Review By: Joe

Sorry, folks. This review requires a bit of a history lesson.

It was about seven years ago when I was first introduced to a little game for the Sony Playstation that went by the name of Resident Evil. I was visiting my family and friends up in New York over Summer break and my father had just got his computer set up, so I was online a LOT!! My best friend, Shaun, had himself a Sony Playstation that he was completely into and was asking me to get him a bunch of hints and walkthroughs off of the Internet for the games he had. My interest in video games had kinda been replaced with my interest for girls and stuff. I was still an avid Final Fantasy fan and that was about it. This was before Final Fantasy 7 was even thought of for a Playstation release so I was pretty ignorant about some of the other titles. I knew very little about the games that he would tell me about but since I didn't really know anyone else up in New York, I spent a lot of my time either watching T.V. with my father, going to gamble in Canada, going to Shaun's band practices or spending countless hours watching him play different video games.

Over the next few weeks, he kept wanting to show me this "Resident Evil" but I thought the name sounded retarded so, instead, I would make him rent games like Star Wars : Rebel Assault II, Crash Bandicoot or NBA Live '97 that I could play. It wasn't until he asked me to find him a walkthrough for Resident Evil that I became interested in this game. I would read about the things that the character would go through in the game and my mind just could NOT imagine how a game could do such things. So, the next time I went over there I insisted that he throw in Resident Evil so I could finally see what this thing was all about.

We're not but about ten minutes into the game when BAM!!!! Something happens that completely scares the shit out of me and makes me jump off the freakin' floor. Anyone who's played Resident Evil knows what I'm talking about. Hallway.....Crash......Dogs.....Bang Bang. After that, I was hooked. I was on the edge of my seat at just about any point that the character had to do ANYTHING in the game. I would try to stay alert for any other scares just so I wouldn't scream like a girl again. Sometimes I was able to hold it in.....sometimes I couldn't. Quite frankly, we didn't get too far in the game but we sat there playing for almost four hours. I WAS HOOKED! I wanted more.....until Shaun offered me the controller. I REFUSED!! There was something about this game. It might have been just a silly game on the TV but something about it sucked you in and made you truly fear what was happening in it. So, I went home and soon after came back to Texas and wished to God I had a Playstation just to play this wonderful, new game.

One year later, I had just had my heart broken by this evil BITCH of a woman and I found myself with LOTS of free time on my hands. I went over to my friend, David's, place. He had his friend, Jeff, over and Jeff was playing this really cool game on his Playstation that he brought over. I asked him what it was and he says "It's Final Fantasy 7." I think I really did shit in my pants when he told me that. I had completely forgotten about my beloved Final Fantasy games and I never even knew they were releasing it on this Playstation. I was always a Nintendo man with my games and Final Fantasy was always on Nintendo systems. I never imagined that they'd have released Final Fantasy 7 on an inferior system. And then it hit me like a fist. "Wait, this system has this cool Resident Evil game and it has Final Fantasy 7. I must have it." I ran out immediately and bought a copy of Final Fantasy 7. I had no system...but I HAD to have the game. Not too long after that, Gallion and I split the cost of the Playstation and a few weeks after that, I bought his half from him making it MINE! I played my Final Fantasy 7 like there was no tomorrow. Staying up until all hours of the night. Anyone who's into video games knows the term.."Just let me get to my next save point and I'll shut it off." I must have said that a million times but kept playing anyway.

Not too long after, I found myself in the store looking for a new game to pass the time with. There it was. I completely forgot about it in my obsession over Final Fantasy 7. But there it sat, daring me to buy it. Resident Evil. I bought it, called up my friend, Shaun (this Shaun lived in TX at the time....not to be mistaken for NY Shaun.), and we sat down to play the game. Shaun and Crimson had also had some run ins with this game so, between the two of us, we had a basic knowledge of the game. The thrills were still there, we both felt fear, relief and were instantly HOOKED.....again. The game had some pretty impressive graphics for the time. The control was steady and dependable. The voice acting was kinda cheesy though, but it just enhanced that B-movie feel of the game. But, above all else, the game was a really solid title. It didn't rely on just scaring you the whole time by making guys POP up at you outta nowhere. If the game was like that...it would lose it's novelty pretty damn quick. No, this game threw that stuff at you early to get you in the right state of mind and then through some completely psychological loops at you. You find out that it's not really Night of the Living Dead, but a chemical weapon experiment gone terribly wrong. What's worse...it's all been planned out from the beginning by an evil mastermind. The game makes you NEED to stick around and play it and see what happens next.

