Resident Evil

The Good
Obviously this game is a retelling of all the events that took place in the original Resident Evil, with some minor additions to the storyline. For example, players are introduced to the Trevor family - a family that was unfortunately involved with Umbrella's experiments at the mansion - through various diaries and memos found throughout the game. There's also new areas added to explore as well. Some of these new areas include a graveyard, a forest. and some additional rooms which hold key items. Players will often see a lot of the same enemies that were present in the original, such as zombies, zombie dogs, hunters, and the Tyrant. However, one cool element that mixes up the familiarity of this gameplay is the regeneration factor. Unlike the original, zombie's must be killed by either decapitating or incinerating them. Failure to do this within a certain time frame results in the zombies being resurrected in a much more aggressive form. This makes the player be even more strategic as they must decide if they should run past them, carry kerosene (which is needed to burn the bodies), or just leave the bodies and hope that you won't have to return to said area. Not only is this a great remake of a classic game, but it's also a very ambitious game in itself. The graphics were beautiful for 2002, the gameplay mechanics were fantastic, the addition of "Defensive Weapons" was a great touch, and it had a wonderfully balanced ambiance of eerie, atmospheric horror and fast-paced storytelling. The controls translated well to the GameCube controller, I thought. But then again, I've never understood why people criticized the original game for having "tank controls," as I never had problems with those controls, either. The soundtrack for the remake is a stir of both new musical scores and faithful renditions of older tracks from the original soundtrack. The sound (including it's dialog, sound effects, and soundscapes) was flawless, with voice acting and dialog greatly improved from the original, the gunshots sounded clean and powerful, and the whole umbrella (no pun intended) of soundscapes, like outside ambiance and creaking floorboards, was quite instrumental to building the daunting atmosphere that players were presented with here.

The Bad
I didn't find many things to dislike in this game -- which is a pleasant surprise seeing as remakes have the tendency to often butcher classic characters and deviate too much from it's original premise. Anything to dislike at this point would be nitpicking, at least for me anyways. But I won't waste time with nitpicking, as the minor miscues in this game aren't even worth mentioning.

The Bottom Line
Not only is the remake of Resident Evil a definite highlight for the series, but it is also a tremendous graphical triumph for the GameCube. The crew involved in the production of this remake should be quite proud of their work. Aside from all that, this reproduction of Resident Evil is definitely one of the best titles in the RE series, and is just as good as the original. I honestly can't decide which is the better game, but I deeply appreciate this remake for being just as great as the original because that's something which doesn't really happen all that often. This is definitely a GameCube title to check out, and for those who can't be bothered to dig out their GameCubes (or buy one, for that matter), be sure to check out the HD remaster that just came out which looks even more amazing than it already did.

The Good
the graphics are amazing to look at if the graphics were a woman they would be SARAH MICHELLE GELLAR thats how good they look.

the amount of detail that`s gone into the background scenery is just top class the best looking game out there so far.

ive read that some find pre-rendered graphics not too good well if capcom listened to them wed have sh*tty games looking like MGS2 WHICH IS ARSE COMPLETE ARSE INFACT.

pre-rendered makes the game look good and gives it a more realistic look to it it pulls you into the game more than any other type of graphics . that`s what you need in a game of this type after all capcom are trying to give the player a real sense of almost being there which they succeded in doing here.

the sound effects were spot on as well its as if it was thought about very carefully before they attempted to re do it from scratch im glad they took their time and did the game the way it was supposed to have been done first time round.

every gun looks and sounds far better here than in any other res-evil game so far.

lighting effects are amazing walking down a dark corridor barely visable and the next thing thunder and lightning strike and a flash lights up the hall for a split second and then all goes dark again this add`s to the atmosphere 10 fold.

the amount of detail gone into the characters and the monsters is really good the best looking characters and monsters in any game yet.

