience the game with more depth than ever before. We think shooter fans everywhere will love it.”
You heard that right, folks. Doom 3 BFG Edition will support head-mounted displays. If you have the cash and the wherewithal, you can truly play Doom 3 in first-person. The support for 3D TVs is a nice touch as well for those with even more cash.
On top of all of the aforementioned features, Doom 3 BFG Edition will contain seven new levels in the form of a new expansion called “The Lost Mission.” It will be joined by the previous expansion “Resurrection of Evil.” Rounding out the set are copies of the original Doom and Doom 2.
While I think that id could better spend their time making an expansion to Rage or Doom 4, making a new version of Doom 3 is a nice consolation prize. I’ll definitely buy it all over again just to experience Doom with modern gameplay conventions like an armor-mounted flashlight.
Check out the first trailer that shows off the new visuals and expansion in action:
