Of the seven deadly sins, only gluttony would have you burning in the fires for having too much of a good thing. Fortunately, you have nothing to worry about because
Doom Resurrection dishes up fun gameplay, but leaves you wanting for much, much more.
When the Union Aerospace Corporation (UAC) unwittingly creates a link with the bowels of Hell, you're the only man with the guns and gall to frag the demons that come screaming out of the underworld.
Preventing a demonic invasion of the company's Martian research facility and potentially Earth itself means severing the connection to Hell. It's hardly as simple as flipping a switch, though, as hordes of demons lash out in furious attempts to kill you and robotic sidekick Sam.
Doom Resurrection stays true to its roots with intense first-person action, although this adventure is a totally guided tour. On-rails design moves you through each of the game's eight levels automatically, leaving you to worry about aiming the firing reticle via the accelerometer. Taps of the screen enable you to switch weapons, fire, reload, and even dodge enemy attacks.
What could easily have been a groanworthy interface becomes surprisingly entertaining thanks to smart, varied level design. Demons aren't content to run straight toward you - on the contrary, skulls mounted on rocket packs fly around the detailed 3D environments and tease you into wasting bullets. Zombies chuck objects at you, forcing you to dodge before taking aim at their heads.
The game is constantly moving and always throwing something new your way. Weapons, enemies, environments - there's enough variety to keep the tempo lively. Just as you think you've contrived the best combat tactic or figured out an enemy's attack pattern, you're faced with something different.
Not everything is heaven-sent. Prompts to shake your handset when grabbed by a touchy-feely zombie do less to immerse you in the action than jar you out of the combat zone. Picking up items requires tapping the screen. However, many items appear on the edges of the screen, resulting in a weapons misfire or reload instead of the item being grabbed.
Boss battles, of which there are scant few, disappoint as well. These short-lived encounters have you squaring off against bulked up bad guys that are little stronger than the run-of-the-mill demons. One confrontation, for instance, involves unloading as many bullets into a pair of walrus-like Mancubuses as they hurl fireballs at you. Interesting, but no more so than the battles you fight against the basic demons.
Even battling the standard demons wears thin by the game's end. An increasing reliance on the dodge mechanic results in gameplay that feels more akin to a lightgun game like
Time Crisis than an atmospheric shooter.
Points are awarded at the end of each level based on your performance and determine your overall grade. The drive to earn an A on each stage - a grade that demands flawless accuracy, preservation of health, and pick up every item in sight - serves as the sole motive for replay.
After you've gone through the story, there's nothing more to do than one-up your scores in Free Play mode on each of the four levels of difficulty.
That lack of hard replay value puts
Doom Resurrection in a bind. As though caught in purgatory, the game delivers deliciously detailed graphics and satisfying action that will have you salivating - yet, once you're scarfed it down, it's done.
Cheka | 1 July 2009
I'm really enjoying this game, I've had a 3GS since launch, so its not been that long and I've bought almost a dozen games, most were discounted games such Hero of Sparta, Lets Golf, and a load of other Gameloft stuff. So far I don't see the big deal with iPhone games, they're just cell phone games with better graphics but in terms of gameplay they're still light years behind DS and PSP games, even the top rated games have little depth. I think its mainly to do with pricing, all I see are comments on Itunes about prices and we're not talking premium games, just standard £2.99 fodder (if a game lasts 2-3 hours, its a fair price in my opinion). I just can't see game developers creating a massive game with like 30 hours worth of gameplay for such an audience, as the game would never sell if it cost anything above a £10.
