When Resident Evil was first released in 1996, it started not only one of the most popular franchises in the history of gaming, but it set the stage for all the survival horror games we know and love today. The original Resident Evil is on many people’s list of best of games of all time, and the remake for the Gamecube does homage to the original Resident Evil and is a fabulous buy for Gamecube owners, regardless of whether you have played the original.
The opening sequence of this game will absolutely blow you away. The graphics are one of the best of any Gamecube game, and probably even beat the much-appraised Metroid Prime. The stunning realism, the lighting, the character models, and the voice-overs are all not only good, they’re perfect. The look and feel of this game are part of what make this such a scary game, and even if this weren’t meant to be a scary game, the incredible realism would have you wetting your pants.
You have the choice between two characters at the beginning of the game, Chris and Jill. This choice will not only affect the storyline of the game, but will also affect the difficulty of the game, the enemies you meet, and the weapons you get. Regardless of who you pick, you are dropped off in a huge, dark mansion alone. And every once in a while there is something not too friendly around the corner. The zombies in this game are simply amazing. They cannot be any cooler. The zombies will amaze when you first see them, but after a few bites on the neck, you realize they are not to be dealt with like a five year old. You must use your arsenal of weapons to destroy them as best as you can.
Even though the combat of this game is a lot of fun, most of the game will be spent exploring the mansion and solving puzzles. And, this easier said then done. There are several different areas to this mansion, including three floors, a courtyard, and a guesthouse. You must collect all the items and find out in what room to use them, and how they are used. The other aspect that makes this game challenging (and realist) is you can only carry a limited number of items, you have limited ammo, and you can save a limited number of times. This challenge not only makes the game funner, but it adds to the replay value.
My only complaint gameplay wise is the controls. Its not that the controls are really bad, they’re just hard to get used to, because they are very different than the average game out there. Pushing front and back on the control stick moves the character in the proper direction, but pushing left and right on the control stick rotates the character to the left or right, sometime making movement slow. The C Stick can be used to do a quick 180 degree turn, but sometimes it still takes a while to go where you want to.
The graphics, like I already said, are spectacular. You simply have to see it once to know that this game not only has one of the best graphics of any Gamecube game, this game has one of the best graphics this gen. The sound, while impressive, is not perfect. The voice-overs are great, but there if often a lack of music, that can make exploring the mansion a little dull. Usually when you encounter a zombie (or are about to), some scary, fast paced music will switch on. But if you’re just walking around, there is often no music on.
This game is long enough to play through with just one character, but when you add there are two characters, each with multiple storylines and difficulties, the replay value of this game goes up quite a bit. Especially, if you have not played the original Resident Evil, you may have the desire to play through this game more than once. Even if you have, there are a number of differences between the remake and the original, so you may still find a few new surprises around the corner…
Overall, this game rocks. So, if you have a Gamecube, then buy it. And if you don’t have a Gamecube, get one. This is just a great remake and a great game, with some really strong aspects that make deserving of the title “must have Gamecube game.”