The Doom name is iconic for gamers. For many of us it was among our first experiences in gaming. The combination of the first person perspective, frightening sound, and hectic gameplay made it an instant part of gaming history. When id announced Doom 3 it is no surprise that fans were both excited and afraid. Would the team that had moved farther and farther away from single-player experiences with every release be able to live up to the nostalgia or would the magic be gone with so many of the original members gone? The game has arrived and it answers those questions emphatically. Doom 3 is not just a visual masterpiece; it is an adrenaline-pumping experience that blends classic gameplay with modern graphics and sound.

Doom 3 is less of a direct sequel than it is a retelling of the original Doom. You start off arriving on Mars as a nameless grunt, there to replace some poor sap who has met an untimely end. Early in you get hints that things are not right on the Mars base -- lights flicker and everyone you talk to seems to be on edge. Once you report for duty you are given a mission to find a missing scientist and along the way the forces of Hell break loose.

The first thing that grabs your attention once you load up the game is the graphics -- specifically the lights and shadows. There are simply no words for how amazing it is to see the way shadows and lights react fairly realistically. The combination of close metallic corridors with deep, threatening shadows and only your flashlight to guide you creates an amazingly tense atmosphere. But shadows and lights are not the only impressive thing visually about Doom 3. All the monsters, most of which are incredible re-imaginings of classic Doom and Doom 2 monsters are brought to life lovingly. Not only are their models fantastic, Doom 3 boasts some of the most frightening and realistic character animation you'll see in any game.

However, the most impressive thing about Doom 3's visuals is that you do not need a top of the line machine to get fantastic results. The Doom 3 engine does a great job of stripping off non-essential things to run on lower-end machines while leaving an incredible amount of life and visual pop in the end result. Doom 3 running at 640x480 on Medium quality still looks better than any PC game on the market. You may also be surprised by the sound quality. Monsters sound impressively nasty, the guns have some oomph, fire crackles, and meat sounds disgustingly meaty. Playing Doom 3 with surround sound adds a whole new layer to the game.

A great engine and impressive visuals are expected from any id game, what really threw gamers for a loop when Doom 3 was announced was the focus on a single player game. The focus paid off. Doom 3 isn't just a pretty toy box, but a coherent experience. When you need to interact with terminals and computers in the world you simply walk up to them, your weapon lowers, and you interact with them in the world instead of being shot off to another screen. You also have a PDA, which is the primary way you find out about what is going on in the Mars base. As you wander around you will find PDAs left behind by others and download their emails, videos, audio logs, and security clearances.

So how does all this combine to create a game? Well, you can expect a lot of ambushes. The game is set up to create a very tense atmosphere of anticipation, and soon in you'll find yourself spinning around to see if something has come up behind you after ever battle. Add in deep shadows and the need to explore using the flashlight and need to switch from the flashlight to the weapon and you have a lot mad scrambles as you try to dodge incoming fire. While most of the monsters do not have complex AI, former marines will crouch and try to dodge your fire. Some of the more mindless demons have been beefed up with new attacks, and just when you think you are safe more will teleport in or pop out from a hidden compartment behind you. In many areas this serves to create the illusion emulating the endless hordes of enemies like those in the original Doom.

Doom 3 is a AAA title, but that should come as a surprise to very few people. What is surprising is that the single player game holds up as well as it does. The multiplayer is simply deathmatch and team deathmatch, but Doom 3 offers a very solid 15-20 hour single player campaign that is one of the best PC gaming experiences going right now. Combining great visuals, old school gameplay, and references back to the previous games, Doom 3 proves itself worthy of the name.