just think guys if George A Romero had done the movie it would have been like this game full of atmosphere and horror but instead we got some peace of cr*p that is pathetic to watch oh well heres praying Mr Romero gets the funding for part 4 of his zombie movies i dont see why they shouldnt give him it because they can give a no talented maggot like anderson millions and he wastes it on that feeble excuse of a zombie movie and Mr Romero is struggling for money for his. thats not right a man with Romero`s talent should not have to be struggling for the funding it should be that m*ngo who made the res-evil movie thats struggling.

not much else to say about the game other than its the best looking survival horror out there and its the best playable survival horror out there as well.

well done Shinji Mikami sir well done cant wait to see what you have up your sleave inregards to - (res-evil zero) and the sequel to veronica.

The Bad
the fact that the characters run just a little slower than in any other evil game. and anyone who disagrees should play R E-Nemisis on the playstation or on the dreamcast and youll see what im on about the characters move quicker in those versions but not here this is the only fault. it feels as if your character is running in slow motion.<br><br>**The Bottom Line**<br>the best survivial horror game out there for atmosphere and graphics none can beat it. if you like these type of games theres no excuse why you should not get it as soon as possible.

The Good
It's true that Resident Evil was not the first Survival Horror title ever made but it certainly revolutionized the genre and brought it into the mainstream. Now the remake is set to bring about the biggest evolution that the RE series has seen since, well... since the original that it's based on.

Of course the first thing that jumps out at you is that the visuals have been vastly improved. Capcom have finally done away with the circle shadows of previous titles and now figures arch up walls and tree branches outside are silouetted in motion against ceilings as they sway in the wind. Lights flicker and cast real-time shadows and colours over everything enriching the environment in a thick, dank, dread. Characters are so detailed that even the creases in their clothes are fully modelled, not texture maps and in-game models are the same models used in the stunning real-time cutscenes. The game looks so good in fact, that it puts even the pre-rendered CG cutscenes of any previous RE game to shame. The abundance of eye candy does more than just look good though, it creates an atmosphere so thick with tension that nothing else can compare with it, coupled with the amazing soundtrack of course. Each footstep echoes out with unnerving realism and suspense. Music is a beautifully haunting blend of old and new tracks that have been completely revamped and, like the visuals are better than ever.

Yes it looks and sounds fantastic but Capcom didn't stop with a facelift, many things about the actual game have been changed also. There are new areas to explore as well as a host of new puzzles (which are a lot better) new weapons plus some new enemies including an extremely creepy woman who I'll always remember as the scariest character ever to grace a RE title. It's always a joy to see areas from the original redone for old school players of the series but pretty soon you start treating them like new areas because most of the jumps and sequences are changed leaving you very susceptable to attack. One section, new to the game but shall remain nameless for spoiler purposes had me so tense I started to feel sick in the stomach, something I have not felt playing a horror game for many years.

One of the new features is that if you take a zombie down but don't do it appropriately, they can come back to life even more dangerous than they were before. There is also a very handy emergency weapon feature that allows you to use various small arms on zombies just before they are about to attack you, saving you some health and allowing for a quick getaway.

As before the layout of the game and overall story is much the same but a really nice addition is the Trevor Spencer side story that was originally to be included in the first game but was removed for various reasons. In fact, many of the new areas relate directly to this story too and this helps add a richness to the game that was painfully absent in the original version.

The Bad
It's always the same for every game in the series, the voice acting is terrible. Yes it was redone for the remake and while the lines and acting are an improvement over the abysmal example that the original gave us, they are still awful and fall in line with the average offerings of more recent RE titles.

None of the core controls have been changed either and while this is open for debate as to whether it's a good or bad thing, some players may be a little put out by this. There is also a lack of the quick dodge feature that RE3 had which is a real shame and I still don't see why you can't walk around with your gun pointed ahead. Many other games have done this such as Nocturne and there's no reason why this otherwise brilliant game should lack this simple but effective feature.

The Bottom Line
The finest example of Survival Horror to date. Similar enough to the original to be considered a remake but different enough in many ways to be more than worth getting for long time fans of the series.