Before the Mansion...
Prequels. Can't live with 'em... nothin' to complain about without them. Resident Evil Ø is no exception. I'd be the the first to tell you that I'm a huge fan of the Resident Evil series, and despite its plot holes, I found the story to be genuinely interesting and exciting. My beliefs were backed up with the magnificent Code Veronica, which had a very detailed story and helped to support the overall plot of the series. Resident Evil Ø does not do this, unfortunately. Instead, the player is left scratching is head and asking himself questions that require a bit of thinking to do. Prequels are supposed to be stories that shed some light on a story already told, and to provide the viewer with new information that will raise his appreciation and enjoyment for the original story. REØ does this, but in a very illogical manner. You'll have to play the game to see what I mean, I'm not about to start spouting off spoilers here. But be warned, if you've never played a Resident Evil game before, you should not start with this one. My gripes about prequels aside, this is a very enjoyable game.
The story starts off quite nicely, but it sadly degrades into something less than desirable. You've heard the story of the ALPHA team, and they're rescue mission. Well, this game tells the tale of Rebecca Chambers, a rookie to STARS and on her very first mission. The night before the mansion incident, BRAVO team is sent in to recon the forest area where multiple deaths have occurred. There chopper is damaged, and they plummet into the Arclay Mountains. They find an Military Police vehicle on a road nearby, and after reading a dossier, they discover that convicted killer Billy Coen has escaped. While the rest of BRAVO team explores the forest, Rebecca finds a train sitting still on the tracks. The rain begins to fall, and the stage is set for yet another venture into the world of survival horror.
For those who have played a Resident Evil before, this game will feel great to you. The controls have not been changed in any way, so fans of the series will have no problems picking up and playing. For those who aren't fans, and have never played a Resident Evil before, the controls will probably feel frustrating. Using the D-Pad doesn't seem to work at all, so the player must use the analog stick. While this isn't a bad thing, it will take some time adjusting to. I've been playing Resident Evil since 1996, and I've become used to the D-Pad. The analog had a strange feeling at first, but I quickly adjusted. By pressing backwards and the 'B' button at the same time, the character will do an about face, which helps the relatively clunky controls. The controls haven't been improved, but they haven't been made worse either. It would have been nice to see a little innovation with the control scheme, but the game sticks with the solid formula, and it works.
The rest of the gameplay has received a major overhaul. Gone are the item boxes that had you frantically backtracking. Say you came to a room that contained a mission critical item that you need to have, and all of your inventory slots were full. You would have to trek back through zombie-filled rooms just to make a space, for the one item, even if you have to go back and collect the item again. Now, you can just drop items where ever you want. It saves you a lot of work and frustration, but there will always be a point where you need to go back and get something you thought was useless. So, backtracking still exists, and you will have to do it as much as ever. In fact, it may even increase the backtracking time, so I wonder why Capcom even bothered to include this feature. The characters only have six item slots, which means you won't be able to carry many items at a time. This means that you'll have to store items in one place, and when you move onto a different area, you need to backtrack to get those items. Many players won't even bother with this, and as a result, they will be severely lacking herbs and ammunition towards the end of the game. I would much rather have had the item boxes stay.
Despite this somewhat large drawback, it is completely and utterly made up for with the new 'buddy system', so to speak. During Rebecca's night, she realizes that the only way she's going to survive is if she cooperates with Billy to take down tougher enemies and solve puzzles. This fantastic addition is simply genius, as it allows you to switch between characters with the press of a button. Billy is the tougher of the two, which means he'll be able to take more damage. If there's a big fight coming up, you'll want Billy right in the middle of things while Rebecca provides cover fire. However, Rebecca can mix herbs and chemicals, which basically amounts to her being a medic with the ability to solve a few puzzles quicker. The two characters can also exchange items, even in the middle of fights when it would be most important. Say Billy runs out of handgun ammo while Rebecca has plenty. She can divide hers up, and give him half. It may not seem very important, but when you hear your empty chamber clicking, you're going to be glad your partner is with you.
