When I first saw previews for Doom 3, I prepared for disappointment. It looked like (and is) everything I hate about a computer game: an over-hyped, graphics card-frying, non-interactive-backgrounded, linear-storied gorefest.

Here’s the thing, though: Playing Doom 3 is a bit like going to Black Angus and ordering the most expensive steak on the menu. You patiently nibble on rolls as you wait, then finally the waiter brings out your plate and you’re like, “I can’t believe I just spent $20 on a friggin’ steak!”

However, when you take your first bite, you quickly realize that you want to savor every morsel, because it really is one damn fine steak.

OK, that’s about enough of the food metaphors, because food is about the last thing you want to think about while playing this game.

If you’ve read other reviews of the game, I know what you’re asking – can a video game really be that scary?

Yes, my friends, it can.

The developers are masters of suspense, throwing in bits of humor to keep you off balance and saturating the first level with foreshadowing that still doesn’t prepare you once the first wave of demons strikes.

You’re a marine recently assigned to a Mars-based space station where half the crew is already going crazy and the other half aren’t making things any better. It seems that this colony is doing lots of beneficial research to improve mankind – mostly by “terraforming” Mars for colonists – but there’s this one wing of the station where ultra-classified experiments are draining power from the rest of the station on a daily basis. So, you see, the lights could go out at any time, plus the fact that there’s no oxygen outside, means that the setting alone is a bit spooky.

Then, as you start to learn through your exploration, it turns out that some of the guys in charge were mixing in a bit of the occult, just to make the experiments more fun.

Of course, just as you’re finally starting to settle in, a huge shockwave hits the place, and zombies start taking over, cutting you off from the rest of the marines and trying desperately to eat your brains.

Although most of the environment isn’t really “interactive” – i.e. monitors don’t blow up even if you pump a few armor-piercing rounds into them – something’s always going on in the background. Steam hisses from vents, sparks fly randomly from damaged conduits, and eerie moaning comes from the heavy machinery.

All of this, of course, takes your nerves to their limits as you’re never sure whether the noise you’re hearing is some demon about to jump out at you, or just a really bad maintenance problem.

The entire game is very organic; nothing ever breaks the suspension of disbelief.

For example: In one part of the game you’re going down a lift between floors, and you suddenly notice that one of the demons is following you down – jumping along the walls of the shaft in Gollum-esque fashion, finally leaping right at you as the lift reaches the ground.

Unlike the standard shooter fair, where every enemy soldier is a carbon copy, the individual creatures often react in different ways. For example, one of the fireball-shooting imps, seeing me take close aim with my shotgun, suddenly leapt across the room at me with its claws instead. And the zombies – each one a former company employee – have enough variation to make the whole thing very believable.

Doom is the game that first elevated the first person shooter game to ranks of American do-gooder’s most-hated list, and this sequel gives them plenty to fear.

I did mention the occult theme building up in the game, right? Let me just say that if you’re a little squeamish about “accidentally” running over pedestrians in Grand Theft Auto, you should probably avoid Doom 3 altogether. The grisly blood splatters, including some art deco body-hangings with guts splayed open for all to see, are not for the faint-hearted.

Of course, it’s all just designed to psyche you out… like when you see some bodies wrapped up in spider webs along the ceiling, you just know there’s a spider lurking nearby. Of course, Doom 3 doesn’t make it that predictable – the spiders don’t jump out until several minutes later.

Then there’s the piles of power-ups sitting in the middle of a room, just screaming “Trap!” Half the time you’re right, then the other half you’re shooting at shadows for no apparent reason just because you “thought” you saw something moving.

I can’t over-emphasize the terror factor in this game. Shut off the lights, turn on the surround sound and you will soon find yourself in full spook mode, moving forward about a foot at a time to make sure you’ve got every corner of the room covered.

Then they still somehow surprise you.

Another example – a demon dog is pounding away at the door to an office. Thinking myself clever, I readied some grenades to toss its way once it broke through.

The mutt figured it would just be better to jump through the side window instead, and I found myself utterly unprepared.

Now, the game does come with a side serving of salad, complete with unlimited trips to the salad bar. However, there’s only ranch and Thousand Island dressing, without French or honey mustard anywhere in sight.

The original Doom brought multiplayer death match to the masses, but it will be interesting to see whether Doom 3 multiplayer can really compete with such worthy opponents as the Battlefield series.

Overall, though, the game might be worth the price (not counting any money you might spend upgrading your system, of course) just to see what a really good steak tastes like.