Earlier this year, “Doom 3” split the FPS-playing gamer community in half. People loved it for the graphics and sound; people hated it for the lighting (or lack of). Given that the split exists, should you get this expansion pack from Texas-based Nerve Software?
The story: Two years have passed since Dr. Betruger opened the gates of hell and subsequently disappeared. Mars Base has been reopened by Dr. Elizabeth McNeil with the aim of examining the “artifact,” a demonic weapon with mysterious powers. To be honest, it’s the same kind of bland story that drove “Doom 3.” It sets the scene just enough to give you a flimsy reason to kill things. Lots and lots of things.
There are various new weapons to choose from. The most notable are the double-barreled shotgun, a classic “Doom” weapon that is able to take down the meanest opponents in a couple of shots; the “grabber,” similar to the “gravity gun” in “Half Life 2;” and the “artifact.”
The grabber is definitely fun to play with, allowing you to pick up lots of different objects and toss them around. You can even catch fireballs and toss them back at the Imps. But this is fun for only a limited time. When there are multiple enemies attacking you, there just isn’t enough time to grab things so you resort to using a standard weapon. Grabber control is pretty finicky; it requires precise timing and control to use it right – again, sometimes this just isn’t possible. I suspect the weapon works better in the PC version, but console controls are just too clunky for it to be very effective.
The artifact is suitably creepy with erratic animations and whispered voices playing whenever you use it. It takes the souls of the dead and, when enough souls have been collected, enables so-called “hell time.” Hell time effectively slows down the game, almost like “bullet time” from the “Matrix,” letting you perform timed actions or pass through dangerous areas. The artifact has some other uses too, but I’m not going to spoil it here.
After a while, you begin to realize when the artifact should be used – look for the dead bodies! Unfortunately, this is a massive hint as to when action is about to happen; the bodies seem placed artificially rather than as a result of past combat.The game itself looks fantastic. Graphically speaking, there is no game currently on the Xbox that can compare to “RoE;” even “Halo 2” doesn’t come close. Some new enemies have been added, but mostly you’ll find improved and harder versions of existing monsters. Overall, the game is very smooth for the amount of detail onscreen, with only the occasional hitch as multiple enemies attack at once.
“Doom 3” has an incredible 5.1 surround sound system that “RoE” uses to full advantage. The whole game is filled with everything you would expect: bleeping electronics, grinding machinery, dripping water and hissing pipes. The sound works particularly well with all the scripted events. Wall panels fall off and clank to the ground as you walk past; doors close just as they come into view suggesting another presence in the room. The levels themselves are fairly easy to navigate and at times extremely short, but all these effects make you pause and look wildly around as you wait for the next Imp to attack. However, it never does since scare tactics work very well. Ask any haunted house owner.
A major gripe that players had with “Doom 3” was the offhand flashlight. Now, I actually liked this particular game mechanic because it forced tension by making you swap to a weapon and therefore plunge yourself into darkness to fight a monster. “RoE” has attached the flashlight to the pistol and this surprisingly doesn’t break gameplay. The pistol is a very low-powered weapon, but it allows you to defend yourself a little better than before.
The game is extremely short; I completed it in about nine hours on Veteran difficulty. While I understand that this is an expansion pack, it doesn’t excuse the length of gameplay time. An expansion pack could easily take another 15-20 hours to complete. So why is “RoE” so short?
In my opinion, it’s because “RoE” doesn’t introduce anything new. If you played through “Doom 3,” you know what to expect: how to move, how to fight, when to reload and when enemies are coming at you. This isn’t helped by the first four or five levels that use the same exact mechanics such as finding power cells to power the end-of-level elevator. At that point I was ready to turn off my Xbox, but I’m glad I stayed through to the end.
Overall, I’m a little disappointed by “RoE,” not by the graphics or the sound, but by the content. Placing you in the exact same base as “Doom 3” didn’t allow Nerve to be entirely creative. I’m hoping that the “Doom” universe can be expanded in future games and I’m confident this will happen.
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