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Capcom recently announced first-ever details for the first GameCube Resident Evil and premiered never-before-seen screenshots and videos for the game. We've brought all of the facts and media together below in one cozy reading destination and we think that by the time you're done with this preview, you'll be frothing at the mouth to return to Raccoon City and battle the undead.
Features
Gameplay For years a secluded mansion in Raccoon City has been the center of top-secret biotech experiments -- all funded by a shady corporation known only as Umbrella. When contact with the scientists at the mansion is broken and reports of gory attacks come in from areas nearby, two Special Tactics and Rescue Squads (S.T.A.R.S) -- made up of Bravo and Alpha teams -- are sent in to investigate. Bravo team vanishes almost immediately. Alpha team enters the mansion and the adventure begins.
Resident Evil for GameCube is a 3D action-adventure based on the PlayStation original of the same name, which incidentally was inspired by The Night of the Living Dead feature films. The GameCube title stars characters Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine as Alpha team leaders. Players must choose one of the two and embark upon a horrific quest through a dark and mysterious mansion filled with the unimaginable -- the walking dead.
A number of useable weapons aid Chris and Jill on their quest. Depending on which character is selected to explore the mansion, gamers are given either a knife or a pistol to start. But an entire arsenal can be claimed throughout the adventure. Other weapons include a Remington M870 shotgun, a Colt Python .357 Magnum, a bazooka, a flame-thrower and even an M66 rocket launcher. Each weapon inflicts a different kind of damage onto the zombie foes. For example, a knife will cut and draw blood from enemies, but players will need to swipe them several times for any real results. A rocket launcher, on the other hand, can actually blow the undead apart in a messy explosion. The problem, of course, is that there is only a limited amount of ammo for each weapon -- all of which is scatterd around the mansion. Players must find it and use it wisely, or they will find themselves defenseless and surrounding by brain-hungry ghouls.
The GameCube remake uses the original as a foundation and greatly builds upon it. With new technology, the company feels it can finally realize the frightening atmosphere of the series on a whole new level. "The Biohazard series has slowly moved away from its origin of horror. What our users have supported over the years was this feeling of horror," said Capcom. "After much thought, we have decided to return to the beginning and start from one again."
What that means is that GameCube owners can expect the return all of the landmark locations and enemies from the original PlayStation Resident Evil. Remember the giant spiders? The rabid dogs? The Hunters? There all back and totally redone. How about battling overgrown snakes or a bloodthirsty shark? The creatures and environments have returned. Even the zombies are back in variation -- from civilian undead to scientists.
Best of all, franchise creator Shinji Mikami himself has returned to direct the GCN title after five years away from piloting the series. The results speak for themselves. See the screenshots and movies of the game in action below and you will learn for yourself what all of the fuss is about. The dusty visual presentation of old is completely erased, replaced by graphics and audio so lifelike it's, uh, scary. Rooms in the gigantic mansion are momentarily illuminated with real-time lighting from a thunderstorm outside. Shadows project onto walls and morph. Glass windows show reflections, as does water splashed onto the flooring. Characters feature new motion-captured animation that never looked better. Particle effects splatter gruesomely realistic blood in every direction as Zombies dissolve under gunfire, or bite into the skin of the heroes. Impressively, the main characters and zombies are constructed using more polygons than were probably used in an entire scene for the original. And the texture detail on everything is in a league of its own. Summed up, it looks too good to be true.
The surrounding environments in Resident Evil GCN are in fact full-motion animated. However, the firm is also z-buffering data so that light and shadow sources have 3D depth, reflecting the immediate environments that characters explore.
"Everyone must be surprised because [the Biohazard series is now] on the GameCube, but I have a clear and strong opinion about being able to enjoy all of the Biohazard games on one system," said director Shinji Mikami on Resident Evil's move to Nintendo's console. "Therefore the series will be GameCube exclusive."
A lot of questions have arisen regarding the details of Resident Evil's GameCube exclusivity. A Capcom spokesperson recently added to Mikami's comments: "Currently, yes, we are exclusive to Nintendo. The deal will certainly last through the announced projects and probably longer."
Outlook
Resident Evil for GameCube is a remake of a classic game, and with a level of
graphic realism nearly unrivaled by any other game. This title and other
"Biohazard" games to come just like it are sure to sell tons upon
release and draw a whole new demographic of gamers to Nintendo's next-generation
console. To say that this game won't be a smash success would be ignorant. We
can't wait.