Several months ago, DOOM 3 brought some of the most intense gameplay and spectacular graphics to the Xbox that it had ever seen. Along with an intriguing plot and some of the most startling scares and white-knuckled action a game could offer, it had a lot of DOOMer’s wanting more, especially after the ending that left some of the loose ends untied. Id Software and Vicarious Visions heeded the call for more and delivered the expansion, Resurrection of Evil, so that gamers could once again pick up their shotgun and return to Mars, where the horrific adventure first took place. This time around however, you take the role of an unnamed combat engineer who is sent to Mars with a research team lead by Dr. Elizabeth McNeil, who some may remember from the PDA emails in the first game. It seems there is a signal emanating from the dig site on Mars and you and your team are sent in to investigate. You quickly discover the source of the signal in the opening cut scene and it’s non-stop action from there on. The disturbing Dr. Betrueger returns in his transformed Maledict appearance and sends the forces of hell after you to retrieve it from your cold dead hands.

Once the action starts, you will immediately notice of how akin the game is to DOOM 3 in every aspect. Just a heads up, that if you haven’t played DOOM 3, it would be an excellent idea to take a run through it first, since the expansion is a direct sequel and involves quite a lot of information that was discussed during its duration. The HUD and control panels are all exactly as they were in DOOM 3 as well as the tight corridors, flashing lights, spooky groans and sounds, but thankfully there are far less monster closets this time around. The need to read employee emails and video logs found in PDA’s that are scattered about is another returning trait of DOOM 3 as well. Although this feature was not looked too highly upon by many gamers, as it seemed to slow down the action, it is a necessary evil to help progress the story along with there only being a handful of people in the base that are alive to talk to. One of the other gripes with the first game was the lack of being able to use a weapon and flashlight at the same time. This time around you are able to have both simultaneously, even if the flashlight is only available on the pistol. Although everything seems to be on par with DOOM 3 graphically, there were some slow downs and frame rate loss experienced during a few of the cut scenes.

Being a true expansion of DOOM 3, all the same weapons return as well as a few new additions to the boom department. There is now a Double Barreled shotgun, as throw back to the classic DOOM II game, which will easy take down most foes in one good hit. There is also the Ionized Plasma Levitator, nicknamed the "Grabber". It works very similar to the Gravity Gun from Half Life 2, except this beefier version can not only pick up barrels and crates, it can pick up small enemies as well as projectiles thrown by larger ones and return them to the sender first class air mail. The Artifact that you pick up at the beginning of the game also comes in handy as you come across the Hunters. The Hunters are bosses that each have a certain characteristic that you can steal from them once they are defeated. When you take them down, the Artifact will absorb the skill and allow you to use it for you own. To use the Artifact however, it needs to be charged with souls from corpses found around the base and can only hold three charges at one time.

Along with the Hunters, there are also a few new-fangled fiends that are introduced into the game. The Vulgar is similar to an Imp as it tosses green balls of plasma at you from a distance and swipes and claws at you when in close. The Bruiser is a hulking mass with cannons for arms and a monitor for a face and the Forgotten Ones are reminiscent of the Lost Souls from the classic DOOM games. The controls for combat can be a bit on the tricky side at first as you get attacked from behind frequently and quickly and turning around hurriedly isn’t all that easy to do with the analog stick, nor is trying to snag a fireball with the grabber that is lobbed in an arc towards your awaiting cranium. It takes some getting used to but given the 7-8 hours of game play in store, you have plenty of time to get it right.

Along with the single player segment of the game, there is also an included multiplayer aspect that features 4 player Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Last Man Standing and Tournament mode that can be played over Xbox Live or via system link. Unfortunately there is no coop mode to be found, which was a major draw for DOOM 3 on the Xbox, nor a CTF mode as the PC version included. There are plenty of other extras included to be had however, like the original versions of Ultimate Doom, Doom 2, and the Doom 2 Master Levels, that will keep you busy for a long time after you have completed the game. DOOM 3: Resurrection of Evil is a true expansion in every sense and it’s great to return to the Mars Research Facility and see some of the aftermath and remains from the first time you made your way through it, as well as taking a return trip to Hell for the final showdown. If you want to find out what happens after the events in DOOM 3 took place, then picking up a copy of Resurrection of Evil would be a smart move.