In the time between then and now, Capcom has released seven other Resident Evil titles. Six of those are Resident Evil : Director's Cut, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil : Code Veronica, Resident Evil 3 : Nemesis, Resident Evil : Survivor and Resident Evil Gaiden. You can read my little bits about those after this review. The seventh is the remake of the original classic. Resident Evil....updated and improved upon for the Nintendo GameCube.

Everything you know about the original Resident Evil.....TOSS IT!! This game may be a remake of the original but the similarities as far as events and locations are limited.

Story - You play the role of either Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield. Both are members of S.T.A.R.S. A special task force created by the Raccoon City Police Department. It seems that people are starting to go missing around town and when they are recovered, the bodies are mutilated and riddled with scratches and traces of bite marks. This action is centralized in a forest on the outskirts of town. S.T.A.R.S. sends in the Bravo team and about 24 hours later, all communication is cut off. Now, it's up to Alpha team to go in and search for any surviving S.T.A.R.S. members. But wouldn't you know it, the rescue mission turns into a survival mission to save your own hide from vicious, dog looking creatures. You take refuge in a nearby mansion that happens to be filled with flesh eating zombies. Something is up out here and it's your mission to find out what and then figure out a way to get you and your comrades back home.

Just like the original, the story differs slightly depending on which character you choose to play as. Chris volunteers to go look for Barry at the onset of his scenario and Jill and Barry decide to go look for Chris at the beginning of Jill's scenario. The people you encounter will be different and the sequence of events will vary depending on who you are but one thing is consistent. Whoever you choose, you're in for one HELL of a game!

Gameplay - If you're familiar with the previous Resident Evil titles, the gameplay shouldn't seem all that different. Where it was tough to find enough ammo to keep yourself alive in the original game...it's even more scarce in this one. Collect your ammo and use it wisely. The only thing that took me a bit to get used to is the awkwardness of the GameCube. controller. If it were up to me, the Playstation Dual Shock controller would be the be all, end all model for controllers until the end of time. But it doesn't take that long to get used to what does what, so good for that.

Just like in almost all Resident Evil games, you have only a certain number of items that you can carry at one time. That's what those item boxes are for that you'll find throughout the mansion and beyond. You place any item in a box and it will be there for you in any other box you go to....unless you unlock True Survivor mode....but that's a whole other story. Jill carries about 8 items at once and Chris carries 6. This becomes a problem when you're running low on ammo for a good weapon and wish to carry a secondary weapon with ammo around with you too. This problem doesn't "hurt" the game's rating though. They do this to challenge you....and Christ what a challenge it is.

Graphics - WOW! WOW! WOW! WOW! What you thought was good and dark and scary in the original......FORGET IT! You haven't seen scary till you seen this new updated version at work. The locations look so REAL and are detailed to the very last pixel. You see bugs and other little creepy crawlies scuttle across the floor as you make your way through a hallway. Dust kicks up when you run over an old, dirty rug. The locations may be scary but they're beautiful at the same time. And not just the locations but the characters look great too. Their motion is fluid and real. It's incredible. The line between FMV and in game graphics is really really thin. Usually a character looks more real in a completely rendered and animated sequence and then you get back tot he gameplay and he looks a little more dinky. Not so in this one. The characters are consistent and compelling. The updated look for the zombies and other creatures is amazing. The game went from being the equivalent of a "B movie" to being the equivalent of a Summer special effects blockbuster. The graphics can only be described as perfect.

