IGNCube put up a review of Resident Evil last night. I wasn't all that excited about this game before but I'm pretty excited now. They pretty much had nothing but good things to say about the game. For those who don't have an Insider's password, here's the bottom line:

Presentation
Remade, revamped and scarier than ever. Slick menus, lots of options and more. 10.0

Graphics
We debated going higher. Beautiful pre-rendered backdrops, amazing art, particles, shadows, lighting, and polygon characters. Nearly flawless. Some cut-scene pauses, stiff animation, etc. 9.0

Sound
No DPLII, but just about everything else done right. Surround sound -- moody moans, screams, growls. You will jump. Lots of effects for different situations. Great, thrilling music. Poor voice acting. 9.0

Gameplay
A blast the first time through because it's so atmospheric. Satisfying fights with enemies, interesting, if baffling puzzles, the draw to keep exploring. Frustrating mansion layouts, control issues. 8.0

Lasting Appeal
Difficult game. 12 hours or more for most gamers. And enough reason to go through it several times. 10 different endings, for starters! 8.0

OVERALL SCORE (not an average) 9.0

I'm a bit surprised the overall score wasn't higher, but that's IGNCube for ya.

Here's the review from the new EGM, in which it was the Game of the Month.

The three editors scored it 9.5, 9.0 and 9.0.

The overall categories:

Visuals: 10
Sound: 9
Ingenuity: 6
Replay: 7

Best Feature: Detailed, spooky atmosphere
Worst Feature: Controls still take some adjustment.

Some excerpts from the three reviewers comments.

...the scariest RE of all.

...more than just a graphical overhall -- most of the puzzles have changed, a ton of areas have been added, and many existing areas have been modified. It's a lot harder now, too.

The RE mansion has been completely gutted and hehabbed with only the foundation left intact.

Some new features.

-New Defensive Items: Stun gun (Jill), Dagger(Jill and Chris) Grenade (Chris)

-new outfits

-a new boss that you fight several times

-new modes to unlock. Real Survior-Item boxes not linked. One Tough Zombie, one zombie strapped with grenades stalks you, etc.

-new puzzles

-new cutscenes

-new rooms


Anyway read the mag for the full details and reviews. I can't wait for this. Unfortunately, I won't be able to play it until the weekend. I'm wrapping up my last semester of college and moving out of my apartment next saturday. The GC is already packed.

I really want to buy this game, but I have always disliked the RE control scheme. It's the reason I couldn't get into Onimusha either. I know why the developers kept it, citing the fact that it's "scarier" that way, but I feel it's a cheap way to get scares. I'm still really tempted to buy this simply for the fact that it looks really creepy, but I'll just borrow my friend's copy. If I don't like a game's control, I rarely can enjoy the game itself.

in one of the previews (can't remember which one) they mention that you can change the control scheme in this game if you don't like the default controls.

I too always hated the control of the RE games. Therefore I always hated the RE games. Hell, I don't even really enjoy survival horror games in general. This game has me interested though because it seems to be a real work of art. Anyways, here's what IGN says about an alternate control scheme:
This control scheme sounds OK, or at the very least interesting.

The controls are always what put me off of the RE series as well. Hopefully these alternate selections will be an improvement. I don't understand why they didn't take the time to really update the controls to.

I read an interview where the creator was talking about it and how he felt the game should be hard to run away because it makes it more difficult and scary, eh...

Hah I knew it!! I used to joke with my friends about how they made the controls that way but it turns out its true . It really does make it more scary that way though.

Its good to see this game live up to the hype. I was expecting the control/learning curve to be the same since it is resident evil after all, but its never been a "huge" issue with me once I got used to it. Extended Play has a preview of this game on this weekend's show (incidentally there's also a really nice and long preview of Eternal Darkness with a lot of footage). I'm ready to blow up some zombies .

If I'm understanding the way the new controls have been explained, I think I might actually like it. I'm not sure though. I want Mario 64 style movement and turning, with like using R to lock for aiming. That sort of sounds like what I like, so I'll have to check this game out now. Thanks for the info.

None of the control schemes are anything like Mario 64. The R buttons scheme just works by holding that button to move and using the control stick to move. I think that sounds more difficult as I don't like using the trigger buttons a lot, much less having to press it the entire time in order to move.


