Greg Kasavin Executive Editor

Now Playing: Ragnarok Online (PC), Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 (Arcade), The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay (Xbox), Far Cry (PC)

Top 20 Things to do While Waiting for Doom 3

Last week the first words out of my mouth in this space were "'When it's done' is no longer acceptable as a release date as far as I'm concerned." But then Doom 3 went gold, and now I'm sitting here eating crow.

I just want to play Doom 3. Waiting for that game since it was announced years ago has been something of an emotional roller coaster--like so many other people, I was blown away by the game's first appearance at E3. But then, more recently, my excitement for the game waned somewhat as the "when it's done" release got delayed--and especially when id Software announced that the PC version of the game wouldn't ship with a cooperative multiplayer mode, which was one of my favorite aspects of the previous Doom games. But now that Doom 3's release is imminent, I realize I can't wait to get my hands on the game to see how it finally turned out.

"Can't wait" is just a figure of speech, of course. If you're like me, then you will wait. But let me help make it easier on you--let me present to you now the top 20 things to do while passing the minutes until August 3 (or thereabouts) rolls around.

Dude...if you stand on your head and look at that thing, it's, like, totally crazy.

20. Consider the Upside-Down Spider.
Doom detractors insist that the game's vision of a futuristic, science fiction hell-horror is sophomoric--featuring creatures and environments that might have sprung from the mind of a 15-year-old trying to pass the time in a boring class. That mind...might as well have been mine. You should have seen my high school history notes. They looked like a Doom 3 design document. I swear.

19. Play Far Cry
It has got great graphics, guns, and scary monsters. It's one of the best games so far this year. We'll just have to see how Doom 3 stacks up.

18. Read Masters of Doom
It's about the trials and tribulations of a bunch of very unusual people situated in Texas. How many game developers get a book written about them?

17. Read up About Doom 3
Admit it: You've looked at all the screenshots, but you haven't actually read up on all the gory details. Look, it just wouldn't be right if I didn't plug this site's content as part of the top 20.

16. Play Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay
It has got great graphics, guns, and scary monsters. It's one of the best games so far this year. We'll just have to see how Doom 3 stacks up.

15. Watch Doom 3 Videos
Is Doom 3 actually going to look as good as these videos? Consider the frames per second you'll end up getting on your machine. Maybe if you ran the game in a very, very small window...

Those were the days.

14. Download Doom 95
Play the original all over again, and hope that id Software has learned a great deal between now and then on how to craft a good single-player experience.

13. Check up on John Romero
Sure, he hasn't worked at id in years, but you know that deep in your heart of hearts, you still feel like the spirit of John Romero lives on in id Software's next game. Not that John Romero is dead. But I totally killed him a bunch of times at the end of Doom II.

12. Play Painkiller
It has got great graphics, guns, and scary monsters. It's one of the best games so far this year. We'll just have to see how Doom 3 stacks up.

11. Forget all About Half-Life 2 for a Little While
Gordon who?

10. Set Aside $60
Activision and id Software want you to pay a premium for their new game! Either it's that good or they're some downright greedy bastards! Awesome!

9. Brush up on Your Lovecraft
It's more to do with Quake than Doom, but if you're wondering about the origin of guys like Chthon and Shub Niggurath, then look here.

8. Invest in a new Graphics Card
Too bad GameSpot doesn't have a hardware site to tell you which one to get. For the time being, you could always e-mail James Yu.

7. Go Back Through id Software's .plan Files
For those of you who don't know, .plans are kind of like blogs, but without all the whiny angst.

6. Read the Chainsaws FAQ
Great Moments in Gaming #3: Finding the chainsaw for the first time in the shareware episode of Doom.

5. Consider the Structure of Dante's Inferno
That's some messed up level design. This here's the original road map through hell, though E1M6 makes for a much better deathmatch, that's for sure.

Get a load of that bump-mapping and pixel shading, yo!

4. Follow NASA's Mars Exploration Program
Maybe they'll find a slipgate or a hellhole or something. Sometimes I kind of hope so.

3. Adjust the Gamma Correction on Your Monitor
In Doom 3, for some stupid reason, you won't be able to use a gun and a flashlight at the same time. Adjust your gamma--problem solved.

2. Read the Official Doom / Doom II FAQ
This is perhaps the grandfather of all great FAQs. You know what? It's a great read.

1. Complain on Message Boards
Everybody's doing it.