Resident Evil

UPC: 013388200016

Platform: Nintendo GameCube

Publisher: Capcom USA, Inc.

Developer: Capcom Co., Ltd.

Category: Adventure

Style(s): Survival Horror

Synopsis: Capcom's 1996 blockbuster PlayStation game, which helped establish survival horror as a viable genre, is the subject of this enhanced remake exclusive to the GameCube. Franchise creator Shinji Makami has supervised the translation, which introduces real-time environmental effects designed to make the pre-rendered backgrounds more believable. Grass will sway in the wind, water will run, and blood will drip as players witness new animations for main characters Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. In addition to the refined visuals made possible by the jump from a 32-bit to a 128-bit system, Resident Evil features new voice-overs recorded to elicit a more dramatic mood than the stilted and monotone deliveries heard in the original. As players progress through the haunted mansion, battling zombies, ravens, dogs, and other undead creatures, a number of new bonuses can be unlocked. These include costumes, a different game mode, and additional weapons to extend the horror classic's core gameplay. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Package Contents: Precautions Booklet

Controls: Joystick/Gamepad

The color documentation offers brief bios for each of the principal characters and helps explain the new items and controls. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

While the environments aren't 3D, most won't care with the lavish detail in every scene. The tattered wallpaper is so beautiful in its dinginess that you might find yourself staring at it while a zombie approaches. Character models are wonderful and feature motion-captured animation. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Released on the PlayStation in 1996, Resident Evil was a landmark title in its ability to combine suspense, horror, and, at the time, beautifully detailed pre-rendered graphics that helped the decrepit mansion become as much an important character as the protagonist duo of Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield or any of the zombies shuffling across the hallways. The control was awkward, movement sluggish, and the voice acting as scary as any of the monsters, but few games offered such unforgettable moments. While not the first to pioneer the survival horror genre, Resident Evil certainly brought it front row and center in the minds of chill-seeking gamers, leaving earlier attempts at horror, well, alone in the dark. Yet when Capcom announced the six-year-old PlayStation original was coming to GameCube, it was understandably hard to be enthusiastic. With "advanced" games like Devil May Cry and Onimusha: Warlords available on PlayStation 2, why would anyone want to revisit a decaying relic on such a powerful platform? Less a remake in the traditional sense than a complete overhaul, Resident Evil <I>is</I> worth revisiting and has never looked or played better. Redesigned under the watchful eye of series creator Shinji Makimi, the game will leave players surprised, shocked, and trembling with fear with the changes made to the mansion's overall layout, its "residents," and puzzles. The setting is even more foreboding thanks to new fixed camera angles, dramatic lighting (candlelight flickers as shadows dance across walls, lightning flashes through windows, etc.), and subtle movement such as drifting fog, dripping water, and swaying chandeliers. The sound, one of the most important ingredients in a survival horror title, is perfectly designed, creating a constant sense of dread without relying too much on obvious shock values. The creak of a door, echo of footsteps, muffled groan of a zombie, crackle of lightning, and steady patter of rain is used wonderfully to keep players on edge as they slowly make their way through the once ornate mansion and surrounding areas. A separate mode called "Invisible Enemy" (after beating the game with Chris) has players relying solely on their ears to avoid or fight enemies. While boss encounters generally remain the same, new rooms and many surprises lie in wait for veteran players. The bullets are still limited, and players can only save after first locating ribbons and then using them on one of the typewriters, but this is a necessary evil in creating tension and uneasiness during play -- there's not much fear in losing your character when you know you can pick up where you left off moments before a disastrous event, and the zombies are far less threatening if you can repeatedly mow them down with unlimited ammo. Resident Evil forces players to be extremely judicious with their gunfire, firing a few rounds into a zombie to keep it at a distance, then fleeing before it picks itself up again and resumes its single-minded pursuit. The action is difficult this time around, as the zombies seem to be more powerful and more resilient to attacks, but the controls have been tweaked a bit to allow for quick 180-degree turns. It is still often hard to move in specific directions, however, thanks to the narrow hallways and confining environments. Jill and Chris aren't very fast either, but this is also a byproduct of the game's deliberate pacing. New to this version of Resident Evil are Crimson Hunters -- the zombies you left for dead the first time through the mansion aren't quite gone yet and now move with deadly speed and emit an unnerving shrieking sound. They also have claws for hands and like to quickly carve you up unless you put an end to their misery by popping off their heads with a shotgun. A new boss character, Lisa Trevor, is as powerful as she is disgusting, exhibiting traits of Resident Evil 3's Nemesis as you encounter her multiple times throughout your travels. Also new to the game is the ability to defend yourself against a zombie attack using a found item such as a dagger or explosives. Instead of wasting ammo or slicing at the beast, players can press a button to use a defensive weapon to buy precious seconds of time to escape. The dagger, for instance, is unsheathed and then thrust into the skull of the zombie in one wholly satisfying motion, while explosives can be shoved into the chest cavity and will start popping with little sparks and tufts of smoke emanating from the corpse. It's a beautiful thing. Even the puzzles have been modified or in some instances totally reworked to offer a bit more depth than the rudimentary tasks found in the original, such as the puzzle before the Plant 42 boss. Instead of replacing a book on the shelf to activate the secret door, players must arrange the books to form a picture of a nude woman. Most puzzles can be solved using clues from nearby paintings or inscriptions, so you are not stuck randomly pulling on switches or pressing buttons -- you can figure out the solutions using the old noggin. Yet the most shocking part of the transformation may very well be the newly recorded voice acting. It isn't quite motion-picture quality, but you can definitely tell the voice actors have a clue on how the dialogue should be delivered. Some may argue the original voice acting gave the title a B-movie quality, but the ridiculous expressions and monotone delivery went against the story's more serious tone. Gone is the infamous reference to Jill as "the master of unlocking" and other awkward phrases that were a result of sloppy translation from the Japanese original. Resident Evil is a must-buy for those who never experienced it on the PlayStation, as it is an excellent starting point to get players in the mood to experience the rest of the series on the GameCube. It's a game offering a surprising amount of replay value with two different characters, optional side quests, bonus modes to unlock, and a dynamic story no longer hindered by poor translation or second-rate voice acting. It's a game dripping with atmosphere, literally, and ranks as one of the most impressive GameCube achievements in sound and visuals to date. Dim the lights, close the doors, and be prepared to never look at Dobermans the same way again. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

A total of ten endings are available on top of extra costumes, new game modes, and two characters with slightly different storylines. The presentation is so good that players will want to experience the game over again just to see the wonderful detail. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

Astute players can use the sound as clues to determine where potential enemies are located. The voice-acting is a substantial improvement over the original game. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

The game's nerve-wracking mood comes at the expense of freedom of movement, as the control involves pivoting the character using left and right and then walking by pushing up. Not intuitive when first starting out, but you get used to it. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide

the game requires Joystick/Gamepad.