For many gamers, the Resident Evil series begins in a rural part of Spain with old-timers croaking at Leon Kennedy while trying to part his hair with a spinning hatchet.
And such is the majesty commanded by Resi 4 that I feel reluctant to criticise this youthful, naive and literally wrong, perspective.
The number 4 in the title though should make it pretty clear that there's impressive legacy of Evil to pick your way through to truly appreciate Capcom's viral soap opera, but out of the 11 (eleven!) Resident Evils that came before number 4 it's Resi 3 that still makes the blood pump a little quicker.
The game begins with STARS hottie and Spencer Mansion survivor Jill Valentine attempting to escape Raccoon City, which has become overrun with T-Virus victims. Making the situation more complicated are a bunch of sinister Umbrella Mercenaries and a STARS-targetting mac-wearing bio-weapon called Nemesis.
The presentation is classic: fixed cameras, pre-rendered backdrops, door loading screens and the quirky control system. The action is swifter and more intense mainly due to the power shift between you and the zombies as their strength in numbers isn't enough anymore - now they have reason to fear you!
The reasons: Jill is nimbler than before, able to dodge the lunges of the infected with a pump of the shoulder button and perform a 180-degree spin to launch swift counters. Then there's the content of those counters which is often shotgun led thanks to its discovery in the first 10 minutes of the game, aided by explosive scenery and followed-up with Jill's home-made enhanced ammo.
There's also the whittled-to-perfection design of the environment that dispenses with the lung-bursting back tracking of Resi 2 in favour of a labyrinth-like condensing of space.
All the Resi magic you'd expect, from set-piece jumps to pantomime betrayal, is there - just in a more digestible size than before (or since) that rewards replaying the game.
Lastly, there's the presence of Jill Valentine who manages to carry off a boob-tube and shoulder holster and still smoulder. A truly believable and compassionate heroine at the heart of the most toned, lean and fighting fit of the Resi series.
Don't forget there's still plenty of time to take part in our our splendid Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City Reaction Time Challenge, where you can form your own squad and compete to win exclusive Resi Evil prizes including signed artwork and HD TVs.
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Comments
18 comments so far...
ste hicky on 11 Dec '11 said:
too much action, not enough scares and resi remake buries it 6 feet under.
nemesis vs crimson heads?
no contest.
Felly117 on 11 Dec '11 said:
Resi CV = CVX > 2 > 1 = 1dc = remake = ds > 3 > 0 > 4 > outbreak file 2 > outbreak > 5 > dead aim > survivor > Gaiden > Survivor 2. FACT!
I HAVE SPOKEN!
(don't know about mercenaries 3d havent got that one due to lack of a 3DS
)
OT whatever happened to resident evil portable for the PSP, I hope that it gets a release on the vita.
ste hicky on 11 Dec '11 said:
that you rafa?
nah, remake, 2, cv, 4, 1, 3 then zero in joint last with 5 for me which is a tad ironic as the same guy made 0 and 5.
Sammy_bham on 11 Dec '11 said:
The resi's go in this order, from best to worst.
1. res 4
2. zero
3. nemesis
4. res 2
5. CV
6. resi 1 - directors cut
7. resi 1
8. resi 5
MrPirtniw on 11 Dec '11 said:
Always thought Resi 3 was one of the weaker gamers myself. Code Veronica and remake are by far the best in the series followed by Resi 2 which was also fantastic. Resi 3 was better than 0 though.
But I'd take any of the originals over the likes of Resi 4 and 5!
eddiehitler on 11 Dec '11 said:
Nemesis has always been my favourite Resi instalment as it has what I consider to be the best balance of action and horror. I found it more exciting to play with there being more locations, story elements and set pieces than in previous games, not to mention the Nemesis itself which was an inspired idea for the time to have a Terminator style stalking monster which was near impossible to defeat. It felt like a sprawling zombie epic which has not been bettered since even though devs tried with games like dead rising and its more serious equivalent dead island.
corky20 on 12 Dec '11 said:
Oh what a game Resident Evil 3 was, countless hours were spent completing that game over and over again. There's no doubt in my mind it's the best survival horror game of all time, closely followed by Resident Evil 1 and 2.
