Reviewed: October 14, 2005
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Activision
Developer
id Software
Nerve Software
Released: October 6, 2005
Genre: FPS
Players: 1
ESRB: Mature
8
10
10
8
8.8
Supported Features:
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Mars, id Software unleashes a new evil upon the planet in Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil. What was an expansion on the PC is now a standalone release on the Xbox, which hopefully might pique the interest of gamers who never even played the original Doom 3.
Co-developed by Nerve Software, Resurrection of Evil continues the terrifying chain of events that unfolded when UAC teleportation experiments opened a portal to hell and…well, we all know what happened.
Resurrection of Evil picks up two years following the events of the original game in a once forgotten and remote UAC research facility on Mars. You once again don the suit of a space marine and unwittingly release more powers of hell when you take possession of a mysterious “artifact”. Then just sit back for the wildest and most evil rollercoaster ride of your life as you try to vanquish the forces of hell. Only this time, you have a few new tricks up your sleeve.
Normally, expansion packs offer a few new levels, a modest story, and a few gimmicks to lure you back to the franchise but Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil is practically a complete game on its own merit. It might be half the size of the original, but what it lacks in quantity it more than makes up for in quality.
Even though Resurrection of Evil is standalone on the Xbox it is still based on the PC expansion pack, so it is about half the size of the original game. The level design is much more expansive than the first so you aren’t crawling through tight and twisting corridors the entire game. You will often find yourself in mammoth caverns and large open areas, and yes, there are even a few brief excursions outside so bring a few extra canisters of O2.
Resurrection of Evil adds a gravity gun, or “grabber” that we can use to grab and fling objects around. While this is a useful tool in clearing congested passages, tossing a crate, or grabbing a med kit or ammo pack from an otherwise unobtainable location, the designers have gone one step further to turn this tool into a weapon.
When used at long range you can actually “intercept” incoming fireballs and fling them right back at the demon that shot it. Ah yes, sweet revenge. And if those flying flaming skulls are taking too many shotgun blasts to kill, just suck them up with the grabber and smash them into the nearest wall. Mastering the grabber is essential for puzzles as well as an early boss battle.
The grabber is perhaps one of the biggest improvements in the overall gameplay of the expansion, at least when it was on the PC. Unfortunately, the quirky Xbox controls make using the grabber painfully awkward. Flinging around boxes is a snap but trying to lock onto a moving incoming fireball and it’s more luck than skill. And don’t even get me started on flinging it back with any precision.
The rest of the controls are solid and precise. You have hotkeys to bring up your PDA and pistol, which now comes with a mounted flashlight. The D-Pad gives you access to your four favorite weapons that you can assign in the options. The right trigger fires the selected weapon while the left trigger activates a sprint mode. This can also be used to quicken your turn rate.
Weapons are still pretty much standard issue with the addition of the double barrel shotgun. The devastating twin-barrels of death are back and have never been better or more satisfying. New demons that would take two or three normal shotgun blasts disintegrate with one close-range blast from the “Sarge”.
Of course the biggest gameplay feature has to be the Artifact; you remember that beating heart that you ripped from its shrine and unleashed the forces of hell in the opening movie. Well now you carry this grotesque organ around and when properly charged will allow you to invoke special powers that open up an entire new realm of gameplay.
The Artifact can be infused with three abilities, each earned when you defeat one of the main bosses in the game. “Hell Time” (or “bullet time”) slows down everyone and everything but yourself, allowing you to dodge traps, cover great distances in a short time, not to mention giving you a huge advantage in combat, especially when you are outnumbered. “Berserker” is pretty much what the name implies. You go into a rage mode and do extra damage, and “Invulnerability” is the third and final power and basically gives you a short burst of “god mode”.
Obtaining these abilities is one thing but you must also keep the artifact powered up. The heart can hold up to three charges and is powered by the souls of any glowing corpse you happen to find lying around. Just equip the artifact and stand near the fallen body and watch it dissolve in a very cool Blade effect.
Nerve is also bringing some new denizens of hell to the table with no less than three new hideously deformed demons. The Vulgar, the Bruiser, and the Forgotten are all added to the existing roster of monsters you will be slaying in this expansion, and each creature is just as evil and formidable as their names might imply.
Resurrection of Evil is even more polished than it’s predecessor, if that is even possible. The game engine hasn’t changed but the textures are much more intricate, the new demons are really creepy and now warp in with blue lightning as well as the original orange. The environments are still overly dark but there seems to be more natural light sources so it’s not as bad as before. And you still have your trusty flashlight if things get too dark.
The new weapons are very cool, especially the grabber that has a working monitor on the weapon that shows it locking on target. The targeting cursor also changes to indicate items you can actually grab onto. The artifact is just plain creepy not to mention what it does to your hands while you hold it.
Much like the visuals, sound and music combine to enhance the already oppressive atmosphere of Doom 3. Music is minimal and used only as need to enhance a cutscene or scripted event. Environmental sounds, creaking metal, hissing pipes, whirring computers, are all industrial instruments in a mechanical orchestra that creates a natural soundtrack that inspires real fear. The rest of the audio presentation is left for chilling sound effects, demonic screams, screeches, howls, and incessant gunfire.
Speech is perfect, both in quality and content with a whole new set of characters. All of the interactions with NPC’s are spoken, and there are also numerous voice logs that you can play back for story elements and critical access codes. There are more of those video discs you can watch throughout the complex and eventually download to your PDA.
The entire sound package is available in Dolby Digital surround for a chilling experience that will have you checking behind your couch for a zombie. And don’t even get me started on the low-frequency effects that thump my sub with each beat of the freaky artifact.
Resurrection of Evil was short on the PC but it was an expansion and therefore granted some slack. The 8-12 hours it will take you to finish this game might be a bit too short for a $30 retail release, but we cannot overlook the multiplayer aspect.
A rich multiplayer component is guaranteed to keep you on Mars long after you have beat back the hounds of hell. With support for both team and versus modes including Deathmatch, Tournament, Team DM, and Last Man Standing there is certainly something here for everyone.
As another sweet bonus the game also takes you back to 1993 with three classic Doom games, all in their original pixilated glory. Ultimate Doom, Doom II and Doom II Master Levels are guaranteed to deliver as much FPS action as the core game. And if that weren’t enough you can now play these classics in cooperative multiplayer, or in deathmatch modes.
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil doesn’t fare as well on the Xbox as it did on the PC. The grabber is awkward and imprecise, which wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t required for some battles. The 16-person multiplayer of the PC is now limited to four and the entire multiplayer package just isn’t as robust as the PC.
But then again, if you don’t have an expensive PC then the Xbox version is still a worthy addition to the Doom legacy. Only hardcore fans will want to shell out the $30, especially if you are interested in those retro games. Everyone else should probably wait a month or two for this game to hit the $20 bargain bin.