Remake

The original Resident Evil, released for the Playstation and Sega Saturn remains the signature title of survival horror. It wasn’t the first of course (Alone in the Dark started things rolling three years previous), but it brought the genre into the mainstream psyche with huge polish and presentation. It is still the daddy in my nostalgic eyes, and for many, those insanely cheesy cinematic FMV’s and hilarious cutscenes only add to the classic survival horror experience. ‘Turn Off the Lights and Turn Up the Volume’ indeed.

Years, a director’s cut, sequels, spinoffs and frankly naff movies later, the original mansion setting was painstakingly reworked, remastered and significantly spruced up. 2002’s Resident Evil remake was a revelation. The original could only maintain its atmosphere and persona for so long until the visuals became so dated as to detract from the moment. By the early noughties this was most certainly the case. But this almost identical reimagining of the 1996 game solved such issues and thrust the exploits of Chris, Jill, Barry et al back into a new generation of gamers in glorious style. Released in the same year and also exclusively for Gamecube Resident Evil 0 was a prequel to the original charting story of Bravo’s Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen an ex-military convict.

Splitting from the main STARS group, the twosome stumbled across a research facility housing the very origins of that pesky t-virus. The game was an instant hit and comfortably rode the waves of success created by the original remake months earlier. Now fans could further unravel the story with new locations, familiar characters and those graphics which were a joy to behold.

Direct port

This Wii title is a direct port of the Gamecube product; the only discernible difference being in the hands of the player of course with that Wii remote option now controlling our protagonists. Everything else is unchanged and here lies the warning signs for this title.

Sadly, eight years later, even the Gamecube’s power looks very dated, and those pre-rendered backdrops impress less and less with every passing year. One only has to look at the latest in the franchise, Resident Evil 5, to see the visual level today’s gamer expects from a 3D action title.

Number 5 also holds the key to many other shortcomings of Resident Evil 0 namely the item management system and that control system. The 2002 title was the last in the series to use the classic ‘tank’ method of controlling the character. Now I have always loved the original games, I am a nostalgic gamer at heart, but I never got on well with this control method frequently throwing my controller down in disgust as I yearned for a Metal Gear Solid-esque 3D dynamic.

This awkward and laborious way to move through the game coupled with that restricted item carrying engine (limited number of inventory with certain items needing top be dropped and picked up later to compensate) is not going to appeal to any newcomer to the franchise.

Lazy

It all seems a bit lazy. Why couldn’t Capcom have made more effort with the controls, especially given the new hardware to play with for the title? Surely the remote’s somewhat unnatural relationship with 3D adventure games could have posed a challenge to at least allow the option of 3D movement instead of the archaic ‘love it or hate it’ style of old.

But the answers are obvious – this is just a lazy moneymaker – in the same mould as a tired spin off of a once great series. But it is hard to see where this will succeed on the Wii. Nintendo are (or should be) desperate to try and salvage their console from the label of ‘family friendly’ or even worse ‘casual gamer’ favourite. After all, when compared to their market rivals Sony and Microsoft – it is Nintendo who are the exclusive gamers – and their image has suffered despite stratospheric unit sales worldwide over the years. Action and adventure titles may be less forgiving of the limited graphical punch of Nintendo’s machine but falling back on dated titles isn’t the solution.

Even worse, the original Gamecube version is compatible with the Wii and despite it being hard to track down and once done so very expensive the laziness only shines brighter with this one.

For purists

It isn’t all doom and gloom of course – the game itself is still an effective chiller, and in some more forgiving eyes at least the visuals still look realistic and pretty enough to warrant a lengthy rental or a purchase once the price comes down a tad. The story and atmosphere still grip vice-like as only a Resi game does and in many ways this is a welcome change to the sometimes soulless (no pun intended) produce of today’s third person shooters who try to be more clever than they are.

Good old fashioned and mightily solid stuff here, but perhaps a title for the purists who can forgive the blatant shortcomings of an eight year old game.