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darkhorseunited — Thu, 02 Nov 2006 19:10:35 CST

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Resident evil

darkhorseunited — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 23:31:59 CDT

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

Game menu

darkhorseunited — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 22:29:00 CDT

Choose a title to read a review and see screens:

PSX:

Resident evil - Capcom (1996)
Silent hill - Konami (1999)
Resident evil 2 - Capcom (1998)
Resident evil 3 - Capcom (1999)
Parasite eve 2 - Squaresoft/SquareEnix (1999-2000)
Dino crisis - Capcom (1999)

PS2:

Devil may cry - Capcom (2001)
Ghosthunter - SCEE (2002-3)
Resident evil 4 - Capcom (2005)
Cold Fear - Ubisoft/Darkworks (2005)

Parasite eve 2

darkhorseunited — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 22:21:00 CDT

Parasite eve 2 review

Although the original did not see a PAL release Parasite eve took survival horror one step further by implementing a battle system (ala Alone in the Dark for the GBC but better obviously) and RPG elements like upgradeable powers, Experience points etc.
Unfortunately the game was inherently flawed and what followed was a series of bad reviews harping on about the graphics being drab and samey, the soundtrack being monotonous and uninteresting and the plot being convoluted. Square did not want to see Parasite eve go down in flames and therefore went about making a sequel which proved, thankfully to be pure gold.
Parasite eve 2 takes us to Los Angeles where the ever attractive Aya Brea is testing her skills out at the MIST centre shooting range. She shoots a little girl and then finishes up. Word spreads of an NMC (Neo Mitochondrion Creature) attack at the Akropolis tower and thus her adventure begins. First time players will not feel comfortable with Parasite eve 2’s control scheme, moving Aya feels a little clunky and it will take some time to become comfortable with the way Aya moves (it took me a while) but once you have grasped that the control scheme seems intuitive. Aiming your weapon is a let down, when you have your firearm ready you can only move Aya’s head which seems a little odd but makes sense when a fight begins.ne year after the incident in Manhattan Parasite eve 2 takes

Fights work in three stages: 1. Creature sees you or you see it; the screen turns negative for a second, we hear a heartbeat and the fighting commences. 2. You fight and either run away, die or win. 3. If you win rewards are dispensed. Hitting square targets an enemy and by holding the directional buttons you can switch targets without even trying, sometimes however Aya will aim at something you are not intending to aim at and this does become frustrating. Weapons can be bought with BP (bounty points) and most have upgrades like the Assault rifle which can have anything from a bayonet to a miniature laser attached to it. One feature which annoyed me was the armour attachments; outside of battle you can attach items to your armour and it is these alone which you can use in battle, you cannot open the menu so if you run out of ammo and switch guns but have no ammo attached to your armour you are screwed my friend. The life saver in battles is Aya’s Parasite energies, these are “awakened” using your experience points and do anything from discharge necrotizing electricity to making your bullets do up to 3 to 4 times more damage, however they have casting times and being hit by an enemy halts the casting process meaning you have to re-cast the parasite energy.

The graphics are truly stunning, Square has seamlessly including FMV elements into real time play and they are truly beautiful (check out the water feature in the Akropolis tower!) they really went out of their way to make sure Parasite eve 2 looked as great as possible. Character models are excellent and the prerendering of the backgrounds is the best I have ever seen.

Numerous times during play (twice I think) you can choose via a jukebox or via your friend Pierce to listen to some of the amazing music on the Parasite eve 2 soundtrack. The music is so good, some makes you want to dance, some makes you want to cry and some makes you want to sleep with your blanky but it all works so well creating a tense, relaxed or intense atmosphere that it can only be given two thumbs up. Unfortunately some of the games sound effects are a little…odd to say the least, for instance one NMC resembles a tiny loch ness monster and has a habit of mooing when it is shot, another enemy laughs hysterically when it is shot…odd. However most of Parasite eve 2’s sound effects are right on the money like the disturbing sobs of one malformed creation when it is hit or the pitiful death screeches of the creepily named “Strangers”.

