Doom 3 > Doom 3 — The Demo
Welcome to the tenth anniversary of DOOM!, the most famous first-person shooter game in history and a proud descendant of the first computer games, Adventure and Zork, from the late 1970's. In celebration id software has released DOOM 3.
Yes, id has indeed released DOOM 3, much against the wishes of id's head hanchos, who did not want to rehash past glories. A protest from younger programmers and the success of Return to Castle Wolfenstein made the hanchos decide to create DOOM 3 (and fire at least one instigator). Those hanchos were never enthusiastic about the game, if the terse thanks on the easter-egg PDA are any indicator. But that shouldn't dampen your enthusiasm, because the game is very well made for its purpose: For your enjoyment.
In the original DOOM!, for those of you who never played it, you make your way through various buildings on research bases on Phobos and Deimos, the two moons of Mars, and in the depths of Hell, in amazing (for 1993) three-dimensional environments. You go through ten levels, shooting undead soldiers and evil critters out to do a three-digit number unto you. Sometimes you work through puzzles or navigate through dangerous mazes. You use a variety of weapons; get first aid, armor and ammo; and even pick up one-ups, which give you for a short time such powers as invisibility, invulnerability and berserker mode — that state of being that lets you turn your enemies to salsa with one punch.
DOOM 3 has the same basic premise as DOOM!, but a whole lot more is built on it. The game has a storyline to guide you along, some of which I will go over. A decade of graphics and AI development brings an amazing environment to the game. You can move objects around, communicate with other characters, and even view the reflection of your own avatar. The critters are a lot more spry, dodging your shots and taking cover. The puzzles are more integrated into the game. The personal data assistants you find here and there let you open doors, provide combinations to locked cabinets, and are even good for a laugh. And the overall environment is more grim: Dim lighting and blood everywhere.
Such a gaming environment does not come cheap: You will need this kind of computer:
DOOM 3 is very graphics-intensive, so the more powerful the computer and video card, the more impressive the gaming environment.
In the startup screen (the one with the DOOM 3 name and the planet Mars behind it), you can adjust the video and mouse/keyboard settings. You can also pick the game's level of difficulty: Recruit is the easy level; Veteran gets you more enemies on fewer resources. Nightmare, where dead enemies respawn, does not appear until you finish an entire game. Choose a level of difficulty and let's get started.
According to the first cutscene, the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) is the biggest corporation in history, specializing in space exploration, physical and biological research, and even archaeology. The UAC disposes of unlimited funds without the burdens of moral or legal obligation
; in practice the UAC tends to be miserly with its unlimited
funds and to take liberties with the lives of its employees. Profit über alles, you know. And while in the original game the UAC was a mere contractor for the military, in DOOM 3 the military works for the UAC, and you are a marine in its pay.
The UAC Mars Base was built in the late 21st century. It has expanded over the years to include two major laboratories — Alpha and Delta — with support facilities and an administrative office at Mars City. It also holds the headquarters of the UAC Marine Corps.
It's November 15, 2145. The interplanetary transport Dark Star speeds towards Mars bearing you, O space marine, and two other passengers: Counsellor Elliot Swann of the UAC and his bodyguard Jack Campbell. Swann has come to meet the UAC Facility's chief scientist, Dr. Malcolm Betruger. And he is not happy.
After they leave, you enter your avatar through the back of his head. Now the fun begins.
To your right is an interactive computer terminal. A tip box appears to tell you when you approach a computer interface, your weapon lowers and you can use the fire button (Ctrl or left mouse button) to interact with the computer. You will see helpful tip boxes throughout the demo. Try out the terminal's virtual buttons. Hello, what sort of biological specimens
need to be heavily sealed for transit to Earth?
Near the stairs is marine Cooper, who directs you to the reception desk. As the tip box says, the cursor changes when you point your mouse to a character you can talk to. You might want to click on a character two or three times to get information from them. As you ascend the stairs, a female computer voice on the public-address system tells you what Cooper just said.
On a bench at the top of the stairs is some guy muttering I got to get out of here!
He is Marcus Caseon, the physician at the Mars City infirmary. Dr. Caseon is anxious to get off Mars, and warns you to watch your back
and to trust no one
. That's good advice.
There's another computer terminal nearby for you to play with, but it's similar to the one near the landing ramp. Near the terminal are stairs leading down to where containers are stacked. As the tip box tells, you can push the boxes around. Don't get too wound up: The platform has no fence around it, and with one misstep you will fall into the chasm below the ramp.
Step through the door into the security checkpoint. Follow the marine's orders to get yourself scanned for germs. Once the scan is done, you can go through the door.
