Sure, it had been touted that the game would take to the outdoors this time around but that isn't nearly the extent of it. First of all, everything in the game is 3D now - all the powerups and other little stragglers. But it is the lighting and environmental effects that make Descent 3 one of the most incredible-looking games I've seen in quite some time. Weapon fire glows as it moves around the area, fog and haze look great, and more detail has been given to the enemy robots. Overall, this is one of the best-looking games out there.
Sound effects are also top-notch, and support for environmental audio is the icing on the cake.
The music in the Descent games was always one of the nicer features, and this game is no exception. There's nothing like a good tune playing to keep your pulse rate up while flying though the tunnels blasting away at robots. Even the storyline surprised me in this game. If you remember correctly, the last game left us with a cliffhanger ending, with you and your ship teleported to parts unknown. This game begins with you drifting, powerless, through space.