Unfortunately the series was downhill after the 3rd game. I've been waiting for some kind of Resident Evil 3 remake all these years later, my fingers are still crossed they will eventually release one. I miss Raccoon City!
TheCrimsonFenix on 12 Dec '11 said:
Resi 2 for me is the best one out of the whole series. Gripping story, right balance of searching and fighting. Perfectly handled in the replayability area with two characters each with two different campaigns. Perfect to me.
MPH on 12 Dec '11 said:
Yep. It's never been bettered IMO.
smmac41 on 12 Dec '11 said:
1 Resident Evil REmake
2 Resident Evil 4
3 Resident Evil 2
4 Resident Evil: Code Veronica
5 Resident Evil 3
6 Resident Evil/Director's Cut
7 Resident Evil Zero
8 Resident Evil 5
The rest of the Resident Evil games are good but not worth mentioning when compared to the main series.
thirdwatch on 12 Dec '11 said:
Resi 1 was the first time we stayed up all night playing video games so it'll always have pride of place for me. Loved 2 but I completed Leon's story the night I got it and in just a few hours which was a bit disappointing.
3 has some fantastic scares, the bit where Nemesis bursts through not once but twice for starters but Resi was starting to show its age at this point. A fate which was confirmed by the disappointing Codename Veronica.
Resi 4 was brilliant for taking it in a new direction and the only thing that saved 5 was couch co-op otherwise the overwise it would have been a weaker, easier, shorter version of 4, which was a pity.
I hope 6 brings back the fear that I once felt playing the early ones.
gillri on 13 Dec '11 said:
2RE2 was my fav, then RE4, then REmake
I only got half way through RE3, and never played RE0
k-mysta on 13 Dec '11 said:
I don't get it. I've played all the Resi and somewhat consider myself a fan of the series yet i love Resi 4. I certainly don't put it as low as other fans seem to. It's probably one of my favourite games of all time along with 2. Maybe i just love Leon
Jacksane21 on 26 Dec '11 said:
Remake - Nice graphics, multiple endings, exploration, interesting enemies, good story, awesome characters
Two - Good story, fun puzzles, exploration, awesome characters, secondary story to replay as the opposite character
Code Veronica X - Good story, interesting characters, interesting enemies
Three/One - Good stories, interesting characters, exploration
Four/Zero - Decent stories, awesome characters, a few cool enemies but some that were dumb
Outbreak/Outbreak File 2 - Multiplayer, more enemies, interesting settings
Five - Action
Survivor/Dead Aim - Action
All others - Meh
Best to worst, this is the only acceptable order for a true Resident Evil fan
Jacksane21 on 26 Dec '11 said:
Personally, my friends and I enjoyed the game, but I think a lot of people dislike it simply because of the lack of zombies and the abundance of action as opposed to atmospheric horror and suspense. It wasn't bad, but along with Zero it was a step in the wrong direction for the series, becoming less realistic and less survival based.
infamous76 on 20 Jan '12 said:
now you two fellas know what the hell your talking about when it comes to Resi. Resi 2 was absolutely BRILLIANT. Having to play the game four times to see the whole story was absolute GENIUS. I nearly shed a tear twice playing that game back in the day - one when ada so-called died and leon bawled and when i finished it for the fourth time as i knew i was gonna have a huge void in my life. A TRUE CLASSIC
infamous76 on 20 Jan '12 said:
couldn't agree more, as much as i LOVE resi 2 i have to say resi 4 killed it for me. i have bought that damn game on EVERY format it's been released on (except the awful ipod crap) and have complete it on pro over 30 times and yet i have never ever got bored of it. no game in history has made me do that. so for that reason soley, it has to be my fave game of all time - without doubt. hell i may play it again tonight lol HD graphics does do it justice
FixBeatGames on 20 Jan '12 said:
is this article just trolling or what? resi 3 the best in the series? erm, no. it was the first fail of the series imo. it relied way to much on the 'nemesis', so much so that by a quarter way through the game, it was boring. it was nowhere near the size of 2, ie, it went backwards there. i didn't even care for the characters as much as in the previous 2. i actually can't think of a good thing about it tbh, i completed resi 1 three times, completed resi 2 twice, then got 3 and couldn't even be bothered to complete it once.
resi 3 the best, LMAO