In the departure lounge you meet a sentry bot. Cute, isn't it? You'll find later just how helpful these robotic dogs are. To your left is a door, whose red control panel tells you it's locked. Control panels for unlocked doors are green. To your right is an information kiosk welcoming you to Mars City. Near that is an information terminal which you access with a personal data assistant (PDA). You get yours at the reception desk through the unlocked door ahead.
The receptionist gives you your PDA, tells you how it works, and cautions you not to lose it (as if you could). He also notes that you are to report to Marine Command HQ at once.
Your PDA holds your e-mails, audio logs and video disks. It also carries your security clearances, which autoload to the lock pads of doors to any room or elevator you're allowed to enter. You read about how to use your PDA, and how it can upload the contents of other PDAs. There is an introductory video from the UAC Security Corps. There are also two e-mails: a welcome from Mars City director William Banks and a terse command from Master Sargeant Thomas Kelly, head of UAC Security, to report to his office at once.
Once you mastered your PDA, download the notice on the nearby information kiosk on the disappearance of Dr. Jonathan Ishii. Finding him will be your first mission. If you wish you can backtrack to the departure lounge to download the calendar from the kiosk there. There is also a video disk (that "welcome to Mars City" spiel) near the reception desk.
You can even read over the receptionist's shoulder. All he does is type the same report about your arrival, at least at first. If you look over his shoulder too long, he types over and over: I would also like to add that this new transfer is exceedingly rude. He has hovered over me reading everything I type. STOP IT!
Now begins your tour of the base.
Walk up the steps and down the hall. You could speak to Chang, the maintenance worker, but he's not very talkative. At the end of the hall is Central Access; when you enter it, you trigger a cutscene.
In a conference room to your left, Swann and Dr. Betruger — a sallow one-eyed fellow — are bickering. Evidently numerous reports of accidents, terrible morale and mass requests for transfer off Mars have reached the UAC Board of Directors. It has sent Swann to put a collar on Betruger. Betruger will have none of this. As Campbell peers over his shoulder at you, Betruger tells Swann to stay out the way; caps his argument with Amazing things will happen soon. You just wait!
; and storms out of the room.
The doors in Central Access are either locked or guarded, so you walk down the other corridor.
Marine Washington walks out of a door at a bend in the hall. He advises you to stay focused on your job, and you'll be back on Earth before you know it
. The door leads to the bog, and boy, is it gross! Try out the mirror: You can actually look at yourself.
Now let's visit the common room.
Watch some TV for disturbing news. For a company with unlimited funds, UAC is too stingy to pay for a rescue mission to Europa, where one of its manned probes crashed. It's not as stingy on defense appropriations, according to some critics who claim a UAC military buildup on Mars. (Do you think it shows?) Other corporations in this age are just as bad as the UAC. And a deep-space probe almost ran into an anomaly beyond Sedna; the hole is familiar to any of you who played Quake II. (It's a Strogg gateway.)
Pick up the PDA on the kitchen counter. You read that its owner, Adam Bernech, is in big trouble. Tang, the worker in the kitchen, tells you to work hard and mind your own business. You learn from the soldiers in the common area, Marak and Miller, that you're replacing someone who went nuts and had to be shipped back to Earth. They welcome you to the worst assignment you'll ever have
, wonder how long you will last here, and invite you back for a drink when you're free.
You'll love the video game Super Turbo Turkey Puncher 3. Its background, the player's head and fist, and the gibs all come from the original DOOM. If you score 25,000, your prize is an e-mail. Ha-ha! Your vacation time has been docked two days!!
Pass through the door beyond the kitchen. Two maintenance workers talk about the accidents
at Delta Labs; the Labs' incredible thirst for energy; and how people who poke their noses into its operations vanish without a trace. The nearby info terminal pitches extra credits to volunteers for Delta Labs experiments in teleportation, drug testing and specimen handling.
The only unlocked door, on a raised platform to your right, is marked Marine Operations
. At the end of the hall a marine guard points you to Marine HQ.
The Marine HQ lobby has a communications station; its operator talks to a Delta Labs scientist requesting more security. Another marine programs a sentry bot. Two others walk on patrol. None of them want to talk to you except one, who says, Hope you don't go crazy … like the others. Hee hee hee.
A door marked Combat Prep
is opposite the lobby. The weapons locker inside is locked, and its clerk has his back to you. The only thing inside for you is a video about the plasma gun.
At the far end of the hall is a door, the passage beyond which winds its way to the hall facing the Infirmary's observation room. This is as far as you can go. Through the windows you can see a marine and an orderly lay on an examination table a man with his mouth wide open. This is Jonathan Wills, and his mouth is empty because in a psychotic fit he had cut out his own tongue! You'll meet him personally later.