Sound - I can't even begin to describe it. It's nice when close attention is paid to a game like this. When your character runs over a rug and it sounds like it. And then he runs on a wooden floor or some kitchen tile and the sound matches up perfectly. Something like that helps you to lose yourself in a game. When you fire a weapon and a shell casing hits the ground and you hear the "tink tink" as it hits the floor and rolls out of sight. These are the things that make these games a bit more real. The game is supposed to be frightening and the sound only lends it a lot more credit. There's nothing creepier than exploring a garden outside and then hearing a shocked scream of pain from somewhere in the distance as some unsuspecting fool gets eaten by a zombie. Or when you're in the house and you hear a moaning of a roaming zombie from the other side of one of countless doors.

As with the original, the use of music is pretty much saved for key events or when they want you to get all worked up. They'll do the build up music when they want you to think that something is gonna pop out at ya. Sometimes something does....but other times it's just a false alarm to get you all worked up for nothing. These Resident Evil guys love to fuck with your head.

The voice acting in this game has been majorly improved. Some people might actually miss the cheesy lines and readings from the original game. But this game carries a more serious tone and the updated soundtrack ensures that you won't be giggling at a stupid line when you should be getting more involved in the story.

Overall - I'm overjoyed with this presentation of the classic Resident Evil. Nintendo earned my disdain in the late years of the Nintendo 64. It seemed that the only games they were putting out were cutesie, big eyed, peace sign showing, colorful, kiddie games. They started off sooo well with games like Killer Instinct Gold, Star Wars : Rogue Squadron and Star Fox 64 but then they went into this world of Diddy Kong HELL and nothing good came of the system after that save for a few select titles. The Zelda games were pretty decent, there was a kick ass game called Rainbow Six that DarkWolf and I lovingly dubbed "Rules of Engagement - The Game" and then there was the legendary Conker's Bad Fur Day. Other than that, Nintendo 64 was just a washed up piece of shit. With the release of the Nintendo GameCube., we've seen some incredible titles in it's first year. Games like Star Wars : Rogue Leader, Super Smash Bros. : Melee and this one, Resident Evil. Nintendo's dropped the "family friendly" bullshit and gone back to releasing some of the better titles in video games. Not that I think they're trendsetting....they just have no choice. If they keep that "family" thing going too much longer, they'll be out of business. So, kudos to Nintendo for jumping on the Resident Evil train and grabbing this title exclusively for GameCube.

It's not just a prettier version of a preexisting game. This game is almost a completely different telling of the original story. There are a few new twists in the game that refresh what may have been tired and cliché enemies. We now have folks like the Crimson Heads to worry about. And there's a new subplot to the game that's about creepy enough to warrant a complete game dedicated only to it. It has to do with the man who designed all the secret passages in this mansion and what this evil corporation has done to him and his family. All of these things are what you wonder about after you played the original games and now we get a taste of it with this version. I'm more than pleased with this game and am looking forward to Nintendo's upcoming release of Resident Evil Zero and the possible remakes of the other previously released titles.

This game is an exclusive to the Nintendo GameCube....can't get it anywhere else.

This game gets an A+ plain and simple. I still like Code Veronica more because of content and such but this game is perfection.

Joe's Resident Evil Round Up

Resident Evil : Director's Cut (Sony Playstation) - The name might deceive you. Apparently, this game was supposed to have a LOAD of material never before seen on the U.S. But there was a problem in the programming department and all we got was the original Resident Evil with a few more unlockable costumes. Still a good buy if you can't find the original Resident Evil.

Resident Evil 2 (Sony Playstation, Nintendo 64, Sega Dreamcast) - Ask most Resident Evil fans and they'll tell you that this one was/is the best of the series. A really solid game and as true to the original as a sequel can be. A much bigger game that spans two discs with multiple endings and plenty of unlockable missions and extras. The graphics on this one are improved a billion fold from the original Resident Evil and the thrills are almost superior. With some better voice acting and a storyline that just pulls you deeper, it's no wonder that most people consider this the best.

