Resident Evil - Review

(Capcom, Sony PlayStation Game, 1996)

 

Alan remembers the time when evil was very good…

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Welcome back to a new recurring feature that sees me revisiting a series of classic games and considering just how well they have stood the test of time. This month I fire up Resident Evil, released by Capcom in 1996, originally for the Sony PlayStation and later for many systems. It was lauded as a ground breaking game at the time, but is it really as good as we remember?

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Our perception of good and bad is fairly binary. Normally we have a set of arbitrarily defined tick-boxes. Cross enough off and something is good. If you have lots of gaps then it is bad. But now and again you encounter flawed genius. Something that apparently has too much wrong to be good but, despite many faults, greatness still shines through like a beacon. Some might argue that Resident Evil is flawed genius. Despite a number of significant gameplay issues the game went on to become Capcom’s biggest selling debut title. But how has it aged? Are those issues any more of a problem when replayed today? Let’s consider the evidence…

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What are we doing here?

You start with a brilliant full motion video that provides the back story. Set on the outskirts of Racoon Forest you play as either Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield, part of the S.T.A.R.S. elite task force sent to locate their colleagues, who have disappeared. You find yourself trapped in a mansion, overrun by zombies and other disturbing creatures, and your mission is to discover the fate of your team, survive and escape.

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What unfolds is a three dimensional action-adventure game all wrapped up in a brilliant and foreboding atmosphere. The release was so pioneering it actually defined a new genre in video gaming; that of survival horror. There is a selectable difficulty, depending on which of the two playable characters you choose - Jill is armed with a pistol, can pick locks and, crucially, can carry two more items than Chris (this doesn’t sound much but it makes a big difference), while Chris starts armed only with a knife.

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Keys are, um… key

Your mission is to explore the mansion, collect items, solve puzzles and obtain keys to open up further areas. You can save your game at any time, provided you can access a typewriter and you have a typewriter ribbon - there are plenty lying about to be collected.

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As you progress you find diaries and journals that shed light on the events that unfolded before your arrival. However, as you investigate this increasingly disturbing story, you do so under the threat that at any moment you might turn a corner and find yourself face-to-face with a zombie, a giant spider or snake, a rabid dog or any number of other creatures.

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You can dispatch them with either your starting weapon, or others that you find during your exploration. Your potential arsenal includes a shotgun, a Colt Python, a bazooka (that fires both explosive and acid rounds), a flamethrower and a rocket launcher. You can also obtain bonus weapons to be used the next time around if you finish the game in less than three hours. Ammunition can also be found as you explore and it is always worth moving the furniture about as there are often some extra bullets or shells hiding behind!

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Don’t waste your ammo

Alternatively, rather than shooting all the bad guys, it can be easier to simply avoid them. Many move fairly sluggishly and avoiding rather than killing is often the more effective strategy. Indeed, if you try and shoot everything it is possible to run out of ammunition, which can make life particularly tricky later in the game when you really need it. Periodically you will encounter a boss type monster; it is best to save the ammunition for your more powerful weapons for these battles. 

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You can also collect other objects, including maps, items to solve the puzzles, and different types of herbs which can be combined to provide health boosts or a remedy against poison.

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You can only carry a limited number of things at a time (six or eight depending on whether you are playing as Chris or Jill) but the remainder can be stored in trunks which can be found in the typewriter rooms. To retrieve an item, conveniently you don’t have to return to the same trunk that it was left in; for reasons that are never quite explained, the trunks are apparently linked by some kind of magical portal, meaning that anything previously stored in one can be retrieved from any of them.

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Think smart

The puzzles are clever and varied, ranging from the traditional find an item and move it to another location type to those that employ more inventive ways to tax the old grey-matter. A few may be a little left-field but most are logical and provide that necessary hit of self-satisfaction when you work them out. And of course - tricky puzzles are perhaps less of an issue today; there is little chance of hitting a wall as there is a huge resource of information available on the internet. Back in 1996, with YouTube in its fledgling infancy, there were no long-play walkthroughs to be found and you were very much on your own!

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So much wrong

So far so good then, but this wouldn’t be a fair review if I don’t revisit some of the game’s (really quite major) faults… 

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• A standard programming cheat is used (common in early adventure games to make them appear bigger than they really are) by placing puzzle items a long way from where they are needed, so a significant amount of tedious walking back and forth across the play area is required.

