Trilogy review

Resident evil – PSX 1996

The first and probably the most challenging of the phenomenal series. The setting; an isolated mansion in the nosebleeds, the cast; a rough and ready group of SWATesque S.T.A.R.S members looking for lost team mates. The action picks up around the ten minute mark of play and when it picks up it really picks up, heads are blown up or kicked off, abdomens are exploded and throats bitten into with surprising gusto for the undead. The music is eerie and reminiscent of the techno-horror of the 1980’s, there are a few tracks in-game which are simply beautiful and a few which are downright ridiculous (think Poison on Prozac). Resident evil is a brilliant piece of software which with two scenarios will keep you playing for a while and coming back for more when you’re finished.

MAP:


- Functional to a degree but lacks any real coordinating features (a compass, references etc.)
- Although it was probably designed to minimise space in the menu screen it is almost invisible on smaller televisions
- The compact size means there is no loading time, cha-ching

SPEED:

- The game keeps a fair pace all the way through but is slowed down by loading times between rooms and menu screens
- No 180 degree turn means there is that awkward turning circle

MENU SYSTEM:

- The menu system is great. You can examine anything in your inventory in full 3D by rotating said object or zooming in on it.
- Although a novel feature it does slow down play a little

WEAPONS:

- Pretty much horror movie standard weapons; handguns, shotguns, flamethrowers, bazookas with the addition of the devastating magnum which adds some considerable fun to the zombie slaying action
- The ability to blow off a zombies head with the shotgun adds that hilarious fun factor every game should have

MUSIC:

- Eerie, atmospheric and downright unsettling at times the music does everything it is supposed to do and more
- The end credits has a real1980’s cop show feel to it

ENEMIES:

- The enemies in Resident evil range from downright stupid to ridiculously hard eg. A legless zombie which does barely any damage and seems to only be there as an excuse to kick something’s head off. Beware of the Hunters…

GRAPHICS:

- Chunky and polygon filled, luckily some effort went into the textures and they look realistic and tasty...but yeah heavily polygonated


OVERALL?: A meaty 87%. Although innovative and fun as hell the game is dogged by some slow loading times and jerky game play, play gets frustrating at times thanks solely to the hunters.


Resident evil 2 – PSX 1998

Almost perfect sequel to an astounding game. Resident evil 2 is gorier, faster, more action packed and has an even better soundtrack than Resident evil. Throw in a novel script, stunning locations and more undead tomfoolery than you can shake a zombie at and you have an awesome, fantastic, stupendous excuse to waste six to seven hours in front of your television. The pre-rendering has been improved, the polygon count has gone up and gone are the laughable pixelated blood gushes, Resident evil 2 is utter euphoria on two discs.

MAP:

- Find your way through even the most dense urban jungle with a full-screen map, with a good compass and a little location indicator

SPEED:

- Speed has been improved ten fold. Loading times have gone down and the scrapping of the 3D examining system has increased the menu load speed

MENU SYSTEM:

- It’s a shame that the 3D examining system is gone but loading times have gone down, a fair trade.

WEAPONS:

- The basics again but with some wacky editions like the spark shot which is basically a cattle prod with the ability to kill a small elephant and an upgraded automatic magnum.

MUSIC:

- The music has gone for a more sixth sense, stir of echoes feel which really works, tender at times and sincerely captivating the score for Resident evil 2 is simply magical

ENEMIES:

- With the introduction of the effeminately named “Licker” and a boss character who simply wont die Resident evil 2’s enemies keep a fair balance of difficulty and fun which never blurs the line into frustration (like the hunters in RE1, bastards)

GRAPHICS:

- So good!...the playstation is really getting pushed here and it shows, character models are deliciously rendered and backgrounds look realistic

OVERALL?: 95%. Resident evil 2 deserves no less than an A+, the only thing that is missing is a 180 degree turn but considering how drop dead gorgeous and astoundingly amazing this game is I don’t think that will harm how good this title really is in any way. With replay value up the Yazoo Resident evil 2 is a title which will never be bested, possibly the greatest survival horror of all time? Maybe.

Resident evil 3 - Nemesis – PSX 1999

The last of the pre-rendered Resident evils gives us a non-stop action packed thrill ride through the zombie infested streets of Raccoon city with our favourite girl in a mini-skirt; Jill Valentine. Jill arrives in town to scenes of horrific destruction, she is then stalked relentlessly by a trench coated bad boy who isn’t very happy to see her. The music is just as good as Resident evil 2 but the producers have brought some great new touches, orchestration etc. Enemies are Resident evil standard with the addition of the chilling Nemesis; a relentless killer programmed to hunt out S.T.A.R.S members. The polygon count has gone up again giving Jill and most notably Carlos whose model is quite complicated a very polished look.

MAP:

- Great map which although is full screen doesn’t seem to need to load anything
- The ability to cycle through all the maps you have collected is a novel idea and gives the player some strategic edge over the Nemesis
- Zoom in an out on the map to get a good look at your surroundings

SPEED:

- Fast game play like Resident evil 2, fast menus, fast everything
- Suffers from occasional slow down during picture displays
- Jill moves a little too fast, it's a tad unbelievable

MENU SYSTEM:

- The ability to make your own ammunition is brilliant but gets a little tedious after a while
- Collecting files in RE3 almost seems like a little mini game

WEAPONS:

- Start with every weapon and full ammunition in Easy mode for some zombie killing sprees or start in Normal for the classic weapon hunt of the other games
- Nothing new here except for the Assault rifle – the first reloadable automatic weapon- cha-ching!

MUSIC:

- A few tracks are remixes of RE2's but most are beautiful orchestration

ENEMIES:

- The grave worm boss is very nice but what we have here is the pretty standard line-up of Resident evil nasties ready to tear Jill a new one. Oh and the Nemesis…

GRAPHICS:

- Jill looks sooo good, the quality of the pre-rendering has gone up AGAIN and everything looks so real you swear you can touch it, a really acclomplished graphics engine

OVERALL?: 94%. Although RE3 has the “Mercenaries” mini-game, the accidental file collecting mini-game, the ability to create your own ammunition etc. the game just doesn’t have that certain something RE2 has – being relentlessly dogged by the Nemesis does get a little tiresome at times and the recycling of the music was a little bit of a disappointment. But apart from that RE3 holds it’s own and is a hell of a lot of fun