The Review

What devoted subsite section would be complete without a review of the game? With that said awaaaaaaaaaay we go.

Now, these are graphics. The atmosphere the graphics convey in this remake is quite strong. The visuals themselves are some of the best graphics I've ever seen even to this date. The lighting effects are incredible, giving the game the creepy mood that one would expect if they were trapped in a mansion of flesh eating undead. The characters are very detailed and are extremely realistically rendered giving the game a far more believable feel. The only downpoint of the graphics would have to be the enemies. While they are rendered extremely well there are only about three different kinds of zombies and all the other monsters all look the same as other members of their species so sometimes you'll be fighting two identical enemies at once. All in all the graphics are the icing on the cake of this incredible update to the original Resident Evil.

The remake does a far better job telling the story then the original North American version of Resident Evil. Mainly because the original was supposed to be kitchy and corny like old horror movies. Although that was a great addition and I still laugh until my ribs hurt at some of the stuff in the original it bothers me how many plotholes there are. Sure, this is a Capcom game and Capcom is notorious for plotholes that threaten to encompass all existance but this is one of the only game series that isn't completely ruined by at least four plotholes a game. Anyways, the game gives you a good sense of "what in the bloody sodding hell is going on here?" as you start to uncover the conspiracy behind the events in the mansion.

The gameplay in the remake is the peak of Resident Evil series. While some may argue the best game in the series is Resident Evil 4...4 isn't a real Resident Evil game. But we'll cover that when I review it. The controls in the remake are tightest in the entire series, even though the controls are incredibly weird. The controls use the same basic scheme of all the main RE games save for RE4. Although these are the tightest controls they still lack a solid and intuitive structure. All in all the entire Resident Evil control scheme is hard to get used to since it's so different from most other control schemes in other games. Because the control scheme is so hard to get used to and so different I can't give the control part of the gameplay a high mark because it's just that hard to get used to these controls if it's your first time. Now, once you get used to the controls the gameplay is phenominal. You really get a sense of paranoia with the remake because the core gameplay elements of conservation and stealth are enhanced due to the difficulty of the enemies. The saving grace of the annoying control scheme is the exceptional use of the item system and the combination of fear tactics and the fact that although the control scheme is annoying and hard to get used to it works for this series.

Replay value is arguably the most important feature in a game. If the game isn't something you'd play more than once why would you buy it when a rental or two would suffice? Capcom has never done a good job of giving their games huge replay value. While the games are extremely fun most of them are either identical to the previous games in the series or so unoriginal playing it again would be a waste of time. The only games to dodge this are the Resident Evil games and the Breath of Fire games. The remake is a prime example of replay value as there are plenty of extras. Completing the game twice with each character nets a special costume with each completion and completion of the game under certain time restrictions nets you special weapons and fun game modes. This gives the game plenty of replay value as playing the game using the various extra costumes and special weaponry is quite fun. Especially when both the special weapons come with infinite ammo and the extra game modes are pretty hard.

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