Customer Reviews

Resident Evil Zero

5 star:		(111)
4 star:		(45)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

The first GameCube All Original Resident Evil. The game picks up the backstory, before the mansion, the Island, Raccoon City...before it all. Now we know why Rebecca Chambers was in the mansion in the first place. We know her story.

Controls:
Typical Resident Evil. For new RE players, a learning curve is involved, but fans will be well used to the layout.

Visuals:
Breathtaking cut-scenes and character movements. It stays in league with the RE remake and also expands in certain ways. Japanese model & singer Ayumi Hamasaki modeled for the character of Rebecca, so anyone familiar with her will know the charater is gorgeous.

Gameplay:
Typical RE gameplay, search, explore, unlock puzzles. I'm not going to go into great length on this review simply because most of us know what to expect by now.

Gameplay II:
The buddy system is like a double-edged sword. It's clever to add the new aspect to the game which helps in tough spots. You can have a character explore one part of the passenger train and the Umbrella Research & Training facility while the other explores another area. Team the two up (Rebecca Chambers and escaped convict Billy Coen) and you've got double firepower to take down the various creatures (both new ones & old ones, some of the newer are very interesting.) Certain situations will leave one character needing the help of the other, i.e. trapped in a room and the only way to get out is to have the other character solve the problem.

Sound:
One of the creepiest sound settings in RE history. Turn out the lights, put the headphones on, and play away. Every movement, natural sound, and haunting music was placed into the game.

Overall:
A great new prequel to the Resident Evil series. With RE 2, Nemesis, and Code: Veronica due out in 2003 for GameCube, the series will live on. Don't forget, the all new continuation Resident Evil 4 is due in 2003 as well.

Robert Eldridge (...)

Raccoon City, Umbrella Corporation, and the S.T.A.R.S. never looked or played so good!

Resident Evil Zero begins with these wierd ameaba creatures attacking a commuter train. When the S.T.A.R.S. (kind of a para-military elite S.W.A.T. team) goes to investigate, agent Rebecca Chambers is sent to explore the train while her comrades look around the tracks.

Poor Rebecca--right place, wrong time. When the not-so-dead train mysteriously takes off, some of the very dead commuters re-animate, and her only chance of survival is to pair up with an escaped prisoner.

Yes, Zero still has that clunky Resident Evil control scheme that sometimes leaves you funbling to run or shoot in the right direction. Yes, Zero is still stingy with the typewriter ribbons and save spots, leaving players struggling to survive as long as possible before saving their progress.

Other things have changed. You can now jump from Rebecca to Billy (the escaped maniacal killer who's not really so maniacal after all) just by pressing the > button. The game includes special puzzles for both Billy and Rebecca.

Though I have not finished this game, I can say that it is considerably larger than RE-2. Zero does still has the pre-rendered backgrounds. But the graphics in Zero are amazing, even better than the GameCube remake of the original game.

Overall, I would say that Resident Evil Zero is Capcom's best nightmare so far. Incredible graphics, great story with lots of surprises, and some new devices that bring new live to survival horror.

I'm an avid Resident Evil/Nintendo fan. But one factor that i've noticed in the R.E. series is that the game can be easily beat in one weekend. Either I'm that good or...the game's too short. I recently purchased the highly anticipated Zero, and was not disappointed. No adjective can decribe the graphics on this game. The "Partner-Zapping" added more depth . I found this game rather easy. Although you have two people to worry about...you get twice the firepower. But there are scenarios where the pair will be seperated. The sound is top-notch. It's so detailed that you can hear the blades of grass swaying in the background. The controls are the same as in the other R.E. series. I don't know why people complain about the controls. It's so easy to navigate with, though I find myself running into walls a lot when I first experience R.E. I guess you'll have to get used to it 'cause it's here to stay. If you have a GameCube, get this game. Even if you don't have a GameCube, get it. No other game on the market can mimic the masterpiece Capcom developed. You'll appreciate how lucky you are to experience the GameCube at it's finest. Until next time, we all have to wait 'till R.E.4. to see what Capcom has up their sleeves.

Something wicked is happening in the world of horror games, and it happens to be Resident Evil 0. It is a beautiful intermingling of terror in both sight and sound, playing with you in ways that go beyond the previously explored depths of horror that the last games offered. In this version, there are no more plot twists that mesh the other games directly into this one, instead giving us a moment of clarity that is interesting in some ways and claustrophobically strange in others. Now, we are given a clean slate by the producers, transporting us back to the day before everything transpired.
Included in this setup is something new, a feature that allows "partner zapping," letting you switch back and forth between two playable characters in real time. According to the producers, you end up controlling both characters approximately 70 to 80% of the time, allowing you to bring them both together or play them separately. This allows for some complexities to be introduced in the way of puzzles, plus provide obstacles that have been previously unheard of. This also makes it more difficult when you have to keep two people alive instead of one.

All in all, I found it a fun, if not quick, journey to zombified enrichment.

