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Preview  Resident Evil 1
- By Ryan Eid [Senior Editor]


Preview Update: 3/26/02
Five years ago, Capcom's Shinji Mikami developed a rather unusual and groundbreaking game for its time entitled "Resident Evil" (Biohazard in Japan). While there were other survival horror-esque games before it (Alone in the Dark comes to mind), Resident Evil was the game that really broke the genre into the mainstream (think of it as the 'Doom' of survival horror games). Not only that, it was the first big PlayStation killer app. Outside Final Fantasy VII, Resident Evil is more responsible for the PSX's early success then any other game in that era.

And now, five years later, fans will be able to relive the horror in a completely remastered version of the game, exclusive to Nintendo's GameCube. So why has Capcom decided to completely remake the original horror? "The Biohazard series has slowly moved away from its origin of horror. What our users have supported over the years was this feeling of horror," said Capcom. "After much thought, we have decided to return to the beginning and start from one again."

For those of you unfamiliar with the premise with Resident Evil, get out from under your rock. Seriously though, the storyline starts off in a small, quiet town called Raccoon City. And something has gone awry. Zombies are running amuck in the town. Where did they come from? Why are they here? Who's responsible for all this? Well, it's up to the S.T.A.R.S. special forces unit to uncover the mystery. Specifically, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. The game was heavily influenced by such horror films as John Romero's Night of the Living Dead.

The gameplay is not that of a normal Tomb Raider-esque 3-D adventure game. Since the backgrounds are completely pre-rendered (and will be in the upcoming remake as well), the camera angles are always fixed (though move from area to area with you). This means you have no control over the camera's movement. Hopefully Capcom will fix some of the problems this caused in the original version of the game, such as not being able to see the enemy in front of you.

Another feature that suffers from this lack of full 3 dimensional immersiveness are the controls. Standard controls involve the character (Jill or Chris) rotating on an axis. While turning the joystick left, down, or right will rotate the character in that direction, and pressing forward will make him or her move. This sounds incredibly awkward, and it is for most of us who are used to pushing around Mario or Link. But keep in mind, five years ago the game was designed with a digital pad in mind (there were no "Dual shock" controllers back then), so for the time it made sense. Fortunately after you get used to it, control becomes second nature to you. It's unclear whether or not Capcom will reevaluate this control scheme and make changes to it to make it more user friendly, or at least implement certain aspects of the later RE games (such as the 180 degree turn feature).

Meanwhile, combat takes two buttons to execute. (What will most likely be) the A button draws out the player weapon, and then there is another button to actually fire the fun. Unfortunately there was no strafing in the original, so walking while having your gun in a ready position isn't possible. But remember, Resident Evil is based in "surprise horror"... there will be zombies and bats breaking through windows and busting down doors, all in the name of scaring the wits out of you.

The artillery in the game is quite substantial. The player begins with just a knife and pistol, but later on (depending on the character) obtains such things as shotguns, magnums, bazookas, flame-throwers, and even rocket launchers. And of course, all the classic enemies are back. Along with zombies, there are giant spiders, worms, hell-bent dogs, Hunters, and so on. Everything has been completely redone to really show off the GameCube's power. Again, it's unclear how upgraded the gameplay will be: right now we don't know if there will be significant upgrades to the AI or not, but the GameCube can certainly handle it if Capcom chooses to go that direction.

However, it is quite obvious from looking at the screens to the right that Capcom is very dedicated into tapping the GameCube's power for visual impact. Though the backgrounds are still prerendered, they are nothing short of breathtaking. And every motion capture and enemy movement is being completely redone, in order to give the game a more real, lifelike feel to it. Environments seem much more detailed and creepy, while all the sound will be digitally remastered and reworked, as well (no word on the voice acting yet). What this all does is not only make what was already a frightening game even more hellishly eerie, but engulfs the player in so much, that it may seem like a completely new game, even if you are a seasoned RE veteran (unfortunately later RE games that will be on GameCube will only be ports, not complete remakes).

So what does this mean for GameCube owners? It means while Konami may be shy about giving Nintendo fans a Silent Hill game, Capcom seems more then willing to make up for that with several Resident Evil titles in the works, this one headlining the way, due out March 22, 2002, in Japan. If you've never played the original groundbreaking game known as Resident Evil (or even if you have), you will be in for a real treat next year.

- 3.26.2002