Classic Doom 3

Classic Doom 3 is a remake of the original Doom game from 1993 using the engine of Doom 3. A lot changed in that decade between the release of the original and 2004's sequel to its followup. For one thing, the spread of dedicated graphics cards meant that truly 3D geometry and assets allowed players to experience games in all of the spatial dimensions, and Classic Doom 3 makes good use of this ability. It also takes advantage of the advanced lighting that made Doom 3 stand out when it was released, with fully dynamic light sources enhancing the dark, frightening mood of the first game.

The original Doom is still a very playable game in its untouched form, and this remake does little to detract from that pure, enthralling experience. All of the classic level design of the original is recreated faithfully, enabling players to experience some very carefully plotted-out, sprawling layouts that make for a refreshing change from the relatively linear ones that are more common today. Doom has always been famous, too, for how satisfying its guns are to shoot, and the makers of this modification did a great job of translating the shotguns and other weapons that are so fun to use for mowing down demons.

Naturally enough, using this modification requires that players have access to Doom 3 itself. Since iD Software's games have always had a focus on being easy to modify, any version of that game will work, whether installed directly from the disc or purchased from a digital distribution service like Steam. Players only need to extract the mod files into the correct directory and then launch the game with a simple command-line argument or by using a provided batch file instead. That will get them straight into the world of the original Doom, and these few easy steps are very much worth the effort.