continuity n.
1. The state or quality of being continuous.
2. An uninterrupted succession or flow; a coherent whole.
3. Something that the story in Resident Evil Zero lacks with the rest of the Resident Evil games.
When Capcom first announced that it was going to be making a prequel to the original Resident Evil, I was concerned. After all, what good could possibly come from making a game that takes place before the mansion incident? How much more needed to be explained about what happened to bravo team? Had Capcom not done enough damage to the storyline in the RE series already? (if you don't know what I'm talking about, play RE3: Nemesis after playing the first two). Despite my worries, I thought that since this was my favourite game series, that I would give the game a chance.
...and with the release of Resident Evil Zero for the Gamecube in November, all of my questions were answered...unfortunately...
One of the things that Capcom does right with Resident Evil Zero (known as just Zero from here on in) are the graphics. Simply put, they are amazing.
They could go one-on-one with any game on any system. They are just that good. Everything from the high level of detail on the character and monster models, to the near photographic quality of the pre-rendered backgrounds are just great. Some of you may find this hard to believe, as I first did, but the characters blend in with the backgrounds even better in Zero than they did in the re-remake. Capcom has truly outdone itself with this visual masterpiece.
Going hand in hand with the graphics, are the soundtrack, sound effects, and voice acting; otherwise known as: the audio. The soundtrack in Zero is as good as it gets in any RE game. It does a great job of building suspense, creating the feeling of despair, and helping you immerse yourself in the game. The sound effects are true to life, with groans, glass breaking, or whatever helping to try and keep you on the edge of our seat. The worst part of the audio in Zero would have to be the voice acting. It's not terrible, its not great, but it is rather poor. Just like in the RE re-make, its no longer the cheesy stuff that I enjoy; now its just poorly written and poorly acted.
The controls in Zero are exactly the same as in every other Resident Evil game on the market (The quick turn feature in this game does feel somewhat sluggish though). Some people hate them, and some don't. I personally like the controls (once you master them, they are fine), and just feel that little things like being able to walk while shooting your gun would make them great. One noticeable absence from Zero that in my mind is un-excusable is the fact that the defense weapons were not included in this game... despite being introduced in the RE remake. There is just no excuse for that Capcom. Shame on you.
The only real innovations in this game are the ability to switch characters on the fly, known as "partner-zapping", and the ability to drop items at will, rather then using an item chest.
The "partner-zapping" system allows you to choose who you would like to control at almost any given time, with the simple press of a button. (there are, however, some parts of the game where you must control one character over the other). You can tell your CPU controlled partner to stay put, follow you, attack enemies upon sight, and you can also use them to swap items. If your CPU controlled partner dies, then the game is over, but do not fear, for if you leave your partner is a room, her/she will radio you for help if they fall under attack. I found this system to be both a good ting and a bad thing. Some of the good aspects of the system are that it allows you to use different strategies in playing Zero as opposed to the other games in the series. For instance, your partner can follow you and help fight the tougher bosses and enemies, and also help in the puzzle-solving aspect, as there are quite a few puzzles where it requires both characters to help one another. The bad aspects are that the puzzles that do require you to get help from your partner are usually quite similar, like getting Billy to move something that Rebecca is to weak to move, or just giving her a boost up to reach an item. Also, in combat your CPU controlled partner can be quite stupid. If you partner has the grenade launcher and 2 types of ammo, and runs out of one kind, they do not have the intelligence to load the other type of ammo, or switch to another weapon. Overall I do like that "partner-zapping' system and find it to be a welcome addition to Zero's game play.
As far as being able to drop items at will, instead of using an item box....I found this feature to be more of a bother then anything... especially since both Billy and Rebecca can both only carry 6 items apiece. More often than not you'll just find yourself running to a save room to drop items in order to keep them all in a safe place. The items that you have dropped do appear on your map, which is helpful, so that you can keep track of exactly where everything is. I'd rather have the old item boxes though.
My biggest complaint, and that part where Zero really falls short is in the most important aspect of a game of this nature: the story itself. If this were a stand-alone game, then it really wouldn't be too bad, but when you use this as the prequel to the entire Resident Evil seriesÉ you have got a problemÉ a big problemÉ and that problem is continuity.
It is almost as if Capcom did not pay attention to the storyline of the RE series at all when they made this game, or at least very little. There are too many continuity errors between this game and the rest of the series to list them all, and for the sake of anyone who may not have played this game yet, I will not list them as they are spoilers, but I will name a few.
Without even having played this game, having just played the RE remake for instance, there are errors right off the bat. Rebecca survives this game, gets into the mansion, and then when she first meets Chris in the remake, all she can say is "Hey you", and then later on she is almost killed by a hunter? Give me a break. Capcom could have fixed this too, that's the worst part. Also, this game takes place at nightÉ at the end of the game, Rebecca is outside, and its day timeÉ the remake takes place at nightÉ Hmmmmm, ok, you're telling me that someone at the Raccoon City Police HQ waited for 24 hrs after losing contact with the bravo team before sending in the Alpha team? That's ridiculous! Get my point? The ones that you'll notice once you play the game are even worse.
Another big problem that this game has, is that it really is not that scary or even creepy (unlike the remake which was both). Keep in mind that I have played the other 5 games in this series to death, but stillÉ for example, the train level is just lame and the other environments just don't do it for me either. Someone who may not have played very many of these games before might find it scary or creepy, but hardcore fans of the series probably won't. The few times that it does try and scare you are poorly done. One example is where something is going to jump out at you, but the game freezes for a few seconds and you can hear the Gamecube loading what's going to happen - way to kill the surprise Capcom!
One last complaint is that the 2 main characters, Rebecca Chambers and Billy Cohen, aren't really characters that I care about or feel are deserving of their own game. Both would be excellent secondary non-playable characters (like Rebecca is in the RE remake) but thats it. Maybe if this game had followed Enrico Marini or some other STARS member into the mansion, it would not have been so bad... maybe...
By playing this game my questions have been answered: Nothing good came from making a game that takes place before the mansion incident. It is my humble opinion as both a game reviewer and fan of the series that nothing more needed to be explained about what happened to Bravo teamÉ and apparently Capcom felt that they hadn't done enough damage to the Resident Evil storyline already. This game just feels like it was only made to cash in on some money from the Resdient Evil franchise (Much like Resident Evil 3: Nemesis).
If you are a hardcore fan of the Resident Evil games, or survival horror, then you do owe it to yourself to give this game a try. It is a decent length that should provide about 15-20 hours of play the first time through. Honestly, other then the weak story (which really hurts Zero), this is an enjoyable game. Capcom would have put their time and money to better use by re-making Resident Evil 2.
For haveing ZERO scares, ZERO continuity, ZERO characters anyone cares about, and ZERO reasons to make this game...
Resident Evil ZERO gets a:
Score: 6/10