At any rate, if you hate the control scheme, and haven't liked the other games in the series, you likely won't like this one either.

from the EGM Review: "If you didn't like it then, you probably won't like it now, but for everyone else (over 18), it's a must own."

AHHH!!! I want this game now!!! In my opinion, this game looks so good that any difficulties with the control scheme are relatively minor, and worth it in the end. Based on the videos and screenhots I've seen, I don't understand the 9.0 rating for graphics. It looks a whole lot better than that to me.

EGM gave the graphics a 10.....

I'm tempted to buy a Cube just for this game.....

I DID BUY A GAMECUBE JUST FOR THIS GAME!!!!!! Call me crazy but its my all time favorite series and the first one has always been my top choice for the best of the series. The game looks incredible. Plus, don't forget that you also have Resident Evil 0 and #4 to look forward to.

DARTH GAMER

Ditto... And, I probably will at some point this summer... Other than this title, I have zero interest in Nintendo.

Gamespot has their review up---gave it an 8.9

Gameplay--7
Graphics---10
Sound------9
Value-------9
Tilt----------10

Pretty underwhelming scores but I'll still pick it up.

Since when is a 9 (IGN), 8.9 (Gamespot), and 9.5, 9, 9 (EGM) underwhelming?

Those are great scores if you ask me. RE games never get perfect scores because people don't like the control scheme. That is really the only negative thing in the Gamespot review. There overall scores almost always seem to low to me after reading the text of their reviews. It seems like the reviewer enjoyed the game more than the score would indicate.

I also think the game is taking some hits, unfairly IMO, for being a remake (albeit 70% or more new) rather than a new game.

It looks like this will take over Rogue Leader's spot as the best game to use to demo the GCN's graphical power to your friends.

Check out this quote from the gamespot review.

"Capcom has finally perfected the art of mixing prerendered scenery with ambient animations and polygonal objects, and the result is the most visually impressive video game ever released."

I think some people were expecting scores from IGN and Gamespot to be in the upper-9 range. Like above 9.5. A lot of people are buying the Gamecube for this title, and when you compare it to other system-buying titles for PS2 and Xbox (GTA3, Halo), the scores are not as spectacular.

Actually there are a lot of games for PS2 and Xbox that score in the 8.9-9 range, so in terms of raw score, it's not very impressive at all. Also I agree with joshhinkle that the scores took some hits since Resident Evil is a remake. But I don't agree that it's an unfair hit. Originality is an important aspect of a game; in fact, it's at the top of Gamespot's "About Our Rating System" page.

Regarding the control scheme: I agree that it is a bit clumsy, but understand the real reason behind it has to do with the pre-determined backgrounds and camera angles. Since you, as a player, have no control of the camera, it can be very disconcerting to move from one area to another using standard "Mario 64" controls. Let's say I'm moving north from the kitchen to the dining room, and in my current view the dining room is to my right. I push the joystick to the right and run towards the door. Suddenly the angle changes right before I enter the door and I veer off into the corner of the room. I've played games like this, and the Resident Evil control scheme is, IMHO, preferable.

The way this is handled in many games (e.g., Devil May Cry) is that you continue going in the same direction as long as you hold down the control pad/stick. When you let go, it reverts to the camera relative control scheme.

I've seen that as well, and it still confuses the hell out of me. "I just changed direction on my joystick...why am I still running the same way? Oh!"

In reality, however, Capcom should have just made the controls fully customizable and kept everybody happy. They allowed "Mario 64" controls on the N64 version of Resident Evil 2, after all.

If the game had "Mario 64" controls the whole point of the game would be lost. This is a survival horror game. The point is for it to be scary and atmospheric. If you could move quickly in an direction it wouldn't be scary at all. You'd be able to get past the slow-ass zombies with ease. That's why the controls are like this and haven't been changed. These games are for those that enjoy slower paced, atmospheric, scary, adventure games, not people that like action games were you run around and shoot everything in sight. The controls don't need to be changed, it's just that people that don't like them, and this type of game, need to quit complaining and play Devil May Cry or something instead.

I have a question: why was this post-worthy? I mean, should I now feel compelled to post every review I find for highly publicized games?

I have a question for you: does it bother you that much? just walk away... you don't have to post replies... no one forced you.