Resident Evil

"After playing RE: DS, it's time we revisit the ACTUAL REmake"

After recently playing RE:DS, I thought it was time to go back and play the REmake version to see how I feel about playing the original game's facelift. In the time I've owned it (since July, 2004), I had played the game at least 7 times through. The very first time though was back at its release date, in the year 2002. I remember those good old days, seeing those INCREDIBLE 2.5D visuals. The beautiful backgrounds and use of CGI in so many of those scenes were some of the most potent eye candy I had viewed in my life time! At the time, however, my only means of playing the game were via my friend's Gamecube since I was dirt poor and didnt have the money to go and buy my own.

Years passed, I still looked at the game as a God of cinematic gameplay. Finally, I got my cube, and finally, I got my own copy (back when it wasnt even Player's Choice yet... ouch). Time passed, I beat it a couple times here and there. I had already played through RE0 (sort of disappointed) and was looking forward to the unseen RE4. Time continues along and I pick up RE4.. BLOWN AWAY... Then comes the RE:DS which cuddled my memories of yesteryear which takes us up to today... Now I've played through the REmake at least my 8th time and I've found a even higher form of respect that truly shows this version is a true cinematic classic on every level. I'll compare just how this game reaches outside the box and really pulls in everything the original RE development team was aiming for in the original 1996 release.

Story: REmake: 8, Original: 6
As with most remakes the stories are virtually the same. You have a team of special forces trying to figure out why there are bizarre murders going on. They investigate this forest area and are chased into a lonesome mansion in the middle of nowhere by some crazed dogs. Now they must find a way to survive the onslaught of the creatures inside and escape. Now the same plot points of the original are in here, however, there are plenty of enhancements which make the story a lot more coherent to itself and the entire RE series altogether. You'll find hints of information that lead to RE Code: Veronica, and things pointing to the monsters in Nemesis and EVEN a small hint to RE4... (how scary is that detail? Read those files all everyone, it heightens the experience and is a great way of rounding up the series)

This story was never perfect. The remake tries to take a horrible B-movie plot and give it more substance emotionally and cinematically. In the end we get a great ride that really fixes all those glitches in the original game. The amount of detail included in the revamped story is so much more fulfilling and complete, it really helps motivate you to the end. There are also additions made to the story that even add a tad bit more drama (as disturbing as it is) to a new character known as "lisa". Overall, it's a cinematic masterpiece and is definitely worth playing if you've never picked up this game before.

Visuals: REmake: 10, Original: 6
The original game used a lot of stagnant, empty room designs that really made everything bland and horribly boring at times. In this version, EVERYTHING was redone in such supreme quality, you CAN NOT help but stop and take a look about the environments and the amount of detail thrown into every shot. The game environments runs on CGI cinematic backgrounds that move and look photo-realistic. The effects that these areas create is unparalleled. Check out the lighting effects which literally dance about the room and off your polygon character. It's a marvel accomplishment in the visual style. Those character models running on the GC hardware are flawless in their design. If you compared the character models to those found on XBOX360, now that's throwing that console up for its money. I mean, EVEN the rippled cloth of Chris' vest creates shadows and textures that really wrap your eyes around the touches done here. The actual CGI-cutscenes are beautiful and aside from the actual game's 10th of a second loading jumps in the in-game cutscenes, it's hard to find much a difference! I give it up to CAPCOM for their graphics team. A standing ovation indeed.

Audio: REmake: 9, Original: 7
Now what made the original's audio so memorable was the amount of horrid voice acting. We all loved those humorous quotes, but we know the game deserved something MUCH better. Needless to say, CAPCOM redid it all and got the right people to step in for the job. No longer will you hear those famous statements, but well acted lines of dialogue that dont get overly cheesy or poorly acted. Aside from a couple moments, it's a great recapture of the voices, the way it was supposed to be!

Another big staple is the use of sound effects and environmental music. It's creepy, eerie and you'll find yourself looking forward to tunes over and over again. I still find myself being captured by the eeriness of the "Fish-Tank" composition. It reminds me of the Metroid Prime series which triumphed in the highest degree for mood and soundscape texture. The sound effects are just as finely tuned and made to match their representing real life version. The guns are fabulous, especially that old handgun you used to fire off as a pelt gun in the original. Now that thing has voice and dont even get started on the magnum. The zombies are rich in their sound as well. They actually sound like their lungs have rotted and throats have been torn.. It's a cotton throat-blood curdling realization of how zombies would probably sound. The monster creatures are as disturbingly composed and those "hunters" will have you fearing every corner you walk through. The game is loud, surreal and disturbing on levels of the sound design!

Gameplay: REmake: 9, Original: 9
The gameplay itself has pretty much gone unchanged other than a few additions. One of those additions being a defensive item attack that allows you knock off a zombie before they tear you to shreds. The character models move fluidly and natural so it helps in the movement aspect of the game despite that they run a bit slower. This has little affect though on the entire pace of the game which is masterfully well composed. You wont find yourself backtracking in over-abundance, though backtracking is a necessary evil for this game. There's always a ton of monsters and creatures you will have to survive and or dodge all together! The bosses and puzzles are greatly improved in how strategy and thinking are involved. The adventure runs about 7 hours even for a seasoned pro like me. There's a lot of variety to everything and even the mansion is reconstructed to help the pace continue its run. The new areas in the game also add a whole lot more to the package and really break through the original's limitations.

Gameplay is equally exciting for both if not a tad bit more improved so it's justified to give them the respective same scores since it is almost entirely identical outside of a few changes in the REmake

Replayability: REmake: 10, Original: 9
The REmake definitely pushes the envelope with extras and bonuses. There are several different advanced user modes once you complete the game's objective. You can earn bonus weapons, new costumes and just watching the story unfold from another character's perspective is more than worthwhile of a play through. The original game has the extra difficulties, the costumes, extra bonus weapons and alternate version of the story.. so its almost similar but REmake takes over with the invisible monster mode (every monster in the mansion is invisible... talk about uncertainty) and there's a mode where you have to worry about a zombie chasing you throughout the entire mansion on top of everything else you must contend with. This definitely heightens the tension and really turns it into a survival horror nightmare much like that of RE3: Nemesis... Overall, it's superb quality.

Overall: REmake: 9, Original: 8
Despite being so close in score, I personally believe REmake is a much better version with a ton load more extras, additions and cinematic quality. It's the original though that deserves respect for trying something that had not worked as well before and tweaked it into a solid hit that in time would lead to the creation of this Gamecube masterpiece. 2 Great games, this one's the better, but dont neglect yourself of the classic. If you have a DS, pick "Resident Evil: Deadly Silence". It's a great port with tons of extras and only $10-15 more than the PlayStation original. If you dont have a DS, then find yourself a copy of the PlayStation original and prepare for a solid ride.

THE SOLID POINTS:
*Entirely remade from the ground up
*Gamecube's gem of beauty aside from RE4
*Interesting puzzles
*Great pacing
*Challenging monsters
*Superb Weapons
*Vastly Improved Voice Acting
*Extremely Moody Environments
*Tons of extras
*Improved story with tons of additions

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 02/16/06