"Scary" movies don't creep me out (and good lord, the big-screen adaptation of Resident Evil certainly didn't creep me out). And until recently I could say that video games didn't creep me out either (with the Playstation One's Silent Hill being the only possible exception). Well, Resident Evil for the Gamecube changed everything. This game is creepy - it's not scary per se but it just has a way of getting under your skin; it puts you on edge. You hear things - creaking floors, thunder, a ticking clock, howling winds, and oh yeah, the moans of rapidly approaching zombies in the dark. Then you see things - lightning flashes through the window, a zombie hunched over your dead friend eating his carcass as blood drips from his chin, a Doberman crashes through a window in a deadly silent and poorly lit hallway. Put these together with jaw-dropping graphics and solid (if dated) gameplay and you have, hands down, the best Gamecube game to date.
Gameplay
The game begins with a short movie: a helicopter lands in a dark forest, we hear television news broadcasts in the background detailing the recent deaths of entire families in Raccoon City, then a small crew disembarks from the copter. The team (members of S.T.A.R.S., or Special Tactics And Rescue Service) is on the scene to locate an earlier team that was dispatched to the area and has lost contact.They find that the crew's helicopter with its captain dead inside, and no one else is anywhere to be found. Then the crew is suddenly attacked by a pack of wild Doberman, and one member is mauled to death while the rest of the team makes a run for an old mansion in the distance (you first run for the copter but find it's already taken flight).
Reaching the mansion safely, Jill and Chris (the game's two main characters) are baffled. What the hell is going on?
You'll find out soon enough. First, you have to select whether or not you wish to play as Jill or Chris (it actually matters who you choose as the story for each is slightly different and choosing Chris actually makes the game more difficult).
Your main objective: survive. Your secondary objective: investigate this forsaken place. Of course, along your journey you encounter everything from zombies eating your friends, to mutated dogs, man-eating plants, sharks, giant spiders, and other random mutated monstrosities out for nothing more than your flesh. You also find suspicious, and insightful, diaries littering the complex. Nothing is what it seems.
Something deeper is definitely going on and it's your job to figure out what. The story is actually quite involved - and quite good in fact - especially for a video game.
The story and atmosphere are superb. They're really what make the game work. The control scheme and gameplay mechanics, on the other hand, are actually weaker than I would have expected.
The characters in Resident Evil are a bit clunky to control. They're also more than a little disorienting at first and quite annoying even. It does grow on you though, which is something - that means the control isn't truly awful. Just awkward. And the gameplay mechanics themselves are solid but do lack innovation.
Buttressed by atmosphere and an engrossing story, Resident Evil easily overcomes what control and gameplay faults it may have.
Grade: B-
Graphics
Ok...ok...ok...So maybe Capcom (the game's developer/publisher) put one over on us and pulled more than a few rabbits out of a hat to get Resident Evil to look THIS good. And sure, it is misleading how good the game looks (more on this in a moment). But at face value, Resident Evil sports the best graphics of ANY video game that I've ever played, bar none.The trick to Resident Evil is that the developers use pre-rendered backgrounds. That is, rather than the Gamecube rendering the environment on-the-fly, the system essentially just loads a picture file that your character (which is rendered on-the-fly) simply walks through.
You might think that this would look, well, bad. But it doesn't, Capcom pulled it off flawlessly, and your character blends seamlessly with the pre-rendered backgrounds and rarely does the "blue screen effect" occupy your mind.
Of course, the biggest disadvantage to using pre-rendered backgrounds is that it requires the use of a static camera - unlike most games (Metal Gear Solid 2 and another Capcom game, Devil May Cry, come to mind) which render the backgrounds on-the-fly, allowing the virtual "camera" following your character to actually hover above you.
And for most games, a dynamic camera is essential, absolutely necessary. In fact, I contend that only with a game like Resident Evil can you do otherwise. Only in a game like Resident Evil, where dramatic camera angles and precise positioning enhance so much of the atmosphere, can pre-rendered backgrounds and a static camera work.
In short, the game is beautiful. But do keep in mind that it comes with its limitations - in this case a static camera angle and the occasional obstructed view. A static camera? Pre-rendered backgrounds? It only works with Resident Evil but it does work amazingly well.
Grade: A
Sound
The sound in Resident Evil is on par with the storyline and the graphics. From unique sounds each time your foot stomps a different surface (be it wet grass, concrete, wood, marble, shards of glass, or carpet), to detailed weather effects (water falling, wind howling, lightning crashing), to downright eerie music playing in certain rooms of the mansion, the sound in Resident Evil helps create atmosphere just as well as the graphics themselves.You really couldn't ask for much more. The voice acting is a bit weak, but it's a "horror" game. You rarely even get good or even decent actors in most Hollywood "horror" movies. So I can't really complain much, it's average video game voice work - nothing to write home about. But talking isn't Resident Evil's focus, and the eerie sound effects steal the spotlight here.
Grade: A-
Replay Value:
If you enjoy the thrill and the creeps, then you'll play this one time and time again. While the story won't remain fresh, the creepiness shouldn't diminish for some time. Throw in two playable characters with different storylines, multiple difficulty levels, and some un-lockable goodies, and Resident Evil will keep you coming back.
As for the first time through, the story will pull you in and the atmosphere will engulf you - you won't want to put the controller down (just ask my friends, they can attest to that).
Grade: A-
While I actually never played the original Resident Evil, I can say that this new incarnation is definitely worth your hard earned cash. Sporting some of the best graphics ever, atmospheric sound to match them, and an engrossing story, Resident Evil is certainly one of the best games of the past 12 months. And it is unmatched on the Gamecube.
Overall: A-
@s:'Resident Evil' doesn't get boring
