So you made it through the blood-spattered depths of UAC’s Alpha Labs right to the very doors of Hell itself in Doom 3 and still you want more? Well then, this may be just the thing for you. Resurrection of Evil is an add-on pack for Doom 3; you will need to have the full version of that game installed on your PC prior to installing the software.
Tim Willits, creative director if id Software, promises a new set of maps, weapons, monsters, and missions that are “a lot more intense” than Doom 3‘s shadowy blend of old-school, jump-out-of-the-closet type scares, with a focus on action. “We’re definitely talking about a much more action-packed experience,” Willits said in a recent interview, which may come as welcome news to players that complained about Doom 3’s “slow build” opening levels. Sounds like good news for those players interested in carnage over story, but is there more to Resurrection of Evil than an elevated body count?
If you’re a fan of Doom 3 then a synopsis of the add-on pack’s plot probably isn’t what’s calling out to you; after all, as any shooter veteran knows, id’s only reason to have any story at all in their titles is to provide a frame for all of the juicy violence that their latest and greatest game engine can pump out. But there may be a few out there that wonder what this latest installment has in store for them plot-wise, so here’s what’s known (BE WARNED: the following section may contain spoilers, so if you want to experience the pack’s story and surprises first-hand, then please skip ahead).
Resurrection of Evil takes place two years after the events of Doom 3. This time around, the military is sending in a team of “Combat Engineers” to investigate a mysterious signal originating from the old UAC site. The team is under the command of Elizabeth McNeil, who players might recognize as the whistle-blowing enemy of Dr. Betruger from Doom 3. Soon after landing on Mars, the team discovers a powerful artifact hidden in the alien ruins near the UAC site. The artifact turns out to be nothing less than Hell’s knock-off version of the Soul Cube from Doom 3. When it’s claimed by the retrieval team (you), the portal into Hell is torn back open, once more releasing its evil minions into the world. Powerful stuff, indeed.
Meanwhile, the evil Dr. Betruger, who at the end of Doom 3 was last seen escaping into Hell itself, sends three Demon Hunters to Mars to recover the artifact for himself and the chase is on. Through the course of the story, the player will re-explore settings from the original Doom 3, including the UAC facility and the alien ruins from the end of that game, along with eleven new single player levels.
As the player encounters and defeats Betruger’s Demon Hunters, their unique powers will be added to the artifact. Willits describes these powers as “Hell Time, Berserk and Invulnerability,” and has confirmed that they will stack on top of each other, transforming your already tough-as-nails Combat Engineer into a rampaging engine of demon-kicking bad-ass-ness.
And with the expansion, there looks to be even more demon booty to kick than ever before. Willits says that Resurrection of Evil‘s focus will be on action, action, action, with the player having to fight “their way through a real barrage of demons,” so expect the action to be furious and bloody right from the start. This will doubtless come as welcomed news to those players that found the opening, “slow build” levels of Doom 3 a bit off-putting. Twitch-gamers rejoice!
(Okay, the spoiler’s over, for those who’ve been skimming ahead.)
Resurrection of Evil looks to be about half as long as Doom 3 in the gameplay department, but also promises to have more of the things that fans have been telling id that they wanted out of Doom 3: bigger maps, faster pacing, more people available for multiplay matches and even small tweaks, such as the ability to use your flashlight while also using a weapon. (Demand was so high for this feature that a MOD was created shortly after Doom 3‘s release. See “The Duct Tape MOD for Doom 3“ for more details).
The add-on pack is being developed by Nerve Software, the same guys that were responsible for the excellent Return to Castle Wolfeinstein back in 2000, so expectations are high. Willits has said in interviews that work on Resurrection of Evil began even before Doom 3 hit the stores, which seems to indicate a higher-than-average dedication to the project. If you are like me and remember the lackluster “add on” that was Quake 3: Arena, then have hope, because it seems as if id has learned from that lesson.
Much fanfare has been given to one of the game’s new weapons, the “Ionized Plasma Levitator,” which is basically a rip-off of Half Life 2’s Gravity Gun. It is somewhat suspect that Nerve and id have chosen to include this weapon now, in the wake of Half Life 2’s run-away popularity, and seems to be more of a gimmick than a well thought out choice, but we will see. In fact, the Doom 3 MOD community already created this weapon months ago (for details, look here).
However, Doom 3, which never intended for the Gravity Gu
