Resident Evil

Review by Trent Dickerson
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There's one thing I have to say first before I start this review: if you actually bought this game or are seriously considering buying this game, keep one thing in mind at all times: you are NOT the owner of this game, this games owns YOU. As soon as you pay for this game, you are officially inaugurated in as mayor of Scaredshitlessville. No joke.
The Resident Evil series is a relatively new experience, as most Nintendophiles were busy playing Super Mario 64 when the original Resident Evil was released on PSX. The only RE game to appear on a Nintendo system was Resident Evil 2 on N64, which really sucked, so most Nintendo gamers who experienced the game stayed away from series...until now. The decision between Nintendo and Capcom to make the Resident Evil series to Nintendo was a smart move. The now Nintendo-exclusive series starts with the remake of the original.
The story is this. The setting takes place in Racoon City, a secluded mountain community, plagued by a storm of vicious attacks. Vicitims of the attacks were apparently... eaten. The city has been overrun by mutant beasts and blood-thirsty zombies whom have infested the landscape. You are a member of S.T.A.R.S - Special Tactics and Rescue Squad. Your mission is to investigate the ominous mansion at the core of the horrific disaster. Your job in the game is to uncover secrets behind a radical, genetic research facility. With unspeakable horrors lurking around every corner, the ultimate test of this game may be just to make it out alive!
The gameplay of the game is tough to explain. First of all, keep in mind this game is a remake, not a port, of the original version on the PSX. It is a completely new game built from scrap based on an old idea. First let me talk about the controls. After your first zombie attack, the game leaves you wanting to explore the mansion more, but it also leaves you afraid (yes afraid!) of what is behind the next door. The controls are kind of odd. For the most part, the GameCube controller offers excellent control, but moving around is what takes a little getting used to. You are not able to simply run forward or walk backward to escape the first zombie. You must turn and run and I think most people learn their lesson about getting too close to a zombie right then and there. Now I will talk about the camera. Right off the bat, the camera is admittedly...theatrical. Whether you are going from one room to another, or turning a corner into another hallway, the camera can occasionally confuse you into which way you are going or where you want to go. You get used to it pretty quickly though...you don't have a choice if you want to make it through this game.
Now the graphics of the game are certainly one of the more intriguing aspects of the game. Intriguing enough that it is a reason all in it's own to buy the game. The game certainly boasts some of the best graphical prowess the GameCube has displayed thus far. And as I mentioned before, this game is a complete remake. Let me put it in terms you can understand. Remember that quaint, dusty little house on the bayou littered with a few innocent zombies? Well, Capcom tore it down and built a god damn filthy, grimy, dank, dark freakin' mansion. Does that analogy help? I want to mention one more thing about the graphics. Something that really interested me though is the fact that the heroes of the story and each individual zombie are made up of more polygons than was used in an entire scene in the orignal PSX version, not to mention the fact that the textural detail can only be described as amazing. Environments within Resident Evil GC are also fully-motion animated. What does this mean? Well, Capcom is making it so that light and shadow sources have 3D depth, reflecting and effecting all areas for the hero to delve into. Sweet!
The sound in the game is nothing short of spectacular. The music and sound effects truly do set the mood for the game. I can't count the number of times the sound effects(and their timing) made me jump more than the actual appearance of a monster itself. There was this one time, I was walking down a hallway, then turned around a corner, then BAM, it struck! The lightning from the storm outside crackled and the suspenseful music spiked and made me jump out of my chair! Yowza! The music and sound effects will make you go mad, and throughout the game your paranoia will be so intense that your nerves will be going into overtime everytime you see the shadow of a zombie when lightning flashes outside, and then when it flashes again, nothing is there.
Replay value is somewhat high. And by somewhat, I mean that you have a lot to work for. For instance, there are several different new modes you can earn, depending on how fast you get through the game. Some examples include Survivor mode and One Tough Zombie mode, in which a zombie with grenades strapped to itself follows you around through the entire game, and if you shoot him, he blows up and so do you. You can also earn new outfits. You can also earn new weapons too. If you can somehow manage to beat the game in under 3 hours, you earn the Rocket Launcher which you can use in your next game. This is an awesome accomplishment. Not only do you get bragging rights, but the Rocket Launcher can kill any monster with one shot.
In conclusion, this GCN-exclusive game has shaped up to not only be not only one of the biggest technical marvels of the system (along side Rogue Leader), but also one of the biggest orchestral wonders, with Capcom's completely revamped music and sound effects. I personally did not play much of the original RE series, but if the other RE games being ported to GameCube are anywhere close to being as thrilling and fun as this game, I will proudly fork over 50 bucks for each of those games so I can sink my teeth into them like a famished, undead Sally Struthers, and that's pretty damn ravenous.

My Score: 9.8 out of 10
Advantages: Exclusive to GameCube, awesome graphics, better sound, smoother gameplay.
Disadvantages: Controls and camera take some getting used to, some may not like the RE series being exclusive to GameCube.