Nov 11, 2012

Steam Community Items

The release of Doom 3: BFG saw the disappearance of the original Doom 3 from Steam, notable for two reasons: 1) the game was rather cheap and 2) there were a bunch of mods for it. People were rightly pissed, Bethesda Softworks offered a hurried non-answer, and the whole thing looked like a cynical sales-protection strategy.

Well, OK, fine, you win. Doom 3, the original, is back on Steam. For $10. Specifically, here's the pricing:

• Doom 3 Pack: Discounted at $12.99
• Doom 3: Discounted at $9.99
• Resurrection of Evil: Discounted at $4.99

Further, Bethesda says Doom 3: BFG Edition's GPL source will be released "in the near future."

Original DOOM 3 back on Steam [Bethesda Blog]

Nov 1, 2012

Brutal Doom mod update adds custom fatality animations

DOOM + DOOM II

In the word of Dethklok frontman Nathan Explosion: "Brutal." Originally released in March, the Brutal Doom mod furnishes Doom's buckets of blood, steaming guts, and ultra-violence with a critically missing element: more buckets of blood, steaming guts, and ultra-violence. We're talking extreme Chunky Salsa Rule here. A freshly spawned Halloween update provides custom fatality animations as you RIP AND TEAR into Hell's minions.

Helmed by the one-man efforts of Sergeant Mark IV, Brutal Doom doesn't just coat everything in strawberry juice. The mod also augments weapon and projectile behavior to react slightly more realistically—slightly; you're still fighting demonic hellspawn in a box in space—such as inflicting harmful splash damage to yourself if you're too close to a wall. Stealth kills and movable barrels are also possible. Headshots count. Limbs sever.

"Everything in Brutal Doom is extremely intense," the good Sergeant writes. "Everything sounds louder, looks bigger, moves faster, and hits harder. The camera shakes every time something explodes near you. Enemies are harder and smarter, and weapons and explosions are loud as fuck.

"Some enemies will scream in anguish and try to crawl away when near death, and they can be used as human shields. Blood will drip through your visor every time you shoot enemies too close."

Brutal.

Oct 23, 2012

Original Doom 3 yanked from digital stores, only BFG Edition remains

DOOM 3 Resurrection of Evil

Doom 3: BFG Edition leapt from the shadows last week and brought along a new 7-level segment, improved visuals, and the unfathomable technological leap of attaching a flashlight to your weapons. Yet, replacing it in the shadows is the original version of id's jumpy FPS which quietly exited Steam, Green Man Gaming, and other digital shops, an otherwise inconsequential swap blemished by BFG Edition's lack of support for previously published mods due to its updated engine tech.

Eurogamer reports that the $100 Super id Software Pack was the sole alternative for purchasing Doom 3 post-BFG, but that also apparently disappeared sometime this week. GameFly, however, is still offering Steam codes for the original. A few gamers expressed concern over becoming locked out of Doom 3's extensive mod collection, but a Bethesda rep told Eurogamer the studio is "looking into" solutions in the short term.

Oct 22, 2012

Get your stealth fix with The Dark Mod, the Thief total conversion for Doom 3

DOOM 3 Resurrection of Evil

If Dishonored has put you in a stealthy mood, you might want to check out The Dark Mod, the ambitious total conversion that takes the sneaky spirit of the Thief games and splatters it all over Doom 3. As RPS note, the mod - which doesn't so much remake the original Thiefs (Thieves?) as use their mechanics to tell new fan stories - has just been updated to version 1.08. Among many other things, the update notes boast of richer audio, AI improvements, and an updated training mission.

The Dark Mod team are slowly working on making the game standalone, but until they replace all of the Doom 3 assets, you're going to need that installed in order to play. (The recently released BFG Edition won't work, by the way.) It doesn't require that much effort to get The Dark Mod working and, once installed, you'll have access to a whole library of Thief fan missions, some of which compare favourably with the real thing. You can see a video of one of these below.

