Doom 3 BFG Edition

Doom 3 BFG Edition
Developer(s)	id Software
Publisher(s)	Bethesda Softworks
Designer(s)	Tim Willits
Series	Doom
Engine	id Tech 4
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows Linux PlayStation 3 Xbox 360 Nvidia Shield
Release date(s)	AUS October 15, 2012 EU October 16, 2012 NA October 16, 2012 JP November 22, 2012
Genre(s)	First-person shooter, survival horror
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Doom 3 BFG Edition is a re-release of Doom 3, which was released on October 15, 2012, in Australia, October 16, 2012 in North America,^[1] October 19, 2012 in Europe, and November 22, 2012 in Japan for the PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360. The BFG Edition features enhanced graphics, better audio with more horror effects, a checkpoint save system, and support for 3D displays and HMDs. The game also includes the previous expansion Resurrection of Evil and a new single-player expansion pack called The Lost Mission. Additionally, it includes copies of the original Doom (the Ultimate Doom edition with the add-on fourth episode, "Thy Flesh Consumed"), and Doom II with the expansion No Rest for the Living, previously available for the Xbox 360. The BFG Edition also features the ability to use the flashlight while holding a weapon, in the form of the so-called armor-mounted flashlight.^[2] The PC version of Doom 3: BFG Edition requires the Steam client and a valid Steam account for installation, play, and achievements. The source code of Doom 3 BFG Edition's engine was released under the GNU General Public License in November 2012. Id Tech has announced that DOOM 3 BFG Edition will be coming for Nvidia's Shield Console and will be released along with the console. It will be running at 1080p 60FPS.^[3]

Plot

Doom 3

The comparison between Doom 3 and the remastered, improved Doom 3: BFG Edition.

During the research to terraform Mars, the remnants of an ancient Martian civilization were discovered. In 2104, an ancient artifact codenamed U1, the Soul Cube, is discovered alongside stone tablets describing a teleportation technology. Using this knowledge, the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) begins recreating the technology in a secured location known as Delta Labs, under the supervision of UAC's brightest scientist, Dr. Malcolm Betruger. Another scientist, Pierce Rogers, is in charge of translating the stone tablets. Warnings about the technology's risks, which led to the ruin of the Martian civilization, are discovered but ignored.

Once activated, the teleporters worked as a portal linking into another dimension. After cameras, animals were sent into the portal, Betruger begins sending human subjects in as well. The ones returning suffered from immense and fatal psychological trauma. Undeterred, Betruger focused on exploring and exploiting the other dimension discoveries, such as bringing back dead and live specimens. Shortly thereafter, disturbing supernatural phenomena began occurring on the Mars base, frightening its personnel. Betruger, obsessed and corrupted by the other dimension, uses his authority to control Mars City and hide his horrifying discoveries from Earth. Scientists Ian McCormick and Jonathan Ishii theorized that the dimension was Hell, but were too frightened to report it. One scientist, Dr. Elizabeth McNeil, contacted the UAC Board to stop the Delta Labs project. Betruger expelled McNeil from Mars, entered the portal and became altered. The UAC Board appointed their lawyer and councilor Elliot Swann and his bodyguard Jack Campbell to enact "damage control" for the Mars operation. On November 15, 2145, they arrived on Mars City on the ship Darkstar.

The protagonist is an unnamed space marine (ranked Corporal) who comes along with Swann and Campbell. Upon reaching the base, Master Sergeant Kelly ("Sarge"), assigns him to find Jonathan Ishii in the Communications Facility. Swann and Campbell try to interrogate Betruger about the incidents on the base, but Betruger refuses to cooperate.

The Marine finds Ishii, who sends out a warning to Delta Labs Level 4 of imminent danger. At that moment, Hell erupts from the portal through the complex, transforming almost all humans into zombies, including Ishii. After the demons attack, only a few scattered squads survive, among them is Bravo Team. Sarge orders the Marine to regroup with Bravo Team and help send a distress signal to the space fleet. Having concluded that Betruger is linked to the invasion, Swann and Campbell go to the Communications Facility to prevent anyone from coming to Mars, contradicting Sarge's order. The Marine reaches Bravo Team, only to find one survivor who dies shortly thereafter. Upon reaching the Communications Facility, he finds that Campbell had already sabotaged it. Under Sarge's order, he goes to an isolated satellite tower and send the transmission for reinforcements. Swan contacts the Marine, begging him not to call anyone else to Mars, to prevent further casualties until they figure out the cause for the incidents.

