Dial ‘Z’ for Zombies
Resident Evil 0 is set before the Mansion incident which takes place in the first Resident Evil game. Bizarre murders have been taking place in the Arklay Mountains, just outside of Raccoon City. S.T.A.R.S. Bravo team is sent out to investigate the area, but the rotor blade in their helicopter blows out, and they are forced to crash land. Right after the landing, Enrico, Richard and Rebecca discover an overturned jeep which is holding a bunch of dead MPs. Rebecca discovers from a file that they were carrying a prisoner by the name of Billy Coen, who was sentenced to death for the murder of a group of soldiers. Bravo team decides to split up and search the area. Rebecca stumbles upon a train sitting out in the middle of nowhere, full of dead people and other, much more sinister things.
In other words, the usual Resident Evil formula. This time, a lot of extra features and additions have made their way into the game that change things for the better, though a few negative features still remain. Once Rebecca runs into Billy (which is like 3 minutes in), they decide to team up. This allows you to essentially control two characters at one time. The main character is controlled by the control stick, while the other is automatic, though you can control him/her with the C-stick. The group can split up and explore the levels separately and you can also zap between them by pressing X. Many puzzles throughout the game will require Billy and Rebecca to split up and work together. The final major addition to the gameplay is that the item boxes are no more. You can drop any item anywhere in the game, though more backtracking is required when you need that particular object. Thankfully, the in game map keeps track of where you have left items to minimize confusion.
The glaring problems with the other games in the series still remain. The control is still relatively problematic, relying on the pivot system which has been in the series since the first installment in 1996. Veterans of the series will be used to the control, but there is no doubt those who’ve only recently started with the series will be disappointed with the control method. Secondly, the illogical puzzles are still in place. They may be a token part of the Resident Evil series, but there is a point where things become ridiculous. Finally, the game seems to lack a clear sense of direction in some places, and requires a lot of investigation to be done, which can be slightly problematic.
Resident Evil 0 introduces a bunch of new enemies and weapons. The Leech Zombie is one of the common new foes, and seems to be a replacement for the highly annoying Crimson Head from the remake. They look like normal zombies from afar, but will explode into an army of leeches if you try to dispose of them by normal methods. Leeches are relatively easy to dispose of, though then will climb up your character’s body, and try to consume them. You’ll also meet other new enemies including giant insects, a massive scorpion boss and more. Thankfully, a few new weapons, such as the Hunting Rifle and sub machine guns have been provided for your personal use.
The narrative of Resident Evil and gameplay are integrated very well, and the game will take a good RE veteran 10-12 hours first time through, while the rest of us might get about 12-15 out on our first time through. There are three difficulty levels in the game which affect the amount of ammo and the number of hits enemies take to die. Newbies will want to take the easy mode, while vets should definitely go for the hard mode. You will be awarded a rank at the end of the game, which will unlock a Leech Hunter mini game, and high ranks on that will unlock the better guns for instant use during the main campaign.
Resident Evil 0 features the same level of high detail graphics which were displayed in Resident Evil last year. The pre-rendered backdrops have seen a small increase in quality over the remake, although this will only be noticeable to the most discerning of eyes. There are some moments which are jaw dropping, such as when Rebecca and Billy are crawling across the top of the train, being blasted with rain and seeing the scenery fly by at an amazing rate. The high quality backdrops only help increase the level of immersion in the game.
Character modeling is just as great as it was in the remake, as both characters and the entire cast of enemies have seen a high level of detail put into their models. Zombies come in a wide variety of forms; male, female, fat, thin and some more rotted than others. Newer creatures such as the insects and monkeys are just outright gruesome. The two main characters’ animation isn’t quite as good as it could be, as they still come of as being a little stiff in their movements, especially in comparison to the liquid movement of the enemies.
Capcom go to immense trouble when trying to create a scary atmosphere in Resident Evil games, and RE0 is no exception. The musical score is chilling, and the sound effects will send a shiver up your spine. There are some scenes that are an incredible mix of sound and shock, and will have you jumping out of your skin. Voice acting is above par over most of the entries in the Resident Evil series, though some dialogue does seem forced. Rebecca and Billy’s voice actors do work well with each other on the whole.
And let that be the end of it
Resident Evil 0 will be the last entry into the series that employs the tradition control method and the traditional usage of pre-rendered backdrops, as Resident Evil 4 (due 2004) will be utilizing real time rendered backdrops, and a fully 3D, user controllable camera system, with dynamic analog controlling.
Resident Evil 0 is the best entry in the series so far, though the score in this review may not reflect that. Resident Evil remake may have scored 9.0 on this very site, but one must take into consideration the fact that it was a huge aesthetic change over the previous entries in the series. Resident Evil 0 certainly plays better, but it still doesn’t improve on the problems of previous entries in the series. The difference in reviewers could also be attributed to this problem.
Fans of the series should definitely rush out and buy Resident Evil 0 so they can discover more of the underlying truths in the great B-movie plot mess that is Resident Evil.
which is a terrible reason to make the game loss so much points.
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