Resident Evil: Director's Cut
PlayStation
Resident Evil completely changed the way I looked at video games. Games were always just a fun past time for me. Whether they were action games, first person shooters, puzzle games, sports games, RPGs, anything really. They were fun, and that was that. I didn't think games could evolve any further than they already had.
But then this game along and took everything I knew and completely tipped it upside down. You could make a game like an interactive horror movie? Games could be scary? What?
I had no idea what I was getting into when I first checked out this game. I don't remember the exact circumstances, but I was hanging out with my stepbrother Kyle at our parents' house one weekend. He had brought his PlayStation over (I unfortunately, had decided to buy a Sega Saturn) and we were looking for something to rent.There were a few games to choose from, but I saw this one and pointed it out. I distinctly remember hearing that it was supposed to be good. So we got it.
We set up the PlayStation in the basement on a big TV. Neither of us knew what to expect. Coincidentally, it was dark and the house was quiet. It was the perfect condition for playing this game. We fired it up... and holy crap. That's all I can say. Holy crap.
We were young enough and the whole "next gen" thing was pretty new to us. We didn't notice the bad acting in the opening sequence. We didn't notice the poor voice work. The clunky controls, eh, they took some getting used to but we adapted. We were just too blown away by this game to notice its flaws.
I think we knew right away that this game was going to be something special, but I don't think we knew just HOW special. We were a little scared by the setup. The zombie feasting on the dead guy in the hallway - okay that was a little freaky too. But the point where we realized that this game was for real was the point where the dogs come bursting through the hallway windows. I think this moment scared the bejesus out of everyone who didn't expect it. But it got us, and got us bad.
The game terrified us from this point forward. The creepy ass mansion, the chilling musical score, the camera angles that could block what was around the corner, all of it was too much. Add to the fact that this game has such a limited supply of health and ammo items, and we were playing without a memory card (told you we were new to next gen gaming!). So when we played, it was like we were literally playing for our lives. We were scared to enter new rooms. Scared to go around corners. Each time we would come into a room we would just sit there and listen for even the faintest sound to indicate there was a zombie in the room.
We must have stayed up that entire night playing this game. We didn't get very far, in fact I believe we hardly scratched the surface of the game. But Resident Evil had hooked its claws in the both of us. I knew from this point forward that the video game landscape had changed completely. My Sega Saturn wasn't going to cut it anymore. I needed to get a PlayStation and get this game.
And eventually, I did. And you can bet that I played the crap out of this game.
This is such a great game. Not only is it revolutionary, but it is flat out brilliant. Even if it wasn't scary it would be a great game, but the fact that this terrified me SO MUCH when I was younger makes it even better. Nothing in all the years since I had originally played Resident Evil has even come close to matching this game's level of fright. When I stayed up at night to play this, I wouldn't want to leave my room to use the bathroom or get a snack - it was that bad.
The copy of the game I ended up buying was actually Resident Evil: Director's Cut. This version of the game has several different modes of play as opposed to the first game. You can play an easier version of the game, the original version of the game, or you can play the advanced version. The advanced version is definitely the reason I bought Director's Cut. It is basically the same game as the original, but with the locations of all of the items and keys scrambled around. So even if you had mastered the original Resident Evil, it was still a brand new experience.
For those who don't know what the basic set up of the game is, I will explain it. You can choose to play as either Chris or Jill, members of a special forces unit called STARS. This group is sent into the wilderness outside Raccoon City to investigate mysterious deaths and disappearances that have been happening in the area. The team is ambushed by a pack of rabid zombie dogs and are forced to take refuge in an isolated mansion. Of course, the mansion is creepy as all fuck.
Once inside the mansion, the team splits up to check things out. This is where you take control of your character. People refer to the controls in this game as "tank controls". And I can see where that comes from. Your character moves like... well a tank. You use the right and left buttons to rotate your character. You press up to make them walk, down to make them back up. I never had a problem with this control scheme, but apparently other people do. I know people who say they can't play the series because they can't control their character. Too bad, I say. You are missing out!
As you explore the mansion you discover all kinds of fucked up shit. A zombie feasting on the corpse of one of your old squad members turns out to be the least of your worries. Combat admittedly is a little clunky in the game. You have to hold the shoulder button to ready your gun, and then tap X to fire. In the old version of the game, it was very hard to hit your enemies because you have to be so precise when pointing at them. Which is hard with all the preset camera angles. A lot of times the enemies that you are firing at aren't even on screen and you just had to "guess" where they were. The Director's Cut cleans this up a little, as your character will automatically point his or her gun at the nearest enemy when you hold the right trigger.
Depending on which character you pick - Chris or Jill - the game unfolds in a slightly different manner. Jill starts out with her gun, and also has a compadre still alive named Barry that will occasionally help her out. Chris is armed only with a knife, and soon finds himself completely alone before encountering a woman named Rebecca from the previous STARS mission. Barry isn't in Chris's mission, and Rebecca isn't in Jill's. There are also many subtle differences in each character's quests. So this is really two games in one and is totally worth playing through with each character.
There are a lot of enemies in the game, yet a limited supply of ammunition. So you really have to pick your battles wisely when you are playing. Try to go through the game guns blazing and you may find your gun empty when you need it the most. There are puzzles and hidden areas all over the mansion, and the key to advancing in the game is opening everything up. For example, in one area you must play a piano to open a secret wall. In another, you use a bag of poison to destroy a killer plant that blocks your way to a key item. Discovering where you need to be and what you need to unlock first is crucial to preserving your health and ammo, as it is best to explore and clear each area fully before moving on to parts unknown.
The whole game keeps you on edge. Just when you think you know what to expect, they flip the script on you. Other enemies besides zombies and dogs will attack you as the game progresses. My least favorite enemy is the hunter - a green reptile like creature that stalks you and attacks with viciously timed leaps. These hunters are very hard to hit, and they also can take a lot of damage while dealing a lot of damage out. There are also "boss" creatures in the game, such as giant snakes and a giant evil plant (really).
The game is mainly divided into four areas. The largest is the first area: the mansion. Then there is the guardhouse. You come back to the mansion for some mop up duty after the guardhouse, but you aren't there long. I consider the third area to be the underground tunnels. And the fourth and final area is the lab.
If you come into this game blind, you will find it very difficult to beat. I played this game in the era of magazine walk throughs and had to fully utilize these to make it through the game. Games nowadays have dumbed down their puzzle solving areas, but this game is an actual challenge. If you have never played this game before, expect to get stuck. A lot.
It's hard to say whether the game has withstood the test of time. Obviously, it doesn't look great anymore. The environments are still nice and detailed. The mansion still has a creepy, authentic feel to it. But the characters are very blocky and pixelated. They don't have a very detailed feel to them at all. The voice acting is cringe worthy compared to present day games. I can easily see some young teenager picking up this game and thinking ew this is old and stupid. I'd like to think that if they just gave it a shot and played, they would fall in love with it too. But I truly don't know. All I know is that this game was cutting edge when I first played it. Even though I can see its faults now, I still love it.
This game meant so much to me as a young adult that there is no way I can give it anything less than a perfect score. I don't care that the graphics and voice acting are primitive by today's standards. The tank controls never bothered me. Resident Evil comes to mind, and I think back to the first time I played it as an inexperienced no good whippersnapper in my dad's basement. How much it scared me. How much it opened my eyes as to what video games were capable of.
This was a historic game to me. And I can still pop it in all these years later and have a great time with it. Resident Evil is a true classic.
Overall:
A+
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