And with atmosphere like this game has, you'll be glad you have a partner. You won't want to be separated for long, since the general feeling of the game is very spooky. It's a shame that there aren't many scary parts. Sure, a few of the new enemies are creepy, but they don't instill the fear the hunter from Resident Evil did, or the licker from Resident Evil 2. Whereas the hunter took a certain finesse to beat, the enemies in Ø are somewhat lame. You just run up and shoot them with a shotgun. Try that against a hunter, and you'll be decapitated. And there are hunters in this game, they just aren't as fierce as I would like. So, while it doesn't provide the scares, it does provide a challenge, most notably in the lack of ammo. You won't want to shoot everything in sight, or else you'll be going through the game with your combat knife. Some of the enemies are ridiculously cheap, such as one that will explode at death. There are times, when you can't run away from it, so you're forced to take a major hit. This wouldn't be so bad, until the game starts throwing these creatures at you several rooms in a row. The bosses are disappointingly easy, several can be killed with a handgun.
The graphics are easily the high point of the game. They are far more advanced than that of the Resident Evil remake. The CG is absolutely stunning, and features some brilliant scenes, such as BRAVO team's helicopter going down in the forest. the pre-rendered backgrounds return once again, and the amount of detail is staggering. Shafts of light will cut through mangled blinds, casting your shadow on the wall. It even lets you see the shadows of the zombies, which is one of the scarier parts of the game, until you get used to it. The lighting, the fog, flames, everything about the game is dripping with detail. The character are nicely modeled as well. Billy has to have one of the cooler character designs I've ever seen. Sporting tattoo's on his arm, a handcuff dangles form his wrist, and even shakes when he shoots. It's the little touches like this that really make the game believable and realistic looking.
The sound is another high point. The music is chilling, the voice actors are surprisingly not awful, and the ambience is as good as it gets. For instance, the player will be passing through a room with soft or no music at all, when suddenly the character passes a window. The camera will shift to outside, and the sudden sound of the rain beating on the glass is enough to make you jump a little. The zombies and other enemies sound great, and a few will make you think twice before stepping towards it. The voice acting isn't bad at all, but this of course is Resident Evil, and that requires a few cheesy lines and wrong tone of voice here or there. It's not enough to detract from the experience, however, and the voices of Rebecca and Billy are generally very good.
The replay is fairly decent, with solid mini-game, and plenty of guns and costumes to unlock. It may not have the addictive quality that The Mercenaries in Resident Evil 3 did, but it's an enjoyable game to play to pass the time. You'll probably want to go through the game a few times to get the best rank, but after that, there's not much to do.
My feelings are mixed about Resident Ø, since it advances the plot in a strange way, and in a manner I would not have expected. I'm not going to take anything away from the story, however, just because it isn't what I wanted. The gameplay was fantastic with the addition of another character, but I felt that this game could have been more. This is why I can only recommend this to fans of the series. It might leave you scratching your head, but you'll figure it out. Newcomers won't have any idea what's going on. Unless of course, you're just in the mood for blowing off zombies heads, then this is the game for you. The gameplay is brilliant and the graphics are great. It hasn't fixed anything, and it hasn't sealed up any plot holes. I still enjoyed this game though, simply for the fact of what it is. A Resident Evil game. It's clearly not the best, but it's still a fun game to be had.
Gameplay- 8/10
This could have been a lot worse if it weren't for the partner system. I love the RE controls as much as the next guy, but it's time for a change.
Graphics- 10/10
The game truly shines here. This is one of the best looking games I've ever laid my eyes on.
Sound- 8/10
The ambience and music is very good, but the voice acting can be really strange sometimes.
Replay- 7/10
There's a fun mini-game to play, but not much else. Have fun with the funny costumes though!
Final Score- 8/10