"Rebecca redeems herself and a new character spices things up in what is possibly the best Resident Evil game ever made"

We've all played the Resident Evil series, and we all know what to expect when we play. Zombies and other strange creatures, an assortment of weapons, intimidating bosses, lots of little notes to pick up that fill in the story and most of all, strong lead characters who can handle the job. The series has attempted to experiment more and more with the formula, while also bringing back familiar places and expanding the story-line. The Resident Evil remake for the Gamecube showed us that the premise for the first installment was made all the more solid with a graphical makeover -- so, technically, Resident Evil Zero is the first true installment for the Gamecube.

So, if you've never played Zero before, you might be surprised to find out that the hero(ine) this time around is none other than Rebecca Chambers -- and if you've played the first Resident Evil, then you know what a laughable character she was. She couldn't fight her way out of a paper bag, let alone follow Chris and get out of the mansion. She was what I lovingly referred to as, ''the healing wench''.

Needless to say, I was blown away by Rebecca's ability to do the job -- and on top of that, not get all sappy and lovey-dovey about it, like both Jill and Claire did with their respective male counter-parts (Carlos and Steve...god, I hated Steve). What makes this strangely ironic is the fact that the other character in this game is a hunky Solid-Snake type man, by the name of Billy Coen. He isn't a whiny bitch like Carlos OR Steve, and he's a hell of a lot of fun to play as. The game starts with Rebecca in pursuit of Billy to arrest him and get him canned for supposed war crimes. The two decide to team up when Billy comes out of nowhere and saves Rebecca from being zombie-chow.

Which brings me to the whole ''partnership'' thing. That was really what kept me from playing Zero up until about a week ago, when I saw it for a nice $20 price-tag in Electronics Boutique. Hungering for a new Gamecube title, I decided to give it a shot. The ''partnership'' system, although it slows the pace of the game down some (since some objectives need to be completed with the help of the other character,etc), it still manages to offer a refreshing new take on the Resident Evil formula. Does that mean that I would want another game completely based around this new-fangled system? Hell no. But it does mean that the partner-system would be a great addition to another Resident Evil game in small dosages.

What may dissapoint players is the fact that Billy has all the premium qualities -- he can take a lot of damage, his hand gun is better, he's stronger,etc. Rebecca can mix herbs...that's about it. She can't handle very much damage, and she can't do some of the things that Billy can (like operate one of the cranks in the game). You'll most likely find yourself using her as a walking storage chest (since there are none in this installment) for all of your healing items and ammo. However, I think that upon replay of Zero, people may want to try using Rebecca more -- to create more of an obstacle for themselves.

Other changes in this installment of Resident Evil include droppable items, meaning any object you pick up can be dropped in any room and later picked up again. This really changes things more than you could imagine, because you can, for example, prepare for a boss battle and leave extra ammo and healing items outside of the room, and in the middle of a battle run out and partake of them, and resume the battle when you're ready. There is also some new items including the hookshot and hunter's gun, which is basically a crapified shotgun that can only handle two shots at a time. However, customizable hand-gun parts DO show their face once again,which is certainly a great pleasure, as it increases the speed of your weapon.

There is also a new collection of enemies, with some old favorites as well. Hunters, zombies and some dogs return, while leech zombies and monkeys are new additions -- and annoying additions at that. The monkeys are unusually fast for something in an Evil game, so as the gamer, you might be inclined to underestimate them, as well as the leech zombies (you'll find out), and end up with your ass being killed.

Some recognizable characters also return to advance the plot-line besides Rebecca, notably Wesker and Birkin, both who are extremely instrumental to the plot.

I also should really mention the superb graphics for this game, since they managed to just blow me away with their amazing detail. All of the zombies actually LOOK different from one another now, and when you stomp on their heads you can sometimes get a nice shot of lots of sticky-gory goodness pouring out of their heads.

The game starts on a train, and this is the most aesthetically pleasing part of the game, due to the detail in each of the cars and the lighting, among other things. Small visual treats await you in each of the cars -- for example, in one car there is a zombie slumped over the seat, with his arm slowly moving back and forth with the movement of the train. Truly great stuff. This game looks fantastic, and this is reinforced even further with both the appearances of Rebecca and Billy -- detailed clothing,some tattoos (on Billy), as well as the qualities of each of their faces make them come to life.

So, how does this game falter, you might wonder? Well, simply, the story is extremely uninspired, although not necessarily horrible. I can't give too many details without spoiling it for someone, but trust me when I say that the first two installments of the Resident Evil series still have the best stories after all this time. Zero actually starts a little bit before the first game, as you will discover through what Wesker has to say pertaining to the ''mansion'' (I assume you know what mansion I'm talking about, right?). Besides the cool connections to already existing Resident Evil games though, the story pretty much falls flat on its face, especially due to a cheesy villain that looks like he belongs in a Final Fantasy game, and certainly not in a survival-horror. Billy Coen's chunk of the story is somewhat interesting -- although I can't help but feel that it's a cheap attempt to get the audience (being us, the gamers) to sympathize for him and not be so quick to view him as a hardened criminal (either way I still would have thought he was cool).

Regardless, Resident Evil Zero has everything going for it, and if you've made yourself play through Nemesis (the lowest point in the series, in my own humble opinion), then this game will surely top that 20 times over. There is enough different about this game from the remake (also for the Gamecube) to also merit a purchase. You just can't qualm with this game's low price tag, good looks and engaging gameplay. If nothing else, it will offer some quick amusement and then you can pack it away with all the rest of your Resident Evil collection. Don't pass this game up for any reason.

-- PROS --

1) Rebecca manages to top the main characters from the last two installments (Nemesis and Code:Veronica) with her cheery disposition, yet determination to get the job done. She puts Jill and Claire to shame.

2) Billy Coen is extremely cool, and brings a breath of fresh air to the story., while old favorites like Wesker also appear to tie everything up story-wise.

3) Dropping items whereever you want and being able to come back and get them later is a beautiful thing! You can prep for boss battles easier, heal quicker and keep key items nearby. Ech, storage chests! Who needs 'em?

4) The graphics are beautiful, and I especially love the fact that the game begins on a train -- an extremely unconventional start for a survival-horror.

5) The whole ''partner'' thing is cool -- it definitely spices things up tremendously, although I think I can safely say that I wouldn't want another whole game dedicated to the same ''gimmick''.

-- CONS --

1) I just can't help but feel that the ''partnership'' is a little unbalanced. It's just too easy to use Billy for almost everything, and leave Rebecca carrying all the items.

2) The story, and some of the lines said by the characters are just completely laughable, even though they're not meant to be. Even some of the notes in this game carried a stange, cheesy quality. I was definitely expecting more story-wise from this game, and it really didn't offer me anything.

3) The main ''villain'' in this game is also hilariously stupid. He seriously looks like he belongs in one of the newer Final Fantasy titles, and his lines are the most horrid of all.

4) I'll just say this...I hate leeches.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/06/04