Let me start off by saying that this is going to be more of a mini review. Given that ’Resurrection’ is an expansion pack, my going over ’Doom 3’s production, atmosphere, and control attributes again would be superfluous. If you haven’t already, I suggest that you take a look at my review in order to get a better feel for the full measure of things.

Ok, now what were my main (and really, only) complaints about ‘Doom 3‘? ;

The demons weren’t demonic enough
The shotgun was weak, and there was no double barrel
The story was rather shallow

Well first off, the retro-design lost souls are back; true flaming skulls, not the whole face with jet engines in the back. The decrepit, rotting, hell-specific zombies from the first sojourn take on an expanded role in the Martian labs. We also have a new/old returning favorite, the Baron of Hell. (Although still bearing his signature horns, he seems to have picked up a few odd mechanical prosthetics. He looks more like Cyberdemon Jr.) Another addition to the bestiary are the Forgotten Ones, which are basically just green, H. R. Gigered-up imps.

Your most formidable opponents will be the Hunters, huge, brutish creatures each possessing a unique power which must be overcome to defeat them.

Now, to take on these new nasties, your going to need some serious firepower. Hello double-barreled shotgun! Seems that before Sarge got demon-tankified, he left this little beauty behind for any ol’ shmoe to stumble across.

(I might also note that for all of you pansies out there who couldn’t take the pressure, the flashlight is now attached to your pistol. There, you’re not borderline defenseless when checking out dark crevices. Happy now, ladies?)

And that brings us to the story. Ah well, the story still sucks. J

Well, it’s not that bad; a dedicated lady scientist sent you marines to snoop around one of the Martian dig sites. There you discover a grotesque heart-shaped artifact hidden in an ancient sepulture. Unfortunately, unlike the Soul Cube, this artifact is demonic in origin and not only obliterates your entire squad, but also opens up a brand spankin’ new portal to Hell. (Nice work, ass!) It’s now your job to return the artifact to the underworld via a nostalgic little jaunt through the now decimated and devil haunted UAC labs.

While the plot is no big shakes, there are some nice scripting touches (For instance, the lab technician who transforms into a soulless zombie right in front of you, trying vainly to warn you away.) and we do finally wrap up one big loose end by facing off with what’s left of Dr. Betruger .

If the story has not grow by leaps and bounds, it is at least forgivable as the gameplay does exhibit considerably more depth. The aforementioned artifact- though seemingly useless at first-consumes the special ability of each Hunter you destroy. While the Soul Cube simply sliced and diced demons, giving you their health, the artifact can slow time, give you berserker strength, and even grant you invulnerability. (In a sick little twist, this devil-weapon is powered by the life essence of fallen humans, not demons.) Deciding when to deplete the artifact to deal with a specific onslaught adds some strategery to your happy blasting. Of course, in order to take advantage of your new toy you’re going to need to deal with those pesky ol’ Hunters first. The handy-dandy new UAC plasma grabber is just the thing for that! With it, you can not only use crates and explosive barrels as projectiles, but give those demons a taste of their own medicine by hurling their very own fireballs right back into their ugly mugs!

My only real complaint is that they removed the chainsaw for this round. C’mon! I finally got the double barrel and you take my saw away?! I wanna’ go all Bruce Campbell on some demon ass!

But any gripe of mine is small potatoes. Basically, ID took ‘Doom 3’ one of the coolest FPS’s of all time, made another helping of it, then added some jalapeno cheese to spice up an already outstanding recipe. (Great, now I’m hungry for spicy cheese potatoes.) The X-box edition also includes full versions of the original ‘Ultimate Doom’ and ‘Doom 2’. (For any of you who didn’t get them with the limited collectors edition for X-box.) And heck, the pack only cost around 20 something bucks to begin with, and it’s old by now. You can pick it up for chump change. Hop to it marine!