Parasite eve 2 is such a magnificent title; it really is the best the Playstation can do in terms of graphics and sound. The plot is great, the characters likeable, game play challenging while not frustrating to the point of tears (like the end of Resident evil) there really is not much to find fault with. Unfortunately the game can be finished in 3-4 hours but it has 4 COUNT THEM 4! Replay modes which will give you hours of endless NMC hunting.

GOOD:

- Just about everything; Graphics are breathtaking, sound is to die for and the game play is fun and exciting. Replay modes rule. Parasite energy animations are amazing.

BAD:

- Occasional aiming problems prove frustrating. The mooing NMC’s are ridiculous.

Dino Crisis

darkhorseunited — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 00:11:56 CDT

Gone are the days of the prerendered survival horror. People are satisfied these days for the swinging camera angles and ambient lighting effects only capable in full 3D. Well Dino Crisis (by the masterminds at Capcom) was the first survival horror to utilise full 3D, the box boasts “a powerful new 3D engine” and powerful it is. You play Regina, a commando sent to retrieve a certain Doctor Kirk from a secret research facility. Upon arriving at the island you and your team mates Gail and Rick discover the island is crawling with dinosaurs and must find a way to make your escape.

That 3D engine mentioned before is incredibly powerful, the camera swings and pans and lighting is made a hell of a lot easier. Most of the time you find yourself not missing the prerendering in the backgrounds and that’s fine really because the 3D engine does the job brilliantly. Controlling Regina is a walk in the park; she moves nimbly and has a swift 180 degree turn which makes escape easy, she wields her weapons with frightening vivacity and wears tight leather! What’s not to like?. Dino Crisis also features interesting DANGER! Sequences in which Regina can drop her weapon and must scramble to recover it which is intense (and bad for the d-pad). Weapons are pretty standard, in easy mode you begin with all the weapons in the game minus upgrades, in normal you must look for the shotgun and grenade gun. All the aforementioned weapons have two types of ammunition each which do more damage to certain dinosaurs than to others. An interesting feature is that there is no status indicator, you must decide based on the injuries sustained by Regina if she requires treatment or not which can range from healing minor wounds to stopping bleeding with hemostatic medicine, there are also chemicals you can find which increase the potency of items (such as being able to make poison darts out of anaesthetic darts).

Dino Crisis has brilliant graphics, for full 32 BIT 3D they look really spiffy; Regina’s model looks great and there is little interlacing of environment and characters (for instance when you find yourself sinking into a wall). Loading times are also decreased dramatically from using full 3D as opposed to having to load a large image into the consoles RAM. One thing that could have been improved though are explosions and blood effects which are incredibly pixelated and remind me of Capcom’s younger days.

Dino Crisis has quite a boring soundtrack which basically consists of ambience and techno horror which would feel more at home in Resident evil. I personally was expecting thumping jungle beats with drums and panpipes and what not, something more fitting of the subject matter. The sound effects however are brilliant, especially the ear splitting roars of the T-Rex which made me need to change my pants once and awhile (don’t tell me it hasn’t happened to you!).

The best part of Dino Crisis however are the guest stars; the dinosaurs. They have the most terrible AI I have ever encountered – run and bite no matter what is there, if they hit something while they are chasing you they have to stop and walk around stupidly for a moment before giving chase again which gives you more than enough time to escape. The dinosaurs also seem a little too strong at times but that doesn’t necessarily make for a bad playing experience (they’re not as bad as the hunters, can anything be?).
GOOD: Backgrounds and models are brilliant for full 3D. Good storyline and finally some great acting. The T-Rex rules.

BAD: Dinosaurs too stupid and strong. Lack of status indicator gets a little annoying at times. Soundtrack a bit of a disappointment.

Home

darkhorseunited — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 18:09:32 CDT

Those of you who know me know i know everything there is to
know about the aforementioned genre. I'm taking it upon
myself to educate the ignorant masses on the beauty of the dying survival horror genre.

Walkthroughs

darkhorseunited — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 23:46:15 CDT

All written by me and not missing a beat!

Resident evil
Resident evil 2
Parasite eve 2
Cold Fear