"Evil For the Sake of Evil"

Resident Evil Zero is quite obviously the prequel to the game that launched the survival horror craze of the PlayStation era, Resident Evil. Being one of the latest installments in a series with so many games to its name already, Resident Evil Zero offers new and innovative ideas for the series such as a sweet partner system and the ability to drop an item on the ground whenever you please along with the classic gameplay that fans, such as myself, are hungry for.

The game starts out with familiar face Rebecca Chambers and her fellow Bravo team members on a helicopter heading for the Arkalay Mountains. They're needed for an investigation of some strange murders that have been occurring around the area (you know, “Victims were apparently eaten” blah, blah). But then their helicopter breaks down forcing the team to continue their investigation with no current way of leaving the area (besides walking). But then they stumble upon a jeep with dead prisoner escorts of one Billy Coen. Not knowing about the true seriousness of their investigation, old-timer Enricho orders everyone to search for the prisoner. Rebecca wonders off and discovers a train full of zombies. She is then stuck on the train and meets up with Billy. He suggests that the two team up to survive, but Rebecca needs some outside convincing thanks to a gooey fiend. You know that there's something wrong when it takes a criminal to suggest the idea of not splitting up. I guess all those S.T.A.R.S. members, police officers, and bikers were just a bunch of fools.

Unfortunately the rest of the turn of events are utterly ridiculously and borderline stupid. It's almost insulting to my intelligence that this entire game can even exist. So many stupid plot twists will come up and some even put new light into the lives of past Resident Evil characters like Albert Wesker and William Birkin (who magically appears to be 18). Also, Capcom assumes that the gamer already knows that Umbrella is behind it all and doesn't even make the slightest attempt to veil that fact. The game even makes note to Umbrella in the first file you pick up. Now if Rebecca knows Umbrella is behind all this, why doesn't she ever tell Chris at the old Spencer Estate?

Rebecca: “You know Chris, I partnered up with this other guy earlier and we did really well together. Oh, and did I mention that Umbrella is behind all this?”

Chris: “Not now, Rebecca! I need you to play the Moonlight Sonata on this piano so I may swap these emblems.”

But once you get past this troublesome tale, you can sink your teeth into the real meat of the game. You'll notice immediately that Rebecca and Billy make quite the couple with their advantages and disadvantages that are evened out by having both of them. Rebecca may have those cute looks and that dumb charm, but she doesn't take damage too well. Only a few nibbles from a zombie into her smooth, sexy body causes her health to reach Caution. On the other hand, only Rebecca can use her medical skills to mix herbs like in all the past Resident Evils. Billy, however, is the freakin' tank of a man. He can be beat up pretty badly before even showing any signs of pain. Also, only Billy can push and operate some of the heavier objects in the game. Yes folks, Rebecca is actually too weak to operate a crank.

It's a good thing that they teamed up because Rebecca and Billy are quite deadly together as well. You control either one of the characters during your travels through evil, and with the push of a button, you can instantly switch control to the other character. You'll need this teamwork to solve some of the more difficulty puzzles and really tear into all the creatures of Resident Evil Zero. In fact, you'll find the AI controlled character helping you out quite a bit. Billy will be pumping rounds into a pack of zombies and Rebecca will help out by giving support fire. If a zombie starts to chew into Billy's flesh, Rebecca will shoot the zombie in order to make it back off and inflict minimal damage on Billy.

Unfortunately your AI controlled partner can do some real dumbass things to piss you off. Your commands to give the AI are extremely limited. Basically you can either toggle attacking on or off as well as ordering them to either follow you or stand still. That's it. The resulting lack of control over the AI causes them to usually waste ammo or an opportunity to make the partner system a lot cooler. For example one time I was running through this room with crows only to see my AI controlled Billy begin shooting crows with his handgun. Every Resident Evil veteran knows shooting crows is idiotic. Another time Billy was being attack by a pathetically weak leech, but the AI controlled Rebecca wasted one of my few flame rounds (ARGH!) killing it. It would have been nice if you could specify what enemies you'd like them to attack with each weapon. You know, something like “Don't use magnum on zombies” or “Use shotgun on hunters.” Luckily I fixed this little problem with a solution of my own: only give the stronger weapons to the AI during boss fights. Another problem with the AI is it seems to refuse to spread out in a room. Sometimes when you're surrounded by enemies, it'd be real cool if your partner would attack other enemies rather than concentrating on the same damn monster as you. It's nice that your combined handgun fire can take down that zombie in front of Rebecca, but now Billy has gone and let the zombie behind him begin biting his neck.

