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by Capcom
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I want to put
forth a theory. I dont like zombies. They fight dirty. They bite. They
scratch. They taste bad when you bite back. I mean, I really
dont like zombies, which makes it unfortunate that they seem to love
me. It doesnt matter much what game Im playing; if theres a zombie, I
can pretty much assure you that theyll be slowly limpin around, doing
their shuffling thing, probably with their arms outstretched, all just
hoping for a chance to gnaw on my neck. So I thought for a while, trying
to come up with some common denominator between all the zombie games;
what is it that makes me so tasty? So heres my thought. Healing
potions. Red bottles, blue bottles, First Aid spray; whatever you call
it, its the stuff that you carry around on adventures and takes care
everything from morning acne and lower back pain to gingivitis and
detached limbs. Without fail, if you find some of this stuff in a game I
can guarantee youre about to find another dead guy around the corner
looking to you to satisfy his sweet tooth. So after a great deal of
thought, I realized: This stuff isnt just healing potion, its actually
some form of zombie pheromone, like an aphrodisiac for the undead. The
developers keep throwing in bottles to keep the zombies up and rearing
to go, sort of liking prodding a bull before launching it at the clown
with the red flag. Every time theres a lull in the game, a pause to
breath, we gamers splash another dose of the stuff in the red bottle
onto our necks and out comes another onslaught. Makes you think, doesnt
it? So personally, if I ever find myself killing zombies in real life, I
aint touching the stuff in the red bottle. On to the game.
No franchise has
done more to evolve the zombie as a creepy adversary in video games than
Resident Evil. Oh sure. Other games have zombies, but no franchise has
worked so diligently over time to evolve the atmospheric feel of
the zombie, the thing that makes you long for rabies shots after every
time your character has a close encounter. Resident Evil Zero, in many
ways, is a culmination of everything good about the series the creepy
atmosphere, the interesting story, the satisfaction of solving a good
puzzle all these things appear in spades. Without a doubt, Zero is the
sharpest and prettiest Resident Evil to ever make an appearance. Just
seeing it in action should be enough to make anyone who doesnt own a
Gamecube slightly regretful. Zero is detailed and scary, with an
excellent musical score, and puzzles that are well balanced.
Unfortunately, it is also the culmination of the flawed game play
mechanics that have plagued Resident Evil from the start, with the same
lumbering controls and the same pre-rendered camera angles that
constantly leave attacking monsters outside your screen. Where once
Resident Evil pushed the gaming envelope with new ideas and forced
others to catch up, now the series finds itself desperately in need of
taking a hint from its competitors that have done it right. So here it
goes. Hint, hint: Change the control scheme. Then you can keep scaring
the crap out of us.
When you first
launch the game, there are two things that youll notice (aside from the
odd way that the announcer says "Zero" when you press start). The
atmosphere, and the visuals. The sense of returning to a good book to
learn more about the beginning, of hearing about the start of your
favorite story from the wise man one dark night, prevails throughout the
entire opening. From the moment you take over your character, a young
woman on the S.T.A.R.S. task force, and the rain starts to fall on the
roof of the armored train, the dark atmosphere reaches to your bones.
Its like a little voice in your head, whispering, "You must find a save
point. Youre going to die." Its simply excellent.
The game
places you in control of two characters this time around, one a young
S.T.A.R.S. agent separated from her team, and the other an escaped
convict sentenced for execution by a military court. The two find
themselves forced together in order to survive, battling various evils,
which are resident mainly in a mansion owned and operated by the
Umbrella Corporation. Such is the story, which unfolds nicely as you
progress through the game and lean more about the start of the T-virus.
As the player you control both characters, switching between them at the
convenient tap of a button. While youre in control of one, the computer
takes care of the other, behaving based on a number of different
adjustable settings, from levels of aggression to whether or not you
want to operate as a team, or solo. In a very good move, Capcom uses the
second analog stick on the Gamecubes control pad to override the
computer controls of the character youre not currently occupying. This
makes sure the two never get in each others way.
The visual
style is excellent and breathtaking at the same time. Resident Evil Zero
still utilizes pre-rendered backgrounds, allowing the artists to include
incredible amounts of detail. Animations are then added atop the still
images, providing for pots and pans that rock gently to the motion of
the train, shadows that appear dynamically cast over the floor, and
realistic candlelight from a nearby wick. In Zero, the technique has
been evolved to its pinnacle, and taken frame by frame produces a visual
quality that is matched by none. The static nature of the camera also
allows the game designers to control the views with the precision of a
movie director, choosing odd angles and unnerving perspectives to show
whatever gruesome scene they like to ultimate effect. The result is a
truly intense experience, a style that perfectly fits with the dark
nature of the game.
