The release of id Software�s Doom 3 in August 2004 finally returned fans of the ground breaking first person shooter series back to Mars to fight off the creatures from Hell (and the human zombies they create), along with ohhing and ahhing over the latest graphics engine from id�s master programmer John Carmack. While Doom 3 took over four years to make, fans won�t have to wait nearly as long for the next chapter in the Doom series, thanks to a close-to-release expansion pack called Resurrection of Evil. While id and publisher Activision  aren�t handing out early copies of the game, Computer Games did chat recently with id�s director of business development Marty Stratton and designer Matt Hooper to get some more information about Resurrection of Evil.

According to Hooper, the bulk of the development for the expansion pack is being handled by Nerve Software, which has collaborated with id before on the multiplayer features in Return to Castle Wolfenstein. In fact, Hooper told us that Nerve was well into development of the expansion before Doom 3 was even completed. This title is actually a sequel, but you don�t play as the space marine this time out. Instead, you play an unnamed combat engineer who heads back to Mars two years after the end of the last game, in which (SPOILER WARNING) the space marine sealed off the entryway to Hell, preventing the inter-dimensional invasion from taking place. However a signal from Mars is detected on Earth, and the UAC (which conveniently covered up the events of Doom 3 as a simple �accident�) sends you and scientist Dr. Elizabeth McNeil (who actually sent the warning about what was going on in Mars back to Earth in Doom 3) back to the red planet. As it turns out, the signal is being sent by an unknown artifact that�s actually Hell�s version of the Soul Cube (the previously introduced life stealing item/weapon). As you might imagine, this means the portal from Hell is open again. Terror ensues.

Hooper says that, in terms of gameplay, Resurrection of Evil is perhaps a little more intense than its predecessor, which had equal amounts of action, and slow but scary horror themes. Part of the reason for this is that the expansion will be much shorter. However, this doesn�t mean that there isn�t a lot to do and see. Fans of Doom II will be happy to note the return of the powerful double barrel shotgun. In fact, Hooper tells us that you find the weapon while checking out the office of Sarge, one of the more memorable characters in Doom 3. Another new item is the grabber, which makes better use of the physics system. While this item may sound similar to Half-Life 2�s gravity gun, the grabber will be able to do some different things, including deflecting projectiles like rockets. It will even be able to throw around some of the smaller creatures.

Ah, yes..the creatures. Stratton and Hooper promise a number of new monsters, including an improved version of the Imp called The Vulgar, a new flying creature called a Forgotten (which Hooper says is similar to the Lost Soul from the original Doom games), and the Bruiser, a huge creature with cannons for arms and a TV set for a mouth. The most important creatures are the Hunters, who are coming for the Hell artifact that sent the signal. Hooper said as you defeat each of the three Hunters you actually gain a power you can use in the Soul Cube. One of them is Hell Time, which slows down real-time while you move normally for a brief period. The other two are similar to power ups from the original Doom games: Berserker (increases your damage) and Invulnerability. Hooper hints that you will have to use these powers in various ways in order to defeat some of the more powerful enemies.

While multiplayer was not Doom 3�s forte, the expansion will enhance it. The officially supported player count will be raised from 4 to 8, and this time they�ve added Capture the Flag, with new maps created by Threewave Software, creator of CTF content for all three Quake games as well as multiplayer content for Soldier of Fortune II and Star Wars: Jedi Academy. Activision recently announced an April 4 release date for both this game and the Xbox port of Doom 3, and Hooper says they�re right on track. As far as new expansion packs or full games in the Doom series, Stratton says that, other than the Xbox port of Doom 3, there are no immediate plans for any new Doom games.