Review Courtesy of Reno
It has been sixteen months since Capcom's masterpiece of survival horror, Resident Evil: Code Veronica, was released for the Sega Dreamcast. That game was heralded as the best of the series, and went on to be a major success for Capcom. When the PlayStation 2 version was announced, Capcom declared that the game would have an X added to the title, and that it would be an "extended" version of the original, complete with the restoration of deleted scenes featuring the infamous Albert Wesker. Additionally, it was going to contain a playable demo of Capcom's upcoming Devil May Cry, and, for a limited time, a mysterious "Wesker's Report" DVD. Well, dear fans, the entire package has hit the streets and it delivers all that was promised. But does the game itself (after all, you wouldn't spend fifty bucks for a demo disc and a DVD you know nothing about, would you?) measure up to its original Dreamcast incarnation? The answer, my friends, is blowing in the wind... with the stench of T-Virus infected corpses.
Lets begin at the beginning, shall we? After all, that is exactly what the "Wesker's Report" DVD does. This disc is a non-interactive "designed to watch" DVD that can be played on any commercially-available DVD machine, just like a typical movie disc. It runs about twenty minutes in length, and plays out in a very dramatic fashion. This disc is essentially a recap of the entire series' plotline, in chronological order (RE3 took place both before and after RE2), from the first title all the way to Code Veronica. It reveals several details about good old Albert himself, including his miraculous resurrection after being slaughtered by the Tyrant in the first game. The disc runs like a short noir film (think Blade Runner) with Albert Wesker doing the off-screen narration). It is quite entertaining in its own right, and worth a watch or two even if just to see the series' graphical evolution. Included in this short is the "extra gory" FMV that was cut up in the original title, and it's quite interesting (even for non-fans of the series) to watch Resident Evil's story evolve before your eyes, from the FMV (with real actors) of the original to the breathtaking intricacy of the rendered cut scenes used in today's games. It is, in effect, not only about Resident Evil, but about the evolution of gaming as a whole since 1996. Fans will love it, non-fans should like it.
The meat-and-potatoes of the package, the game itself, is still the masterpiece the Dreamcast version was, with a few more expository Wesker passages (including another bullet-time sequence) thrown in for good measure. The game's story takes place three months after the events of RE2, with our heroine, Claire Redfield, traipsing off to Europe in search of her brother Chris. She is caught trespassing by the Umbrella Corporation and whisked off to their isolated prison colony on a remote island. It just so happens that this island is also the site of the Ashford Mansion, the home of Umbrella's original founders and now their rather disturbed descendants. The installation is attacked, and before you know it, the T-Virus is leaked all over the joint. How long before the fun begins? About four minutes.
When the game is first started, players are treated to one of the best pre-rendered cut scenes ever created for a video game. Claire evades countless troops and a minigun-equipped chopper, only to bring the whole thing to a close with a bit of John Woo style action. Her facial expressions are truly awe-inspiring. Every emotion is not only conveyed properly, but with detail worthy of the cut scene masters, SquareSoft. You have to see it to properly appreciate it. After this sequence, she awakens in her cell with a mysterious character entering the room. This is where players get to take over.
The first thing that can be called a drastic improvement over all the last-generation RE titles is the way the graphics are rendered. In RECV, they are rendered on-the-fly, as opposed to the static backgrounds employed in the earlier titles. This enables the scene to move dynamically, with camera zooms and pans around corners and objects. The detail in the graphics is superb and smooth, just as in the Dreamcast version. The characters move like they always have (stiff and tense, like their elbows and knees don't bend), but the monster animation is remarkable and fluid.
As expected, Code: Veronica delivers a wide assortment of evil creatures, including Zombies, Dogs, Bats, Spiders (ewww), Bandersnatchs (a whole new Umbrella creation that can repel themselves across a room with elastic appendages), Albinoids (a salamander-like creature that Claire will face in both its infant and adult form), Moths (and their larvae), Hunters (the old Resident Evil frog-like mainstays), and Sweepers (jacked-up Hunters). The boss characters are as formidable as ever, and include Giant Worms, Tyrants (another mainstay), Nosferatu (an all-new creation that is genuinely disturbing), and several human enemies.
