Doom 3 (Xbox 360) – Is It Still Good?

Let’s not pretend that Doom 3 doesn’t come with a reputation. For years it’s had the stigma of being the ‘bad’ Doom game; a failure compared to its ground breaking brothers.

In some ways this seems unfair. Doom 3 frequently gets called a terrible game which it isn’t. It also feels unfair to constantly compare it to Doom 1 and 2, games that built the foundations on which every FPS released since has stood.

However it’s also impossible to pretend that Doom 3 exists outside of that context, not just because it’s an official Doom game but because looking back, Doom 3 does have some serious problems.

Apex Legends, and why everyone should just shut up and get it pinged.

Here’s a little known fact about me. I really don’t like talking on the phone.

For a start, I don’t like it when people randomly phone me just to catch up, and it’s not that I don’t appreciate the gesture. I honestly do.

I appreciate that someone enjoys my company and cares enough about my welfare to check in on me. The trouble is, chances are I was right in the middle of something.

Satire’s kitchen

Last night was pretty chilled out.

For the first time in what seems like weeks, my girlfriend and I settled down on the couch for the evening with no other obligations or distractions.

We cuddled up, binge watching Brooklyn 99 and eating beef and rice from bowls, before my other half combined Nutella and tortilla wraps into something that can only be described as a ‘hazelnut blunt’. It was glorious.

As 9.00pm rolled around, we finished our unconventional desserts, and settled down to watch ‘Electionwipe’, starring Charlie Brooker as the nation’s hole picker and snark deliverer in chief.

The clock hits 9.00pm, and the continuity announcer declares that Mr Brooker, or Big Charlie as Lindsay and I refer to him, is here to put the satire back in the election.

Blinking into the light of a new day

No one likes you when you’re twenty three

I am not even twenty three any more. I am thirty years old.

My current interests include couches, watching Community on Netflix, and feeling broody while browsing Buzzfeed animals. I have a mortgage, and the faintest scratchings of what people might describe as a career.

I am also in a strange state of arrested development. I spend my free time teaching karate, training to be a pro wrestler, and making YouTube videos about video games. Not the kind of pursuits associated with responsible adults.

Awards, yes. Ceremony, no.

Here’s something I wrote back in February of 2014, that I criminally forgot to publish here. It’s had some light redrafting, but nothing that changes the intent or meaning of the original piece.

It was meant to be a roundup of the 2014 DICE awards for use on the Geek and Sundry website.

Somehow, it never made it there. Can’t imagine why.

My current relationship with gaming

Confessions

I have a confession to make. I feel like I’m not as into video games as I used to be.

… except that I think I am.

In fact, I feel like I’m more into games than ever before.

… except that I think I’m not.

It’s complicated.

Gift buying guide for the gamer in your life

While people may associate Christmas with friends, family, and good cheer, for me Christmas has always been about the video games. As a child I tended to only get new games as Christmas or birthday gifts, so twice a year I would be twitching with excitement at the thought of receiving Golden Axe, ESWAT, or Sonic the Hedgehog.

This may seem strange some of you reading now, but it’s important to remember that as a child I had no independent income. This is due to the fact that I spent a large portion of my childhood in a part of Scotland called ‘Fife’, where the local currency is passive aggressiveness. As a native Glasweigian, I tend to be more aggressive than anything else.

I can’t afford to buy one of those bastards in here – Aliens: Colonial Marines

‘These people are dead Burke! Have you any idea what you’ve done here?’

Aliens: Colonial Marines.

For some people, these words will provoke some kind of emotional response. Until about 11.59 am on 12 February, mine was excitement. I was honestly breathless in my anticipation.

Now? Looking back, I’m fairly sure I’ve gone through the seven stages of grief over the past few weeks.