The scientist near the observation room tells you to go away, so go back to the lobby and through the door to Marine HQ. Over your head is a chaingun on a ceiling turret, guarding the main door. Go right on in.
A cutscene begins. Sargeant Kelly is annoyed that you'd taken your time getting here. He tells you that a missing scientist from Delta Labs was last seen going to an abandoned communication center. Your orders are to go there via the Mars City Underground, find the scientist, and bring him back without harm. Kelly has programmed a sentry bot to guide you to the elevator that leads to the Underground. Now move out
, Kelly barks.
After this all you need to do is follow the sentry bot. It will guide you down the path you took from the departure lounge. The only thing of interest on your trip back to the lounge are those two maintenance guys. This time they are talking about rumors of strange inhuman creatures at Delta Labs. Keep walking: You'll meet the creatures soon enough.
Remember the locked door in the departure lounge? It is now unlocked when the bot reaches it. After the bot goes through the door, it will go to rest on a pad. That pad is on a platform overlooking the elevator to the Underground.
Descend the stairs to the floor below. There is a lower platform to your right with a cabinet. If you listened to Bernech's audio entry, you will learn that the cabinet's combination is 396. Punch it in and take two bullet cartridges. Take them now: They will not be there later. Then open the lift door and press the green button inside the lift.
Mars City Underground was the first UAC base on Mars. It still holds the environmental, construction and power systems for Mars City. You'll be walking its whole length and beyond.
The elevator opens up at the security checkpoint. Brooks, the marine in charge, welcomes you to the Dungeon, the most unexciting place on Mars
.
Here you get your pistol, armor, ammo and flashlight from the right storage cabinet. You will not be shooting during this mission, so switch to the flashlight by pressing the F key.
Brooks tests your radio, then tells you you'll be doing a quick evac
to reach the old comm center. He then unlocks the door to the Underground, and warns you not to shoot the civvies.
The door opens into the underground junction, a network of platforms and stairs. The only person here is technician Young, who is working the crane controls. At the bottom is the door marked Energy Stabilization (ES).
Near the ES door is a cable to an isolated platform in front of a maintenance shed. If you want, you can do a high-wire act along the cable to the platform. It helps if you keep your cursor on the wire as you move along it. In front of the shed door next to the crane is a control panel like the one Young is using. If you move the crane to the side, you can climb the ladder to the top, where there are shotgun shells and armor. This is the only time you can get these.
Beyond the ES door is a maintenance room. A worker named Rodgers is hiding behind some boxes. He announces himself rather loudly, which is why you want your flashlight drawn and NOT your pistol. He says, You're looking for the scientist, right? I'm not sure you want to find him. You see … um, never mind.
He is unwilling to talk further, but you can find armor under the stairs.
Through the next door is a convergence chamber
, or curved path to another room. On the other side is the Energy Stabilization area. You hear a worker nag another to get a coupling fixed. Don't bother him. Instead keep going until you reach the far door.
To the left of the door is an alcove with a storage locker. Here Grant Baston left his lunch and his PDA. If you shine your light on the floor as you take the PDA, you can see roaches scurrying off. The info on there includes the combination, 531, to the storage locker; and an e-mail from Brooks on how to unlock the two lockers from the same security panel. That is useful when you return to the security checkpoint.
Past another convergence chamber is Energy Processing. A worker tries to repair an energy conduit while his boss bitches at him. The door to their area is jammed, so you need to go through the door marked Energy Delivery. Before you do, stand in front of that door, drop to the right, and crawl under the walkway for some armor.
The only guy in Energy Delivery is Sinclair, whom you spook when you approach him as he raises the service bridge. He tells you what you already know from Baston's PDA: Everyone is on edge in the Dungeon from the poor lighting, strange behaviors and disembodied voices. He points you to the garage.
You walk through another maintenance area, and see why Sinclair is so jumpy. The lights suddenly go out. Your flashlight is enough to guide you to the door on the other side.
At the underground garage you reach the end of the Dungeon. Marine Ryan tells you that the comm center is a short run across the Martian surface. Don't worry: Your suit has plenty of oxygen. He'll grouse at you if you try to talk to him further. Or, you could shoot Ryan and grab his PDA, but all it has is a message from Brooks to keep an eye out for you. You can pick up Ryan's pistol next to him.
Press the panel on the yellow airlock door. Walk in. Press the panel inside. When the outer door opens, run!