But even with these few annoyances with the partner AI, some of the firepower should put a smile on your face. Resident Evil Zero makes it feel a lot more like a prequel by going back to the basics when it comes to weaponry. You won't find any of that zany artillery of the likes of the Spark Shot from Resident Evil 2 or the AK47 from Code Veronica. Instead we have the knife, handgun, shotgun, grenade gun, magnum, and two new weapons. The returning weapons all work the same except that the grenade gun seems to be awfully similar to Jill's bazooka from the original Resident Evil rather than the grenade launcher from later installments. That is to say, we're no longer plagued by the weapon's long animation of reloading between each round but instead we have the old little recoil between every discharge. As for the two new weapons, one of them is a real lemon and the other rocks. Early on you'll find the hunting rifle, which is essentially a crappy version of the shotgun. Not only is it slightly weaker, but the hunting rifle can only hold two shells of ammo where as the shotgun can hold a mighty seven shells. Shortly after you'll find the shotgun and wonder why Capcom even bothered. The better new comer, however, is the awesome molotov cocktail. Combine gasoline and an empty wine bottle and you have yourself an explosive treat for the slimy beasts lurking around the corner. Just toss these babies and watch as the floor is illuminated with a fiery blaze. They're especially effective against some of the newest abominations to the franchise.

These games always need monstrous foes to fight and scare the crap out of you. Zombies, of course, are back and are all over the place. Other classic creatures like zombie dogs, crows, and giant spiders also return, but you won't be running into them all too often. No, instead you'll find yourself face to face with some of the newer monsters such as the Leech Zombies. These collections of puss-ball leeches in the form of a man may share the long, stretchy arm attack of the golden throb-masters know as Bandersnatches from Code Veronica, but Leech Zombies are a much deadlier breed. They'll dash at full speed right towards you to chomp down on your fresh skin and let their acidic goo cover your body rather than those slow trudging beasts they stole their arm attack from. Early on you'll meet many packs of the bug-like Plague Crawlers. You'd better blast them away before they gang up on you; otherwise they'll topple your character, rip open your chest and devour your still beating heart. There are also mutated monkeys called Eliminators that, while look utterly ridiculous, are truly terrifying in the sense that they're a deadly foe. Think of these new creatures as a replacement for the dogs. They're fast, agile, and can execute a jump attack, however, they can take far more bullets and abuse than some old pooch. The last of the new enemies, Lurkers, are giant frogs that just plain suck. You'll learn to have a good chuckle the few times you see these guys. But when it's all said and done, I must say I'm disappointed that my favorite reptilian monsters known as the Hunters have still not taken back their former glory. While Jill dodged them in Resident Evil 3 and Chris completely avoided them in Code Veronica, Rebecca and Billy face the weakest incarnation of the Hunter. Not only are their attacks pathetic compare to earlier installments, but you can actually take them out with the handgun. What's with Capcom and continually trying hurt the Hunter's reputation?

But even with all these monsters ready to chomp down on your bones, the GameCube's analog stick will help you dodge them. I must say that after adapting to the smaller analog stick, I found myself doing a much better job moving around than I ever have in a Resident Evil game. You'll notice yourself weaving out of the path of a hungry zombie with ease. In addition, I most certainly haven't walked into as many walls in Resident Evil Zero than I have in any survival horror game. The auto-aiming is also left intact and always targets the nearest foe. Plus you can still use the left shoulder button to cycle through potential threats. In addition, the 180 degree turn returns for a quick escape. All in all, you'll still be kicking some zombie ass.

