As with every other previous Resident Evil title, a game series responsible for robbing us of countless hours of sleep, due to uncontrollable fear and hypertension invoked by the images we witnessed on the television screen, you are greeted with a warning when you first power up your GameCube. It reads, âThis game contains graphic images of violence and gore.â Fun stuff, you think to yourself, as you quickly tap the A Button in an attempt to begin playing. You nervously shift in your seat, aware that your heart has begun to pound furiously in your chest, and a faint, but noticeably moist layer of sweat has formed on your forehead. Let the survival horror beginâ¦
Graphics:
Without a doubt, the primary aspect, which you will become aware of immediately upon beginning a new game, is the graphics. In the survival horror genre comparable only to other installments in the series, âResident Evilâ will not only amaze and astound you, but convey the central theme of the game so well, that sleep will become an ancient relic of the past for you until either your mother forces the controller out of your shaking hands the next day, or the game is completed. How good are the graphics you ask?
During the opening cinematic, you witness the desperate search for a downed helicopter dispatched by your organization, the STARS squad, similar to the FBI. Over the course of the last several weeks, mysterious mauling attacks have been reported by the citizens of Raccoon City, unaware that the heinous Umbrella Corporation, one of the largest chemical manufacturers in the World, has released a virulent toxin, responsible for the deaths of thousands. As your helicopter finally manages to locate the downed vessel by utilizing its searchlight through extremely foggy conditions, all of which is realistically rendered to the point of making it a feasible comparison to Squaresoftâs âFinal Flight of the Osiris,â things immediately turn sour. One of your team members, responsible for documenting the downed crash through video, which you witness via a âcameraâ view, suddenly hears a horrific scream cut through the eerily silent night air, immediately sprints to see what is occurring. What occurs next must be seen to be believed.
Realistically rendered apparently genetically altered Doberman Pinchers ambush the cameraman, complete with spilling entrails and dislocated ribs, proving his mortality on the spot. Once the cinema finally ends, you prepare yourself to finally see the real-time graphics, expecting them to be a cut in quality. However, to your pleasant surprise, the graphics continue to stay at the high level set forth in the cinemas. You find yourself in the entrance hall of an elaborate Victorian mansion, complete with carpeting, intricate wood styling, oil paintings, and a fireplace. The backdrops, although pre-rendered react realistically to light sources, such as the flickering fireplace, thanks to ingenious ânormal mapping,â a technique employed by graphic designers to make a flat surface react to lighting and other influential sources as if they were constructed for 3 dimensional polygons.
Zombie models are well constructed as well, limping realistically and reacting to where they were shot, and missing many pieces of flesh, which can cause ominous shadows to fall over the body as well.
Sadly, as was the problem with Squaresoftâs âOsiris,â the main characters lack any features, which could be viewed as imperfections, such as wrinkles, flushed cheeks, etc. Though small, and almost negligible, it is apparent that the graphics are starting to show its age. Also, as was a problem with previous âResident Evilâ titles, when walking, the character models appear to be walking blocks of wood, only managing stiff movement, as well as no upper body movement. But then again, you will be too compelled by the rest of the game, and shaking out of fear, that you will most likely not notice.
SCORE: 8.5/10
Sound:
The sound is presented in the now old Dolby Surround Sound Pro Logic Format. Even if stereo sound is all you have, you will most likely be satisfied. Both gunshots as well as footsteps are sampled in high bit rate, and zombies moan with tremendous agony, making you believe that they are actually the screams of the damned. Leaves and twigs crunch and snap under your feet, and doors creak realistically. Overall, it is high quality, as all games should be. Lack of support for never sound systems, however, hurt the score slightly.
SCORE: 8.0/10
Gameplay & Controls:
The control and inventory management system has always been a tremendous splinter in my eyes for the âResident Evilâ series, which hurt the overall ability for one to enjoy the game. The control scheme itself, although transferred well to the GameCube controller, appears to be a direct port out of the Stone Age, still utilizing the forward button to move in any direction, granted that you used the left and right arrows to have turned in that direction first. This nearly guarantees death every time two or more zombies ambush you, leading to a tremendous frustration level, unparalleled by any other game. The problem has been attempted to be addressed by the designers, however, adding the functionality of using the back arrow on the controller to do a 180-degree turn to flee in the opposite direction of the enemies. However, during your frantic fight for survival it is extremely likely that you will inadvertently neglect these facts, leading to cursing at the screen and frantic button pushes until you either escape extremely mangled or dead. Why canât Capcom just change it to standard platformer controls? The game would be that much more enjoyable.
The next tremendous complaint comes from the inventory system. The number of items you are capable of carrying is extremely limited, forcing you to leave behind precious and much needed ammunition to carry crests and other seemingly worthless items. If the series would simply adopt a Metal Gear Solid like approach in terms of inventory, the games would once again receive a boost in the ability for the player to enjoy it as well as lend an ease of play to any new gamers. Though this limited inventory is meant to enhance your feeling of helplessness, it is more successful at lending you a feeling of despair and frustration. This leads to âmagic boxesâ in which you deposit all of currently not needed items, and transfer magically from one of these deposit points to another. This hurts the credibility of the game, and makes you become aware again that you are merely playing a game.
This said, the learning curve is tremendously steep, especially for those accustomed to platformers and action titles. Therefore, if the player wants to truly learn to play, he must spend several hours becoming used to the control scheme. Sadly, with the attention span of gamers today, this is not likely, and the player will simply opt to put in Mario Sunshine and return âResident Evilâ to the store.
Finally, the save system designed for the game is simply horrendous. The player is forced to use a limited amount of ink ribbons in order to save his progress, which leads to a tremendous amount of problems. Have to eat dinner in ten minutes? Better not start playing. Canât dedicate at least two hours at a time to the game? Donât bother to power up your GameCube. This hurts accessibility of the game to a broad audience, making the game for fans of âSurvival Horrorâ only. The other terrible thing is that upon death, you are forced to restart at your previous save. This is especially horrible if you havenât saved for two hours for fear of wasting ink ribbons, and eventually makes you throw your controller down in disgust at the need of backtracking. Like all games in the genre, your game is rated in terms of a final grade, which governs what types of bonuses you will unlock upon completion, dependent upon completion time and number of saves. This leads the majority of casual players to receive a terrible grade.
Of course not all is negative in the gameplay department, and what the game is advertised to do it does well. Due to limited ammunition and great graphics, the game will draw you in and scare you for an extremely elongated amount of time.
Undoubtedly the best way to play is to put in the game while spending the night with a friend, and completing it during one session. When one person gets tired, he hands the game over to his friends. This gives the game continuity, which is required for the storyline, as well as a heightened sense of enjoyment, which will force you to laugh like school girls when both of you jump into the air out of fear from a gunshot.
SCORE: 6.0/10
Conclusion:
âResident Evilâ for Nintendo GameCube is an enjoyable and riveting game, if you are capable of overcoming the control scheme. Despite these limitations, the realistic graphics, well-sampled sound, professional story, and gameplay manage to outweigh the negative, and make for a solid gameplay experience.
OVERALL SCORE: 7.5/10
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