The Martian surface is modelled after that in the movie Total Recall: CO2 at such low pressure you will go pop if you stay out too long. Fortunately for you, it's just a bridge over a ravine, a jog to the left, and then you open another airlock. Close the airlock and you're home free. There's a cannister of oxygen on the bridge in case you have trouble.
The comm center has two levels: storage (ground floor) and engineering (upper floor). The shelves have armor; go behind them and hop on a box, then onto the middle shelf. Walk to the elevator and take it to the engineering floor. Sgt. Kelly tells you on the radio to hurry up.
On the engineering level you walk up a short set of stairs and walk a long platform. Turn left, then left again. You're done.
Cutscene time: You walk in, gun in hand, as Dr. Ishii works the large communications console. No, you must let me finish! I must get this transmission out! Everyone must be warned!!
There are two large monitors: The right one shows the main teleportation chamber at Delta Labs Level 4. You don't know what I've seen. You can't possibly understand. The Devil is real! I know: I built his cage.
Suddenly the right monitor shows that cage breaking down. Amongst explosions a great skull in the chamber opens its mouth and spews a multitude of lost souls. The facility quakes and the lights go out. The room lights up in pentagrammatic patterns as a fountain of light erupts in the middle of the lower landing. Out of the fountain a lost soul appears; it flies into the left monitor, which shows a marine being turned into a Z-Sec.
Now it's time to get out your pistol. If you wish, you can shoot Dr. Ishii now. If you wait, a lost soul will appear and turn him into a zombie. Either way, he's doomed.
After you nail Dr. Ishii, the door opens. A Z-Sec fires at you; shoot it. You could press the comm panel to transmit Ishii's message, but all you will see is a soldier getting killed by a Z-Sec.
The demonic attack sets the stage for the rest of the game: Hunt demons and kill them.
Sgt. Kelly orders all marines back to Marine Operations HQ. For you that means returning to the underground security checkpoint. You go the same way you came until you reach the Energy Delivery area. Then you are forced to take a detour through Energy Processing until you reach the section where you saw the manager harangue the energy conduit worker. The jammed door will open from the other end. You can then resume your way back to the checkpoint.
If that sounds too simple, let's list just how tough it will now be:
Okay, grab as much ammo as you can find, and let's go!
Walk out onto the comm engineering platform and shoot the zombie there. The railing has been ripped out, so you can jump directly to the elevator. There is a maniacal laugh as you open the door. Be careful as you walk out of the elevator: The panels on the storage room floor will pop out.
On the Martian surface, grab some air if you hadn't already. Around the corner left of the garage airlock are some more air, armor, and an adrenaline hypo for a quick stamina boost.
Inside the garage airlock the door will stick. You will see a zombie drag off Ryan as a lost soul flies past you. Once the door opens wide enough, step out and shoot that zombie. Get Ryan's ammo (if it's still there) and a first aid kit. Walk up to the garage platform. When you open the door to the maintenance area, jump back: A zombie takes a swing at you with a wrench. Dispatch him and pass through the maintenance room — watch out for the busted stairs.
In the Energy Delivery area what is left of Sinclair climbs up to greet
you; hail back with some lead. The door directly to Energy Processing is busted as something tries to grab you. There's nothing for it but to extend the service bridge. Warning: Filtration arm in motion. Bridge extension in seven seconds,
intones the computer voice as a terrified scientist runs along the catwalk screaming, I don't want to die!
As you cross the bridge you hear a radio murmur. It comes from a Z-Sec, which pops out of an alcove and shoots at you. Respond in kind.
When the Energy Processing door opens, another Z-Sec pushes some boxes aside to get at you. What I do is run back across the bridge, lure the Z-Sec onto it, and then retract the bridge. If the Z-Sec is lucky, it will fall to the floor below; usually it just goes splat! There is a ladder next to the maintenance door; the floor below the bridge has armor and health.
You will need clearance from Frank Delahue's PDA to open the processing unit door. The late Frank crawls out of a vent; shoot him down. As you descend to the console to pick up the PDA, a lost soul flies by. The space where it came out has health and armor; climb the fat pipe to get them. There is also armor and healing on a ledge above the vent; climb on the console and jump to the ledge. Return to the processing unit door; you can now open it.
Remember the screaming manager? Look up and see him meet his doom at the hands of a zombie. Shoot the zombie if you wish. Down the hall is another zombie. Pop him one and go through the door it was guarding.
Welcome to the Energy Processing Aerobic Stabilizator (where do they get those names?). Don't get ground up by the uncovered gears on the floor. The lower landing to the right has a shotgun, shells and armor; but the yellow and black border around them mark it as a trap. If you are quick enough, grab them, blow out the zombies waiting for you in the pit below, and then climb the ladder back out.
