Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil - My Takes

[enoonmai]

Well, got my copy of Doom 3: Resurrection of Evil today. Had to reinstall Doom 3 though. The installation of RoE automatically patches D3 to v1.2 before beginning setup. I have to run to work, so I didn't have much of a hands-on quality time with the game. Here's what's happened so far. The game starts off with a pan of Mars from afar while the intros roll. Apparently, its been over a year since the last Mars 'incident' which has been labeled by the UAC as a "cataclysmic mechanical failure". Only one person made it out alive (we know who that was ) and the base has been sealed shut. However, an orbiting satellite picks up a strange beacon coming from Site 1, and a team headed by Dr. Elizabeth McNeil (remember the woman who got transferred to Earth just before the invasion in Doom 3?) and you is sent in to investigate. The game starts off with Dr. McNeil overlooking the recon operation while you and your team traverse the mazes of Site 1, past the teleporters you encountered in the first game. They reach the now sealed up Site 1 and blow it open with a charge, to find a portal with some kind of a heart-like artifact in it. The lead sergeant, you, grab the artifact, and WHOOSH!, cut to Hell, where Dr. Malcolm Betruger, aka the Maledict, tells his 'children' that their time has come as promised and they have to rise again. Apparently, this is the artifact that Hell is after even from the beginning of the first game and the Maledict says something about "Hell rightfully claiming what is its". While your team disappears in a cloud of teleporter waves, you find yourself alone with the pistol and the artifact as the screaming and chattering of gunfire begins on your radio. Deja vu, anyone? The game throws you into the middle of combat straight in, without any of those pre-invasion stuff like in HL/HL2/Doom3. The player has 'visions' like in the first game, and this time though, they are cool. At one point just after the game begins, you step into a room and the floor suddenly turns to lava and you see the red screen of death for a second and then you figure out that its a vision. The game seems to incorporate a bit more thinking now, as there was one point in the beginning of the game where there was a power station, where I had to remove a cell, carry it to the next power station to activate the elevator to the surface, which is my first mission. And oh, the Lost Souls now really resemble the flaming skulls we are used to in the original Doom series. More info as and when they come up.

Here are some screenshots:

Site 1 after the invasion:
*img180.exs.cx/img180/5263/shot000013uc.th.jpg

The Power Station:
*img180.exs.cx/img180/7887/shot000023qp.th.jpg

The New Improved Lost Soul:
*img180.exs.cx/img180/2518/shot000034ap.th.jpg

The New Artifact:
*img180.exs.cx/img180/1633/shot000041qy.th.jpg

 

[Nemesis]

WOW!!! You got RoE already? where did you get it man? Is it out in India already? LOL. Anyway, I'm still waiting for my copy to be delivered. Can't wait to play the game after reading your mini-review. IGN gave it just 8.4 so was kinda apprehensive.

 

[gamefreak14]

Eh enoonmai? So soon? I thought you said you were in India? Just kidding...Anyway, good review...me want a bigger detailed one!

 

[Raghav Talwar]

roe??so soon
gr8 review 8)

 

[Raghav Talwar]

OH,one more thing,you should make your post a little smaller.

 

[enoonmai]

More info straight from the manual:

It has been almost two years since the mysterious incident shut down the UAC base on Mars. Several months ago, one of the UAC satellites still monitoring the red planet detected a beacon originating from Site 1. This early research facility was long forgotten, even before the invasion. Now, you're a Marine combat engineer, part of a massive research and security team lead by Dr. Elizabeth McNeil. Your team is being sent back to Mars in an attempt to find and investigate the source of this strange signal. What you'll find, nobody knows, but hopefully it will offer new insight into the ancient civilization that once inhabited Mars.

As your transport nears the surface, you cannot help but wonder what type of "accident" could have killed so many two years ago... and could it happen again?

New Weapons:
Ionized Plasma Levitator -
*img82.exs.cx/img82/6096/wgrab9eh.gif

Also known as "The Grabber", this tool is the latest in UAC commercial technology. By issuing a controlled plasma stream, The Grabber can lift and project small to medium sized objects. Be careful with flammable storage containers.

