Resident Evil
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Ok it's out a while but a lot of you still haven't bothered to get this game. And I ask myself why the hell not?? It's one of the best games on both the Saturn and Playstation! Well, until the sequel that is. After I had to give back the import version of Resi 2 that I had on loan I was feeling sad and really missed blowing up those zombies so I started playing the original again and am hooked. I'm playing the game through again with Chris and am trying to get it completed in under 3 hours. Anyway for people without the game won't have a clue what I'm on about so let me explain the game to you. Story The story starts off with a black and white intro (the Japanese got colour, the bastards! but no we can't handle the violence so it had to be censored! bastards!) which tells you a little about what's going on. It's set in a place called Racoon Forest and is set in 1998. Recently there have been strange disappearances, the victims found were "apparently eaten". Wild dogs are all over racoon city and are having any human that's walking by for lunch. Anyway no one knows what's going on so the Bravo Team are sent in to investigate. After nothing is heard from them the S.T.A.R.S. Team (Special Tactic and Rescue Squad) are sent in to see what's going on. The intro opens up as there approaching Racoon Forest. Soon they find Bravo's helicopter which obviously made a crash landing. Suddenly the savage dogs start coming (ahem) from all over the place and one of the team is killed. Then the helicopters pilot Brad who's a big chicken leaves them too it. Chris, Jill, Barry and Wesker see the big mansion right ahead and make a run for it where they thought it was safe. Then you see a cool cast intro with all the characters, Chris in the Japanese version is smoking a cigarette and since that's too shocking it was removed and covered by other footage. One thing that I always wonder about is that the Japanese seem to go into big detail telling us their blood type etc. As if we give a shit! After that only 3 of you make it into the mansion. If your playing as Chris it's him, Jill and Wesker. If your playing as Jill it's her, Barry and Wesker. After a few minutes talk you all get split up and you go your separate ways to explore the mansion and it's surroundings. Characters The two main characters in Resident Evil are Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield. Each of them have there own advantages and weaknesses but overall Jill's game is a lot easier as it was intended to be. Pick Jill and you'll have more ammo to play with, you'll get big guns early on, there'll be lots of ink ribbons, fewer zombies, bosses will be easier defeated with the help of a comrad and you'll also be able to get some weapons and ammo a lot easier and you'll be able to get the bazooka which Chris doesn't get in his game. Chris however is stronger then Jill and can take more damage. He only starts off with a crappy knife however so you better get him equipped fast! In Chris's game you'll meet up with one of the team members from the Bravo team who isn't dead. Rebecca is the newest member from the Bravo team and although she is eager to help she can be annoying but unfortunately Chris doesn't tell her to fuck off. She'll help you play the piano as Chris can't and she will be making up the V-Jolt poison for one of the games bosses. Also when Chris gets poisoned you'll be able to play as her as you make a run to fetch the serum for her. Enough about her now. Chris doesn't get to use the bazooka but instead is allowed to have a Flame Thrower while he is in the underground section. It is quite good and will save a good bit of ammo which is the best part but you can only have it for that section. A pity cos I would have enjoyed roasting those zombies! Graphics The graphics at the time of it's release were brilliant and even today there still quite good. It amazes me that games that are copy clones and are released about a year after have rubbish graphics! Take a look at The Note on the Playstation to see what I mean. Anyway if any of you know or have Alone In The Dark you'll know how the game works. There are different camera angles and it changes every time your character walks out of the screen. The detail is great in the game but some of the later sections are really cool. The game may be getting a little old but the graphics haven't seemed to age all that much. Sound Ooooooh that best part about the game is the sound. The chilling sound the creeps up on you out of nowhere is guaranteed to give you the fright of your life. Don't believe me? Well if you haven't played the game before, sit down, turn the lights off and blaze up the sound and you'll soon be shivering! The music is mixed around for different areas and when the music is off you just know it's not because Capcom couldn't be arsed to put any in, but something big was going to come out of the dark. The sound affects are great also with all the usual noises and the eerie sound of the door opening is nearly enough to put you off! Levels There are no such set levels in Resident Evil. Instead you start off in the mansion and work your way to the end. You start off in the mansion, then after getting four crests to get out you go through the courtyard and eventually get to the guardhouse which is basically the next level. After getting your key there you'll be returning to the mansion once again to explore the basement! But don't think it's gonna be a push over getting there because all those zombies have been blasted away, a new enemy awaits you that is much cleverer and faster, the hunter! Have fun with that section as I still jump when about 3 hunters come running after you from around the corner. Anyway after getting a battery that you will need, you make your way to the Underground which again is filled with those hunters. After killing a big spider you'll be able to take on the final section, the laboratory. In there you'll find naked zombies, some new freaks to kill and the big boss at the end! I hope I haven't made it sound too easy because it certainly isn't and will take some time to complete the game. Saturn Version There are a number of differences between the Saturn and Playstation version but mainly for the better. Let's start off with the bad part first, the graphics in the Saturn version aren't as good as the Playstations and lacks the gaurad shading but there's not much difference that you'll notice. Now that that's out of the way you'll be interested to know that there are 2 new costumes for the characters to find, 2 bosses instead of 1, the hunters re changed a bit for the underground section and there's a new mode called the Battle Mode. This is really cool! Your object is to kill all the enemies in the quickest time possible. Forget all the puzzles to solve and keys to find, here it's just blasting until you drop. However your ammo is limited so you'll have to work out what ammo works best on each enemy. This is what really brings in the replay value because after I had completed the Playstation version with both characters and had gotten all the secrets the game went stale. But you'll have the Battle Mode now right?? Overall The graphics still look good, the sound is still great, the playability is cool, the levels are really well designed, the story will have you coming back again and again, the enemies and bosses are quite frightening, you should be able to find this for around twenty quid now and the game is out now! What more do you want? I guarantee you will not be disappointed with this game. The sequel won't be here on the Saturn until at least the late summer so do yourself a favour and get this classic game. I cannot recommend it enough!
Review By: Matthew Langan |
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![[Click to expand]](residentevil_screenshot_1.jpg)
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