The EP Control Unit is nasty. Don't bother yet with the shotgun shells near the steps. Run all the way across as the lights go out and shoot, in this order, a flashlight zombie, a Z-Sec and another zombie. Whew! Now go back to get the shells. Don't worry: That fellow next to the barrels won't come to life and the weird sounds are just bluster. If you noticed the ladder where the zombies were, you can jump into the crawlspace and get some more shells and first aid.
The hall up ahead is a zombie ambush. You can tell by the green lights on the left wall. Walk almost past them and then back up quickly. Shoot the zombie out of the left wall, and the one coming down the hall. There are shells in the left wall niche, and more shells and bullets on the shelves near the door. Next to the door is a health terminal.
The next room is fun. There is stuff on the far end desk, but a plasma stream blocks the way. You must enter the next room and punch in a code to shut off the stream. As you step through the door, there is a cutscene in which your first Imp appears out of a conduit and jumps in front of you. That's who's been stalking you. Get your shotgun and blast it before it burns or tears at you! You will see lots and lots of Imps, so learn how to handle them properly (hint: aim for the head).
Beyond the door is the upper catwalk of the Energy Processing room, where you saw the manager get nailed. Move forward to lure out an Imp, and then the zombie beyond.
Now punch in 842 on the screen closest the door to fix a valve. That turns off the plasma stream in the room where you met the first Imp. Go back for some shells, armor and first aid.
Around a corner are some stairs, beside which is a ledge, both over a room. I jump onto the ledge, jump off, then go through the door. I wait with my shotgun, first for a zombie, then for an Imp. After they're gone, I go back into the room to clean up on armor, healing and shells. The next room is the catwalk overlooking the service bridge. Through the far door is the same room you saw the energy worker get nagged by his boss.
What you find in this room will depend on your version of Doom 3. In the demo, there is a Hydrocon video on the desk across from the worker's open panel. It is there to tempt you into buying the full game. In the paid version the video is missing (you'll find it in Alpha Labs 1). In both cases when you walk past it an Imp pops out. Make Imp go boom now.
When you choose Veteran difficulty, a Z-Sec will run into room with a shotgun. In any level, a zombie hides in a far corner with a wrench. Kill both and walk through the door.
Now you are back on the path you took to the comm center. Breathe a sigh — for someone does!Watch yourself in convergence chamber two: An Imp will jump out and whack you when you open the other door. Kill the Imp, step through the door, turn around and shoot the Z-Sec behind you. If you haven't opened storage locker 023 yet, do so: The code is 531, you scare some more roaches, and get shells, armor and health.
You can hear screams in the lit duct ahead; if you approach, an Imp will come out. If you aren't interested, walk on to the first convergence chamber door.
Sgt. Kelly orders soldiers to fortify positions and fight it out if they can't find their way back to Marine HQ. As you open the door, a dead body drop-hangs from a pipe and a disembodied voice says Help me!
.
In the maintenance room you can see amidst the flames what is left of Rodgers on the floor. Careful when you approach the stairs: An Imp will push its way out and attack. Shoot it, jump over the hole and climb up to the door.
You are now back to the underground junction. An Imp will try to attack, but you can blow it up by shooting the red barrel. Approach, but do not walk past, the steel column. The crane's contents will come crashing down onto the stairs. Walk over the debris and trace your way back to the uppermost platform. The door to the security post will open to reveal an Imp. Dispatch it.
The door to the security checkpoint is locked. Enter the security post. The Z-Sec formerly known as Brooks lies on the back panel; shoot it before it shoots you. Clean up on health, shells and armor.
Now then, let's work the security panel.
Before you leave the room, just step outside. A Z-Sec will magically appear out of nowhere (I saw this!). Go back inside and stand beside the door with your shotgun. Shot it as it runs through.
Go to the security check point door. Walk through and shoot the Imp that drops from the ceiling. As Sgt. Kelly chatters on, go to the left locker for your machine gun, and kill the Imp that runs in to stop you. Open the elevator and frag the Z-Sec that comes out.
That's it for the critters on this level. Now you're ready for the maintenance shed.
Return to the maintenance junction and walk to the far door. Walk the cable to the balcony. Careful: one false move and you drop to your death. Climb over the railing, and go through the now-unlocked door. Here are bullets, armor, healing and — cells for a plasma gun!
Return to the security checkpoint, walk into the elevator and press the green button.
Mars City is as messed up as the Underground, and Sarge broadcasts that he is unable to make it back to Marine HQ. You are to get back to Marine HQ and contact him there.
