Resident Evil: Directors Cut

Written by Tom Clare in PSOne Game Reviews, Sunday 23 November, 2003

It's fair to say that when Capcom released the original Resident Evil in 1996, they couldn't have imagined the type of success that would follow. Essentially mimicking low-budget, b-movie horror flicks of the past, Resident Evil became a huge hit the world over as gamers were endeared to it's amusingly-awful acting, stunning looks and scare-a-minute nature.

One year later and work is already well under way on Resident Evil 2, when things go badly wrong. The Resident Evil 2 project is scrapped and must be re-written and re-developed almost from scratch. Gamers were already itching in anticipation of the sequel (which would eventually go to become the fastest selling game of all-time and supposedly out-sell Tomb Raider 2 by 10:1 in Japan), so the developers Capcom, never ones to miss out on the opportunity for a spin-off (they've made more than 20 Street Fighter games in the last decade) decided to make an upgraded version of their original classic.

I've played the first game to death and so I was understandably pretty pleased when I finally got my hands on this fairly rare title. Sadly though, it was a huge disappointment. Maybe it was because Capcom needed to satisfy fans for a few months before the arrival of Resident Evil 2, or it could have been nothing more than a cynical cash-in to milk some extra money from eager gamers, but whatever the reason is, there are nowhere near enough extras here to warrant a purchase.

Now, there is a reason I settled on a 3 star rating. Basically you are going to fall in to two groups here, the first is people who have never played Resident Evil before and don't own any version of it and the second involves fans of the original (like myself) who own it or have completed it. If you fall in to the first category, then this is easily a 5 star effort - an absolute must-have even now. However, to those who belong to the latter group, this will feel like the most pointless investment in history and must be avoided at all costs, I never thought I'd see the day I'd give a Resident Evil title a low score but in this instance it would apply. I'll enlighten you on the so called "extras" a little later in the review.

The story goes that a small group of STARS members (sort of special police) are running for their lives in thick grass, with some truly viscous creatures in pursuit. They reach a big mansion and dive inside, pretty relieved that the danger has been averted (or so they think). It is at this point that you assume control of either Jill Valentine (easy game) or Chris Redfield (hard game), each have fairly similar adventures but the placement of certain items and the order in which you do puzzles is slightly different. Both have to explore the mansion and before long come across zombies patrolling rooms and corridors, their mission is now to survive, they need to find keys and clues that will allow them to escape from a back-entrance, as the front is effectively blocked off by hoards of nasty creatures.

It is a third-person survival-horror game, with a refreshing emphasis on preserving ammunition and not just going bananas at the sight of any old thing. Puzzles demand thought, often requiring you to solve obscure riddles, or block-shifting teasers, and then there's always the good ol' find-the-key-to-the-locked-door scenario too. You can only carry a very limited amount of items in your inventory at any one time - weapons, ammo, save ribbons, healing herbs and keys must all be considered and so judging what lies ahead is half the battle, as you may need big weapons for a boss or an empty space or two for items crucial to your progression.

Graphically it was highly impressive in it's time, because the backgrounds are static a great deal more detail and definition can be obtained. Animations are of the usual high-standard associated with Capcom and the graphics seem to have had a slight-tweak for the Director's Cut version. Obviously, whilst retaining its predecessors strong points it also features some recessive niggles: the controls are not perfect and if you run out of ammo, the knife is still about as useful as a marshmallow (and half as pretty). Because the camera will only switch from one shot to another when you are right at the end of its field of vision, it's sometimes a bit of a nightmare trying to guess if that zombie you can hear is just out of shot ready to jump on you when you move towards it. It certainly builds tension but isn't ideal, especially as the main characters (especially Chris) are easily injured.

The sound is a bit of a tricky one to rate - whilst the music is superb and always of the ominous, something's-about-to-jump-on-you kind, the acting is so appalling you'll be in fits of laughter. There is no easy way of knowing if Capcom honestly wanted to make the dialogue laughable (it seems that way anyhow), but it's always enjoyable seeing a totally uncomfortable conversation between characters - it will calm your nerves after some edge-of-the-seat action, at least.

Probably the weakest part of the game is its difficulty and lifespan. It is a mercilessly tricky game that is not recommended to beginners on the console scene, and with the bloody, gory nature of the game it is probably better if you keep younger children away from it unless you want them to grow up thinking it's acceptable to blow peoples heads clean-off with a shotgun (I did and look how I turned out!). The game never relents either, constantly getting harder and harder until it is so tough it has been known to reduce grown men to tears. Taxing as it may be, its really not that long - it will take you probably between 6 and 8 hours to complete first times through, but to be fair there are the two characters to play as each with two endings and an unlockable rocket launcher for polishing off the game in under three hours (this is no problem if you know the routes - I've managed it in 2 hours 18 minutes).

Okay, I've pretty much been going over the first Resident Evil, but there isn't much to work with here! Director's Cut has three versions of its' predecessor to choose from - Training Mode is ideal for beginners as it basically allows you to pick up double ammo and ink ribbons (used for saving game). Standard Mode is just the full original version and so the only redeeming feature for fans rests with the Advanced Mode. What does it deliver? A couple of new set-pieces, rearranged placement of items, a dozen or so new camera shots and a new outfit for your character - and that's it. I genuinely feel sympathetic to fans who bought Director's Cut for for £40, as I was pretty miffed to have spent a tenner on it. Chances are you will play through this game anyway just to see if there is a new ending, or new bonus footage, but its ending is identical to version 1.0.

Resident Evil with extras is a very appealing idea but everything "new" in Director's Cut feels tacked-on, dully implemented and lifeless. If you already own the original then you shouldn't waste time and money on this as there really isn't anything significant to see. But if you have never played any form of Resident Evil before, this is highly recommended - its atmospheric, good-looking, gripping and really enjoyable.
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