First of all, the old Resident Evil games were survival horror games. This means that you were given weapons with limited amount of ammo to spare. This simple game mechanic influenced the way the you played the game. I almost have absolutely nothing good to say about this title, maybe that it bares the RE.
I’ve played 2, 3, 4, Code Veronica-X, Dead Aim, Outbreak, and Outbreak file 2. RE3 was the most epic thing I had ever seen for ps1 when it first came out. I didn’t get a chance to play 2 until a few years ago when I lucked into both discs for ps1, but the previous owner kept them out of the case. So the Claire disc freezes and doesn’t load models at the end that are necessary to progress from a cut scene. I’ve never seen a copy of 1 and I’m pretty sure it was out of print when I got 3 back around '98 or '99. Does anyone know if they ported 1 and 2 to pc and if so, is there anywhere that it can legally be downloaded or purchased on disc? Capcom’s site doesn’t have much of anything, but I have found the demo for 3 with the option of buying the full version before. I’d love to be able to play the original and 2 without worrying about it freezing all the time.
Also, I’d have to say 2 and 3 are my favorites with Code Veronica-X at a close second. Dead Aim was the worst because of the plot and dialog but was kind of cool for combining first and third person.
I would say that my enjoyment of RE1, RE Zero, and Code Veronica (the only “original-style” ones I’ve played) were hampered by the bad camera angles, weak weapons and the awkward controls. Getting eaten by an enemy that I didn’t see coming can be frustrating after the fifth time. Can still appreaciate the games for what they were. A new direction in gaming.
RE4 for me is a blast. It does stray from the survival horror feel of the older Resident Evil games, but that makes it a refreshing change from the “silly-premise-taken-seriously” plot of the old ones. RE4 by no means takes itself too seriously. The characters are outrageously hammy, the plot is simple and the dialogue is hilariously absurd. And the way it’s executed is brilliant. I love it. Plus, the Mercaneries mode has fun gameplay and in-game benefits. The over-the-shoulder, rotating camera REALLY helps me enjoy it as well.
Playing RE5 can be really unenjoyable if you take the game’s plot as seriously as it takes itself. I have thoroughly enjoyed RE5 past all it’s annoying gamplay aspects, the blatant rascism and frequent quick-time events for one reason. It’s HILARIOUSLY rediculous story. The dialogue, the characters, the settings (maybe not so much, except for the VOLCANO). All makes for one funny, absurd tale. It’s different from RE4 as RE4 was somewhat self-aware as to how silly it was. RE5 assumes you’ll take all the bullshit it gives, and that can be entertaining. The cutscenes with Albert Wesker (who’s been stealing clothes from JC Denton’s wardrobe) are side-splittingly hilarious. One scream of “CHRISSSSSSS!!!” makes me just crack up. They also keep the Mercaneries mode in this one too, which still maintains it’s awesomeness.
Final Personal Verdict:
RE 1 -> RE 4, Good games, frustrating controls and bad camera angles
RE 4 +, Enjoyable parodies of survival horror games
RE4 and RE5 are good games, just not Resident Evil, for me anyway. In my opinion RE5 would have been waaaay better without Sheva at all, less enemies, and why the FUCK can I not buy ammo at a fucking gun shop, and 5 rounds for each pickup? What the hell! It’s an ACTION game. All well hopefully the next one will be better.
The controls in the originals were horrific. The story terrible and the acting hilarious. The best of those would be Code Veronica in my opinion. Then there was Resident Evil 4 and 5, who’s story was terrible and acting hilarious. And the controls were horrific in a new and original way.
I don’t even understand what would be bad about the controls in RE4. Tons of games emulated its style.
^this was the reason i hated re5.
it was a action game. not a horror. nice job capcom you ruined my love for resident evil
:’(
I like the Resident Evil series as a whole, but couldn’t stand to play through 4 more than once. The story was just so bad in my opinion. I don’t give a fuck about Leon’s vacation in Spain, since it has absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the games in the series. RE5 was pretty dumb too, but at least they tried to tie it’s story to the other games.
I want them to make the next game play like RE4 and 5, but either have Zombies or other T-virus enemies only, or something new that isn’t as lame as the Plagas. Also, drop the QTEs. RE5 only had a small handful of cutscenes with QTEs, where it felt like RE4 had QTEs in every cutscene. If I wanted to play a game where more than half of the combat takes place in QTEs, I would play Shenmue through again.
Then I’ve got bad news for you, because its been said that RE5 was the last of “its kind”.
RE5 is too heavy on the action and light the survival, RE has historically been a survival/horror series. For instance, action elements include the waves of enemies, lots of ammo, and a real-time, limited-in-size backpack (cant upgrade size and cant pause the game to manage). The only real survival element is the OCCASIONAL puzzle and inability to shoot while moving which is simply annoying because RE5 is so action oriented. Also, they completely removed combining treasures, now you have one dimensional pickups for money. Wheres the fun in that?
RE4 is the best blend between action and survival, while RE5 just took it over the edge with the action. The earlier REs can be considered more horror/survival with their puzzles and treasures, lack of ammo, fewer numbers of enemies to fight at once, more startle/scare tactics, etc.