| Resident Evil |
| "Barry. Where's Barry?" |
| Well now I've played the greatest remake of a video game of all time. Now I've faced my fears, got my ass kicked a few good times, and paid the price for wasting precious shotgun ammo. I've been eaten by a dog, been puked on by a zombie, and poisoned by a giant plant. I've lived the Resident Evil experience, and I'm going back for more. If you haven't played a Resident Evil game before, here's the perfect time to start. I love the remake of Resident Evil. Gamecube kiddy? Ha! RE will make you think you are playing it on PS2 with its maturity. Highly detailed pre-rendered graphics, combined with beautiful controls and a unique sound system really add up to an experience very few games have offered. Let's get something straight: This isn't old-school RE. Sure, both the new version and the new version share the same gameplay elements, but the game has a whole new graphical foundation. Some rooms have been removed, some added, and the rooms that remain are completely revamped. Lots of detail was added to make a whole new experience unlike no other. Yes, the graphics are that good. They are some of the best, if not THE best, graphics I've seen for a video game. Period. Sure, they're pre-rendered just like the PlayStation RE games, but more painstaking detail has been manipulated into this fine game. Candle flames flicker in the wind, blades of grass sway with the breeze, wallpaper can be seen flaking on a wall, lightning strikes and your character's clothes show its reflection...every possible detail was added to insure players that they're getting the whole experience. There are some screens during the game that look photorealistic. This is why the graphics get a 10. There is no friggin' way they could have settled for less. The sounds are basically the same, which means they're almost flawless. One major new addition to this remake includes better voice acting and those ridiculous scenes being redone. Yes, those moments such as "What is it" and then "Blood!" were classic, but they really needed to go. The characters' movements during cutscenes is unsurpassed. The music, on the other hand, is kind of disappointing. There is a lack of it, and when it's there, it's just not really that outstanding. That can be overlooked by the nice sounds of thunder and other environmental sounds. The gameplay hasn't changed at all, for better or worse. Zombie hunting is really fun, but the controls sometimes damper the experience. Running around and opening doors isn't the probem, and the puzzles are easily accessed, but the zombie shooting and boss fights are really difficult because aiming is so friggin' difficult. The original RE on the PS did a better job with the combat controls. But the gameplay has benefited from the ability to use a defense item. Basically, when a zombie grabs you in the other games, you were screwed. Well in this game, if a zombie grabs you, Jill will stick a knife in its head. Or take a stun gun to its nads. Chris' defense item is a grenade. He pulls the pin, sticks it in the zombie's mouth, and BOOM! Head shots to zombies are random in this game, so it's not very often that you'll shoot off a zombie's head. One of the most interesting new aspects of the gameplay are Crimson Head zombies...which are zombies that you killed coming back to life later in the game. That may not sound so bad, but Crimson Heads are deadlier, faster, and tougher to kill. It's a nightmare when you first cross paths with one. Replay value is through the roof...you get to unlock modes such as Real Survivor (where item boxes aren't interconnected), One Tough Zombie (where you're chased throughout the entire game by a zombie with grenades strapped to its back...if you kill it, you die too!), and Invisible Enemy (where the enemies are, uh, invisible). These modes are extremely frustrating, and are only recommended by die-hard Resident Evil fans. If you own a Gamecube, there's no reason to miss out on this game. It's one of the best games for the 'Cube, second only to Super Smash Bros. Melee. :) |
| Graphics: 10 Sound: 9 Gameplay: 8 Replay Value: 9 Reviewer's Tilt: 10 Overall: 9.6 |