Doom 3 is a classic and its pedigree includes the original, first person shooter that kick-started the entire genre. It places you on Mars as a newly arrived reinforcement for the Marine security detachment. With a simple, tutorial-like start familiarise you with the basics, the game soon dumps you in the thick of it as Hell erupts throughout the Mars base. That's Hell with a capital "H" as literally the demons of the underworld take hold. Armed initially with your trusty pistol, it's you against some of the scariest monsters ever seen on a console.

Don't get us wrong, though - this is not mindless blast-fest; rather, it is a slow, careful crawl through a destroyed base where every darkened corner holds another new horror. Luckily you get to pick up "Mr Shotgun" early on in the piece where you can introduce the devil's minions to a facefull of hurt.

As you progress you pick up ammo (scarce though, as there always only seems to be just enough), med kits, armor power-ups and data discs for your PDA. Your little personal information holder can upload the contents of other hapless Mars human inhabitants' PDAs, and through this information you can unlock doors and supply lockers. To add to the atmosphere you also receive audio uplinks from the units and it is quite eerie to hear their last words and thoughts.

To date, no other console game possesses the level of atmosphere as this game. Everything that made the PC version scary has made its way to the console version with the added twist of a vibration feedback controller. This added depth is really the icing on the cake for this horror odyssey. As you are suddenly whacked from behind, or pounced on from above, the roar and graphic horror seem all the more real when the controller shudders in response.

The console also retains one of the more controversial features from the PC version, where you cannot hold both a torch and a weapon at the same time. Some rooms are dark. Not a quiet, dim gloom but the dark of vivid shadows, sparking electronics and distant voices. Do you risk taking out your torch and quickly pan the corners of the rooms or do you stride forth confident that what you cant see won't hurt you? All the time you lament the lack of duct tape to attach the torch to your gun. Frustrating for some, but for us the need to switch between the two just adds to the scare factor.

The monsters and their respective death sequences are not for those with weak stomachs. A shot with a shotgun can take you on an intimate journey of your enemies' internal organs while the demons first explode in a shower of spine-prevealing gore, to finally burn and crackle as if the very fires of Hell have consumed them. This is not a game to play in front of the children.

The audio in Doom 3 is particularly well done, as it forms the framework for the story. The radio feeds calling out the fate of others, your sergeant urging you forward, or the lonely clang of your footsteps all serve to drag you into the depths of horror. Listen carefully. Is that the footsteps of an oncoming zombie? Was that the rasping breath of a demon above me? Torch or gun? This is about as perfect a meld of audio and graphics and light you will experience in a video game.

What did surprised us, however, was the lack of split screen support. Other FPS games on the console have given players the ability to play head to head on the same console, however in the case of Doom 3 multiplay is reserved for online and networked consoles. This is a shame; like all good horror movies it is an experience best shared, but given the nature of the game and the visual effects it is an understandable compromise.

It was interesting to see how Doom 3 would fare on the Xbox console. Somehow the experience seems all the more rich, or is that scary? Yes, it has a lot of the same faults and foibles as the PC version but hunched over your TV set on a cold, dark Winter's night really seems the way the game was designed to be played. Doom 3 truly a must buy for Xbox owners.