apcom had a huge hit last year with Resident Evil, a
non-linear, sleuthing, shoot-'em-up game that successfully blended 3D,
role-playing, flavorful graphics and really scary music. In December,
Capcom promises to release the rabidly-awaited sequel, Resident
Evil II, but in the interim, to sate the bloodlust, Capcom has
released Resident Evil: The Director's Cut, which includes
extra scenes and a Resident Evil II preview. For fans,
it's been a long time coming; the director's cut has been almost as feverishly
awaited as its official sequel. Here's why:
Resident Evil throws everything into the hopper--the
gothic, the grotesque, SF, puzzles (easy to difficult) and enough
armaments to equip a first-class third world country ("weapons locker"
was the original text). Players choose to play the game as one of two characters, both members of S.T.A.R.S., an elite commando unit. Jill is a female commando who can carry more do-dads, while Chris is her male counterpart who is a bit hardier; each character compels a slightly different narrative.
The story begins when the S.T.A.R.S. unit is marooned in a creepy,
labyrinthine mansion on an inaccessible mountain. All over the
mountain, horrible, mysterious mutilations have occurred. The mission
is to investigate the mansion and the mystery without getting killed.
Not so easy. The zombies and undead thing-a-ma-bobs they find wandering around may be obvious suspects, but the rest of the commandos are suspicious themselves. To unmask the mystery, Jill and Chris interact (albeit in a limited fashion) with other S.T.A.R.S soldiers, look for clues, solve puzzles, and of course, hammer the undead. Along the way they must navigate creaky stairs, dimly-lit corridors, and mossy-walled underground tunnels.
Been to that mansion, killed those zombies
For those paltry, sheepish few who have still not taken their measure
against T-Rex-sized monsters, carnivorous plants, disenfranchised
Dobermans and Resident Evil's army of lab
assistants-cum-zombies, this game is a great buy. Every room and
environment is different, no mean feat considering the square footage of
the mansion and surrounding environs. From wallpaper to sconces,
lighting to bedding, every environment has a signature look, enough so
that a player's will to persevere and finish the darn thing is substantially
bolstered by their desire to see more neat stuff.
For the Resident Evil veteran, the director's cut will be
tremendously disappointing. There is no new wealth of scenery, dialogue
or mystery, despite the addition of three difficulty levels. If players choose the advanced mode, the game is basically the same as the original (the clues are switched around a bit), and in standard or training mode, it is exactly the same. The only crop of new material the directors' cut offers is a handful of different point-of-view angles and one new room (a dressing room--Jill and Chris can change their duds, but changing outfits has no impact on gameplay). And the original, uncut opening that was supposed to be on the director's cut was accidentally left out, so players will have to visit the Capcom Web site if they want to see it.
But for all of the unfulfilled hoopla of the director's cut, let it not
be forgotten that Resident Evil is still one of the funnest,
non-linear, solve-it-shoot-it games around. Its ability to engender
paranoia, unease and fear is dead-on. It's the kind of game that, late
at night and alone, gamers should play only with caution.