Run out of the elevator and shoot the Z-Sec hiding behind some crates. The stairs you came down from the departure lounge are destroyed. No problem: Walk up the other steps past the cabinet (now empty except for damaged equipment and a severed arm). A hatch in the ceiling opens, and voice says, Hey you! Up here! Quickly!
A ladder drops down; climb it.
Near the top of the ladder is Roland, who was working on the vents when the demonic attack occurred. He counts himself lucky and asks you to get help. He won't come with you, but tells you to be careful as you crawl through the ventilation shafts.
When you go into a caged shaft with the armor, you will hear a boom. Some pipes burst to open for you a path over a very bloody office. Heavy breathing tells you it's occupied. The other end opens over an open panel door. Jump onto the top of the door, spin yourself until you face the office below, pull out your pistol (and make sure it's fully loaded), and jump into the office.
Two zombies will come at you from different directions. Shoot them down. Grab the PDA of manifest controller Marcus Stanton, whose headless body lies at your feet. He was angry about a shipment of chainsaws that just arrived, and even angrier about undocumented cargo going straight to Delta Labs without his inspection. He was livid that someone at Delta (guess who?) was overriding his authority.
Behind Stanton's cubicle is armor under a plasma stream to the left (crawl to get it) and the radio murmur of the Z-Sec behind the door to the foyer on the right. Stand beside the door, open it, and lure the Z-Sec to its doom. Cross the foyer to the door to Reception Processing and do the same to the Z-Sec inside. This one provides you with a machine gun if you couldn't get the locker open at the underground checkpoint.
The door at the far end of the foyer needs an ACO control key. That's in the Reception Processing room along with two clips for your machine gun. The window looks out into the reception hall, where an Imp is dining on a fat zombie. It jumps onto the window and climbs away. You hear on the radio Specialist Wilson running blind and calling for help. Sarge tells Wilson to go to his last known position and set up a defense: We'll find you.
The door that needs the ACO key leads to the conference room where Betruger and Swann had their argument. There are two Z-Secs in there; open the door to lure them to you, then blast them with your shotgun. There is healing inside — and entertainment: Two more Z-Secs run into Central Access beyond the window and are perforated by a sentry bot. That's your helper for the last third of your mission.
There is a door that leads to a hallway. Ready your pistol. Go to the door on the far end. Open the door, but don't go through it. Rather go to the corner opposite the door. The lights will go out, and zombies will appear. The first will emerge from the conference room. Two others will come from the room ahead. Shoot all three. There are two more in the room beyond (one headless); lure them out and destroy them. That room will have shells and clips.
This room is Sec Ops Processing. There are two openings at the far end. The right goes to Security Operations proper. The left goes to Sec Ops Junction. You will need to go left in any case, for Sec Ops proper is a dead end with two Z-Secs lying in wait. You could skip Sec Ops for now; but if you do you will meet the Z-Secs once you reach Marine Command, so you might as well take them out now and save yourself some trouble.
When you enter Sec Ops Junction you will hear on the other side of the wall a conversation that ends with someone get chomped by an Imp. In the middle of the hall you meet Bernie the Flaming Zombie for the first time. It blundered into a plasma flume and is on fire itself. Put out his fire and go to the far door. The hall beyond leads to the infirmary. There take out two Z-Secs and a fat zombie with a wrench. Down the hall an Imp will drop from the ceiling; feed it a shotgun shell. (For Veteran difficulty, that's three Z-Secs, two Imps and that fat fellow with the wrench.) The room to the right (where you heard the chatter) has a clip of ammo; the left is the infirmary itself.
The infirmary has a storage cabinet and the PDA of Dr. Marcus Caseon, the guy sitting in the hanger. One of Dr. Caseon's audio logs tells of a Jonathan Wills, who reported in with complaints of nausea and insomnia. Twenty minutes later, Wills attacked Dr. Caseon with a scalpel — after carving three glyphs on his arm and cleaving his tongue down the middle. After that the Doctor stashed ammo and goodies in his cabinet, which he reset with the combination 347.
Open the door to the observation room: Here's Jonny! Lure Wills into the infirmary and blast him. Two Z-Secs will follow Wills. Deal with them, too. Pick up some adrenaline on the table next to Wills' before leaving for Marine Command.
Another Bernie appears from a side corridor. Shoot him, crouch down, and crawl into that corridor. There is healing, armor, shells and a clip just beyond the plasma flume. Follow the corridor to the dead guy next to the door. That's Sgt. Tyson: Pick up his PDA for the code to the Combat Prep room's weapons locker: 584. His audio logs refer to stationing two marines at each checkpoint. Oh, great: Lots of Z-Secs from now on!
