I was a happy gamer before March of 1996, when my 3DO was
filling my gaming needs and distracting me from the flashy
but unrewarding first-generation games on the then-new
Saturn and PSX machines. Then Capcom released "Resident
Evil" to an unsuspecting gaming world, and about the same
time Taito/Acclaim released "Bust-A-Move 2"; my defense
mechanisms dropped, and I was over $300 poorer by the time
I walked out of an Electronics Boutique with a copy from
each of the above games, plus a brand-new PSX.
Now it's 1998, the "Resident Evil" phenomenon has spawned a
successful sequel and related merchandise (t-shirts, toys,
even a movie), and there's talk of Dual Shock-compatible
versions of both "RE" and "RE2" hitting American shores in
the Fall. But Capcom managed to squeeze money out of their
fans once before in late 1997, when they re-released a
"Director's Cut" version of the original "RE" with a demo
disc of the sequel. I won't insult your intelligence by
trying to describe the plots, characters and background
behind what PSX gamers the world over named their #1 game
of all time; they are now part of gaming folklore. I would
have loved to do an independent review of "RE2", but the
'Five Review' limit of psxnation got in the way of that
one. Grrrrrr!
GRAPHICS / VISUALS: B+
The original "RE" took the blocky and jerky-looking
elements of the "Alone in the Dark" series and injected
them with plenty of atmosphere and a sense of impending
doom and gloom around every corner. As one of two elite
members of a special police force, your on-screen alter ego
(Chris Redfield and Jill 'master of unlocking' Valentine)
will have to walk through dozens of rendered and static
backgrounds, picking up items, moving statues, solving
puzzles and slaughtering dozens of freaky mutations
straight out of a Dario Argento or George Romero movie.
The game is fast-paced, features plenty of those bloody
moments that make the lungs scream in anguish, has
amateurish FMV openings that ARE NOT THE UNCENSORED GORY
CINEMAS THE TITLE PROMISED, and packs a mean-looking set of
shotguns, bazookas and other nifty weaponery.
Because it was the first game of its kind, many of the
graphical shortcomings of "RE" were overlooked in the
initial excitement over the game's release: the use of the
door animations to effectively disguise loading sequences,
those weird camera angles that sometimes don't give the
player the best-possible view, the use of low-intensity
hues and drab "brownish" colors (who decorated this
Victorian mansion??!!), etc. "RE2" increased the
resolution of the rendered backgrounds to almost-photo
realistic levels of resolution, and gave the new quest a
bigger and better-looking playground for bodies to pile
upon. "RE" may be aging badly when compared to its sequel
and the flashier new offerings on the PSX, but as a
graphical milestone of late first-generation/early
second-generation PSX software, it still holds its own for
an infrequent trip back to the woods of Racoon City. The
new camera angles, FMV (still butchered!) and little plot
twists here and there of the "Director's Cut" aren't
different enough to justify a new purchase; graphically it
hasn't changed an iota, resolution-wise, from the original.
MUSIC / SOUND EFFECTS: C+
A movie-quality musical score that would make any Italian
horror movie director proud, with a perpetually somber
feeling of dreadfulness that is only interrupted by the
piercing audio clues of approaching snakes or zombies. The
sound effects are equally well-done and atmospheric (your
footsteps sound different depending on the surface you're
running on top of), giving the player the sense of being
trapped in a house where evil is all around you: the sounds
of your weapons hitting flesh and the now-classic dog
jumping through a window are my favorites, and the weird
buzz that the giant spiders make as their huge legs touch
the wooden floor and go toward you still gives me the
creeps. And that big plant that must have its roots burned
in order to make its defeat easier; have you ever heard a
more discomforting and unpleasant BGM in your life? Ugh!
