Resident Evil

As I re-entered the old mansion, my mind was filled with memories of Capcom's greatest game -- Resident Evil. The mansion was different, but still the same. Many of the rooms had been moved to new locations, while a creepy forest haunted the building outside. Daylight would not come for some time, not in the game and certainly not in reality. It was dark, it was creepy, and by some crazy twist of fate, I found myself transported back to 1996. As I cringed at the thought of having to battle another immortal monster, I knew that this was going to be the remake to end all remakes.

Note: If you are a diehard Resident Evil fan and have been anticipating this game's release ever since it was unveiled last fall, then play through Resident Evil for the GameCube as soon as you can. After the credits roll, come back and read my review. It may sound like I'm asking you to do things backwards, but that's only because this game is too good to spoil. Unfortunately, I can't review RE without giving away some of the coolest surprises. I went into this game as clueless as I went into the original, which allowed me to enjoy it so much more than I would have had I known exactly what lied ahead. I started playing it at 3:00pm on Saturday, and did not stop until 1:00am! That was the first break I had all day. Aside from eating (once) and going to the bathroom, I never stopped playing. The Stanley Cup playoffs were being shown live on TV, but I taped the game so I could continue playing Resident Evil. It's ridiculous, I know. But every time I thought I could stop, some"thing" pulled me back in. That something is where the spoilers begin...

With every Resident Evil game on the PSone and Dreamcast, Capcom introduced at least one new creature of some kind. They also beefed up the strength of each zombie. In this remake, they've beefed up the zombies even more, creating a whole new monster. Early on in the game, Jill comes across an empty bottle of kerosene. Shortly afterwards, she finds a lighter and a large jug of kerosene. "What do I do with this?" I wondered, failing to read the memo explaining its use. A few hours later, I got my answer. Zombies no longer disappear when you kill them (unless they are blown up or decapitated). I liked this a lot because it added a sense of realism to the game. If zombies really existed, their bodies would be everywhere! However, that's not why they no longer disappear. Just like in the movie, these zombies never really die since they're already dead. After rotting on the floor for an hour, the zombies evolve, becoming stronger and faster than ever before. One of their hands is replaced by a razor-sharp claw, allowing them to slice and dice you with two or three swipes. Instead of staggering, the evolved zombies will lunge at you! Basically, they're like a killable Nemesis. The only way to stop them now is to burn or blow them up with the grenade launcher. (The zombies don't actually explode, but you can blow off their heads!) To prevent the zombies from evolving, you must set their corpses on fire.

Tip: do not burn any zombies in rooms that have only one entrance! Chances are you will not have to revisit these rooms, so wasting valuable kerosene on them would be a mistake.

All of the new and rearranged areas blend together perfectly. Capcom obviously wanted to give gamers a new, yet familiar experience. It was so exciting to experience the game again as if I were experiencing it for the first time. The bag of plant killer is used in the same way that it was before, but there's a twist: if you disperse the chemical improperly, it'll kill all of the herbs in the room! This is one of the most minor examples that I can think of. There are many other minor and major changes in this game, and several subtle features that will please every RE fan.

Newcomers will love it too -- if you have yet to take the survival/horror plunge, Resident Evil is the best place to start. Actually, the survival/horror genre begins and ends with Resident Evil. I've enjoyed many horror game, but none of them have kept me on the edge of my seat for as long as the RE series. I was so tense during the last few hours of Jill's scenario that I could not wait to see the helicopter arrive. It was just like the very first time I beat the PSone version. After the credits rolled, I went to sleep. I was glad to be away from the constant thrills and chills that Resident Evil provided. When I woke up, I wanted that feeling again. I wanted to be scared. It was around this time last year that I felt a similar sensation with Onimusha for the PlayStation 2. Onimusha wasn't scary, but the desire to play through it multiple times was the same. I started a new game less than 12 hours after finishing Onimusha. And now, less than 12 hours after finishing Resident Evil, I can't wait to go back and play through it again. Not just for the extras -- but for the enjoyment of playing the game itself. I'll earn the new costumes, new weapons and battle the new monsters (most which are acquired by playing through the game very quickly) later. For now I just want to take my time and explore the mansion to its fullest, just like I did the first time around.

Gameplay: 9.7
Fans of the series will be glad to know that Resident Evil has retained its classic PSone gameplay while incorporating an abundance of new features. The control setup is virtually the same. I was really surprised by how well the GameCube controller handled with RE. At one point I looked down at my hands and was a little stunned by what I saw. Believe it or not, I actually forgot that I was playing a GameCube game! The near-perfect controls allowed me to play through the game without hurting my hands, creating a seamless survival/horror experience that entertained me from start to finish.

Graphics: 9.6
Despite being on a kid-oriented console, Resident Evil's content has not been dummied down in the least bit. There's more realistic violence and gore than ever before. If that isn't something to rejoice about, then I don't know what is. Seriously, a survival/horror game would not be scary if it wasn't realistic. You've got to feel like you're running for your life at all times (hence the name, "survival/horror"). That effect could not be achieved without violence.

All of the humans, zombies and monsters are rendered more realistically than every other video game character in the world. You won't believe how detailed they are. Jill and Chris look more like real people, and the zombies look like real zombies (if zombies really existed, that is). The spiders are covered in fur, and the backgrounds are drop-dead gorgeous. The water effects are really amazing, even more so than Pikmin. Thus far, this is the most realistic-looking game ever made.

Sound: 9.3
Musically, Resident Evil is incredible. The mixture of realistic thunder, ticking clocks and haunting music create an extremely tense mood that can't be shaken (unless you hit the mute button). As with the first two RE games, the music and sound effects are what makes the game scary. The creepy new monsters help, but a zombie can only be scary by itself for so long. If you have a sub-woofer and/or surround sound speakers, now's the time to use them!

The first four Resident Evil games had really cheesy voice acting. Although some of it was annoying, I personally liked the cheesy acting because it helped break up the tension. Hoping to make the game scarier, Capcom removed all tension-breakers from Resident Evil by recording new voice-overs. The result: pretty good, but certainly not great. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop thinking of how cheesy each of the characters used to be. Even now, in their more realistic state, they're still not as believable as Jamie Lee Curtis in Halloween, or Courtney Cox Arquette in Scream.

Difficulty: 8
Although most of the changes are great, there is one really odd change that I could have done without. Health items (First Aid Spray and Herbs) are everywhere. There were so many of them in some locations that I ended up having to leave a few behind! At the end of the game, I had six or seven First Aid Sprays and several mixed herbs (not including the ones I took with me for the final battle). But I had very, very little ammo. I guess this was intended to create a higher sense of fear, since you must run from some of the monsters to conserve ammo. For the most part it worked, but I liked the original game's balance of ammo and health items better.

Concept: 9
Down with ports, up with remakes! I wish that every developer would remake their games like this before porting them to another console. Resident Evil is the greatest remake ever made, in any form of entertainment. It's better than any remade movie, and it's better than any remade music CD (those are usually called remixes). Best of all, the replay value is extremely high. I just beat it this morning, but I can't wait to go back and play through it again.

Overall: 9.4
Resident Evil isn't so much of a long game as it is a big one. You could search the mansion for days and fail to see everything. It's not just the enhanced scope either -- the rooms are bigger, and the layout of the mansion is superb. In 14 months, Capcom took a classic game and made it even better. At first, I wasn't scared while playing it because I knew what was coming. But after the first surprise unveiled itself, there was nothing I could do to ease the tension. It was great! If you've never played RE before, the remake will scare you to death. And if you have played through it before, it still will scare you to death! Maybe not as much, but you will jump out of your seat at least once -- I guarantee it.