After 19 years since it was first released on a Sony console Resident Evil has returned on the PlayStation 4. What you should expect from it is everything you remember, with some tweaks here and there. Let’s get this sucker going, shall we?
The first question RE fans might have here is if Capcom maintained all the wonderful controls and camera angles that helped to develop our sailor-like vocabulary as teenagers/young adults. The resounding answer is YES! The controls and camera angles were intended to be horror-esque and provide you misdirection (literally) when you’re trying to escape or get your bearings in the midst of crisis. What’s beautifully worse about the controls is how we’re all used to the proper control schemes since 1996 and how it’s even more difficult to adjust in the midst of said crisis. If anything, the inclusion of the original camera and controls has intensified the experience with this new remastered version of Resident Evil. There’s nothing quite as jarring as running down a hallway, switching camera angles, which in turn switches your visual direction. The game tries to help you compensate for the sudden direction change by allowing you to continue pressing the wrong direction to move forward. The minute you release your thumbstick it will reset into the proper direction. Your gaming instinct, as was the case with mine, will have you pushing the opposite direction with the camera change, which resets the controller direction and regretfully sends you back to where you came from.
But it’s all worth the effort, folks.
Should you want to have new controls for this classic, then Capcom has certainly delivered with a more modern feel to the control scheme. You have a left thumbstick that controls the full body movement easily and briskly (it is lightning fast). On the right thumbstick you have a quick 180 degree flip that you can make in case of an emergency, such as if you have two hunters jumping at you from two directions. The new controls will make you feel warm and fuzzy as you gracefully prance through the Spencer Mansion. I know that is a huge deal for younger RE fans out there, but for me, it feels like cheating in the game. Of course, I’m old and traditional in my ways, so GET OFF MY LAWN!!!!
*ahem*
Anyway, back to the review.
Having played this for the last 5-6 days, I have come to find a new found respect for how this series began. I hadn’t played the series since the initial release in 1996, even skipping the likes of Resident Evil on the Gamecube, so stepping back into this world has me appreciating the complaints that fans had about Resident Evil 5-6’s gameplay. The biggest complaint is that the series has turned into a third-person action title instead maintaining the course of a survival horror game. After playing Resident Evil, they certainly have a complaint.
RE is a fine wine that was properly made the first time around. It might have contained awful cutscenes featuring some horrid acting from some desperate Canadian actors/actresses. It might have contained enormously frustrating controls. It certainly wasn’t perfect, but it contained a slow and methodical adventure that made gamers think about their actions. Gamers had to think about when to use certain guns/ammo and when to save the game with limited typewriter ribbons. This put the player into the game and had them emotionally involved on each decision and action, which is something sorely lacking in RE games today. Spectacle over story is the theme of the new, but in my opinion the old RE had it right the first time around. It’s like what makes the 1979 Superman better than the Man of Steel — it’s about the story and less about the action (take note of that Zach Snyder).
As for there rest of the gameplay, everything you loved about the first RE is back in this remastered version. The corny dialogue has returned, the frightful moments and the terrible hunters that come later in the game that will still scare the beejebus out of you. The puzzles, especially for first time players, are still a bit complex, though there are easy ones here and there. Ultimately, you will get a familiar adventure, though there are a few things that have changed just slightly (won’t give those away). In short, the game you love and know is all there.
On the visuals side of the equation, it’s a mix bag of nuts for the PlayStation 4 version. While there is certainly a most definite jump from the original and the Gamecube rebirth of the game, the PlayStation 4 version isn’t quite up to the level of say an Evil Within sort of visual depth and style. The textures in Resident Evil have improved immensely, and the real visual flavor comes out with the shadows, shading and effects, but the overall package isn’t current high-end graphical delivery that some other PlayStation 4 games bring to the gaming table. All things considered, it’s still a major leap from the 1996 initial release and even a nice hop from the Gamecube version.
Other notes of significance for this release is the upgrade to 1080p, the tremendous upgrade to 5.1 surround (enjoy that in your headphones) and the option to change between 4:3/16:9 aspect ratio.
Wrapping things up, the fun factor for this game is still off the charts. After all these years, underneath all of this make-up and revision lies one of the best survival horror games to date. The mixture of puzzles, action and creepy story still help to maintain the youth and liveliness that Resident Evil still holds. One of the uniquely held values of this game, one that I detest newer games for not putting faith in the gamer for, is how the developers want you to discover and unravel the story yourself. In true horror fashion you are thrown into this world without much guidance and must find your way out of it with your own guidance. I love that so much about Resident Evil and I wish more games did this to their gamers. While other developers think about that for a second, enjoy what Capcom re-re-delivers to you on the PS4. It’s still damn good fun.
At the end of the day Resident Evil HD Remaster delivers. It brings the goods and sells them at a reasonable price of $19.99. It’s definitely worth the asking price, especially if you missed this game the first time around (or you weren’t born yet).
