(re: The Hybrid Gamer) I don’t mean to be offensive, but I’d rather agree with Scream than with you. The gender question has always been a hot topic in the game industry and it’s been a topic for Sierra On-Line, as well. King’s Quest IV, e.g., introducing a female protagonist, was a daring attempt to attract a greater female audience. Interestingly, the Leisure Suit Larry series was known to have an above average appeal to women.
My point is, women and men are different. This isn’t sexism, it’s just the plain truth. Anyway, life would be very boring if it weren’t so! 😉
I understand that sexism does exist and that a lot of differences between women and men are socially induced… No matter what, these differences exist and marketing people have to deal, among other things, with gender breakdowns of audiences. Maybe we’re talking clichés here, but these clichés do influence the market, and society. There’s no reason not to talk about it.
Don’t get me wrong, though… I’m with you all the way concerning cross-genre open-mindedness. You made me reflect on my own prejudices – thank you very much for that! 🙂
Concerning Doom 3 – I’ve lost interest in the game market during the last 8 years or so. Everything I see my mates play looks like little more than slightly improved versions of very old concepts… I write this to clarify that I’m not a “gaming insider” at all, so my opinion on Doom 3 is my opinion in relation to the old Doom games and some of the later FPS I’ve seen around like Battlefield.
I’ve played Doom 3 at a friend’s house, with speakers turned up, lights turned out and doors closed… And though I found the gothic / horror style violence displayed a little too sick for my own personal taste at times (I’m not complaining, Doom is notorious for its gory shock effects, after all, so that’s what you’d expect), I found the overall experience VERY exciting and living up to my expectations. One very cool gimmick is the PDA you’re carrying around, collecting files from former coworkers. These contain e-mails and voice files providing you with bits and peaces of the dark story as well as hints and combination numbers for keypad-locked doors. One of these combinations you even have to pick up from an internet page whose URL you find in a spam e-mail! (All in game, so you won’t be spammed personally! 😉
I thought this was a marvellous idea because it really gets you involved; it’s even a little like an adventure game puzzle. I think utilizing the internet for this is also a neat idea. I don’t know if it’s been done but I do find this quite innovative (about people who said Doom 3 isn’t innovative at all.) So is the “torch thing”. You have to use a torch to spy in dark corners a LOT. And of course, when you spot something, you have to switch back to your shotgun quick! It seems strange that 3rd millenium space suits don’t have helmet lamps, but the idea really makes for an exciting experience! I found the graphics engine very compalling, too. Maybe someone’s done it before, but I haven’t ever seen hot air flicker in a game before.
That said, I think if you haven’t devoured every fps since Half-Life and feel somewhat nostalgic about Doom, this is definitely a game for you to play! I can’t see why anyone found this atmospherically ingenious game disappointing… Too high expecations, I suppose, like others have stated in that 3D-Realms Forum.