If you choose to give Doom 3 a go, you should be able to get plenty of game time out of it. Even though I could only tolerate an hour or two of play at any one time, I had probably about eight or nine hours into it before I quit. All told, I would imagine the entire game would take up about fifteen to twenty hours of play, depending on whether or not you use cheats and how fast you go through the UAC complex.

There are dozens and dozens of player created walkthroughs and strategy guides available to help you with any stumbling blocks. My favorite was the Visual Walkthrough, made with screenshots taken throughout play. I enjoyed going back through the walkthrough after completing a section to see what I missed. And unlike Men of Valor, you can save Doom 3 at any time, with autosaves thrown in for good measure.

If your idea of a great game is skulking from room to room in the dark, waiting for the same old monster to jump out at you, then Doom 3 is your Cibola. If on the other hand, you like a variety of settings and opponents, steer clear of Doom 3 and save your money for something better, maybe the game that will actually justify that system upgrade.

For it's horrible game environment, repetitive gameplay, and uninspiring storyline, I give Doom 3 a rating of 3 out of 5. I was really tempted to give this game a 2, but for some reason just couldn't bring myself to do it, although I don't know why. I guess it's because with the player-created mods, Doom 3 is playable, if not boring and repetitive.

OUR RATING: 3 of 5

James Booth is the Senior Editor for ZATZ Publishing. In addition to writing for Computing Unplugged and Connected Photographer, he's the author of Do-It-Yourself Wedding Photography. A self-taught photographer, James also dabbles in digital graphics and has learned to be a PC and Palm specialist through personal trial and error. James can be reached at jbooth@zatz.com.