Sometimes you have to go through a few reviews of a game that you've played to try to find something that puts your feelings into words. It took a while but this one seemed to hit it right on the head:
[...] Its scary. If you have heart conditions, do not play this game. Buy it, but don't play it. I have never been more scared in my life. When I first ran into the main baddies in Halo I was scared for a little bit, but eventually I just ripped into them. In Doom3, from start to finish I am one scary creature away from pissing my pants.That pretty much says it all. Well, almost all. Can you tell I've been playing a lot of this game lately? :)[...]
The sound is also top notch. In stereo I still could tell there was a creepy undead marine behind me. If you have a 5.1 setup, prepare for an aural orgasm.
[...]
... not once in Doom3 was I sad that I would have to go into another room, scream like a little girl, run back out, collect myself, and then go forward.
After playing it for a bit.... I have to say that the scares are pretty campy. They use "monster closets" after all.
I think they've done a great job setting the mood, and doing things with shadows, etc... but I have to agree with one reviewer (can't find the link ATM) that the the story is kind of crappy.
And I'm already annoyed with the having to listen through an entire 'audio log' to get a 3 digit code. :P
"story"? Dude, it's doom! You're the last marine fighting baddies, how much story is there? :) You find keys, open doors, kill mod badies, etc. Ya, the scares are 'monster jumps out from dark' but it still gets me :) But like I said, I'm a wimp.