Resident Evil

Capcom

      The game tells the story of Umbrella Corporation and its connection with the G-virus (A virus that mutates organism into bloodthirsty zombies).  You are sent to find out what happened first team that was sent to the G-virus research facility.  The facility is found under the cover of a Mansion.  You can play the story of two characters from an elite force called S.T.A.R.S.: Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield.  Your mission is to survive the mindless zombies and other mutations in the mansion and find out what happened to the Bravo team.  You also have to solve some puzzles.  If you have seen the movie "Resident Evil" you have a pretty good idea what the plot is.  This is also not just a port of the older Resident Evil for the Playstation.  It is a totally new game.  

     This is one of the scariest games you will ever play.  It has the most horrifying scenes and twisted storyline.  This game will definitely give you nightmares.  It really earns its M rating.  The graphics are the best I have ever seen is a videogame.  I played Resident Evil 3: Nemesis on the PC and the graphics on the Gamecube outshine those in that PC game.  The characters look so real, you can see the weapons they are carrying, they blink, move their eyes and they get hurt.  Although there is not that much music, the silence keeps the ghostly atmosphere of the game.  Sometimes you will hear steps approaching you or a zombie and the sounds will get louder the closer it gets even though you can’t see where it is at the moment.  It is a chilling experience!   The characters voices are also very well done,  I hear that the other versions of the game had cheesy dialogue.  Indeed this game has many of the qualities found in horror movies.  It is like an interactive horror movie.

      One of the things that make this game great is the incredible graphics.   Backgrounds, lighting effects, characters and cut scenes are rich in color and definition.  The intro movie is pretty bloody and it looks just like the animation in the movie “Final Fantasy:  The Spirits within”.  Not only that but some of these scenes are mixed up with the game.  Sometimes that game will switch to a cut scene and you won’t even notice because it is hard to tell the difference between the cut scenes and the real game.  The graphics are that good.   

      The control is not that good though.  You control your character with the Analog pad or the directional pad.  The C analog button helps you make a quick turn behind so you can run from zombies.  The R button aims your weapon (You can press up and down on the analog or D-pad in order to aim up or down).  The A button is an action button that helps you open doors, talk to other characters, examine things and also fire your weapon (you must aim at an enemy first).  Perhaps the thing that sets this game apart from other Resident Evil games is that you can fight back when a zombie grabs you by pressing the L button.  You must first have a defense item equipped and when the zombie attempts to grab you press L and you either shock him with a stun gun or stick a grenade on his mouth depending on which character you are using.  Your characters look a little stiff in the game because of the controls.  They either walk or run with no in betweens.  They also can’t strafe left or right which takes away the realism because sometimes you will swear you were watching a movie until the character movement on the screen makes it all disappear. 

     The gameplay is fresh.  You have a wide assortment of weapons to help you blow up zombies even though you start with only a knife and a handgun.  Another new feature of this game is that you have to burn the dead zombies bodies because if you don’t they come back stronger and faster than before.  It adds a lot to the gameplay since the gasoline container used to burn the zombies only has enough for two zombies.  You must go back to the gas container to fill it up. The camera angles in the game make it a little difficult to spot enemies but makes sends chills down your spine when can’t find the zombie.  The puzzles require just a little common sense.  You have to examine each object carefully you get because some items are hidden within items.  Zombies and other enemies pop out of windows, closets, and other places to give a jolt of fear.  Your progress can be saved by using an ink ribbon in the typewriter.  One of the most annoying things about Resident evil is the item box which store items.  Chris can only carry six items at one time while Jill can carry up to eight.  And this makes the game repetitive since you have to know which item you are going to need if you already have six items and you see another one in the room you have to go back to an item box deposit one item and then go back to the other item to pick it up.  This became irritating after a while. The storyline is good and there are many subplots in the game such as the story behind Lisa.  Each character also has a partner that will help him or her in some situations.  There are also times where you can take control of them.  The interactions between the characters are really cool.     

       Overall, Resident Evil is a great game.  One you must have in your collection even if you played the previous Resident Evil games.  This is not just a port of the original is a total remake with lots of added extras.  There are going to be four more Resident Evil games released (two of them will be new episodes and the other just ports).  The first time you play trough the game it should take you 10 to 15 hours of gameplay.  The game has many extras such as extra costumes, weapons, enemies and three different endings to encourage you to play again.  My friend bought a Gamecube just to play this game and he was filled with terror when he played it.  My sister in the other hand did not like it because it was too frightening.  She liked Resident Evil 3: Nemesis better.  It is rather scary when you play it by yourself at night.