The DOOM 3 BFG Edition throws together a comprehensive package of everything Doom-related into one retail list.
This also includes alot of trophies to go along with it. 66 in all, to be exact, which is one of the largest amount of trophies for a retail game, minus DLC, anybody who has finished this list will have had to unlock in order to achieve a Platinum trophy.
So where do they call come from? You can break this list down into as many as 6 different areas. These include the main DOOM 3 campaign, along with it's 2 expansion packs, Resurrection of Evil and The Lost Mission. The package also includes the original DOOM and DOOM 2 games aswell as an online Multiplayer offering.
The challenge of this list is very evenly spread across all elements of this package, and with 3 full games to beat, this is a challenging road that lies ahead, and one that also comes with it's difficulties along the way.
The "DOOMed Nightmare" trophy, awarded for completing the Doom 3 single player campaign on Nightmare, is the main attraction, taking you through a fully 3D experience. The concept is simple enough, battling through very linear levels and fighting hordes of enemies as you go along completing various objectives in order to reach the next level in what is a very basic "save the world" plot. It has classic FPS game mechanics along the way, such as boss fights and a steady stream of new weapons to discover and play with as you progress. Though not actually the toughest out of the Doom games to finish on the hardest difficulty the game has to offer, that doesn't mean it isn't challenging.
Nightmare difficulty is very aptly named, for a few reasons. Firstly, your health will degenerate gradually down to the point of 25 hit points, then stop, leaving you vulnerable to fairly consistent one-hit deaths. You can still regenerate health at aid stations, but this is somewhat pointless given the fact you'll end up at 25 again within less than a minute. Enemies don't seem to be any more durable, but they'll kill you quickly and force you to restart from your last save point, which happens a lot.
Secondly, on such a subject, you'll have to manually save your game very frequently in order to keep up steady progression through the game on Nightmare difficulty. This is simply down to the first point, and the fact you'll die easily and often ensures you're always conscious to the fact that saving your game will stop you constantly losing progress to cheap deaths, and because the game neglects a checkpoint system, this forces you into making your own decisions on where you choose to start from when you die again.
This is actually a very frustrating experience, compounded by the painfully slow reload times and the tendency for the game to spawn enemies in behind the player at an alarmingly frequent rate, which is a leading causing of player death. It makes the game difficult for all the wrong reasons, and this is a repetitive pattern throughout the other Doom games too. The game itself isn't terribly challenging from a game play perspective. You're generously supplied with ammunition and most enemies can be killed fairly easily, but the amount of times you spend dying and reloading saves is an extremely tedious exercise, and will test your will to stick with the game.
It's also important to note that you will need to beat DOOM 3 on any difficulty first as a prerequisite to being able to play Nightmare difficulty, so 2 play-throughs of around 8-10 hours each is compulsory towards the Platinum trophy.
On the subject of expected completion times, the "Speed Run" trophy, awarded for Completing the DOOM 3 single player campaign in 10 hours or less, should probably be the primary focus on your first play-through of the game, given the fact you'll also need to swipe a bunch of collectibles and also beat the game on Nightmare difficulty, both of which could very easily make you exceed the 10 hour mark.
If you're playing on a low difficulty, this shouldn't be too problematic, but there is alot to cram into 10 hours, so you'll need to move at a good pace, and can ill afford to get stuck at too many points in the game trying to figure out where you need to go next, so a hasty approach is key. You certainly can't afford to try and tandem this with any collectible related trophies, or anything else that may require excess time, so it's definitely something to consider along the way.
Still somewhat with DOOM 3, there are also 2 expansion packs that go along with this which follow the exact same theme. These include The Lost Mission and Resurrection of Evil, both of which clock in at an additional 6-8 hours collectively on top of the main Doom 3 campaign, and, as before, will also need to be completed once on any difficulty level in order to unlock Nightmare difficulty. You'll then also need to beat both expansion packs on Nightmare difficulty to unlock the relevant trophies as previously explained. The same rules apply in terms of approach, though being expansion packs, these are much shorter offerings than the main game, but not to ignore the fact that, by this point, you will have played through these stories 6 times and still barely scratched the surface of the list.
All 3 of the DOOM 3 offerings of this list are big on collectible based trophies too, emphasised by the "DOOMed Collector" trophy, awarded for Collecting every PDA in Doom 3, of which there are 64. These collectible based trophies make up a small handful of the list, and every Doom 3 campaign involves collecting either PDA's, Video Logs and Lockers (or a combination of all 3). These are also all missable, based on the fact you can't return to a previous level once you've committed to advancing onto the next one, so if you misjudge as little as 1 collectible, you'll be starting the entire game again to get the relevant trophy, unless you've managed to keep a prior save. Definitely something else to be careful to watch out for, and another reason not to tandem the collectible based trophies with the Doom 3 speed run you'll need to complete.
