Ka-Doom!

"Immersive" is probably the most overused word in videogame criticism. The dirty little secret is: it's not even a word. (Try looking it up on Merriam-Webster Online if you don't believe me.) To refer to a game as something that provides an "immersive experience" is simply a stupid/clever way to talk about any piece of successful entertainment. Any time a player/viewer/listener forgets that he/she is playing/watching/listening, an "immersive experiece" is happening. It's called getting totally absorbed in the moment, in the pleasure of being entertained.





Which brings me to Doom 3. I picked it up for my trusty Xbox console yesterday. Holy crapinoli. The PC gamers were psyched about this title, and I can see why. Fine, it doesn't revolutionize the FPS genre in any way -- but damn, does it look good. And it's really scary. I read a review that described it as the videogame equivalent of the amusement park funhouse. Sure, the scares are cheap, but when they come this often and provide this many thrills, do I really care?

When the game came out, a lot of people complained that you couldn't hold your gun and flashlight at the same time. In fact, plenty of goofy "flashlight mods" were released, including a Hello Kitty version. My response is, the fact that you can't hold both is half the fun. Entering a dark room, hearing something snarl and slither across the floor, and you have a split second to decide if you want to shoot blindly or pull out your flashlight to catch a glimpse of Hell incarnate before it eats your throat out? Now that's immersive.