Resident Evil: Survivor

"Definitely not the best RE to date, but still a good game for those willing to try something a bit different."

“Change is never easy…” so the old adage goes. It also holds up quite well when applied to this game. This is, indeed, a radical departure for the Resident Evil series, though that isn't necessarily a negative thing. If approached with an open mind and a bit of patience, Survivor will likely be a satisfying experience for any Resident Evil fan.

Gameplay-

Familiar with the Resident Evil series? Comfortable with its control scheme?

If you answered “yes” to either of those two questions, then be prepared for quite a shock when booting up Survivor for the first time, as it obviously takes no cues from its predecessors in the control (or graphics) department.

Survivor is fully 3D, and viewed from a first-person perspective. Your character is controlled via Namco’s GunCon. What’s even scarier: It works pretty damn well. Point the gun off screen and depress the trigger to walk, using the buttons on either side of the gun for turning. Of course, if a zombie or any other hideous creature happens to in the vicinity, one obviously must only point and shoot at the desired target. This may sound sloppy, clunky and inefficient, but after one takes the time to adjust to the new control scheme, it works surprisingly well. Shuffling through the various menus is also quite easy. Press the A and B buttons simultaneously to reach the main menu, using said buttons and the trigger to navigate your through.

NOTE: I am reviewing the European release of this game. Only the Japanese and European releases have GunCon support, so if one does not have either of those releases or lacks a GunCon, then the game is controlled by way of the conventional PlayStation control pad. As one would expect, it’s a bit of a different experience, and not nearly as satisfying as playing with the GunCon. I digress, though… here is a brief rundown of how control handles with the pad: Movement should be obvious, so I'll skip that. Moving on… through depressing the R1 button, the player enters “Combat Mode”. In Combat Mode, the directional buttons are used to adjust one's sights, with the weapon of choice being fired via depressing either the X or Triangle buttons.

As you may have gathered by now, this isn’t a typical light-gun game. Survivor isn’t set on rails (i.e., one is allowed full freedom of movement, as opposed being taken a pre-sorted path). With this, all of the typical Resident Evil elements fall into place. One can collect files, herbs, keys, ammo and any other items essential to progressing in the game. In that respect, then, Survivor is exactly like its predecessors.

Upon opting to start a new game, one is given the choice of “Easy” or “Normal” difficulties. I can’t discern much of a difference between the two difficulties.

One more thing I should add: You can’t technically save your game. Now, before you get all up in arms, take a deep breath and allow me to explain: “Saving” does not allow you turn off the game and start back up at the place that you saved, it only saves the items/equipment that you have collected and plops you right back at the beginning of the game. The thing is, Survivor isn't a very long game (you should be able to complete in about three to four hours), so one should be able to go straight through in one sitting.

Story-

The game begins with a little back-story informing the player of the major events to have transpired in the world of Resident Evil thus far. This should be familiar to RE vets. I’ve a caveat to RE newbies, though: If you haven’t played any other RE games, but are planning to in the future, I recommend that you catch up them before playing Survivor, since this little intro contains some pretty big spoilers for previous games.

After this introduction, a cutscene ensues. During this cutscene, we see a helicopter attempting to escape this ravaged, zombie-infested place. However, a man clings to the helicopter, hell-bent on not letting the helicopter or its occupant escape. During his struggle, the mysterious man falls off of the helicopter, but not before damaging to the point where it crashes nearby. Your character awakens with nothing but amnesia and a Glock, thus beginning the adventure ahead.

Graphics-

Yikes… this is the department that probably generates the most complaints about Survivor. Due to the nature of the game, it obviously had to be done in 3D, though the results are somewhat disappointing. I say “somewhat” only because I think that Capcom made the best out of what they had to work with (the technical limitations of the PlayStation). The graphics are blurry, pixely, and just plain not aesthetically pleasing. Fortunately, this doesn't detract from the overall experience of the game too much.

Replayability-

There are a few alternate paths that can be taken through the game. Other than that, however, there isn’t much of an incentive to replay the game.

To Buy or Rent?-

This probably isn’t the best game to be used as an introduction to the Resident Evil series. RE newbies should bone up on the other RE games before undertaking Survivor. For hardcore RE fans like myself, however, this is a worthwhile game to add to your collection, despite its faults. For truly experiencing the game as it was meant to be played, I recommended looking into the European or Japanese releases of this game, because, as I mentioned earlier, the American release does not have GunCon support. If you are in America and wish to import, you will have to undergo the necessary steps to get the game to play on your system. If you don't wish to go through the hassle, however, the regular controller will suffice.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/07/02, Updated 08/07/02