Now while the smooth controls give you plenty of room to dash away from those zombies, your inventory might not give you enough space to take everything you need along. Each character has a mere six slots of inventory space. While this does give you twelve spaces, you have to remember that both characters must pack some heat and that the stronger weapons like the shotgun take up two precious blocks (and then you need a third for ammo!). To make matter worse for you, the item storage box that magically transports matter throughout the area has been tossed. All those boxes have been replaced by the “iffy” Leave System. The basic idea is that you can drop any item anywhere at any time and come back for it later. You can even track your items down via the map in case you can't remember where you left your stash of herbs. This system can really save a lot of time and backtracking throughout most of the game. For example, say your inventory for both characters is packed, but you've just found an item for a puzzle in the next room over. In the older games, you'd have to haul your ass back to an item box, dump something, run back to that room, and pick up the item. In Resident Evil Zero, you can just go to your inventory, choose something unimportant (maybe a lonely red herb), drop it on the floor, pick up the new puzzle item, and come back for the red herb later. Another cool idea for this system is the ability to use an item you found without putting it in your inventory. Say your inventory is full, you're on Danger, and you just found a red herb. Perhaps you have a green herb in your inventory and you know that mixing the two would heal you completely. In the older installments, you'd be screwed with no way of getting that much needed herb. Resident Evil Zero, however, allows you to immediately mix the newfound herb without having to mess with your inventory. So you can just grab that herb, mix it, heal up, and get ready to start shooting. The only downside to the new system is when it comes to having to retrace your steps for old items. You'll notice that you'll be doing far more backtracking just for some item that would otherwise be magically transported via an item box. Hopefully if Capcom ever uses this system again, they'll also add in item boxes so you won't have to worry about that damn key you left in the basement or those magnum rounds you dropped all the way in the Training Facility.

You'll be dropping those items in no time for the those puzzle items scattered throughout the area. For any fan of the series, the puzzles will be exactly what you'd expect. Most of the time they consist of finding some item and using it elsewhere. You know, find vise-grip handle, put into vise-grip, take emblem, put into emblem slot. That kind of stuff. You'll also notice a few that employ your mind a bit more such as pushing boxes to make a bridge, lighting pillars of flames in the correct order, or figuring out a lock combination from a old file on leech breeding. While us veterans of the series may complain about the stupidity and the rehashing of these puzzles, I think deep down inside we're used to them. Thus this game won't disappoint!

Another area where fans won't be disappointed are the spine-tingling visuals that will leave you drooling. The use of FMV backgrounds creates some of the best looking, atmospheric locations in gaming today. You'll witness the moss and leaves growing on stone walls and blowing in the breeze. Rain will pour into the broken windows and make the carpet wet. Windows will be left ajar and constantly open and close with the wind. A trail of blood leads to an operating table with peculiar restraints. And quite possibly the best of them all is the time you're on the top of the train and you see the trees rushing by and your vision blurred by the downpour of rain. The polygon models of your characters and the vicious monsters are stunning from the first rotting zombie to the really hairy spiders to the gooey Leech Zombies with a shiny glass-like surface (until they explode into a ravenous collection of tiny leeches scurrying about to keep in place). The animation is equally superb and looks far more realistic and fluid than any of the PlayStation and Dreamcast installments.

Resident Evil music hasn't been very scary or mood setting since the original game. This is no exception with really dull tunes that are completely forgettable and don't strike even an ounce of fear into my heart from this game. But ever since Resident Evil 2, I've noticed a trend of fast-paced action music sneaking its way into the series at key points. Resident Evil Zero has some of this action music and I'd say it's the best so far in the series. I really liked the exciting adrenaline pumping themes that start up when Billy is always out to save Rebecca or the time he has to run from the front of the train to the back in a matter of minutes. The sound effects are on par with every other installments from the first squeak of Rebecca's handgun to the last mighty blast of Billy firing the magnum. The creatures screams and other noises are certainly great in freaking you out. I sure was surprised the first time I took down a Hunter and heard the thunderous clashing of metal as it pounded its fists against the floor with its dying breath. The voice acting while not all that bad suffers from some pretty crumby lines of dialogue (“Been dreaming about me?” “I could shoot you!” “Billy, we have to open the windows!”).

While it's not the best in the series, Resident Evil Zero is a pretty cool entry into the franchise. The new Leave and Partner Systems as well as the classic gameplay formula with a smooth analog stick make this prequel very interesting. Unfortunately the utterly ridiculous plotline that could make any longtime fan vomit over his poor, little GameCube can be enough to turn some away. But if you stomach it out, you'll find yourself playing one excellent adventure packed with blood and bullets.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 08/01/04, Updated 08/02/04