Double Barrel Shotgun -
*img82.exs.cx/img82/3561/wdub9bd.gif

The ultimate hunters' weapon. It may take longer to reload than a pump-action shotgun, but if you need to take down large game, this is your weapon of choice.

The Artifact -
*img82.exs.cx/img82/8559/wart0jo.gif

This strange object brought your team to Mars...and now you must unlock its mysteries. UAC archaeologists think it's somehow tied to the three demons who pursue it. They also believe it enables the bearer to do extraordinary things.

LOL, that was no review. Just a sneak peek. More info will be forthcoming today evening, when I get some quality hands-on time with the game.

 

[gxsaurav]

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Man can't wait for tomorrow, exams ending, will be buying a lot of games, if available

enoonmai what card U R running the game at, & what specs the PC has

The thing looks promising,

 

[enoonmai]

Well, my main PC with the FX 5950U is down for Windows reinstallation, so I installed the game on a computer running an FX 5600 at AGP4x, making it push the resolution down to 800x600 and most of the eye candy turned off. Plus, its showing some black dots and other artifacts because of a supposed compatibility issue on 2D/3D images with an MSI/FX card combo (at least thats what I read online when I searched for the artifact problem) Anyway, I should be able to post better screenshots tomorrow when my regular system gets back online.

 

[icecoolz]

nice one enoonmai So you got it I see and seems to be working good...impressed so far ?

 

[sunnydiv]

thats nice review n nice pics

and fast

sounds good but i am still at doom level 2

 

[ctrl_alt_del]

Heh heh! Didn't I promise somewhere that Prof will be enlightning us on the subject pretty soon!

Good review Prof, waiting for the full one. Seems like those flaming skulls are giving you some hard time eh? *winks at the low life meter*

 

[borg]

Good job enoonmai . And just one more thing.... can u get that rascal Betruger for me. Chop his head off if u see him somewhere.

 

[enoonmai]

WOOHOO! I just completed Level One and frankly, so far, its been really good. I promised to upload more screens and here they are:

This is where the story begins:

November 15, 2145 -
The UAC's Mars Research Base suffers a cataclysmic mechanical failure during a classified research experiment, resulting in total destruction of the facility.

May 1, 2146 -
An orbital probe records a faint unidentified signal broadcase from the abandoned Mars Site 1 Complex.

August 8, 2146 -
The UAC announces the renewal of its Mars research program. Dr. Elizabeth McNeil is chosen to lead the primary assessment team.

Here she is Dr. Elizabeth McNeil overseeing the excavation operation without ever having gotten the emails Theresa sent, and without knowing that Betruger is waiting for his revenge. This is the place where she oversees the excavation on the monitor.
*img206.exs.cx/img206/3444/drmcneil4so.th.jpg *img185.exs.cx/img185/5223/openingceremony1ac.th.jpg *img185.exs.cx/img185/3825/site1sealed4av.th.jpg

In case you are wondering how you, the player, and the Maledict/Betruger look like, here you are:
*img185.exs.cx/img185/5715/youtheplayer9zj.th.jpg *img147.exs.cx/img147/8982/maledict8is.th.jpg

And here's you scr3wing it all up by grabbing the artifact and reopening the portal to Hell.
*img27.exs.cx/img27/3268/begin7rq.th.jpg *img27.exs.cx/img27/7274/portaltohell2dp.th.jpg