Resident Evil : Code Veronica (Sega Dreamcast, Playstation 2) - Ask me and I'll tell you that this one is the best of the series. The only reason this wasn't called "Resident Evil III" is because Sony and Sega both owned rights to the Resident Evil titles and neither would allow the other to have their game be the official third installment. This game was originally a Sega Dreamcast exclusive but then when Sega went the way of disco, it was released on Playstation 2 as Code Veronica X. Like I said above, this is the one I like best in the series. We follow Claire (from Resident Evil 2) who has tracked this mysterious evil to a lab in France. She's taken prisoner and placed on an island that has been overrun with zombies. She needs to find out where she is....how she can escape and how in the hell to stop this evil once and for all. The graphics are even more crisp and clear. The voice acting is great and the story is just soo damn compelling. The first of the series to have some really mind blowing subplots as you struggle to find out the mystery of these flesh eating, virus bred zombies. Not since Final Fantasy 7 had I played a game that I, honestly, couldn't put down until I had beaten it. Resident Evil : Code Veronica X had just joined the ranks.

It's a weird story to tell but I'll always remember the day I beat this game. I put it in one night after hangin' out with the boys and didn't stop playing until I beat it. That turned out to be at 5 a.m. the next day. After I beat it, I laid down and went to bed and hours later I was woken up by the phone. It was one of my friends calling to tell me that someone just crashed a plane into the World Trade Center in New York. Now, whenever I check my memory card and look up my Resident Evil data, it tells me the last save was on 9/11/01. It kinda creeps me out but, at the same time, I refuse to save it again to change the date. Stupid personal shit.

Resident Evil 3 : Nemesis (Sony Playstation, Sega Dreamcast) - This one takes place at the same time as Resident Evil 2 as you play the part of Jill (from the original Resident Evil) who's trying to escape from Raccoon City. This game sees the end of what, up until this point, has been the setting of almost all of the Resident Evil games. The graphics are only slightly improved from Resident Evil 2 and the voice acting is about on the same level. The game disappoints in a few departments. Compared to the other Resident Evil games....it's incredibly short. Not quite as many thrills and the story isn't too terribly deep or involved. It's more of a shoot 'em up adventure than a survival horror game. Still, it's worth playing if you're a fan of the series.

Resident Evil : Survivor (Sony Playstation) - Here's a game that some people avoid like the plague. Dubbed "the worst game of the series", Resident Evil : Survivor takes the Resident Evil formula and turns it into a bit of a first person shooter. The game is compatible with the light gun in Japan but everyone in the U.S. is soo fucking freaked out about anything that has to do with violence that they took the light gun option off of the U.S. version. So, you basically walk around Doom style and adventure through this game almost like you would a regular Resident Evil title. This game has very little to do with the continuity of the rest of the series. You play a new character in a totally different city who comes down with a case of amnesia in the middle of a city being overrun by these monsters and zombies. The graphics are actually quite good and the gameplay is pretty fluid. The voice acting is about on par with the original Resident Evil but I don't think that really hurts it. It's a fun game and I happen to enjoy it a lot. This one had more thrills that Resident Evil 3 : Nemesis did. There's nothing quite like encountering all those scary beasts from the previous games in a first person mode. Watching them chasing after YOU and not some character on the screen. Good game to have if you just wanna have fun.

Resident Evil Gaiden (Nintendo Game Boy Color) - In a world with the Game Boy Advance and 32 bit graphics and enhanced sound, I can't help but wonder "Why the hell was this game designed for the Game Boy Color!?" I would have liked to have seen a more vivid presentation for this game. However, the game does not disappoint. As Barry Burton (a minor player from the original Resident Evil) it's your job to investigate the disappearance of Leon Kennedy (from Resident Evil 2) on a cruise ship that has begun to drift aimlessly in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. You get there and guess what you find....yep...zombies. The graphics are about par for a Game Boy Color title. Here's my big advice for this game. You see that volume control on your Game Boy Color or Game Boy Advance? Take it and turn it down all the way. The music is repetitive and WAAAAY too high pitched. I got a headache the first 3 times I played this game. Other than that, you gotta get used to the new battle system. If you can do that...you'll like this game a lot.