But the
camera angles also create problems. To start with, there are an
appalling number of pauses, mostly in the first scenes, for loading.
Especially on the train, where you move quickly from one car to the
next, these brief animations for opening and closing doors (which I can
only imagine are there to disguise load times), and going up and down
steps, are everywhere. This becomes distinctly less noticeable as you
move on in the game into bigger rooms, when it takes more time to
satisfy yourself that youre not missing anything valuable, but I
guarantee it will be noticed. My only conclusion is that this style of
presentation must demand quite a bit of the consoles time and thought
power.
A more
significant drawback has to do with what you can see. When a static
camera is facing your character head on, you simply cant see what your
character is looking at without inching your way forward into the next
scene, where the camera angle shifts to reveal more of your
surroundings. That really sucks if theres a zombie a half-foot outside
your viewing range, and in order to see him you have to walk forward
into his arms. Its like a close up shot in a movie. Yes, its great to
see that much detail of your characters face, but it really sucks if
youre trying to blow the head off of a wandering monster that you can
no longer see to aim at. No matter how good the game looks, it shouldnt
sacrifice game dynamic, and sadly, this style sometimes does. There are
very few players that wont, at some point, find themselves guessing
about whether or not theyre hitting the monster at the end of the hall
that theyre trying to hit, simply because they had to back up in order
to get a clear shot. This could have been made much less tedious if
there had been some form of auto-aim function. While the gun initially
points at your target when you first raise the gun, the monster is very
capable of meandering a little to the left or right so that youre
shooting over his head, or aiming at the fellow behind him. You also
cant walk while training a gun at an enemy, which means if you want to
retreat, you have to lower the gun, walk backwards, and re-aim. If you
happen to cross a camera angle line, so that you can no longer see the
monster, youre basically screwed. In truth, it just seems cumbersome
after the targeting system found in Eternal Darkness, which made the
process in many respects painless.
Its the
camera angles that drive the antiquated control scheme, as well. Since
the cameras shift abruptly from one angle to the next, the controls need
to be intuitive for the player, since what was left in the previous
screen might easily now be in the lower right corner in the new. As a
consequence, Resident Evil Zero still has a "push left or right to
rotate, up to go forward" style of controls. Not only does it take
practice to become accustomed to, it also means that turning around,
aiming, and pretty much any other action in the game are tremendously
slowed down. I cant help but think that this is one of Capcoms ways of
making a shuffling, slow moving zombie a formidable opponent, since you
have to be lumbering, slow moving prey in order for him to ever even
catch you. I cant say for sure, but Id be willing to guess that both
your characters, no matter how kick-butt they may be on the killing
floor, were always chosen last during a game of basketball. They are not
the quickest moving pair youve ever seen when it comes to turning left
and right. These are issues that have been mentioned in almost every
review of a modern Resident Evil game to hit the market. Why they remain
unchanged and unaddressed is beyond me.
Yet, Zero
provides a bit of extra good at the same time as not correcting issues
of the past. By placing you in control of both characters, you have
access to an entire breed of new puzzles. Throughout the game youll
find yourself desperately running to save partners, hold open doors and
grate covers, and generally working in conjunction to accomplish goals.
This blend of teamwork and puzzle solving flows surprisingly well, and
is a very clear credit to the game. The designers also decided to get
rid of item boxes this time around, which is a nice change. Now you can
drop any item at any location without fear of it disappearing. An added
"locate item" feature on the map make it easy to find the little tidbits
that youve left scattered around in your wake. This saves a tremendous
amount of back tracking, since you no longer have to worry about storing
things properly whenever you run out of inventory space and want to
trade one valuable item for another. Save ribbons, which allow you to
store your progress to a memory card, are about in high volume, thank
goodness, though you will always be short on ammunition.
When it comes down to it, the loss of the Resident Evil series to the
Gamecube is still one that other console owners should be mourning. It
is one of the scariest games available, across the platform line, great
for those with an eye for late night gaming bouts and a surround sound
system. Yet, even so, its impossible to ignore the fact that the
complaints listed here are the exact same as those listed in the reviews
of the Resident Evil games of the past. While Zero evolves almost every
other aspect of the series, it leaves the basic game dynamics unchanged
and showing a bit of age. Without a doubt worth your time if youre a
fan of the series, I cant help but shake my head and wish it hadnt
been just a little bit better.
And think about what I said in regards to the healing potions.
Pheromones. Drives them wild. Dont say I didnt warn you.
Aaron Stanton (12/16/2002) |
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Snapshot
Ups:
Good puzzles; interesting storyline; very creepy;
great musical score.
Downs:
Still stuck with old control scheme; fixed camera
angles still cause a problem.
Platform:
Gamecube
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