All of the robots are constructed of polygons, not flat bitmaps like DOOM's monsters. Descent also employs light source shading, so you can watch a dark corridor light up as your flare travels it. Other than that, however, the graphics are more or less standard. The sound effects are quite extensive. If you shoot a monitor, for instance, they'll shatter and you'll hear glass break and circuits sizzle.
Nothing is spectacular about the individual sounds, however, or the fairly bland musical track.
The first step toward making Descent enjoyable is making the animation and sound effects run smoothly. Otherwise, you won't have any fun trying to shoot down robots that are skipping around the room in choppy, delayed motion. For the best results, get a Pentium. The focus of Descent is definitely trashing the enemy robots. It is not easy, and the combat is much tougher than DOOM's.