3-Dec-2005 Another quality romp through the bowels of Hell - but a bit too similar to the original, Still worth the cash, though! After Doom 3 id Software quickly farmed out the expansion pack to Nerve Software. By its very definition an expansion pack 'expands' on the original episode rather than being a full-blown sequel, and that's exactly what Resurrection of Evil does. If you took the Pepsi challenge between this and Doom 3, you'd be hard pushed to tell the difference. Only a few new weapons and enemies give it away.
It's as dark, tense and frighteningly atmospheric as Doom 3, and almost exactly the same - the dark sections of corridors of the original are replaced by dark caverns and sewers. You do get to walk along the surface of Mars, but again these sections are too short to really break up the creeping corridor action. Visually, the mighty Doom engine still packs a punch unlike any other shooter.
The story sends you back to the Mars research facility to find out what went wrong. While you play a different character, his adventure into the bowels of Hell is exactly the same as his predecessor's. We would have loved to see more of the place, but as it is you play about half the game skulking around the deserted base before stumbling back into Hell for the big finale - again,
JUST LIKE THE ORIGINAL. But it's not all the same (well, it is mostly), as new weapons and enemies come as standard. Of the few new weapons available, the grav gun has the biggest effect on the gameplay. Ripping the idea clean out of Half-Life , it lets you pick up objects and fire them in any direction. You can even lock and hold enemy fireballs and shoot them straight back to where they came from. If you can't reach that ammo or health pick-up, you can use the grav gun to suck it right into your inventory.
Thanks to the game's linear corridor style it's easy to grab fireballs and shoot them back, as enemies often spawn right in front of you. You also get the grav gun right at the start of the game, and any competent FPS fan will be walking through it with ease, saving ammo for later use.
Cranking up the carnage factor even higher is the return of the fabled double-barrelled shotgun from Doom 2. In our opinion, while it's a riot to use, it makes chunky mincemeat of anything stood in front of it, thus making the game on Normal far too easy. Because it's so powerful, the game doesn't seem half as scary any more. Even a small child walking through Hell with it wouldn't be scared.
Best enjoyed in short doses with the lights off, Resurrection of Evil is more of the same. A little too similar to Doom 3, but then we had no problems gunning our way through another Doom adventure - especially for a cool 20 notes.
Official Xbox Magazine staff
// Overview
Verdict
Another quality romp through the bowels of Hell - just far too similar to the original in every aspect. Still worth 20, though!
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