Resident Evil (PlayStation) review "I could make this review ''The way it was back when it was released,'' but I'm not. Why? I didn't play it when it came out, I'm playing it now. How does it live up to toadys standards? Is it still a good game? This review will be a bit different from my others. I won't go in depth because A) I just wrote a Nemesis review, and I don’t want to do it again B) Everybody and his mother knows about the average control sheme and C) I just don't want to.... "

I could make this review ''The way it was back when it was released,'' but I'm not. Why? I didn't play it when it came out, I'm playing it now. How does it live up to toadys standards? Is it still a good game? This review will be a bit different from my others. I won't go in depth because A) I just wrote a Nemesis review, and I don’t want to do it again B) Everybody and his mother knows about the average control sheme and C) I just don't want to....

GRAPHICS 7/10

The Good:

A errie mansion filled with countless numbers of rooms, monsters, and puzzles.
Pre Rendered graphics for every room
nearly non existent pixley textures
Cool monsters
Although FMV are absent, they have some ''B-Movie'' live action.

The Bad:

Backgrounds look dated compared to RE2 and 3. Its a step down from Resident Evil 2 on the N64.
Very plain atmosphere, especially when compared to 2 and 3.
Low detail character models
Cheesy zombie attacks compared to 2 and 3. Blood squirts out of the body in a very un-realistic fashion.
The live action movies set it apart from the others, making it feel very different. (personal gripe)
Not as many scares as the others (2 in this game)

GAMEPLAY and DESIGN 7/10

The Good:

.....It's Resident Evil
Complex puzzles
Hunter Alphas

The Bad:

.....It's the first Resident Evil...*shudder*
Not enough item spaces. (I still can't believe a key and a bazooka take up the same space....)
Slow moving at times
Evil save system (Limited saves)

SOUND 8/10

The Good:

Creepy B-Movie music
Clean sounds

The Bad:

The worse voice acting EVER
Example: ''It's to dark to go down the hole'' ''Jill, how about you go down the, hole by yourself. I have a rope!'' ''You do, do you? I'll go down the hole using the rope!'' ''HOLD ON....! Ok.'' Geez..... Did they mean to be that bad?!

Chris' voice is better tahn Jill's and Barry's, thank goodness. Rebecca, to contrary belief, is not a bad actor...she just overacts like there's no tomorrow....

STORY 8/10

-JUNE, 1998-
RACCOON CITY

Some bizarre murders have been taken place near the mountains in Raccoon City. A special task force, STARS (Special Task and Reuse Squad) are sent to Raccoon. STARS Bravo team was lost in the forest, and Alpha team job is to reuse them a finish their mission.

Things turn bad when Alpha Team is attack by monster hounds, and are chased into a mansion in the middle of the forest. They find the house is infested with mutants and undead zombies. Welcome, to the world of Survival Horror.

You control either Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield. Each story is about the same, plus or minus a few characters. Yes, it's a cheesey horror movie plot, but it has a interesting twist near the end. If the game came out in 96, then why does this take place in 98? Weird.

The rest is gaming history

REPLAY VALUE 7/10

The game has six endings, three for each character. The Bad ending, the good ending, and the better ending. What paths you take during the game chooses the ending. (I got the bad ending....dang.)

GRIPES

Nothing major, it's just different than the others. See ''The Bad'' sections

OVERALL 8/10
Honest Gamer score (75)

The thing about RE is that it was the first in the series. I'm sure Capcom had no idea it was going to be this huge. RE2 and 3 does not have the same B-Movie feel to it. Personally, I like 2 and 3's feel better. In a perfect world, RE1 would have CG movies, better voice acting ,and more hints of a sequel. If things where like that, then RE would be perfect.

On the other hand, the intro of RE has a special coolness. Listing the cast of characters is a action type way, then yelling ''RESIDENT EVIL'' feels more like a movie than a game. If the other games had the same type of ''role call'', then it would be kind of cool. Capcom turned the future games into a single story, and forgot the original B-Movie feel, in a way. Can't change the past. And why would you want to? Am I about to call this the black sheep of the RE family just because it doesn’t have CG movies? Heck no! If I have to give a black sheep award, it would have to go to Nemesis. (Which I loved. Crazy Bio-Weapon, that Nemmy is...)


''The Door is locked, I'm gonna break this door down!''
''WAIT! Don't OPEN that DOOR!''
''You where almost a Jibble sandwedge.'' ''(Forced giggle) Yeah, I guess I was.'',
''I give this lock pick to you, the Master of Unlocking''
''Chris! It's me!'' ''Rebecca?! Is that you?''
''I guess we got to the, ROOT, of the problem.''

It never ends.

-review by Joseph Blanchette-
8/2/00

Community review by mortis765 (Date unavailable) A bio for this contributor is currently unavailable, but check back soon to see if that changes. If you are the author of this review, you can update your bio from the Settings page.