It still scares the shit out me, it still has polished graphics, and it is still very playable. But what the fuck was going through their minds when Capcom redid the music?!?! OK, I thought it to be a welcome surprise when there was added music to the normally quiet FMV intro. The first thing that made me a little queasy was the fact that the cool "Cast" music was changed to jazzy, Overblood-style music. As you dig into the game, you will realize that none of the original music remains. It has all been replaced by low quality tunes that can only be described as "BLECK!". Some of these musical scores totally zip the suspense right out of the game. Granted-it is cool that there is an arranged mode where all the items and monsters are switched around and multiplied respectively. And the original RE is in fact on this disc. But this is the question: If you are an RE fan, you already own the game. So why go out and buy the same game, even though totally sapped up by horrendous music? On the subject of sound, the voice acting is still exactly the same ... but that is OK, as it grows on you, even with the horrendous dialogue and actors.

Unless you have been living in a very well secluded hole for the past couple years, you understand the plot line of Resident Evil. You are a member of the Alpha team, whose compatriots Bravo went down in the middle of a mission. Together you make the STARS (Special Tactics and Rescue Service), a division of the Raccoon City police department. Anyway, you go into the dangerous Arklay Mountains to search for the missing team. You find their helicopter totally abandoned, just as you are attacked by a wild dog. Your group takes cover in a mysterious mansion, henceforth the beginning of the game. It gets really creepy and scary, but if you have not been lucky enough to play Resident Evil, I would hate to spoil it for you.

You assume the role of either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine in a quest to find a way out of this hellish mansion. On your way you will pick up a small number of new weapons to fight against the freakish foes that will surely get in your way. Your foes? Zombies, snakes, mutated dogs. You know, the usual stuff you find in these old mansions. The gameplay may be a little hard to get used to for beginners (I remember the first time I played RE, I was running into walls all over the place), but once you master the learning curve, the control is as easy as a hoochie. One thing I find kind of amusing is the fact that this game was made with the Sony Dual Shock in mind, but the analog feature works worth a rat's ass. Capcom should have opted for complete freedom with the analog, instead of the "turn and go forward" that works oh so well with the D Pad. Needless to say, you will be using the D Pad unless you feel like practicing for hours on end. As a nice, if a little rudimentary touch, the controller vibrates a lot when it does not really matter. Vibrations after shots, or Hunter foot steps would have made it a lot more suspenseful. Rather, the usual vibrations are only when you push items or use a crank.

The graphics have not been touched, but that is fine with me. The RE graphics were always suitable just fine for the game. The character models look good, but up close they clip and distort. Enemies are scary and well designed, and I am sure that all you RE vets out there know exactly what I am talking about when I say that the first Hunter encounter is about enough to make you change the color of your underwear (brown or yellow ... that is the question). There is a pretty cool (and very classic) real time FMV scene in the beginning, and there are multiple ending depending on the choices and routes you made and took during the game. During the game there are scattered animated cut scenes... A few of them in particular will make you cry for mommy, and the rest of them just demonstrate various tasks that you have achieved.

So here is the verdict: Resident Evil is still one of the best games that this world has ever seen, and that is a fact. If you do not own Resident Evil, then feel free to buy this title. As previously stated, the original is on this disc. If you do own either the original Resident Evil, or the original Director's Cut, then shy away from this new version. You will thank me for it later. It is just not worth it to buy a game for really bad music and a couple vibrations. Damn man, you should see what they did to the credits music! ARGH! So what is up with Capcom anyway? What is next? Super Resident Evil: Special Turbo Edition?

Andrew the Game Master