 

• The typewriter / ribbon save system is clever, but at the same time can feel a bit cumbersome, when you reach a tricky section you will find yourself having to replay parts of the game repeatedly or alternatively retrace your steps frequently to return to a typewriter room to save.

 

• If you run out of ammunition, progress past a certain point can become very difficult.

 

• Each time you move room-to-room there are animations showing doors opening or the ascent / descent of the stairs, to mask the loading times. Perhaps better than a “loading please wait” message but it still becomes annoying.

 

• While you do get used to the control system, initially it can feel quite unintuitive; pushing left and right to turn your character and up and down to make them walk forwards or backwards, so there are times when you are pressing up to walk down the screen, which just feels wrong.

 

• Your viewpoint is fixed (imagine watching the action unfold on footage from a series of static CCTV cameras) and sometimes the view can unexpectedly change at an inconvenient moment, which can make you pause or turn the wrong way. This is particularly infuriating if it happens while you are being attacked and you inadvertently walk towards the danger and die.

 

• The script and voice acting is shockingly poor; so bad as to be really quite amusing. It isn’t helped by some slow loading times meaning that conversations are very staccato affairs, punctuated by some long and unnatural sounding pauses.  

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So, having read that list you may have very good reason to conclude that the game would be nigh on unplayable. But, you couldn’t be more wrong.

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Flawed genius

Despite the many problems, Resident Evil was fantastic...and it still is! While the game gave rise to countless (and some arguably better) sequels and remakes the original still holds its own and is really still a very playable game indeed. The mansion feels real, the story is fantastic, and while this is without doubt a tough game, progression is predominantly fair and rewarding.

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Don’t play if you have a heart condition…

But the jewel in its crown is the fact that it is scary. Properly scary. It is hugely atmospheric and looks great, with the solid-looking graphics often accompanied by chilling sound effects. Samples like a ticking clock, rustling leaves, echoing footsteps or even just the doors opening and closing combined with a fabulous soundtrack of eerie music creates a fabulous spine-chilling ambiance that could have been lifted straight from a classic horror movie.

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Before I played Resident Evil I had never been unsettled by a video game before. But there are moments in this game that provide as big a fright as any scary film I have seen. The first time you encounter the dogs is a genuine landmark moment in video game history (if you know, you know!), and even replaying now, nearly 30 years later and knowing exactly what is coming, it still makes you jump out of your skin!

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There is one point in the game where you have just completed a long walk back over previously explored ground and suddenly you find yourself watching a cut-scene of a Lurker (a giant, frog-like monster) pursuing you over the same route, right up to the door that you absolutely know that you are standing right behind, with control being returned to your character just as that door is opening. It is beautifully executed and the effect is petrifying. I challenge anyone to navigate that section without incurring a significantly raised pulse!

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Good to be bad

So, despite the woeful script and wooden voice acting, the awkward controls, the slow loading screens, the irritating save system and the many other substantial flaws that blight this game, Resident Evil is still really pretty special and against all the odds Capcom managed to achieve something quite remarkable. They produced a game that, despite being absolutely riddled with faults, remains completely brilliant.

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I genuinely cannot think of another video game that is so bad that is just so bloody good.

 

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Graphics - 93%

The various locations all feel solid and real and the FMV cutscenes are terrific. Nice introduction too.

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​Sounds - 95%

The music and sound effects are perfect in setting the tremendously foreboding atmosphere and unsettling the player. So much so, I will completely forgive the truly awful voice acting!

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Grab-factor - 85%

Quite a long introduction to sit through and a first time player will almost certainly die frequently early on, but the game certainly grabs you and doesn’t let go.

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​Playability - 93%

This is an absolutely brilliant, landmark game which, despite its faults, is still very enjoyable to play. It is tough but thoroughly rewarding and absolutely deserves its place in history.

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​Verdict - 92%

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Resident Evil timeline (not including Revelations or other spin-offs):

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Resident Evil – 1996

Resident Evil (Director’s Cut) – 1998

Resident Evil 2 – 1998

Resident Evil 3 – 1999

Resident Evil Code Veronica – 2000

Resident Evil Zero – 2002

Resident Evil (Remake) – 2002

Resident Evil 5 – 2005

Resident Evil 6 – 2012

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard – 2017

Resident Evil 2 (Remake) – 2019

Resident Evil 3 (Remake) – 2020

Resident Evil Village – 2021

Resident Evil 4 (Remake) – 2023

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AG 06/07/2018

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Featured in Pixel Addict magazine, issue 14. 

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