If a comparison were to be made, it can be said that this PS2 version's graphics are a bit "duller" than the Dreamcast version's. The Dreamcast's graphics in general tend to be bright and colorful, like the video game equivalent of fruit-strip gum. The PS2, although just as powerful in most respects, has a more subdued look to it (this was also obvious with the different versions of Id's Quake III) This is not to say that they're inferior, just more low-key. Also, transparencies are a bit more jaggy and flat in this version. The actual game play is identical to all of the former titles. Yes, you'll have to shoot or avoid creatures, find keys, solve puzzles, push crates and stay alive, first as Claire and then, at the half-way point, as Chris. As usual, players will have to know what weapon to use with what ammo at what time, as well as analyze the enemies' attack patterns. Health aids come in the forms of green, blue, and red herbs, with the occasional spray can to boot.
This time around the plotline is very intricate and definitely delivers a bit of payoff for your efforts. When Claire starts coming into close contact with the young "Ashfords", things get really disturbing, as not all of the danger comes from the now-typical biochemical freaks of nature. Claire is also joined by a Leonardo DiCaprio look-alike named Steve Burnside, whose family was imprisoned on the island.
The control scheme is also the same-old-same-old, which has generated a lot of controversy... gamers either love it or hate it. This reviewer found them a bit more jerky than usual, and definitely not as smooth as the DC version. These are small peccadilloes, however, as the control scheme poses no real difficulty. There are a few control scheme options to choose from, but no fully-configurable setting. It should not be too hard for avid gamers to get used to one of the presets. The load times between sequences and rooms are not bad at all, and even seem to have been accelerated a bit in comparison to the DC version.
What would a Resident Evil game be without serious weaponry? Code Veronica does not disappoint in this respect, either. Naturally, players start with the almost-useless hunting knife, but move up to Barettas (which are configurable to semi-automatic late in the game), crossbows, M-100 pistols (another first for the series, Claire can use two guns at once and target dual enemies at one time), grenade launchers, assault rifles, shotguns, sniper rifles, machine guns (another "dual weapon" feature), magnums, and a weapon called the "Linear Launcher" which is only used in a specific location. Another aspect of Code Veronica X that, at times, can be called "breathtaking" is the music. It is fully orchestral and very well scored, creating tension during suspenseful moments and relating the chaos during action sequences. There is one room in the Ashford mansion called the "piano bar" (think Casablanca) that contains a tune that you will want to listen to a few times, unless your musical taste is permanently rooted in MTV land. The sound effects are accurate and frightening, especially the dull moans of zombies, the whoosh of sweepers, the reports from all of the various firearms, and the disturbing low "thump-thump-thump" of an advancing spider boss. Creepy.
Code Veronica also makes new use of the attempted "zapping" feature of RE2. Items that Claire takes will not be available for Chris later in the game, when he travels over familiar territory. Gamers should plan ahead for this by keeping a weapon or two, extra ammo and health aids in an item box. If Claire is carrying two "powerful" weapons, try and deal with carrying only one. You'll be glad you did later when you swing by with Chris.
The ultimate question is whether or not Resident Evil: Code Veronica X is worth a second purchase for veterans of the Dreamcast title. The answer, simply, is no. The added sequences do not justify a second purchase for owners of the original. Even the "unlockable" modes after beating the game are the same. However, if you never owned a DC or never played that version, then by all means run right out and buy CVX. It is another fantastic foray into survival horror by Capcom, who have successfully taken the genre started by Alone in the Dark and turned it into four of the most thrilling and fun-filled gaming experiences around.
SCORE 8 OUT OF 10
the taste when you brush your teeth and drink orange juice
Reno
