- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I think you can get the most recent version in the discount bin of some stores already. The doom3 website has 3 links to large chains where you can buy it retail (not on sale) for about $35.00. Nowhere near as robust a game as H2 or Halo:CE for gameplay, but it can definitely grip you at points. I vividly remember jumping out of my chair a few times after being startled. The whole Doom environment is pretty spooky until you are inured to it, much more so say then the dark areas of H2 where you are beating down the flood. YMMV.
I think I was only really startled once during Halo2, and I was trying to dodge a rocket at the time, (I wasn't scared at all). Personally I think Shishka (who is awesome) is a little too jaded to be scared by much nowadays, and of course he'd be crazy to give a direcly competing game with Halo2 any really good props here (don't smack the hand that feeds you and all, especially not on Bungie forums).
Replayability factor for the Doom series as many have said isn't very high. The first time through for me was alot of fun, after that the gore & such just didn't have the same immersive effect, the spooky factor is pretty much gone, and the shallowness of the gameplay really comes out. As I said before, lots of fun to run through once or twice, then shelve it for a long time until you have forgotten most of what happens - then it is good for another run through. Then shelve it again. If it wasn't so dang gory, I'd recommend it for someone young &new to FPS as a good beginning training ground. Though if you are going to buy an older FPS to train on, might as well get Halo:CE, which is tons better imo.
I think it is worth a buy if you like FPS & have extra spare cash, but the multiplayer can't compare to Halo2 for gameplay, though if you get it for the PC it does have a fairly active group of modders who come out with stuff for it. Personally, it wouldn't be on my shopping list if I only had $300 to spend. You can spend an extra 20-30 dollars on a really good game with greater replayability, or buy something really spendy (like a bigger TV to play Halo2 on!). Don't forget to spend some of that dough on loved ones, and maybe buying a year of XBL ahead of time for yourself might be a good idea if $300 seems like alot of money to you.
Take care,
Cavmn