There are also a collection of trophies designated to both ports of the original Doom games.
The "DOOM : Rampage" trophy, awarded for completing all DOOM levels on "Ultra-Violence" or higher in single player, requires you to beat the entire game on the second-toughest difficulty level. As with DOOM 3, Nightmare is the hardest difficulty level, so it doesn't actually require that you beat the game on the highest difficulty, but despite this, is actually more challenging than DOOM 3.
The structure of the original DOOM games is somewhat different to that of DOOM 3, comprised of 4 episodes, to which an individual progression based trophy is also awarded for completing each one for the first time, split into a number of levels within each episode. This makes it a longer game than it may initially might seem, and the game mechanics are much simpler than DOOM 3 due to the fact that this is a straight port of the original 90's game.
Ultra-Violence difficulty for DOOM poses the biggest challenge within this entire list, and the latter levels are packed full of enemies which take alot of damage to kill, and ammunition isn't as generously supplied as it is within DOOM 3. Many deaths and trial and error await, and the crippling load times within DOOM 3 also exist here too, meaning you'll spend alot of time waiting to restart from your prior save point death after death. The stingy nature of ammo means you'll also have to find ways to finish levels without being able to kill any remaining enemies, which can also lead to a further frustrating experience.
The only redeeming feature about this portion of the game is the fact you won't need to beat it any more than once because all difficulty levels are accessible from the beginning, unlike the DOOM 3 offerings. Despite this, the original DOOM game is the hardest aspect of this list, and a challenge not to be taken lightly, so be prepared to earn this trophy.
The "DOOM II : Superior Firepower" trophy, awarded for completing all "DOOM II : Hell on Earth" levels on "Ultra-Violence or higher in single player, requires you beat the entire game on it's second-toughest difficulty level.
For the sake of minimal repetition, the exact same challenges from DOOM apply within DOOM II aswell. The game is also structured in the exact same way as DOOM, with a small series of episodes which are further broken down into a variety of progressive levels. You can also choose to only beat this game once, as all difficulty levels are accessible from the start, as per above.
DOOM II was slightly lesser of a challenge than DOOM, despite the games being very similar to one another, but when combined, they actually contribute to a large portion of this game's overall difficulty rating. Where most of the challenges from DOOM 3 come from the annoyance of having to save frequently, and the degenerating health mechanic on Nightmare difficulty, the earlier ports of the first 2 DOOM games provide a more technical challenge, where you have to rely on ammunition management and spacial awareness to complete levels.
There's also a slight tedium factor within both of the original DOOM games. They're incredibly ancient, and it absolutely shows too, with a combination of dated graphics and simplistic gameplay making it tough to get through from start to finish without losing the will to proceed on more than one occasion. That may have just been me, but the nostalgic novelty appeal didn't last very long, and it felt incredibly grindy.
The game also throws in a small handful of Multiplayer trophies, most of which are very menial tasks, or can just be earned through natural play. There's nothing terribly difficult among these, though it is important to note that the Multiplayer for this game has never been graced with a thriving community, so you could face challenges later on in the life cycle of the game.
Overall, this list has a mixture of everything. There's a suitable gaming challenge to be had here, particularly from the original 2 DOOM games, which live up to a tough reputation of being difficulty to beat. There are also some challenging gameplay mechanics to deal with, including no checkpoint system, which will add a large element of save game management, along with the degeneration of health within Nightmare difficulty meaning death aplenty is to be expected. There are also a whole variety of missable trophies for the collectibles in the DOOM 3 story ready to trip you up at the most minor of oversight, and the game even has a small collection of Multiplayer trophies just to further add to the variety of balance on offer.
DOOM 3 and both expansion packs will require you to beat them twice each, and with the solitary playthrough of DOOM and DOOM II further to this, you're looking at a minimum of 8 playthroughs to unlock the Platinum trophy, clocking in at around 50-60 total hours. A strong challenge.
Notable Trophies -
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| DOOMed Nightmare - Complete the DOOM 3 single player campaign on Nightmare. Speed Run - Complete the DOOM 3 single player campaign in 10 hours or less. DOOMed Collector - Collect every PDA in DOOM 3. DOOM : Rampage - Complete all DOOM levels on "Ultra-Violence" or higher in single player. DOOM II : Superior Firepower - Complete all "DOOM II : Hell on Earth"levels on "Ultra-Violence or higher in single player. |
Hardest Trophy -
DOOM : Rampage
Complete all DOOM levels on "Ultra-Violence" or higher in single player.
