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October 19, 2005 | 9:38 PM PST
by: Kevin McGilligan
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil is not a new Doom game per se; instead it's really just an expansion of Doom 3, which was released on the Xbox several months ago. It adds new levels, weapons, enemies and a new storyline.
The game takes place on Mars where a portal from hell has opened up and all the demons are popping up on the planet. This is the result of a team that was sent to find a signal that was coming from the planet and instead found an artifact that opens this portal. Your job is to find information to understand this artifact and close the portal.
The storyline is similar to the other Doom titles, in that you are a marine and are given orders, and you follow the orders. Your orders are mostly going to be shoot and kill. There are power cells throughout the game that you will have to activate to accomplish different goals. Enemies will still somehow appear in areas that you have already passed. This can both be good and annoying at the same time. Good in that it can surprise you, and annoying because it keeps happening.
One of the differences between Doom 3 and RoE is the flashlight. In Doom 3, you couldn't use the flashlight and another weapon at the same time, so you'd be searching with your flashlight, see something and have to switch to a weapon to shoot it. In RoE, they have included the flashlight on the pistol. While this is somewhat of an improvement, the pistol is so weak that you will still switch to another weapon as soon as you see something. The other weapons in the game are the same as the previous, with the exception of the grabber and a double barreled shotgun. The grabber has the ability to move items as well as reflect enemy fire back to them, which is very cool because it requires no ammo. However, in most cases it would be faster and more efficient to just shoot the enemy instead of trying to fling something at them, or line up to reflect a fireball.
The double barreled shotgun is a very nice addition to the game and proves to be one of the strongest weapons in the game. You will also have use of the artifact itself as a weapon. The artifact has multiple uses. The first that you will get to try is called "Hell Time." (Think bullet time from "The Matrix," where everything moves in slow motion.) The artifact takes charges. In order to charge it, you will need corpses. Point the artifact at a corpse on the ground and it will charge up. The charge doesn’t stay though, so you’ll have to keep finding dead bodies lying around to charge it. This can be somewhat of a hint, when you see corpses on the ground, chances are you are going to need to pull out the artifact. Later, you can upgrade the Artifact to use Hell Time and Berserk Mode, which if you remember from previous Doom games, is basically one punch kills. Combine that with slow motion and you are practically invulnerable. Ironically, the last upgrade to the Artifact adds invulnerability.
Graphically, the game is just as amazing as Doom 3. Slight differences in the lighting and the shadows still create an eerie affect but there doesn’t appear to be as many pitch black areas. I did notice it getting a little choppy when there was a lot going on, but it wasn't anything major. The sound is also just as creepy as in Doom 3. You still get the same sounds in the game to set the mood, and great sound effects. Since this is really just an expansion of Doom 3, graphics, sound and the controls are the same as the previous Xbox version.
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil is available for play over Xbox Live and system link. However, you can play only a few of the popular versions of the multiplayer first person shooters, different versions of deathmatch and a tournament mode. Another let down is that the max number of players is four. Doom 3 included a co-op mode that RoE is also lacking.
Probably the best features of the game are the classic Doom games that are playable right from the start. Included are Doom, Ultimate Doom and Doom II Master Levels. All can be played cooperatively, deathmatch, and single player.
RoE seems short, but as I have mentioned earlier, this was really just the expansion that was released for the PC version, and since it’s hard to release just an expansion for a console game, a new game was made. It seems a little rushed and the multiplayer is really lacking a lot. The classic Doom games almost compensated for these flaws and if they weren’t included in the previously released Doom 3 Collector’s Edition, I would buy this game just to have those. Since the game is so short and there really isn’t a lot of replay value, I would save your money and just rent the game. However, if you are a huge Doom fan, or you have trees of money in your backyard, feel free to pick up this game for a measly $30.
The game takes place on Mars where a portal from hell has opened up and all the demons are popping up on the planet. This is the result of a team that was sent to find a signal that was coming from the planet and instead found an artifact that opens this portal. Your job is to find information to understand this artifact and close the portal.
The storyline is similar to the other Doom titles, in that you are a marine and are given orders, and you follow the orders. Your orders are mostly going to be shoot and kill. There are power cells throughout the game that you will have to activate to accomplish different goals. Enemies will still somehow appear in areas that you have already passed. This can both be good and annoying at the same time. Good in that it can surprise you, and annoying because it keeps happening.
One of the differences between Doom 3 and RoE is the flashlight. In Doom 3, you couldn't use the flashlight and another weapon at the same time, so you'd be searching with your flashlight, see something and have to switch to a weapon to shoot it. In RoE, they have included the flashlight on the pistol. While this is somewhat of an improvement, the pistol is so weak that you will still switch to another weapon as soon as you see something. The other weapons in the game are the same as the previous, with the exception of the grabber and a double barreled shotgun. The grabber has the ability to move items as well as reflect enemy fire back to them, which is very cool because it requires no ammo. However, in most cases it would be faster and more efficient to just shoot the enemy instead of trying to fling something at them, or line up to reflect a fireball.
The double barreled shotgun is a very nice addition to the game and proves to be one of the strongest weapons in the game. You will also have use of the artifact itself as a weapon. The artifact has multiple uses. The first that you will get to try is called "Hell Time." (Think bullet time from "The Matrix," where everything moves in slow motion.) The artifact takes charges. In order to charge it, you will need corpses. Point the artifact at a corpse on the ground and it will charge up. The charge doesn’t stay though, so you’ll have to keep finding dead bodies lying around to charge it. This can be somewhat of a hint, when you see corpses on the ground, chances are you are going to need to pull out the artifact. Later, you can upgrade the Artifact to use Hell Time and Berserk Mode, which if you remember from previous Doom games, is basically one punch kills. Combine that with slow motion and you are practically invulnerable. Ironically, the last upgrade to the Artifact adds invulnerability.
Graphically, the game is just as amazing as Doom 3. Slight differences in the lighting and the shadows still create an eerie affect but there doesn’t appear to be as many pitch black areas. I did notice it getting a little choppy when there was a lot going on, but it wasn't anything major. The sound is also just as creepy as in Doom 3. You still get the same sounds in the game to set the mood, and great sound effects. Since this is really just an expansion of Doom 3, graphics, sound and the controls are the same as the previous Xbox version.
Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil is available for play over Xbox Live and system link. However, you can play only a few of the popular versions of the multiplayer first person shooters, different versions of deathmatch and a tournament mode. Another let down is that the max number of players is four. Doom 3 included a co-op mode that RoE is also lacking.
Probably the best features of the game are the classic Doom games that are playable right from the start. Included are Doom, Ultimate Doom and Doom II Master Levels. All can be played cooperatively, deathmatch, and single player.
RoE seems short, but as I have mentioned earlier, this was really just the expansion that was released for the PC version, and since it’s hard to release just an expansion for a console game, a new game was made. It seems a little rushed and the multiplayer is really lacking a lot. The classic Doom games almost compensated for these flaws and if they weren’t included in the previously released Doom 3 Collector’s Edition, I would buy this game just to have those. Since the game is so short and there really isn’t a lot of replay value, I would save your money and just rent the game. However, if you are a huge Doom fan, or you have trees of money in your backyard, feel free to pick up this game for a measly $30.
November 20, 2009