Oct 18, 2012

Doom 3 BFG trailer features new missions and retro action

DOOM + DOOM II

Doom 3 BFG edition is out this week, which makes it the perfect week for a Doom 3 BFG launch trailer. The repackaged, updated version of Doom 3 comes with 3D vision support and a new seven-level segment called The Lost Mission. The Resurrection of Evil expansion pack is included, along with Doom and Doom 2. The whole package is available at a budget £20 / €30 price point.

it sounds like Doom 3 has been significantly polished up with "improved rendering and lighting," more sensibly placed checkpoints and, countering one of the biggest points of contention, an armour-mounted flashlight. That should stop you from having to constantly choose between being able to see and being able to defend yourself. You can absorb some of that information in visual form with bonus demons in the launch trailer below.

Oct 18, 2012

Do Doom 3’s Graphics Hold Up?

DOOM 3

Do Doom 3âs Graphics Hold Up? I've always felt strangely about Doom 3. On the one hand, it was a fairly revolutionary game, graphically. The lighting was striking. On the other hand, it looked kind of gross: humans in the game were starkly lit with strange, bump-mapped faces and odd, robotic movements.

But is that a bad thing or does it add to the ambiance? Does the game's look stand the test of time, or is it a strange artifact from a simpler time? Here are some animated GIFs from the recently-released Doom 3 BFG Edition running on an Xbox 360. We'll let you, the Kotaku readers, decide.

Do Doom 3âs Graphics Hold Up?

Oct 16, 2012

Now Available - Doom 3: BFG Edition

DOOM 3 - Valve

Doom 3: BFG Edition is now available on Steam in North, Central, and South America with more territories opening later this week.

DOOM 3 BFG Edition is the ultimate collection of games that defined the first person shooter including DOOM, DOOM II, DOOM 3, and DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil, and The Lost Mission.

Additionally, all owners of the original Doom 3 on Steam will receive a discount when they upgrade to the BFG Edition right now!

Aug 6, 2012

It Looks Like Doom 3, But Better

DOOM 3

Here are some fresh QuakeCon screenshots from Doom 3 BFG Edition, a remastered version of Doom 3 that will be out in October for PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.

Although developer Id has promised that they're all working full-force on Doom 4, we might not see much of that for a while. So at least we'll get a little bit of Doom this year. A little bit of pretty-looking Doom.

Aug 5, 2012

Quakecon Weekend - Final Day!

Quake III Arena - Valve

In celebration of the mega gaming event QUAKECON, save big on different games from id Software and Bethesda each day, now through August 6th at 10am Pacific Time.

Today only, save 75% on all *id Software titles!
*Rage not included

Or, pick up the massive QUAKECON Bundle, a collection of all released id and Bethesda titles for one low price!

Aug 3, 2012

Doom 3 shines flashlight on The Lost Mission (And doesn’t even need to put down its gun!)

DOOM 3 Resurrection of Evil

Remember Doom 3? Of course you do. Remember it fondly? Ah. For the side of the internet nodding instead of choking on bile, Bethesda is releasing the BFG Edition that remasters the experience (though on the face of it, primarily for console owners rather than upgrading the already superior PC version), gives your futuristic marine some armour-mounted lighting to bring him up to date with 19th century coal-miners and, most importantly, adds a brand new chapter called The Lost Mission.

Here's a brand new trailer from QuakeCon that shows off a few new corners of Hell, that new flashlight, chainsaws, plasma death, and the most indecisive jump scare of all time.

Along with the Lost Mission, the BFG Edition also comes with both original Doom games, the Doom 3 expansion Resurrection of Evil, and another chance to see Dr. Malcolm be promoted from humble Research Director of the world's darkest science facility to Head of Demons in the fires of Hell itself. Hmm. I wonder if that's where he told HR he saw himself in five years time...

The Doom 3 BFG Edition blasts onto shelves this October.