Resident Evil Code: Veronica X

"Some games are rotten to the core, but usually have Army Men written on them as a warning. This one's supposed to be rotten - and it's good"

It seems odd that none of the Resident Evil characters has ever shuffled into a shopping mall. Considering the games don't so much take inspiration from the classic 1960s-70s zombie flicks as pay a heartfelt homage to them, the lack of this archetypal location seems strange. Many directors - and viewers - found fake marble slathered, muzak-pacified hallways clogged with shuffling herds of undead to be a particularly vibrant metaphor for the brainlessness of a grasping, consumerist society. Many people liked seeing these mooing cattle people get gut-shot. They liked seeing it even if, in the end, the world was full of them.

But the Resident Evil series has stayed much more in touch with its spooky mansion side and has neglected the possibilities of a good shotgun romp through the Lakeside Shopping Center in Big Rapids. And the irony is that the result requires you, dear reader, to stumble senselessly to your nearest identikit mall, locate the generic premises of your least un-favorite games shop, hand over your scratched Switch card and wait dumbly until a fat, gently sweating man in an overly white shirt hands you a biro. And a little piece of paper. And your copy of Resident Evil Code: Veronica X. Clutch this last item to your bosom all the way home through the pedestrian section and beyond, for although you've just contributed to the sickening domination of ersatz shopping-style experiences, you needn't let it get you down. Like Michael Schumacher, Jennifer Aniston and Zinedine Zidane, Code: Veronica X is worth it. Unlike them, it won't cost you $100.000 a minute. Bargain.

But C:VX is (at the time of writing) not new. It first appeared on Sega's Dreamcast and has risen from that console's demise to be resurrected on PS2. Naturally, improvements of all kinds were promised, and it's true there are some noticeable changes, but whether these are significant enough to make the 'X' version essential for Veronica veterans is highly arguable.

Perhaps the most inevitable promise was improved graphics. The game does indeed look sharper and the textures have allegedly been upgraded, but in truth the game was never ugly anyway (except where it was supposed to be). The characters' faces are exceptionally well done and even do a fair job of conveying emotion in the cut scenes. However, the biggest improvement over the PSX versions is the use of fully 3D environments. While the striking static camera angles of previous games certainly worked well on the tension-creation front, they couldn't have moved the view if they'd wanted to. Each background was a simple two-dimensional painting upon which the 3D characters walked. Seen from any angle other than the intended one, the illusion would be lost. Nevertheless, it let Capcom use beautiful backgrounds it couldn't have created any other way, although usable objects did tend to stand out badly.

C:VX suffers none of this. Wisely, though, Capcom has not just abandoned everything and gone for a standard third person behind-the-back view. The cranky camera angles have stayed, but now the view can zoom in or out, perhaps panning from side to side or flowing alongside as you run (or possibly walk, haltingly, terrified). The movement has only added to the sense of cinema, as you can still never quite see as much as you want. The best thing is that none of this has come at the expense of gorgeous backdrops. The locations - first on a blighted island, and later at an Arctic base - look fantastic, to the point where it's hard to believe they're not pre-rendered after all.

Capcom has lost none of its eye for detail either, frequently creating buildings and rooms that, even when empty, tell stories of their own. Grotesque blood stains, trails of gore, trashed furniture and smashed windows all hint at recent horrors. Strange, rudimentary operating tables with nasty-looking restraints and cupboards full of chemicals are more worrying, especially when the areas seem to have been abandoned right in the middle of something. Fear of the unknown is more powerful than any amount of monsters. Resident Evil's makers are well aware of this and use it with the deft touch they've become known for, although they're not adverse to cheap popcorn-spilling shocks of the sudden inundation kind either. Which suits me just fine.

Actually fighting the various monsters - many of which are brand new - is slightly easier this time round. Claire and co have learned the 180-degree spin and it definitely helps. Unfortunately, it's easy to argue that it only helps because the same awkward control system that appeared in the very first Resi is still present. Characters rotate sluggishly on the spot, need two buttons to shoot anything and two more just to run. There's no sidestep either. So the fighting is still as stodgy as ever, but you can always console yourself with the idea that it's supposed to be like that: as in nightmares, such encounters are all the more terrifying when you can't quite make your feet obey. I've no idea if this is supposed to be the case....if you were the pessimistic type, you'd still feel it was a horribly clotted system that Capcom really should have long since replaced, and nuts to the nightmare theory. Damn you crazy pessimists.

The fresh ability to target two guns at separate enemies significantly boosts to your chances on the occasions when you're surrounded. You quickly find a pair of Uzis in a hut - and by the time you make off with them you'll feel they were a fair reward for going in - and these are excellent at cutting through the groaning hordes of zombie citizens and dogs. It's best not to waste them on such easy prey however, as ammunition conservation is as important as ever. One boss fight with the Tyrant around halfway through the game is a case in point: if you don't have have enough ammo, preferably grenade rounds or explosive arrows, you're absolutely done for. Make sure you don't let your ordnance go (literally) to the dogs, or you'll be in trouble. The kind of trouble that ends in you being eaten or squashed.

The familiar collection of health sprays returns with the search for bullets, as does stealing and eating other people's pot plants make you feel better. The menu screens also look the same as ever. For a game designed to surprise, there's a notable lack of shocks in the design - every aspect is instantly recognizable as a Resident Evil game. And while some may feel it's time for a change, Resi's many fans will be more than eager to return to the strange, atmospheric world of the Redfields. It certainly helps proponents of the latter argument that C:VX is simply the best installment yet.

This time Claire is taken captive by the evil Umbrella Corporation as she searches for her brother, Chris, and finds herself locked in a cell on a small island. However, it's not long before everything goes tits up in spectacular fashion. With a little help escapes and continues her search, bumping into several hundred walking dead and the rather childish new character Steve Burnside as she does so. Steve is young, virile and suffering from the kind of emotional 'issues' that would have Jerry Springer throwing chairs at him. You even get to control him, you lucky people. Fortunately by then he's a bit less annoying and the urge to find a cliff to walk him off is less strong. And is he a bit of a love interest for Claire, who must be dying to meet somebody without blowing his chest off? Play it and see.

There are plenty of puzzles to solve in and around the architecturally lovely mansion that is located on the island, but most of the solutions are the familiar key/card/jewel efforts. To be fair, there are some trickier ones lurking about as well, but they tend to be a little on the bizarre side. However, despite these seemingly glaring flaws - bizarre, awkward puzzles and slightly tricky combat - the game works almost unbelievably well. All the characters (Chris Redfield later brings the playable people count to a total of three) are very detailed and solid looking, so despite their sometimes lurching movement it's easy to believe in them. And traipsing around lesser environments would be dull, but the locations are of such quality it's a pleasure - often a thrill - to explore them as you fetch your weird items. As a bonus it's all as smooth as bloodslicked lino, running at a constant 60 frames per second however much chaos is occurring.

The major changes to the story concern the treacherous Wesker, the leading headcase from the very first game. The Dreamcast version left his involvement very much up in the air - now, Claire even meets up with him for a big showdown. He's a top contender for most evil, and therefore coolest, baddie featured in a video game.
It's certainly worth playing this version if you want to follow the story as it arcs towards Resident Evil 4, but otherwise the changes are less compelling. In fact there are no changes to the gameplay at all. But if you've never played the Dreamcast version, you simply mustn't miss out on this one. It'll keep you going for hours and hours. It's the best installment of Res Evil so far, and that's saying something. The switch to 3D hasn't meant compromise, but it hasn't meant change either. Still, this is an absolute cracker.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/03, Updated 01/03/03