I should start off by saying
that this Resident Evil was the first one Ive really played through. My friend Doug
had the original RE a few years back, so I tried it. I got bored after awhile and quit,
without getting to the meat of the game. I did get the basic feel though. It should also
be said that I have played through Silent Hill extensively, so I do know a thing or two
about survival-horror games. I know its kind of like comparing apples to oranges,
but itll have to do. On with the review!After I was done drooling over
the XXL shirt Capcom sent (perks!), I decided to get my ass in gear and start playing. The
game is (initially) based on Claire Redfield trying to escape the Umbrella (bad guys)
island she is being held captive on, making friends and blasting zombies along the way.
One
thing that I noticed right away were the superb graphics. Be it the CG cinemas, real time
cinemas, or just hands on playing, blasting caps into zombies has never been shown with
such vibrant clarity. A minor gripe: the loading screens, that whole opening the door
cinema and going up the stairs. Isnt the PS2 powerful enough to make these
unnecessary? Its much easier to tell what monster is coming at you from a distance
now. This isnt all good however. I assume the developers wanted to show off their
artwork as much as possible, so they were rather reluctant in atmosphere. Im talking
about not being able to tell whats coming towards you. Fog. I know that Silent
Hills fog was there for technical limitation as much as atmosphere, but it added a
certain feel to the game. Not knowing if you were about to face a horrific monster or just
a little baby ghost who couldnt harm you added tension without cut scenes. What
Im saying is that the graphics are marvelous, I just wish they wouldve tried
to use the atmosphere to scare you a bit.
The
audio is great. I remember how the first Resident Evil had horrible, atrocious voice
acting. It was almost a comic relief. This go around you actually care about the dialogue
thanks to the skill of the voice actors. The voices really, to put it the best way I
could, emote. They are more of a window to what the character is feeling than facial
expressions. The sound effects are equally impressive. I had this baby hooked up to my
$200 stereo for most of the time and I was never disappointed. The sound effects were not
only well-recorded, but downright perfectly in sync with the on screen action. I
wasnt surprised at this when a zombie popped through the window, but minute detail
such as typing on a computer keyboard just floored me. Its a small detail, but
its the small details that really immerse you into an adventure game. The music was
typical, but I loved how they had false climaxes. The music would get more and more
dramatic till you couldnt take it anymore, thinking that some horrible hideous
monster must be right around the corner, and then the music just stops. A great effect.
As
for control
yuck. Youd think that if they overhauled the graphics so much that
they would have done the same with the control, but Capcom hasnt quite caught up to
the times. Navigating your character is the exact same as it was five years ago, except
for the addition of the 180 degree turn maneuver. Now, There are two sides to every issue,
and Ill address them both. If you did not know, the control of movement in RE games
is character based; meaning that you press up to go in the direction that the character is
facing and left and right to rotate, as opposed to regular game control that is camera
based meaning that you press up to go up the screen, left to go left, etc. Why did they do
this? Two reasons.
First,
in games with as many sudden camera angle changes as this, camera dependent control
doesnt usually work. If youre going to the top of the screen (pressing up) and
then the camera changes to a different angle, your character will begin to go in a
different direction, because the direction of up has now changed since the camera has
changed. This could mean that you go back and forth between camera angles by accident
not good when zombies are on your six. The character based control solves this
problem: up is always forward, down is always backward. But there is a much better
solution, and Capcom came up with it. In the included Devil May Cry demo, the control is
camera based; except for when the camera angle changes. Then the control becomes character
based until you change direction again. Meaning that you press up to go up the screen,
then the camera angle changes, now the direction you want to go is down, but as long as
you keep pressing the up button, youll be going the direction you want.Sorry if that
was a bit confusing. Just rent Devil May Cry to find out what I mean. And finally, reason
number two: This is a survival horror game. In order to create suspense, you must feel in
danger. A limited control does the trick nicely. But this control is a bit too limiting.
Im sure if Capcom tried, they could solve this problem for the next RE.
Now,
onto my biggest gripe: No real fear. I never got really concerned. There were a couple
things that surprised me, but nothing that made me too scared to turn off the lights. I
mean, sure, zombies busting through windows is cool and freaky at first, but after five
years its gotten a bit stale. What they need to do is to use more suspense and
foreshadowing. A great example is found in (once again) Silent Hill. In one part, you go
into a room with a ton of drawers. One of them is rattling and shaking like hell. You open
it up (with a swelling musical score no less) and a cute little kitty jumps out. Later in
the game, in the alternate reality (dont ask), you back to the same room. The drawer
is rattling again. You assume it must be the cat. These assumptions are proved by the lack
of dramatic music; just the normal score. So you open it up, and nothings in it.
Youre confused, and think that something must be in that room (or that this is a
sign that you better go save). So you turn to leave, and SMACK!!! A dead decomposing body
falls out of a locker. It was by far the creepiest scene in a game Ive ever seen. I
hope to see the Resident Evil series go to that style more. Instead of the current
"BOO!" scares that the games offer, I want some psychological spooks.
Dont get me wrong, Resident Evil: Code Veronica X is a very solid game. It's sure
to give you a good couple weeks of enjoyable playtime. If you have enjoyed the RE series
in the past, you know exactly what youre getting. Just dont expect anything
revolutionary.