Doom 3 Sound Guide

Final Words

The bottom line when it comes to Doom 3 audio is surround sound. In fact, we tested the system with two sets of stereo speakers (one in rear and one in front) and got very playable results after fiddling around with the levels for a while. We feel that Doom 3, in spite of its intense visual experience, is an incomplete game without surround enabled. The enhancements provided by being able to hear where danger is coming from really makes a key difference in playability, usefulness, fun, excitement, and intense terror.

While not necessary as a game play enhancing feature, the use of the center channel does add a nice touch to the overall effect. If a choice must be made between a center channel and a power sub, the choice is hands down the sub. The effects of some of the more intense scenes, hearing generators roar and feeling weapons fire is a very nice touch.

Our recommendation for a full Doom 3 experience is a 5.1 speaker system paired with a sound card that supports the same. For minimum playability, we absolutely recommend at least four speakers set up with a front pair and back pair on a sound card that supports at least 4 channels. Just set the speakers to surround in windows (even though the center channel is lacking) and surround can be enabled in Doom 3. As we've mentioned before, the game is still more than playable on surround without a center channel.

In the end, we may have preferred a personal radar system to locate enemies, as the additional impact of surround sound injected almost too much realism, and intensity, and fear into the game. Often times our expectations for the impact of additional features are a little low, while our hopes are set high. Surround sound under Doom 3 added more than we imagined, and is well worth whatever upgrade is necessary, even if its just a cheap 5.1 add-in card and 2 pair of stereo speakers.