"A Great Addition to Doom 3, Albeit a Short One..."

It just seems like 8 months ago when I saw on Blue's News that a D3 Expansion was in the works. It was a great idea, and I couldn't wait. But, I knew it was going to be some time, so I returned D3 for a credit for some other games I wanted to play. About one month ago I got D3 back, knowing RoE was due out in early April. And on April 4th, I went to my local EB and picked up my reserved copy of RoE. On April 5th, I had beaten it.

Yes, one day of owning it and I already beat the campaign. I'm not joking.

RoE is a good example of what an Expansion Pack should be. It gives so much more stuff to do, use and fight.

Gameplay - 9/10

The game plays just like the base game. The new weapons are fun to use, the new enemies are challenging to fight, and the new campaign had an interesting story, and there are a lot less "monster closets", meaning pickups are safer to grab. The only problem is that it was TOO DAMN SHORT! I understand it's an expansion, but it would be nice to have it be somewhat longer than it is now, or even as long as the base game. Other than that, the rest is perfect!

Sound - 10/10

Nothing really new in the Sound department, since it's all recycled from the base game, but the one thing that really impresses me sound-wise is the Double Barreled Shotgun. Each shot this thing produces gives out this big, beefy BOOM sound that really appeals to me. Which is why it's my favorite weapon out of all of them.

Graphics - 10/10

Like the base game, still as breathtaking. Even on my crappy Radeon 9200, the game produces great visuals that produce an excellent atmosphere.

Story - 10/10

This isn't as story-intensive as HL2, but the story given here has great potential. The idea of using an evil artifact AGAINST the creators is a cool idea, and it's done well in this game. And the ending gives it that "NOW you've saved the world" feeling that you didn't get in D3. A great story, but it ended too quickly...

Overall, the expansion gets a 9. As I said, almost everything is perfect here, but the only problem is the length. If you're looking for a game that provides you hours of fun, this isn't it. A dedicated gamer will go through it as fast as I did, but if you're looking for more Doom 3, than this won't disappoint.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/06/05