After making the decision, the Marine begins to return to Delta Labs. At the Waste Recycling Center, he is trapped by Betruger. The scientist claims to have control over the invading monsters. He already sent a transmission to the fleet, and plans to hijack their spaceships and attack Earth. Betruger uses his powers to transform wounded marines into his Commando servants. Fighting his way out of the Center, the Marine reaches Delta Labs. There, the Marine is contacted by Sarge, who is notably different. He then encounters Ian McCormick, who explains the cause of the invasion, and helps the Marine teleport himself to other sectors of Delta. McCormick believes the Soul Cube is the only way to stop the invasion. The Marine reaches the main portal on Delta Labs Level 4, and gets transported to Hell.

Having fought through Hell's monsters, the Marine eventually locates the Soul Cube, under protection of the Guardian of Hell. After destroying him, the Marine recovers the artifact and gets back to Mars. Betruger contacts and taunts him, saying there is another portal called Hell Gate capable of bringing millions of demons to our universe. Navigating Delta Complex, the Marine finds a badly injured Swann, who says Sarge has sided with Betruger, and that Campbell went to hunt him down. Using Swann's PDA, the Marine reaches the CPU Complex and finds Campbell, mortally wounded by Sarge. He kills Sarge, who transforms into a creature named Sabaoth.

The Marine leavs the CPU bank and goes to Site 3. There, he finds Pierce Rogers, who explains that the ancient Martians created portals on the planets in the solar system — including Earth. However, the portals on Mars linked to Hell, and the demons overran the planet. The Martians, desperate, created the Soul Cube, energized it with their souls and used it to drive the demons back to Hell. The surviving Martians buried their warriors, the Soul Cube and the tablets to warn of the technology's dangers. They relocated to other planets — including Earth — and Rogers believes that humans are actually descendants of Martians. Pierce isolates himself and gives security clearance to the marine, urging him to find the Soul Cube to close the Hell Gate.

After navigating the underground caves, the Marine reaches the Primary Dig Site, where he discovers a section of Hell that has crept into the Martian underground. There, he encounters the Cyberdemon, who was guarding the enormous "Hell Gate" portal. Using the Soul Cube, the Marine defeats the Cyberdemon, and the Cube then seals the Hell Gate.

The Recon Zulu marine team arrive on Mars City to secure the base, and find only one survivor — the Marine. In Hell, Betruger has now become the dragon-like demon known as the Maledict.

Resurrection of Evil

The Lost Mission

The Lost Mission takes place in the mid-level called "Enpro Sector" while the Doom 3 marine is escaping from the Enpro sector at the end of the level. The player takes the role of the last surviving member of Bravo team, which was seen being ambushed by demons in Doom 3. The Bravo team survivor is contacted by Dr. Richard Meyers (voiced by Paul Eiding), a scientist working on teleportation experiments in Exis Labs, and asked to help Meyers destroy an experimental teleportation array that was captured by the demons and is currently held deep inside Hell. The array is potentially powerful enough to send an army of demons all the way to Earth, hence Meyers' desperation to destroy it. To achieve this goal, the marine must acquire the components necessary to activate the Exis Labs teleportation system, then travel to Hell in order to destroy the teleportation array. In the epilogue, the marine is teleported by Dr. Meyers back to Mars. The reinforcements from Earth arrive to search for another marine who is still missing; eventually, they find him in the Delta Labs complex.^[4]

Reception

The game received mixed-to-positive reviews. The updated graphics, sound design, and inclusion of the new Lost Mission content were praised. Criticism was directed at the BFG Editions's long load times, forced auto-saves, and control scheme which forces the player to cycle through their weapons continuously in order to access a particular weapon - a feature deemed extremely inappropriate given the game's suspenseful, action-oriented gameplay. The controls overall were considered a step backwards due to the previous generation ports of Doom 3 allowing players to assign weapons to hotkeys. The inability to toggle back to the traditional flashlight mechanic of the original game was also criticized.

References

External links

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Doom 3 BFG Edition

• Doom 3: BFG official website
• ID Software official company website
• Doom 3 article at the Doom Wiki