Resident Evil

Resident Evil (Capcom)

Having purchased no new games since Mafia 2 and Dead Rising 2 still a few weeks away I thought I'd go back a few years to the 2002 remake of the 1996 classic, Resident Evil. And after seeing the newest movie, Resident Evil Afterlife TWICE in one day, I'm in the mood for some Zombie nostalgia. The reason I chose the Gamecube remake (Now on the Nintendo Wii too) is because it truly brings out the survival horror that had me dreading to walk round a corner or open a door.

Story
July 24th, 1998. A series of bizarre murders have occured on the outskirts of Racoon City with people being attacked by a group of people. The victims were apparently eaten. The Racoon City Police Department's Special Tactics and Rescue Service's (S.T.A.R.S) Bravo Team were sent in to investigate and shortly disappeared. When the RCPD lost contact with them, Alpha Team were dispatched to search and if need be rescue them. Whilst Alpha Team were flying round the forest they spotted smoke rising in the distance. Upon landing and approaching the smoked area they found Bravo Team's helicopter. No one was on board save the pilot who was dead. The team fanned out and searched the area. Joseph Frost called out to the other team members when he made a discovery of a human hand still attached to the gun but not the body. These were his last moments as a group of creatures came from the shadows and attacked him. His screams alerted the other members of Alpha Team, Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton and Albert Wesker. As they opened fire on the creatures which turned out to be mutilated Dobermans it was too late as they had already started eating Joseph's corpse. Now the dogs attention turned to the remaining members who started to run for their helicopter only to find their pilot Brad Vickers had taken off. In their desperate escape they head for a house up ahead which as they approach turns out to be a Mansion. They escape into the mansion, where they thought it was safe. Yet...

They were confronted by their worst nightmare!

Depending who you play as the game and story varies. You have the choice of either Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield. Whichever one you choose another character goes missing. If you're Jill then Chris goes missing and after a brief time of investigating gunfire with Barry, Wesker disappears too. Where as if you're Chris then Barry goes missing and after about 5 minutes of gameplay, Jill too along with Wesker.

Whilst searching the mansion, guardhouse, sewers and laboratory, the hero of your choice will solve various puzzles and fight off a varity of undead humans, dogs, a giant poisenous snake, giant spiders, hunters, a giant plant called Plant 42, Lisa Trevor (a human test subject) and finally the Tyrant. And throghout the game you will find members of Bravo Team alive or dead. Anyway you play the game, Wesker will always turn out to be a traitor. Depending on how you play the game there are a number of endings where you excape alone or with other team members. However to this day Capcom have never explained what the true ending is due to them having no high expectations when they released the original in 1996. Why this was never fixed seeing as it's now released several more titles is beyond me.

Lisa Trevor's scream and groans really make this game truly eery.

Design
The original Resident Evil on PS1 invented a new genre called 'Survival Horror' where the player must save ammo and health for bigger fights throughout the game. In these types of games it's possible to get so far by the skin of your teeth only to find you can no longer proceed further if you haven't planned properly. Resident Evil uses fixed cameras in all areas. This means you cannot look around your surroundings and see what's up ahead in a dimly lit corridor. When it comes to fighting the action is not so advanced like other games. You hold a button to aim and press a button to shoot. You can aim up and with certain weapons pull off a head shot and you can aim down for a floored creature. The use of auto-aim helps with the fixed cameras. Although it may sound simple or even boring, Resident Evil pulls it off quite well and the eventful story and atmosphere keeps you drawn into it to find out what happens next or what's coming after you. Although technically it's not a free roam game, you can explore the environment several times either for back tracking to further the story or to look for ammo and health items. When venturing around the different areas you will be limited in some cases by a locked door or a puzzle. You also need to save the game every so often using a typewriter and an ink ribbon because if you die you start back from where you saved. I once got so far without saving and had my head knocked off by a Hunter and had to restart the entire game.

The fixed camera allows you to see all in this shot but not what might be lurking behind you.

Gameplay
Set in third person view, Resident Evil offers a number of corridors for you run round only to find the camera changing and you're confronted with if not already in the grasp of a zombie. By shooting them you can kill them (again). The number of shots fired to take them down vary. You can pull off a lucky headshot with the pistol which takes their head off or they can fall down and when trying to run past them thinking they're finished they can grab your leg and make things unpleasent for you. If they stay down with a pool of blood around them then they won't get back up. Or will they..? In this remake some zombies get back up when you return to that area later in the game. Except where as before they were slow, now they are faster and stronger with longer nails that can deliver a viscious blow and can even break through some doors. They become known as Crimpson Heads. If a zombie falls to the ground with no pool of blood you have the option to burn their corpse. This insures they will not return.

Crimpson Head

As you progress through the game other creatures will appear and other weapons will be available to help you. Including a shotgun, magnum, bazooka and flame thrower. If you're unfortunate enough to run out of ammo you can use your trusty knife but it takes a considerable more amount of hits and involves getting close to the infected.

A key part of the game are the puzzles. Some can be to find an item, some to proceed further and some to avoid instant death. If a puzzle leads to an item you may find that you cannot carry it due to not having enough space in your inventory. If playing as Jill this is rarely a problem because she has 8 item slots and Chris has only 6. When playing as Jill, Barry supplies you with a lock pick. This enables you to unlock certain doors and cupboards without a fuss. This counts as her 'Special' item that is on her at all times and doesn't take up a slot. For Chris you have to find 'Small Keys' for cupboards or just one of the main keys in the game to get through a door.

This makes Chris's playthrough the most difficult out of the two playable characters. Or in my view simply more challenging.

Presentation
This remake was made only one generation up from the original and the visuals, sound and overall differences are amazing. The original has no dimly lit areas and not really that much atmosphere. At the time I was about 11 years old and to me it was pretty freaky. But the remake doesn't contain too many well lit areas and the thunder and lightning flashing through the window not only lights the room for a seconds glimpse at a zombies deformed face, but it makes you jump out your seat. The music was a good eery factor in the original and remains the same in the remake. Due to the graphical advancements the monsters look more frightening and believable.

Original (1996)

 

   

Remake (2002)

Besides everything being upgraded rather than just upscaled, the game has some new areas such as a garden shed and a spooky graveyard. It also contains new items that replace some in the classic. Instead of getting 4 Crests to get out into the Guardhouse you need 4 Deathmasks. Some of the puzzles have been changed up too. The classic portrait puzzle where you flick switches under them in the right order of age has been replaced with a mixing colours using lights puzzle. And many others.

The boss fights remain virtually the same except they look even more terrifying. The only added boss fights are the encounters of Lisa Trevor and a giant shark. The shark is in the original but after draining the water it can be shot or stabbed once and it dies. The remake involves a lot more brain work in order for it to be defeated.

The cutscenes and voice acting were remade very well compared to the original where it was... well... cheesy. Although at the time seemed very cool and 'in'. Most of the lines from the script from the original were kept the same but said more believably and in a better made cut scene.

The Resident Evil franchise is something I hold dear to my memories and heart. Whether it be game, novel or movie. Wesker will always remain my favourite character and the mansion will always be my favourite area in all Resident Evil games. I remember being 11 and going to Grandparents house to watch my uncle play the original. Infact he was the person who introduced me to it. And since then I've carried on fighting the undead and making Survival Horror somewhat of a profession of mine. Resident Evil 1 remake or original is one of my top 10 all time favourites and always will be. I give it a solid 10/10.