And here's the part you've all been waiting for - The Ionized Plasma Levitator, aka the Grabber Gun. This is as cool, or maybe even cooler than the ZPEFM/Gravity Gun in HL2. You get it in the first level of the game, wherein a cutscene illustrates you on the use of the GG. You see another badly wounded Marine grab the fireball an imp throws at him and send it flying right back at it, killing it instantaneously. And unlike the original Doom 3, the imps in this one are tougher, requiring more blasts from the shotgun to kill it. So, the only easy way to kill one is to grab the fireball and blast it right back. Of course, the Marine succumbs to his wounds, giving you the GG. The really cool effect of the GG in D3:RoE is that when you grab something with it, the plasma charge holding the object builds up, warping the image in front of you, which makes for a really, really cool effect (check out the screenshots below) Another cool plasma/smoke effect kicks in when you toss or drop the object you're holding on to. The indicator on the gun changes from "Scanning" to "Locked" to "Holding" depending on the action you are performing. And unlike HL2, you can literally grab "anything" with this one (even enemies and bodies), as long as its not too heavy. I was able to even pick up a Lost Soul and toss it straight into a wall, killing it instantly. Once again, unlike HL2, you cant hold on to the object forever, after a set period of time, the gun will be unable to supply a continued plasma stream and the object will drop to the floor in about 5 seconds after you pick it up. Also, you have to keep the LMB pressed if you want to hold on to the object. Releasing it will send the object flying halfway across the room, which makes the gameplay even faster. BTW, the shiny portal/door you see in the fourth screenshot is what happens when the Artifact "activates" the doors.

*img203.exs.cx/img203/7273/grabber18kc.th.jpg *img12.exs.cx/img12/1157/grabber25uf.th.jpg
*img12.exs.cx/img12/8174/grabber32ki.th.jpg *img12.exs.cx/img12/4166/grabber44uz.th.jpg

If you're interested in the e-mails Dr. McNeil sends to the excavation team in the beginning, click the links below for screenshots.
Dr. McNeil's Email to the team - 1
Dr. McNeil's Email to the team - 2

I am heading over to the Erebus Dig Site now. More info and screenshots as and when I encounter them.

@cody: LOL, no man, its really easy killing the monsters now. Most Lost Souls cant stand two pistol shots, and while an Imp now takes three single-barrel shotgun blasts to go down, grabbing its own fireball and using it against it is instant death/disintegration for it. The bar on the left is health and its at 100, the one on the right in red was for the shotgun ammo.

 

[borg]

hey, c'mon yaar, please don't give out spoilers like that.

 

[thegame_rulez]

lol..who is asking you to see it..but in one sense he is rite..ppl xpecting something else end up with entire story
edit ur topic put it as *spoiler warning inside*..

 

[ctrl_alt_del]

Yeah, a spoiler warning will be good, though IMHO, there haven't been any spoiler till now. He is just in the initial stages! Still a spoiler warning will keep those away who dont even want this part of the story.

@Prof: Oops! My mistik!

 

[enoonmai]

There are absolutely no spoilers in this thread. I haven't said anything that id Software hasn't announced themselves. id Software has already announced long, long back publicly about the story of D3:RoE (the basic one that I have given you), the weapons and even the monsters and abilities of the Artifact. I dont think I ever spoke once about the Hunters or the Vulgar or anything else, when every fan of D3 who's been reading on id's bread crumbs on RoE would know all about this, and even more. Every RoE fan will know at least the basic function of the Artifact, because id already revealed it months ago, and left the players to figure out the other powers.

If you dont want anything to be revealed, then there wont be much of a purpose to this thread, as in my opinion, other threads online reveal a LOT more than what I have, which is nothing. I was just talking about the basic story and the weapons and how they handle. That's it.

 

[tarey_g]

spoiler .....aaaaaa.....i have not read any of the enoonmai's post

 

[Nemesis]

Finally my copy arrived! Pretty soon I must say!! I'm on to level 4 (Easy mode ) and I must say I love the Grabber!! The Artifact is fine but the Grabber is the best new addition. And the double barrel shotgun Rocks!!! Only a single shot and long reload times but it's a one hit kill. OK, I won't say anything more at this point

*img139.exs.cx/img139/7550/doom313mi.th.jpg

 

[enoonmai]

I made a mistake. I started playing in Nightmare Mode and I am having extreme difficulty dealing with the first Hunter that the Maledict summons. Its all over in less than a minute for me, and I haven't been able to beat him.

*****SPOILER WARNING*****

@Nemesis: Help!
How did you kill the first Hunter? I used the Grabber to catch the fireballs and the BFG plasma balls and hurl it back at him and then I use the Artifact's time-slowing ability to even get up close to him and punch him, but he still doesn't die. In the fourth attempt, he teleports real close to me and slashes at me and its all over. Am I doing something wrong or is it because of the Nightmare mode?