Resident Evil: Code: Veronica X

The Good
Resident Evil Code: Veronica X, in my opinion, is one of the best entries in the Resident Evil series. Even with the original RE Code: Veronica on the Dreamcast, I still thought highly of this game. I've bought this game about a total of four times now. I bought my first copy back in 2000 for my Dreamcast, then a year later I had gone back to buy the newer, slightly remixed copy for my PlayStation 2 (Code: Veronica X), six years later I would buy it once again in the Essentials box set (again for my PlayStation 2), and now I've just bought the most recent HD re-release from the PSN store. Before I go on any further, I just want to let you know that this review is for the HD release - not for 'Code Veronica: X' itself. I wasn't surprised to find that not much else has changed from previous console releases. However I must admit that Code: Veronica X looks a bit smoother in its new HD presentation, but its age is still very visible within some points in the game - but what else is to be expected from a video game from 2000/2001? It seems that only the gameplay itself has been remastered in 720p HD - I'll elaborate on this in the 'bad' section. The colors are deeper and darker in this new HD release. When compared to the older PS2 release, Code: Veronica X looks much less saturated in this new release. Skin tones look a bit lighter in the HD version, but I see this as an improvement as I believe all of the characters looked a bit pink in earlier versions. The audio seems to be more or less remastered, I really can't tell. It does sound good, though, which is why I'll leave this in the 'good' section. As far as I can tell, nothing new has been changed too much in this HD release, with the exception of one very annoying modification - which I'll again elaborate in the 'bad' section.

The Bad
As I said earlier, this re-release looks like they only remastered the gameplay itself. FMVs - not in-game cut scenes - are bombarded with pixels in what appears to be SD. Again, I understand this game is from 2000/2001, but I just cannot help and wonder why Capcom didn't try to remaster these scenes. Perhaps these FMVs really are remastered and this is the best that they will look, but I hardly doubt that. These scenes may even be too old to look good in high definition anyway. That one modification I mentioned above applies to one small part of the game - the Tyrant battle within the Cargo plane. It is no longer possible to run past the Tyrant without being attacked or killed. He swoops his arm over you once you get too near him. This new modification can be extremely tedious if you've not got any ammo left to progress past this bit in the game. As seen on various video websites, you will see that it was possible to beat the Tyrant by means of the knife or by running around him and activating the catapult several times in the older releases of Code: Veronica X. In fact I made this mistake myself and had to begin the entire game all over again! Very annoying, so please be aware of that.

The Bottom Line
Other than that, I'm very pleased with this newly remastered version of Code: Veronica X. It's not like this game is in stunning HD, but I do believe that this is the best Code: Veronica X will ever look. The $19.99 price tag in the PSN store was a bit of a repellent, seeing as I could buy a brand new PS2 release on Amazon.com for $8. Though if you like both this entry and RE4, then you could buy the HD bundle in the PSN store for $24.99, which is better than buying them for $20 each. Anyway, sorry, so all in all I definitely recommend buying this version if you enjoy this game as much as I do. I guess my only complaint (or wish) would be an actual physical release of this HD version to go along with all of my other HD remastered games like the Hitman series and DOOM 3.