The finest Resident Evil game of all-time.
User Rating: 9.2 | BioHazard: Code Veronica (Limited Edition) DC
Resident Evil CODE: Veronica was the first and only original Resident Evil game to be released on Sega's Dreamcast. While that may be a bit sad for those who appreciate the Dreamcast deeply, the honest truth is that the game, in many respects, was the best Resident Evil game at the time... maybe, in fact, of all-time. Resident Evil CODE: Veronica places you in the role of Claire Redfield to begin the adventure. You may remember Claire from Resident Evil 2, when she was working with Leon S. Kennedy to stop Raccoon City from being infested and taken over by mutated zombies. This time, she arrives on an island, and almost as soon as she gets there, she's captured and imprisoned. Thanks to a person who was stationed near her cell, however, she was able to escape her imprisonment and thus, the game begins. At the time of its release in 2000, Resident Evil CODE: Veronica was easily the most graphically intense and impressive Resident Evil game to date. It, for the first time in the series, sported fully 3-D, polygonal backgrounds that really pushed the Dreamcast, with the result being a game that looked phenomenal. Now, there are some minor issues with the graphics, like some textures being a bit bland and lacking in detail, and the frame rate isn't a consistent 60 frames per second, but aside from that, the game looks great. The character models also receive huge boosts in detail thanks to the added power the Dreamcast has over, say, the PlayStation and Nintendo 64. They move and act in a much more realistic fashion and they have actual facial expressions now, which are really visible in the cut-scenes. Gameplay-wise, Resident Evil CODE: Veronica, in most regards, is similar to past Resident Evil titles, with a minor difference: a quick 180-degree turn, which can be very helpful in those intense battles with zombies and the like. The game also retains the same auto-aim feature from past Resident Evil games, meaning you won't have to waste that much time or -- even more importantly -- ammo against those dreaded zombies and their "friends." Sadly, though, the game still doesn't sport true analog control, even with the Dreamcast's controller analog stick. Instead, the way you move your character depends on the way he or she is facing the camera. So, for example, if that particular character is facing the camera, you'll have to push forward on the analog stick. If they're standing with their back to the camera, you'll have to push back, and so forth. It's not that this type of control is awful -- it isn't -- but it's just a shame that the game doesn't feature real analog control. The game also features excellent music and sound effects. Guns sound like you'd expect them to, and the game's soundtrack is a great addition to an already great game. However, one fault with the sound aspect of the game, as you'd probably expect, is that the voice acting isn't exactly the greatest. Still, what's there works, I suppose, but it could obviously be improved. Resident Evil CODE: Veronica isn't really a long game, but it isn't exactly a short one, either. It'll probably take you somewhere in the range of 10-15 hours to complete the game, assuming you know what you're doing. Completing the game in a certain amount of hours will unlock some cool secrets, which is a staple of the Resident Evil series. Overall, Resident Evil CODE: Veronica, for me at least, is the best game in the Resident Evil series. It features good graphics (great at the time of its release), solid gameplay, which, in certain respects, could be improved but nonetheless is still fine for this game, an interesting story, and a decent amount of replay value. It's a shame that this was the only original Resident Evil title released on the Dreamcast, but, fortunately, Capcom did a hell of a job making this the best Resident Evil of all-time. 