The door is stuck, but you can just see a zombie walking away. You can also hear it gurgling as you return to the observation hall. Follow the hall and see the result: It's strangling a marine! After shooting the zombie, you hear a female voice intoning: Video linkup requested
. Follow the voice to Marine HQ and approach the communications console, picking up clips as you go.
Sergeant Kelly is on the other end — surprised that you are still alive. He is stuck at Delta Labs and is setting up a command post there. Your ultimate goal is to send a distress signal to the UAC Fleet. To do that you must go through Administration to Alpha Labs in order to rendezvous with Bravo Team. Kelly updates your security clearance to get you into Administration, and wishes you good luck.
With that clearance you can now go into the Marine Command lobby. Before you do that, go into Combat Prep, gib the Z-Sec inside, punch in 584, and gather muy mucha munición. Then, as you backtrack to where the marine got strangled, you get to shoot out another Z-Sec or two. Turn left and open the door into the Command lobby.
One comes around a corner. The Sec Ops Z-Secs, if you didn't shoot them earlier, ram down the far door blazing away. Down they go. In the alcove next to the door to the kitchen, where you heard the two workers talk, is an unarmed marine zombie. Liquify him. Approach the door, open it, and stand by its side. Three Z-Secs will run to you: Bang, bang, bang! Go into the common room and shoot the flashlight zombie. Then grab some armor and shells. Wait next to the kitchen door for two more Z-Secs to show up. While you wait Sgt. Kelly advises you to take advantage of the sentry bots and their firepower.
If you wish, you can go into the bog. It's nice and dark, with body parts in the bowls. A saccharine voice tells you how much the UAC cares about you. When you approach the mirror you see a sudden fiery vision of you turning into a zombie. After it ends, run to the side of the door: An Imp is coming. Feed it some buckshot. Then walk to the bend in the hall towards Central Access until you hear the radio murmur. Wait for the Z-Sec and shoot it when it comes.
Load up your machine gun. Once you reach Central Access you will be joined by the sentry bot you saw earlier. Follow it through the door to the ACO offices, letting it deal with the Z-Secs along the way and helping it with your machine gun here and there. The two of you will enter Administration Access, where the bot nails the last Z-Sec just inside the door. In the Access lobby are not Z-Secs but Imps: One on the balcony throwing a barrel at you, one in a corner, and one or two coming up from behind. Take out at least the balcony Imp while the bot kills the others. After this the bot will come to rest on a pad next to the Administration elevator.
Sgt. Kelly tells you to hurry up, but you need not rush: You got a lot of stuff to pick up. First, face the balcony and turn right. There is a shaft in the corner. Crawl into it, climb the ladder, walk the shaft and then crawl out. There are healing, armor, shells and — best of all — the PDA of poor Matthew Duncan, whose request for armor and a plasma gun came to naught. His PDA gives you access to his office across from the entrance to the Admin Access area.
After you clean up the Admin Access of ammo, visit Duncan's office and shoot the zombie inside. Then backtrack along the path you took with the bot, picking up ammo along the way. You could go to Mars City Reception, but there's nothing there but a fat zombie (the one the Imp was eating), healing and armor.
When you are done, return to Admin Access, call the lift, and go in. Press the green panel. If you play the paid version, you're off to Administration. In the demo version, everything goes dark and red, and Betruger laughs at you: You've reached the end.
Here is what you can find if you should choose to buy the paid version of Doom 3!
Your ultimate goal for the first half of the game is to send a distress signal to the UAC fleet. That's what Sgt. Kelly wants you to do. However, Kelly is in Delta Labs, the lair of Dr. Betruger and the source of the the demonic invasion. That alone should make you wonder whom Kelly is really fighting for, especially since various units of Bravo Team, whom he's supposed to be helping, are getting picked off right and left.
As you step out of the elevator into Administration, a cutscene begins. You hear Swann talking to Betruger over a videophone. Here is a paraphrase of their conversation.
You can almost imagine hearing in the background the song Sin by the Stone Temple Pilots (Down you go,/Suffer long!/Down you go,/Sin make me strong!
)
You'll see Swann and Campbell every so often as they journey ahead of you to reach Betruger.
The Alpha Labs is seeded with videos about its wondrous products: The Elemental Phase Deconstructor (EPD), the Hydrocon, and the Molecular Fuel Compressor. You will encounter each of these devices, which can kill you if you are not careful around them.
You also find the PDAs of various UAC employees. These give you security clearances and codes to locked cabinets. They also give you a view of a terrible work environment — even without the strange voices and random berzerk behavior from workers and machines alike.
