Kris Wall reviews Resident Evil Zero HD…
Resident Evil Zero starts just hours before the events of Resident Evil when a train owned by Umbrella Corp, The Ecliptic Express is attacked with a biological weapon as a mysterious figure watches over from a hillside. At the same time the members of the ill fated Bravo team of Racoon City’s S.T.A.R.S division sent out to investigate cannibalistic murders in the Arklay mountains. Narrowly avoiding death when their helicopter crashes, Bravo Team discovers an overturned military police transporter, along with the Ecliptic Express which has stalled in the mountains, seemingly with no survivors.
Medical officer, Rebecca Chambers is soon forced to partner up with escaped convicted, Billy Coen (sporting possibly the worst tribal tattoo of all time), a former marine who has been sentenced to death for the murders of 23 people. Together they investigate the mystery surrounding the bio-weapon attack on the train, a mystery that soon leads them beyond the claustrophobic confines of The Ecliptic Express and deep into the secrets and the horrors of the Spencer family mansion and its connection to the Umbrella Corporation.
Long before Resident Evil 5 introduced A.I. partners into the series, Resident Evil Zero uses a system where you can change between Rebecca and Billy at will by pressing triangle, either to use their unique abilities or to solve puzzles that require them to be in different places at the same time. Rebecca can use her kit to blend herbs and chemicals but is defensively weaker, while Billy can take more damage and move heavier objects throughout the game, which scores zero for equality but does mean the game has an interesting new mechanic to play with.
Whichever character you’re not controlling will be moved around by the A.I. and can be issued with basic stop and go/attack and defend commands, or they can still be moved around independently of your character with the right analog stick, which definitely helps to maneuver them out of dangerous situations when their own A.I. fails them and they get swarmed. The game presents some interesting puzzles where Rebecca and Billy have to split up and work independently of each other to find items or switches to help the other out. Venturing out without a second gun backing you up always feels tense and unnerving, especially when you’re going up against Zero’s plethora of new monstrous creations which now include horrific mutations of scorpions, centipedes and frogs, while the nightmarish hunters also return to separate your head from shoulders.
As with last years HD release of Resident Evil, the work that has gone into the restoration is absolutely superb. The environments are rich in detail , character models look great and the monsters are more horrifying than ever. This game is now 13 years old, having originally launched on the GameCube back in 2002 so it’s highly impressive to see just how polished Capcom have been able to make these restorations look. The improved detail in the game delivers a huge boost to the general atmosphere in the game too, with that classic feeling of tension, unease and claustrophobia really compounded by the fantastic visuals. Sadly the work hasn’t extended on to the FMV cut scenes though, making them really stand out in comparison to the main game. They look washed out and badly dated now and given that this was also an issue with the Resident Evil HD release last year, it’s a shame to see it repeated again here.
Inventory management has always been a big part of the Resident Evil experience, the agonising decisions between taking an extra set of herbs or more ammunition for one of your guns is never far away in Resident Evil. Resident Evil Zero does away with the series’ usual item boxes where you could drop an item in one for storage and it would appear in every storage box located throughout the game. Zero introduces an item dropping/swapping system that allows Rebecca and Billy to drop items wherever they want and collect them again later on or swap between each others inventories to share herbs, ammo and weapons.
It sounds like a good idea in theory but I seemed to struggle more than ever with inventory management in Resident Evil Zero, even with two character inventories available to me, there seemed to be a lot more items to collect than I ever had space for, something that isn’t help when you start picking up bigger weapons that take up two of your six item slots. Dropped items are quickly forgotten about and you spend ages running around trying to remember where you left that precious box of shotgun shells and you’re soon longing for those lovely storage boxes that you’re used to in the series. At times it can make for a hugely frustrating experience which takes the edge off what is otherwise a great Resident Evil game.
Resident Evil Zero is also without doubt the hardest Resident Evil game in the series by a considerable margin. Being a huge fan of the Resident Evil series, I was quite surprised with how steep the difficulty curve is in this game. With the inclusion of two playable characters on screen together with twice the firepower, the threats are more frequent and definitely harder to take down. It’s made all the more difficult having to keep a watch over your A.I. partner as well and making sure they’re not being overwhelmed because if they get taken out then it’s game over for you. If you’re up for a challenge then Resident Evil Zero will definitely deliver you one, but for anyone looking for a more casual experience, it could prove to be a bit alienating.
Resident Evil Zero is a strong entry into the series. While its difficulty may put some players off and its new inventory mechanic is more of a miss than a hit, the story will more than please fans of the series as it fleshes out the events prior to Alpha Team entering the mansion and focuses on the origins of the outbreak. The HD restoration looks fantastic, much like last years HD release for Resident Evil did, it’s just a shame that the restoration work didn’t extend to the cut scenes which look terribly outdated as a result. Nevertheless, it’s still a great experience that retains the classic Resident Evil feel that got completely lost with both Resident Evil 5 & 6. Next up we have Resident Evil 2 to look forward to which Capcom revealed will be a full on remake instead of a restoration, like the new Final Fantasy VIII. Resident Evil 2 is seen by many as the highpoint of the original games before 4 became the benchmark that ushered it in a brilliant new direction. Based on the great work done on both of the restorations, I can’t wait to see what they do with a full blown remake.
Pros:
+ Great story
+ HD Restoration looks fantastic
+ Retains that classic Resident Evil tension and unease
Cons:
– FMV hasn’t received HD makeover
– Very difficult
– Frustrating inventory/item dropping system
Total Score: 8/10
Kris Wall – Follow me on Twitter
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