I really tried to like this game. I really, really did. However...
User Rating: 6.9 | Resident Evil GC
I wanted very much to like this game. It’s creepy, filled with zombies, beautiful artwork, sound effects and music crafted to be as eerie as you’d want it to be. So what’s the problem? The gameplay design. Let me explain… First of all, I want to say that I “get” what the designers attempted and in many ways I respect what they sought to achieve. As I see it, their goal was to create a game world in which the player was taken to a higher sense of tension than most other horror games. In order to do this they decided to make things matter a great deal more than in other games in four primary ways – 1. They provided you with limited ammunition for your weapons. The theory here is that each shot counts. You can’t simply run into a room and blast a million rounds into the zombies that attack you since, if you did, you’d be out of ammo before you got started. This conservation approach lends to the “survival horror” angle nicely. 2. They limited the amount of times you can save your game. Again, if you were able to save as many times as you’d like, there would be less tension in terms of deciding when to save your progress. 3. They limited the number of items you can carry. If you could carry as many healing items or weapons and ammunition as you’d like, there would be far less tension as you played as opposed to carrying only a few. And 4. They designed the movement of the playable character to be less intuitive than a normal game, thereby creating situations in which it is more difficult to flee from attackers, which in turn creates more of a tense experience for the player. These ideas are sound concepts in principal, however I’ve come to realize that they only work for some. It’s obvious by the legions of fans this series has following it that many, many people don’t mind these conventions. I’m sad to report that for me, I do. What makes a horror game good for me isn’t so much the tension that is manufactured by certain gameplay mechanics, but rather by the world in which I am immersed. It’s the zombies and the mood and the overall spine-chilling aesthetic that gets my heart pounding (like Fatal Frame: Crimson Butterfly for example). Now, that game was as creepy as hell and I never had to worry about save points or item inventory. And, as I said, though I respect what the developers set out to do through these unique elements of game design, the effect was lost on me. Because instead of creating tension while deciding what to bring or when to shoot, it came across as feeling like game management more than anything else. Let’s face it. I’m not actually in a mansion and there aren’t really zombies vying for the opportunity to eat my brain. It’s a friggin’ videogame and I’m just a guy with a controller in my hand. And while I can fully understand how a person who was actually living the experience would pee his or her panties at the prospect of a few zombies plodding toward them with only a couple of rounds of ammo…I can’t feel the same since it’s only fantasy. The developers, in my opinion, should have focused more on allowing me to accept that it’s only a game and creating tension and suspense in other areas…which, it should be mentioned, they did very, very well. Graphically, the artwork is beautiful yet disturbing and the zombies are as good as it gets. The sound and overall tension created through what I saw and heard while playing was awesome – no complaints. Unfortunately, because of the other elements I’ve already described, I was never able to fully immerse myself into the experience and therefore… …bottom line – I didn’t like it. But, oh how I wanted to. I’ve tried for over a year at different times to play and like this game. Yet, I guess it just wasn’t meant to be. However, once these flaws were abandoned in Resident Evil 4 for the GameCube, well, it all changed. That game was what I wanted this game to be and if you haven’t already played it, do so. As soon as possible. It is honestly one of the best games I’ve ever played and made up for all the frustration I had trying to play this one. 
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