Resident Evil: Director's Cut

"Whoooooo...."

Sorry for the open line, I didn't know what to say. But enough talk and onto the review!

Graphics: 9/10
The graphics in this game were pretty good. The game uses a lot of pre-rendered effects(backgrounds actually) and they are pretty clear and easy to see. But the backgrounds are motionless and sometimes they become pretty obvious that something will move or pop out of the backgrounds because part of the background is polygonal, which makes it pretty obvious and sometimes spoil the surprise and the suspense of the game. The character design in the game is really good, although not as fanatic as RE3:N, there is a good amount of detail that goes into the characters. For example, you don't have to squint to see eyes or to see how far or how close the enemy is, the polygons do a nice work of moving themselves, to give you that realistic look of when the opponent is coming after you. This is good since I've seen a lot of games that fall victim to uneven polygon movement that can really stress a player out when they find out that the enemy is either too far away or too close and its too late to do anything about it. But overall, the game's graphics are pretty good. My only complaint is that a lot of the more complex details in the backgrounds(mainly the undergrounds) seem to look jobbled up, making it appear as though there is a hidden passage or an item left on the floor. Also, the game adds a nice, dark and moody atmosphere to the game, there isn't much lighting in the game, but that adds to the suspense and scary feeling the creators at Capcom want you to feel.

Music and Sound: 9/10
The sound really makes an impact on the game here. Sound is one of the most important assets in this game, if not the most important. You can hear footsteps of your opponents or the sound of flesh being devoured by zombies. You really have to pay attention to the sound, it's just like real life and there isn't going to be a music change or warnings that there is an enemy approaching. The sounds are almost perfect, from the footsteps to the statue breaking to the doors opening, its really great. The nice thing about this is that the footsteps can variate on the ground, you can step on steel floors, wooden crates, cement, or anything else and you would get a different sound, the same goes with the doors, everydoor doesn't make the same noise and that's the job Capcom can do. I must say though, the sound in this game isn't as good(in terms of quality) as later Resident Evil games, but it's still pretty darn good. The music in this game adds the appropriate music and the appropriate time. Like when you reach a certain boss, the music quickly turns upbeat and uptempo as if the music was actually saying ''Watch out!'' But the sound really makes an impact on this game, my only concern about the sound department is that you can't hear how far or how close your opponent is, the overall noise level stays the same on all accounts. This can be a bit fustrating since sound is one of the most important factors in these type of games, but nonetheless the sound can scare you.

Replay Value: 8/10
The main thing about the replay value in this game is getting the extra ammo for your favorite weapons, it just makes you want to blast all those enemies you lost to earlier in the game so many times prior. That's one of my favorite things to do in games like these, it really adds to the overall replay value since sometimes having the game easier makes the game funner since there is less fustration involved.

Gameplay: 9/10
The gameplay in this game is really great. Its even more funner when your a veteran to the Resident Evil control style, my first reaction of this game was boring, mainly because I played all the later Resident Evil's before and thought that since this game is old it wouldn't be good. But boy am I ever glad that this game proved me wrong. Your goal in this game is to find clues and whereabouts of the Umbrella corporations aside from escaping the mansion where you start off. This game isn't just blasting zombies, that's basically half the fun. The other half comes from solving clues, solving a few of them really makes you feel like a detective sometimes because some of the puzzles are difficult to figure out. It adds emphasis to the game instead of giving the game more of a zombie killing image, actually it's one of the most brilliant thought up games in history. There's always that suspense of never knowing what's ahead of you, you always having to keep your weapons reloaded and such, it's just really a great atmosphere that this game provides. The array of weapons is just awesome, while not as much as the later games, I think that the weapons you find later in the game will please you. Think of this game as a survival horror RPG, you can't just walk around everywhere you want and start blasting everything in site, you have to pick up various items, objects, keys, etc. to advance you further into the game. There is a problem with the camera angles in this game though, I usually hate it when a zombie gets in the way of your view, it increases the chance for mistakes and game overs significantly. Then you have the problem with on screen areas, sometimes you can find yourself shooting at an enemy, but sometimes the force of your gun can push you back and completely change the camera view you had before. The game has a lot of enemies to kill, but the nice thing is that they don't clutter the screen with them(unlike the earlier games) and scatter them just about so there is both a lot of enemies yet you don't get the claustrophobic feeling. The game doesn't just include zombies, they include crows, anacondas, snakes, dogs, mutated zombies, and so on. Along the game you might a few unncessary items not needed to complete the game. Mainly these items are files that can be stored, these are merely just papers but are rather quite interesting to read and really keeps you focused on the game and answers some of your questions as to why this and why that in the game, even if you hate reading in games. The thing I like about this game is that it's not always easy, not even on beginner's mode. The enemies get tougher and the puzzles start to get a bit more trickier than before. You also have the dialogue in this game, there are a few dialogue conversations(some of them actually funny) that just go great with the personalities of the characters in the game. The right voices sound like they are for the right people. And speaking of dialogue, the sound(like I said earlier) really adds to the game, you never know what to expect because the music changes, the music stays the same or there are times when there is absolutely no music at all. The game really scares the heck out of you sometimes because of the sound, and that's the kind of mood and atmosphere that fits into the persona of this type of game so well. Also there is a beginner's mode for the 'freshmen' of the game, mainly all it really is, is just double the ammo and less shots towards your enemies. However, its not always too easy, which is a good thing because even beginners need a good scare of the game to really get a sense of what the game is about. There are two other modes in the game of increasing difficulty as well, which can prove the gaming survival instincts of the veteran gamers to the Resident Evil series. The game also differs the puzzles a bit depending on which mode of difficulty you start out with, not to mention that the game is different for both Jill Valentine and Chris Redfield as you can choose and pick one to play through the game and later play as the other character once you beat the game with the character that you had selected. Also there are multiple endings for each character and they can variate depending on what you do in the game and how fast you have completed the game, which is a big bonus to the replay value department. But basically overall the gameplay was rock solid fun and very suspenseful, much like the movies.

Overall: 9/10
The game has excellent graphics, beautifully manipulated sound and music, and top of the line excellent gameplay. Its a must for all fans of the series, even for those not familiar with the game and even those who are limited to certain genres. I really had a blast playing this game and its a pretty long game for each character. And since this game is a greatest hits, buy it for $20 and never regret it!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/29/00, Updated 05/29/00