Best in the RE series! Amazing graphics, gameplay, sound and value! Action packed with great weapo
Ok, some people would say this is the best in the RE series, and you know what? I have to just nod and agree. I've played RE1 on PS, GC and DS, and Code Veronica on the Dreamcast. This is the best i've played in years. The biggest difference in this one is mostly to do with the camera angles and the emphasis on pure action.
You star as Leon Kennedy who is in need to save the president's daughter. Cliche, yet it fits the game so well. Along the way, you'll become 'infected' or more precisely injected with the 'plaga' stuff (i know, i hardly pay attention to this stuff). Once you finally reach your objective (her) you'll find that she is also infected. Now it's a matter of reaching point towards the end of the game to get rid of this thing and defeat the final boss. The story is not brilliant, but it does induce some variety by adding some characters such as Ada Wong and Krauser. They're somewhat related to Wesker, but i dunno, i does make it a little more interesting.
To put it bluntly, this game does almost everything right. What is there, it blends perfectly together to create an intense action packed game with a few scares along the way. Some people would say this game is not as scary as the other RE games, they're somewhat right because you have much more freedom and space for combat. The pacing of the game can left up to you as you can back off and pick off each enemy as they come. But don't be fooled, this is still a scary game. What makes it so scary is the graphics, sound, voices, music and to top it off, the predefined scenes of 'panic'.
The shooting mechanic is the same as other RE games but with greater precision and that the entire aiming is first person. You have to stop, aim and pull the trigger, as always. But you're able to aim and shoot the head for more damage, shoot their limbs to slow them down or to stop them in their path. Occasionally, projectiles hurled or fired at you can be shot to be deflected from your direction. Upon firing most enemies in the head, they will be stunned giving the chance to perform a kick move with the context sensitive A button. These stun opportunities can be executed to an area of enemies with a stun grenade. Enemies are no longer all that dumb, they know when to charge at you, dodge but they are still quite slow moving. However, in packs and being surrounded, they can be devastating. All these small details come together really well to give solid combat throughout the game.
The variety of weapons is great; there's a variety of 9mm weapons such as Blacktail, Matilda, Red9, shells can be used by Riot gun, Shotgun etc, and then there's the excellent Rifle, TMP, Rocket launcher and mine thrower weapon. All of these guns have different characteristics such as damage, capacity (how many shots per reload), speed between shots and speed of reload. Also, you get to upgrade these characteristics per weapon by talking to this mysterious travelling merchant, with a fee of course. this adds another depth to the game which involves balancing what funds you have gathered to spend on upgrading or buying a new weapon altogether. Personally, i concentrated on power and buying a weapon to use the ammo i have collected because i felt that i would run out of ammo if wasn't careful (in fact, i had plenty left over). This is also a big aspect of the game for character development and you'll often find yourself picking up many items from what the enemies drop.
Visually, this game is a masterpiece. This is THE game to show off the gamecubes hardware, yet this also dissapoints me that not many people have really pushed the Gamecube's technical prowess during it's lifetime. The detail to Leon is stunning, equipping different weapons give instant satisfaction when you're aiming and looking up close at the details. The way Leon holds each different weapon is fluid with great animation. The enemies aren't as detailed as Leon but are still great; when in numbers, the enemies still look amazing. What really catches you in these enemies is the eyes, white? red? It's pretty terrifying seeing them up close. There is also great lighting effects, dust can be seen, flames, and especially the lava area, the distorted heat eyecandy is impressive. There was also a room, i remember, in which 'curtains' were flown (fluidly) about in the air from the blowing wind. The water is great, textures are rich and the environments have distinctive settings (castle, village, dock, sandy areas, caverns , labs etc).
The sound and music is also amazing. Upon starting the game, the eery hollow music already tells you of what to expect upon playing the game. Music is done so well, that you don't realise you're actually listening to something but feeling the atmosphere or action in the game. Sound effects are great, the exploding headshots, the shouts, grunts and even the sound of your voice, "Oh no..." as you fail to protect the President's daughter (Ashley) sets the mood of the situations.
I had just completed this game in my 1st playthrough, and i unlocked 2 extra 'missions'. One in which you can control Ada Wong (who appears in the main story) and the other, time attack mode in which you try to kill as many enemies as possible racking up a big score. Once completing the main game, and saving it, you're able to load it again and play through it, but this time you still have your inventory and money. I unlocked two extra weapons that could be bought from the merchant, the 'infite rocket launcher' and the 'Matilda'. All of these things are compelling to replay the game again. To unlock the extras and to buy and upgrade as many weapons you want, on top of a hefty main game, this game is great value for money depite only having singleplayer modes.
The fact that i feel the need to play this game again straight after i've completed it, speaks volumes. This is definitely one of the greatest games out there and whether you are new to Resident Evil or not, this game is not one to miss! My rating - 9.6