Resident Evil
Yeah, the game is a few years old, but who really cares? If you're checking out this review, then I guess obviously you don't. Anyway, if you didn't already know, Resident Evil for the Nintendo Gamecube is a remake of the classic Playstation game. However, this remake went all out in totally revamping everything within the game. How does the Playstation classic fair on Nintendo's Gamecube? Keep reading to find out.

Graphics:

The Gamecube definitely has a lot more power than the original Playstation. The graphics look very nice, and are a warm welcome above the outdated ones in the Playstation version. Along with that, the mood that the creepy and eerie backgrounds help set the stage for a very chilling game. However, this category isn't without its flaws. The game does show instances of slowdown and sometimes the animations can be stiff, which mainly happens during the cutscenes. Luckily, these problems don't tend to show up very often and don't detract any from the game itself.

Sound and Music:

Resident Evil truly has some creepy sound effects. From zombie moans to gunshots, just about everything in this game sounds good. The one thing that does NOT sound good is the horrendous voice acting. Then again, maybe they wanted to get the true feel of a horror film by hiring bad actors. Who knows, but either way they still suck. The music itself is pretty hard to judge. While it's nothing stellar in quality, it definitely helps set a tone for the game by giving you that sense of impending doom. Don't play this game expecting Zelda quality music, but instead expect something that can be downright terrifying at times.

Storyline:

Resident Evil revolves around a special police force known as S.T.A.R.S. After a helicopter carrying one of their units crash lands in the woods, your team is sent out to investigate. Once in the woods, you encounter zombie dogs that immediately start attacking you. In an attempt to escape, you head into the eerie mansion ahead of you. It is inside this mansion that the game takes place. Throughout the game you'll follow clues to try and figure out what happened to your team and why the mansion and surrounding forest is filled with zombies. The game is pretty deep and multiple plot twists present themselves in order to keep the experience an intriguing one. To add even more to the experience, there are two playable characters who each have a different path and story.

Gameplay:

This was the game that pretty much spawned the survival-horror genre. Before you even start the game, you'll be given the option to either play as Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine. Each character basically follows the same path, but tiny little things throughout the game and certain story elements are different. As you progress through the game, you'll solve puzzles within the mansion while defending yourself from the creatures that infest the place. The majority of the game is played by solving puzzles, but in between areas the game is based around surviving the onslaught of zombies. The real skill in the game is how well you can conserve ammo, hence the survival part of the game. If you happen to run out, you'll be defending yourself against the evil creatures with a crappy little knife. Trust me; it's not a fun experience. As you continue making your way through the game, you'll get better weapons and face even stronger bad guys. Every once in awhile you'll even counter bosses, which range from mutant sharks, mutant spiders, and of course mutant plants. You'll truly feel like you're doomed as your ammo dwindles but the bad guys just keep on coming.

Controls:

Um…what is there to say about this category? I suppose I could start off with the fact that the controls are totally horrendous. While you do eventually get used to them, it makes surviving the zombie attacks early in the game very difficult. Running out of ammo is a really bad thing, especially when the controls prevent you from accurately moving from one place to another. Another thing that's not very easy is aiming the gun. It's pretty dang hard to get a good head shot on the zombies, so half the time you'll either be shooting the wall or doing minimal damage to the zombies. Though you do get used to them after playing the game for a few hours, they should still be considered some of the worst controls ever.

Replayability:

Resident Evil is a fairly moderate game in difficulty. The first time through it took me about 12 hours, which was significantly less the second time through. However, if you do feel like playing through the game a bunch of times, there are 10 different endings offered. As for me, I just played to get the two best endings and settled with that as being good enough.

Though the controls are pretty clunky and the gameplay is a bit outdated compared to newer survival-horror titles, Resident Evil still remains as one of the top games in the genre. Anyone who is looking to get into the survivor-horror games should definitely start with Resident Evil. After all , it WAS the game that created the entire genre.
Graphics: 9.3/10
Sound and Music: 8.0/10
Storyline: 8.5/10
Gameplay: 8.0/10
Controls: 5.0/10
Replayability: 5.0/10
8.5
Out of 10