"Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil, the next possible Game of the Year?"

8/4/04 marked milestone for gaming worldwide. The release of Doom 3 made many gamers happy, with its beautiful graphics, amazing scenery, and the horror that came along with it. Well, take all these descriptions, times them by 3, and add a few new elements. What do you get as a product? Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil.

I had the opportunity to pick this game up early before the scheduled release date. Some stores did start to sell them early, while others decided to remain truthful to the release date of 4/4/05. I bought it in a heartbeat when I seen it. As soon as I got done playing 3 hours of gameplay, I just had to write a review for this wonderful game.

Overview:

It has been almost 2 years since the mysterious incident shut down the UAC base on Mars. Several months ago, one of the UAC satellites still monitoring the red planet detected a beacon originating from Site 1. This early research facility was long forgotten, even before the invasion. Now, you're a Marine combat engineer, part of the massive research and security team lead by Dr. Elizabeth McNeil. Your team is being sent back to Mars in an attempt to find and investigate the source of this strange signal. What you'll find, nobody knows, but hopefully it will offer new insight into the ancient civilization that once inhabited Mars.

As your transport nears the surface, you cannot help but wonder what type of "accident" could have killed so many years ago... and could it happen again?

Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil plays much like Doom 3, but there a few elements which makes this a great sequel, besides the story you read above. Let's move on.

Gameplay: 10/10

What made Doom 3 a big success? Everything. Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil takes every single element from Doom 3, improves them in so many ways possible, and in the same time, adds newer elements to gameplay.

One of the biggest improvements to gameplay is the weapons. As in every expansion pack of any game, you receive new weapons, and this game is no exception. Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil gives you 3 new weapons: The Ionized Plasma Levitator (also known as The Grabber), the Double Barreled Shotgun, and The Artifact. The Ionized Plasma Levitator lets you control gravity. With this weapon, you can pick things up and hurl them across the room. You can even toss monsters' projectiles back at them!

Doom 3 has a big disappointment in weaponry because of one thing, they forgot the Super Shotgun from Doom II: Hell on Earth. For those who miss the Super Shotgun, it's back in the expansion for Doom 3, and it packs one hell of a punch as it always did.

Another newer weapon, The Artifact, also makes an appearance. With The Artifact, you can do all sorts of things, such as control time, and other awesome stuff. I will leave it up to you to figure out what the others are, but you will have to defeat three tough bosses in order to harness The Artifact's power.

What would a Doom game be like if the game's major element was left out? As with Doom 3, all of your favorite monsters return to make an appearance, from the Zombies, to the massive behemoths known as Hell Knights. There are also a few monsters also, such as The Bruiser, who has the strength of a Hell Knight and the attacks of a Mancubus, and the Vulgar, who's basically an upgraded version of the Imp, but throws green fireballs and is more aggressive. How many more new monsters can you find?

Most people complained about the darkness in Doom 3, but Resurrection of Evil lightens up on the darkness scale. You still have to switch between your Flashlight and your weapons, but not as much.

Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil remains faithful to its survival horror game. For one thing, it's dark in some places. As you explore the dark halls with barely any lighting, being on your toes for the occasional spawning monster, sometimes you will run into a half eaten corpse hanging from the ceiling, maybe muttering the occasional words, "Help me!". This definetely sends a shiver down your spine, but it only gets better. Wait until you see the true horror.

...But what do I mean about true horror?

I can give you one example, but no more....

...Nah, I better not spoil it for you, but let's just say this: It involves a Hell Knight and a defenseless human, both on a very small ledge. Maybe you can figure it out from here.

How many people have played 'Nightmare' difficulty on Doom 3 and said it was extremely hard, maybe having to quick-save after every 3 monsters or so? Well, in Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil, it only gets harder. There will be times where you will face not 1, not 2, not 3, but maybe 4 (!) monsters in one room at the same time. Once you kill one, another respawns until the flood actually stops. You think that's enough for the rest of the level, but you won't be safe in the next room either...

Items make a return in the game as well. There are new items aboard in your second adventure through the depths of Mars. for example, there is now a helmet with a light on the top of it. This lets you have a constant Flashlight on, but at the same time, have a weapon out as well.

Cutscenes are back in action, and better than ever. Some will provide many thrills, practically wowing you, while the others will scare the living hell out of you.

Like what you read so far? Well, I only scratched the surface of Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil's gameplay.

Graphics: 10/10

In the way of graphics, everything in this game seems to come to life, making you feel like you're actually in the abandoned UAC compound itself. Monsters are heavily detailed when you set the settings very high. The weapons look real, with most looking like counterparts from real life. Hallways, even though some are dark, look excellent with detail and smoothness. Broken lights from the ceiling flicker and release sparks, blood is smeared all over the floor and wall, looking very realistic, and so much more.

To sum it up here, if you want to experience the graphics on Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil the best, get a high-end video card. Don't worry for you users with a not-so-hot video card: The graphics still look awesome with everything turned off.

Sounds: 10/10

Although there are very few instances of music being in the game, the sounds of the game more than makes up for it.

Everything in this game has a distinct sound, from the inanimate objects, to weapons, and to monsters as well. The weapon sounds are amazing in every case. The sound a Double Barrel Shotgun reloading is loved by all. Whoever doesn't agree with me should have their head examined.

The mouth to sound synch for monsters and humans is one of the best I've ever seen in a game. It sounds even better if you have a top-of-the-line video card.

Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil makes good use of the horror by using sounds. One minute you're walking down a hall with nothing seeming to happen, the next minute, BOOM! A grate from the vents on the ceiling comes crashing down, nearly scaring you half to death. On top of that, a Vulgar comes down and tears you apart while you're in your seat in front of the PC screen, practically trying to get your breath back.

Play Time/Replayability: 10/10

I haven't played through the game all the way, but judging on how it is, I say the gameplay of Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil is roughly 1/3 shorter of that in Doom 3. This game varies in the amount of time played. If you like to sit back, enjoy the beautiful scenery, and play through the game slowly, this can soak up to about 20-30 hours of your time. If you're one of those players who plays through the game at a moderate pace, this game will take about 10 hours of your time. It strongly depends on your playing style for Play Time.

When you finally beat Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil, you can do one of 2 things: First, you can go to a higher difficulty setting. Once you beat the game, 'Nightmare' difficulty gets unlocked. Try your hand at that difficulty setting. I guarantee it'll take a lot longer for you to beat the game than if you were on an easier difficulty setting. Secondly, you can download a mod. There's plenty of good ones out there. Find one in which you think is good.

Rent or Buy?

Remember that one Simpson's episode where homer became a Used Car salesman and he looked at that 1960s(?) Ambulance? In Homer's head, it kept saying, "Buy me! Buy me! Buy me!" Well, this is the same thing. When you see this game on the shelves, it will do the same thing. Well, maybe not, but regardless, buy this sequel to Doom 3. It only costs $34.99, and it's well worth it.

Final Score: 10/10

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/04/05