Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil PC Review

It's two years after the incidents in the original Doom 3, and after the UAC cover up the leak of hell into reality as a mere industrial disaster, all goes back to normal on Mars. That is until the UAC discover an odd signal transmitting from a surveyed burial site. You and a team are sent to check it out and discover an artifact - the trigger for the reopening of hell on Mars. The artifact is what they come for, but as long as you have possession of its awesome powers, you and your weapons have a say in the matter. Welcome to Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil.

Once again RoE puts the main focus in the single player mode of play, however unlike Doom3, it doesn't spend much time setting the storyline - there is a brief opening sequence and that's basically it. It's a no-nonsense approach that suits the game well; it doesn't try to portray itself as a game that it isn't, that of course being a game with a overly compelling storyline - the premise right from the start is action, action and more action.

Not long into the game you will realise repetition is a prime concern - no matter what it is that you're tasked to do, it seems to always be the same - go here, activate this, go there, de-activate that etc. It isn't even vital you know what it is you're actually doing, just follow the trail of enemies and click whatever the game wants you to click where necessary. On top of this, the enemies themselves are very repetitive, you will generally see a lot of almost every enemy and it gets to the point where you develop a strategy for each type of opponent, which you continuously execute without much thought or effort. That's not to say the game is easy, because it is actually very challenging and will give even seasoned veterans a run for their money, but it's hard to always keep on your toes and really concentrate when throughout any given session (say, completing 1 or 2 levels), you'll probably shoot a few hundred baddies spanning 3 species. While the game does have a few surprises here and there, there is still ample room for a little more "random" gameplay with the way enemies are presented.

The only seemingly fresh additions to the gameplay are the new abilities you have access to - such as "The Grabber", a gravity gun, and 'The Artifact', which allows special abilities such as the ability to slow down time, go berserk and become temporarily invincible; vital for some situations in the game. These do provide some new gameplay and although they're not exactly the basis of the entire game, fans of Doom3 will appreciate the addition. Perhaps the only complaint here is the fact the game somewhat "forces" you to use these new items in certain situations, and it becomes obvious when and where these occur, leaving much to be desired in the "creativity" area. The use of more gameplay puzzles involving these items would have proven far more challenging thinking wise - and that's basically what RoE is, certainly a challenge as far as FPS gameplay goes, but not really a challenge mentally with what constantly feels like very tightly scripted gameplay with very few paths to completion - just run around and kill, the proud definition of Doom, but perhaps not the best formula for FPS gaming in this day and age.

One addition to RoE that should have been in the original Doom3 is the double barrel shotgun - and boy is it a beast! This classic Doom gun finally makes its way back into the series, obviously due to the criticism received for leaving it out of Doom3. It is very powerful, but reloads slow, so it is balanced nicely within the gameplay. One thing which Doom3 and RoE does manage to achieve is balance in its weapons - they're varied and each have suitable situations for use, which unfortunately is perhaps the only dynamic part of the game; the fact you control the weapon of choice.

Multiplayer was nothing short of a disappointment in Doom3 but RoE does at least attempt to improve this aspect with an increase of allowed players per map - which is now 8 compared to Doom3's 4. This is an improvement but I hardly think it will redefine Doom3's stance in the online FPS community, which at the moment isn't anything special. This is not unusual for games of this nature though, often it is the Modding community which provide the multiplayer fix, and I expect mods can even increase the player limit much higher.

The graphics in RoE are right up there with the best you'll currently find on the PC, just like the original, but they do come at a cost - you will obviously need a pretty good PC to get the best out of this game. The sound is also very impressive and combined with the spectacular graphics, it creates an atmosphere you'll be hard pressed to match with any other PC game - this outstanding aspect is really the major selling point of the game.

For the fans of the original Doom3, Resurrection of Evil is definitely worth the look, but for the gamers who weren't overly compelled by the original, it really is a matter of too little, too late. While the enhanced multiplayer mode and the new items such as the gravity gun add to the game nicely, RoE essentially offers the same basic gameplay seen in the original, not really expanding enough to attract new fans. It's only an add-on pack, and for that it does a good job "adding on" to the Doom3 gameplay, but when talking about the broader market beyond the hardcore fan base, it is not enough to bring the series forward in any significant sense.