Capcom thought of almost everything in the sound
department, and this game was headed toward a nice 'A'
rating when Wesker, Barry and Co. started spewing some of
the worst-written, vomit-inducing, least-involving,
uninspired and unfunny dialogue ever put together for a
videogame, EVER! It isn't even tongue-in-cheek or
'MST3K'-type funny, just a sad waste of dialogue and CD
space that could have added atmosphere and tension to an
already strong package; shame on Capcom for almost screwing
up the entire game with their idiotic dialogue (it really
is that bad folks, admit it!). "RE2" improved dramatically
on the voices, which fetured less cheese and more melodrama
range than the first "RE"; the audio cues could still use
some refinements, but the music/voices/sound effects on
"RE2" come close to duplicating the tension and involvement
of a real horror movie. "RE" set the pace and tone of the
series though, and voiceovers aside that insures respect.
GAMEPLAY / FUN FACTOR: B
Like the graphics, the initial shock of playing "RE"
camouflaged a few of the game's questionable shortcomings.
The idiotic run back-and-forth to the chests that keep the
items you find stored is a clumsy attempt, because you can
only carry a handful at a time, to artificially extend the
length of the game by forcing the player to make ammunition
runs and other stuff. And why would you save your progress
by getting ribbons and typing on a typewriter to mark your
progress? Rather than abandon this flawed approach, "RE2"
kept the tradition and brought back both the 'magical
chest' and the 'saving typewriters', which will apparently
be a trademark of the series when it continues on "RE3"
(PSX) and "RE4" (Dreamcast??!!). "RE" is worth playing
every once in a while, the same way you wanna watch a good
flick weeks or months after you saw it last to make it seem
fresh again; replay value for action games like "RE" cannot
be compared with the replay value of a "Tetris", "Death
Tank Zwei", "Mario Kart 64" or "Tekken 3".
The new "Director's Cut" of "RE" features, besides the
Standard Mode that is the same game released in the States
in 1996, two new PSX-exclusive modes: a Training mode
(ridiculously easy, with plenty of ammo and easier enemies)
and an Advanced mode (less ammo, harder and deadlier
enemies, bloodier and more violent death sequences, and
puzzles rearranged in different locations). Control of the
characters hasn't changed (a little stiff and hard when you
need to turn-around quickly), and neither has the horrible
manual of the game, which seems more concerned with
plugging Capcom strategy guides and t-shirts than in
providing any useful information about the game (what
little useful data the manual provides is crammed in ugly
B/W pictures and unattractive text). You should also know
that there are two versions of "RE:DC": one with the "RE2"
demo disc comes packed in a jewel CD double-case, and a
version without the demo disc that comes in a single-case;
they are both approx. $35, but if you already have "RE2"
the single-case game should be the one to check.
OVERALL: B
When technology finally allows it, future installments of
the "Resident Evil" franchise (which to Capcom is now as
valuable as their legendary "MegaMan" and "Street Fighter"
franchises) should attempt to abandon the restrictive
nature of the rendered-background routine of the first two
games; it was fresh and original when it came out a couple
of years ago, but the slew of crappy ripoffs ("Nightmare
Creatures", "OverBlood", "Perfect Weapon", etc.) indicates
that the franchise needs to start rendering its backgrounds
on the fly if it wants to attract more gamers to the "RE"
tent (everyone who ever wanted a "RE" game already has
bought one, how else will Capcom attract more consumers?).
But don't count of the Capcom folks messing up with the
winning formula of their premiere 3D franchise anytime
soon; after all, these are the same folks that took more
than six years to release a "Street Fighter III" follow-up
to the first "Street Fighter II" game. If you don't have
to start playing the original "RE" with the minor bells and
whistles of the "Director's Cut" mentioned above, I'd
suggest holding your $35 and waiting for the Dual
Shock-compatible versions of "RE" and "RE2" to be released
in the Fall. The only thing more enjoyable than being the
'master of unlocking' decapitating a zombie with a shotgun,
is to feel that zombie's brain splattering all over your
pretty little beret. God, I hope they reunite the casts of
both "RE" and "RE2" for "RE3"; it would be sweet to see
Claire Redfield guiding her brother Chris with a banana
throughout the entire game :-O .