Every so often your sight goes red as demonic power tries to envelop you. Invisible forces throw objects at you from time to time. And you will hear male and female voices, like the one in Mars City Underground, begging for your help. You will even hear a crying baby. These are the voices of past victims of the demons from long ago, and they lend a creepiness to the surroundings.
The Alpha Labs is full of puzzles. One is the Elemental Phase Deconstructor, in which you have to open a maintenance shaft inside the EPD collection chamber while its beam is in its off phase. In another, to clear a room full of toxic gas, you manipulate a crane to pick up leaking toxic waste barrels and drop them into an incinerator — like a UFO catcher. The biggest and nastiest puzzle is in Alpha Labs 4: Sgt. Kelly explains how it works.
Who's your buddy?
Find out with a visit to the Martian Buddy Web site. To the hapless denizens of the Mars facility, the greatest company ever conceived
is the greatest source of all kinds of spam. Some fools actually bought its stuff. But that's good for you when you find a Martian Buddy container in Administration: the code 0508 gets you a chaingun!
Roland the vent shaft worker in Mars City isn't the only survivor of the assault. You will find three scientists in the Alpha Labs who managed to evade being turned into zombies or food.
That was close!. (This gets tiresome really fast.)
In Administration, Alpha Labs and Enpro Plant, you'll be fully occupied with zombies, imps, and these fellows:
Sgt. Kelly warns you about it, but nothing prepares you for this red slimy flowing goo. You first find the Growth in Dr. Betruger's office at Administration, with all the candles and the pentagrams and your first encounter with enemy teleportation.
The Growth itself is harmless to you, but it tends to block hallways, forcing long detours to where its friends await you.
The original pinky demon looked like a minotaur (which is what I myself called it). The new Pinky is a great big pit bull with sharp teeth, horns and a hydralic rear end. It bites! It stomps! It gores! And, with two hits from your shotgun, it goes puff!
Yes, Pinky's a wimp at heart, but don't take it lightly. And be thankful that unlike in the original game (1) they are not as common; and (2) it doesn't have invisible cousins (specters). You meet your first Pinky in a cutscene in Administration.
Two, two, two heads in one! (Sorry: memory of an old breath-mint commercial!) This thingy is very fast, and has razors on its back to add to its claws. Fortunately, it's also very weak: A single shotgun blast kills it. That is a good thing, because they often attack in packs of at least two.
It, too, gets its own introductory cutscene in Alpha Labs 1: You see a hapless disemboweled victim fixed to the ceiling of a Growth-filled room. Its cries are an alarm summoning Maggots to get you.
A spiderish creature that looks like an upside-down skull on six legs. Like a spider it bites, spins webs, rapelles off threads, and wraps prey for later consumption. Unlike a spider it can jump long, dodge gunfire, and travel in packs of at least six. You will first meet Trites on Alpha Labs 2.
If entering a room or hall you see floor vents and hear a lot of ticking, a pack of Trites is on its way. Pull out your machine gun; it's very effective against them. Or, you can save your ammo and run for the nearest exit, as they sometimes won't follow you.
The Trite Mommy. She is your first boss: A nasty psychic spider-babe roosting at Alpha Labs 4, where she guards the entrance to the Enpro Plant. Her abdomen is a big head, from which emanate her psychic powers. She mentally picks up stuff (including spiked cocoons) and throws them at you. She also bites and slashes if you get too close. And let's get this out of the way: She has no nipples.
You've already seen the ghostly skull model: This is the combat version. If you manage to get past Vagary into the Enpro Plant, a helpful sentry bot will guide you (nailing demons along the way) to the office of a weeping Teresa Chazar. Regretably she is beyond help, for out of her head bursts a Lost Soul. These fiery air piranhas tend to patrol reactors.
They look roughly like Imps, walk and climb like them, and are just as easy to kill with a shotgun. But Wraiths are not Imps: They teleport in short jumps to their victims before slashing them with machete-like arms. They first appear in the Enpro Plant.
At the end of the Enpro Plant, you gain an encrypted transmission card, given to you by the lone surviving Bravo Team grunt (whose head then gets whacked off by a Wraith). Swann and Campbell are on their way to Communications. Sgt. Kelly warns you not to trust them. The point when you can send the distress signal is a crisis of trust: Swann or Kelly?
Here's a spoiler: Swann outranks Kelly.
Either way you will still need to journey to Delta Labs to shut down the teleporters and stop Dr. Betruger, who is now more than just nuts — he's a demon with magical powers. You will meet familiar enemies, some in new forms. You will walk through Hell to gain a most important weapon. And you will fight to thwart Betruger and his army of monsters before he can despatch them to Earth.
Enjoy the fight!