The Making of Doom 3: The Official Guide by Steve L. Kent and Steven Kent (2005, Paperback)

Doom 3 is a science fiction horror video game developed by id Software and published by Activision. An example of the first-person shooter genre, Doom 3 was first released for Microsoft Windows on August 3, 2004.[7] The game was later adapted for Linux, as well as being ported by Aspyr Media for Mac OS X. Developer Vicarious Visions ported the game to the Xbox console, releasing it on April 3, 2005. British developers Splash Damage also assisted in design for the multiplayer elements of the game.[1]

The game is a reboot of the Doom franchise, disregarding the storylines of the previous Doom video games. Doom 3 is set in 2145 on Mars, where a military-industrial conglomerate has set up a scientific research facility to develop fields such as teleportation, biological research and advanced weapons design. However, the teleportation experiments inadvertently open a gateway to Hell, resulting in a catastrophic invasion by demons. The player, an anonymous space marine, must fight through the base and find a way to stop demons from Hell attacking Earth.[8] Doom 3 features an award-winning game engine, id Tech 4, which has since been licensed out to other developers.[9]

The game was a critical and commercial success for id Software; with more than 3.5 million copies of the game sold, it is the most successful game by the developer to date.[9][10] Critics praised the game's graphics and presentation,[11] although reviewers were divided by how close the gameplay was to that of the original Doom, focusing primarily on simply fighting through large amounts of enemy characters.[12] The game was followed by Resurrection of Evil, an expansion pack developed by Nerve Software in April 2005, while a Doom film loosely based on the series was released in October 2005. A series of novelizations of Doom 3, written by Matthew J. Costello, debuted in February 2008.[13] The franchise is to continue with Doom 4.