Resident Evil

Game: Resident Evil
Developer: Capcom
Platform: PlayStation
Release Year: 1996
Stephen's Rating: 6/10

Resident Evil was the original mainstream horror survival zombie game.

Basic Plot

The game is set in Racoon City, where there have been reports of strange murders and cannibalism. An elite police unit called Special Tactics And Rescue Service (S.T.A.R.S) is sent in to check it out.

When S.T.A.R.S arrives they are attacked by rabid dogs who kill one of their team (Joseph Frost). The helicopter pilot Brad Vickers panics and takes off, leaving them behind. The remaining four team members are chased and forced to take refuge in a mansion.

The player can take the role of either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine. The story involves searching the mansion, finding the members of Bravo Team (who were sent previously) and battling zombies. The story unfolds through a series of notes and pieces of evidence left around the game. Ultimately the story reveals that the Umbrella Corporation has been doing illegal experiments. One such experiment, the T-virus, is what is creating zombies in Racoon City.

After uncovering an underground research facility the player is eventually able to escape but not without having an encounter with the Tyrant, a giant humanoid monster created through long exposure to the T-virus.

Gameplay

The game is essentially a third person shooter with elements of puzzle solving. The style is that of a horror movie. The music, events, lighting and sound are all designed to keep the player on edge and surprise them at every turn. Like Half-Life there are scripted events designed to scare the player.

One major part of the gameplay is items. There are several plot items (keys, items required to fix a machine, journals and evidence, etc) which can be gathered and also combined within the game. This includes herbs and healing remedies. The player can only hold a certain number of items at any time, and can story excess items in an item box.

Beyond the zombies, the mansion itself is filled with traps and puzzles which the player needs to solve to progress through the game.

The player can only save the game by writing on a typewriter. This requires using up ink which is an in-game item. This adds to the tension, as the player is only allowed a limited number of saves and only at a few set locations in the game.

There are a variety of enemies in the game from traditional zombies and zombie dogs, to giant spiders, "Hunters", "Chimeras" and the boss "Tyrant". A number of weapons are available to help defeat them from pistols and shotguns to a bazooka launcher which can have different kinds of ammunition (acid rounds, fire rounds).

Positives

This was a great concept and pulled together quite well for the time. There weren't any games like this at the time. In terms of meeting its objective the game was very tense to play, and they really pulled of the horror genre well.

Negatives

For me personally it was a bit heavy. I would have liked to be able to save more often, but from another perspective I can see why they made it the way it is.

Memorable Moments

I didn't play this game much myself. A friend and I would hire out a PlayStation and some games for a weekend, and this was one of the games we played and completed.