The Resident Evil series broke into the business in 1996. The original game in the series put the survival horror genre on the map. After selling millions, Capcom released the second game in the series. In many minds the sequel was the crowning jewel in the series. After 2 more sequels (Resident Evil 3, Resident Evil Code: Veronica) many had already begun to complain that the series had grown stale. Out of nowehere comes Resident Evil Zero and changes many things that the series is known for like item boxes and having only one character to control.
PRESENTATION
The game kicks off with the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team being sent in to investigate a train crash. Rebecca Chambers is on her first mission as the S.T.A.R.S. medic. She starts to explore the train when she runs into the other main character Billy Coen. They decide to team up and face the all the horrors the train has to offer. This is not the only place they explore, though.
The storyline is presented well and keeps you engrossed until the very end of the game. There are no weird pauses in the cutscenes like there were in the Resident Evil remake. Which makes them flow very nicely with great voice acting and fluid animations. The dialogue never seems forced which is a major improvement over the earlier Resident Evil games. The character's facial expressions are realistic too, which is great because it shows when they are frightened, angry, and worried.
GRAPHICS
In a survival horror game like Resident Evil Zero, atmosphere is a very important thing and it really helps when everything looks this good. The pre-rendered backrounds are beautiful and show a great amount of detail. As the player runs across the floor, he or she kicks up dust in some of the older rooms. Everything fits well with the mood of the game and sets up for a great experience.
The zombies also look great in the game with their torn clothes and all-around messed up look. The other monsters like the hunters, giant grass-hopper things, and leech zombies help with the variety.
One of my favorite scenes in the game includes the player walk across a moving train as the rain comes down hard. The game also uses CG sequences to showcase some of the games more important moments.
SOUND
The sound is another strong asset of this game. The zombies moan, and drag their feet which are accompanied with cool sound effects. The crows flap their wings, Hunters growl, and the characters send out their "oofs" and "ows" when they are hit.The voice acting is great with the voices matching what is happening on the screen.
The music is well orchestrated throughout the game. It is slow and scary when you enter a new room, but it speeds up when a zombie bursts through a window, or you turn the corner and run into one of the games tougher enemies... the leech zombie.
GAMEPLAY
There are several changes in the Resident Evil formula in RE0. One is the removal of item boxes. A player can just drop any item anywhere and come back later and pick it up again if they wish. This makes for some backtracking but, is ultimately less severe than in previous versions.
One of the main attractions in RE0 is the character zapping. A player can be Billy for a few minutes than change to Rebecca as the other player follows. At some points in the game Rebecca and Billy must be separated to solve a puzzle or to get a new item. Billy and Rebecca can exchange items while they are together. This forces the player to form their own strategy around the game. Should you give all the weapons to Billy and give all the other items to Rebecca? Or give them equal ammunition.
Which leads me to the next order of business... your partner's A.I. It can be really annoying to have your partner just stand their shooting your hard earned ammo at some random enemy when you could maybe just avoid it altogether. Although, the ammo is more plentiful with their being more zombies and monsters than usual it is still not smart to take down everything in sight. Myself personally, I like the single character system like in past Resident Evil games but, it didn't hurt for the developers to try something new.
Zombies still take 6-10 shots to kill and they are done for good (No crimson heads this time). The game itself is of moderate-hard difficulty but, the bosses the game throws at you seem to be pretty easy compared to some of the other challenges you face later in the game.
REPLAY VALUE
After you beat the game there are numerous things to unlock. New costumes, weapons, and a cool new mini-game are yours depending on how well you did in the main game.
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