I was excited when I first heard about the forthcoming Resident Evil 0. I've played almost every RE game available and I've loved them all. When I heard about the new feature (you have two characters to control instead of one) I must admit I was a little wary. I thought it would be a lot harder to play having to worry about two characters getting attacked instead of one. I'm happy to say, my doubts were unnecessary. Having two characters to control was actually a pleasant addition. You can command your secondary character to fight if attacked or stay dormant if you are low on ammo. You can also tell your secondary character to stay where they are or accompany you. This feature enables you to have help if you need it with extra firepower and carry more items. There are times in the game when you are forced to go off on your own and times then you are required to have your partner with you to solve certain puzzles. In my opinion, it is a welcome addition to the RE games. The story and plot fills in nicely the holes left before the ocurrence of the original Resident Evil. The puzzles are of the same variety as other RE games. They are challenging yet with the clues provided they can be solved without much frustration. The graphics are incredible and the atmosphere is just as eerie and menacing as ever. I actually jumped and yelled in fright on numerous occasions. The only thing I didn't like is that there are no storage boxes like in the other RE games. However, you are able to exchange things between partners or drop them once you have picked them up. Also, the game does take longer trying to work with two characters instead of one but that is a small gripe. All in all I was very pleased with Resident Evil 0 and very much look forward to the next installment in the series.

RE0, how do I rate thee?

CONTROLS, EASE OF USE:
On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being landing a Mars probe while hungover and 10 being operating a deli-bell, I rate the controls ease of use an 8; the tank-like controls of the earlier RE games have not been replaced...me, I don't mind it, but if you hate it, it's back and you're going to be stuck with it. Everything else about the interface is very intuitive and easy to use; the map system is easy to toggle through and it keeps track of dropped objects and switching between the two characters and maintaining their inventories, including trading items, is very easy to do. Very nice interface.

GRAPHICS:
On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being Yar's Revenge and 10 being Resident Evil for the Gamecube, Mr Critical is going to go out on a limb and rate the graphics an enthusiastic 11; Oh yes, they do go to 11. The graphics are even better than those in Resident Evil for the GC. The locations look fantastic, with a lot of attention to little details, and all the other RE characters/critters look great. The animations meshed with the backgrounds are a nice touch and add a lot to the atmosphere. The cutscenes are the best yet.

DIFFICULTY:
On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being falling off a log and 10 being doing long division in your head while on a rollercoaster drunk, I rate the difficulty a 7; like the RE remake, the puzzles in RE0 are pretty simple, I never really 'got stuck' while playing, but I got killed many times. Staying alive is the hard part, and on the normal level ammunition got pretty scarce at times. There are plenty of enemies in RE0 to contend with, making RE0 a dangerous place to hang out, especially with the introduction of some new creatures (the leech zombie, in particular, can be hard to put down without the proper weapons/ammunition).

NEW FEATURES:
On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being something on a bull that rhymes with 'knits' and 10 being an indicator that tells you your windshield-wiper fluid is getting low, I rate the new features added to RE0 a 7. For those who haven't played a lot of RE games, although they've all been a lot of fun, RE0 is the first one to really add anything radically new to the basic gameplay. This amounts to two things; you now control two characters simultaneously throughout the entire game, and the 'magic inventory box' has been removed from the save rooms, meaning you can now drop items anywhere. These features may not sound like much, but they add a lot. They don't make the puzzles harder; even the ones that are character specific are pretty straightforward, they just change the overall feel of the game...most of the time I kept the characters together, but there are times when you are forced to separate them (either because the story requires it or in order to tuck an injured character someplace safe while the other looks for ammo/healing agents); when this happens you need to think about who is going to carry what, because either one can get attacked while separated...when supplies are low and Rebecca has to crawl into that small opening by herself, you need to make sure she's got what she needs to survive while still leaving Billy able to defend himself. Toggling between the characters is very easy and you'll do it often. RE0 also introduces a new scheme for dropping and recovering objects; on the upside, you can drop things anywhere now, thus freeing up valuable inventory space on the fly. On the downside, because the 'magic box' is gone if you want an object you've dropped, you've got to run back and get it; you might have to make a long. For the most part I liked it; it adds to the strategy. Considering zombies respawn in some areas, you have to think about what you want to keep and what you think you can do without.

GAMEPLAY HOURS:
On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being the amount time it takes to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop (ask Mr Owl) and 10 being the amount of time it takes to cross the Gobi in a rowboat, I rate the gameplay hours an 8; RE0 is fairly long, plus once you finish you unlock new costumes as well as a mini-game called Leech Hunter which is kind of fun and which in turn allows you to unlock other things like limitless ammo for the different weapons. I was a little disappointed there wasn't more to unlock, but I can't say anything bad about the length of the game, and Leech Hunter is a neat idea.

CREEPINESS:
On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being hanging out with Casper and 10 being spending the night alone in a crypt full of spiders and ghosts naked after just watching a late-night George Romero marathon, I rate the creepiness a 10; RE0 is just plain creepy...a train is the first place you'll visit and it sets the tone for the whole game; stuck on a runaway luxury train with a bunch of reanimated corpses is a scary place to be. The RE series has always been great at establishing mood and RE0 is no exception; there's just something ABOUT the locations...an overwhelming sense everywhere you go that something freaky went down, and the feeling that something might be lurking around any corner...keep an extra pair of shorts standing by.

OVERALL ENJOYMENT:
On a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being a bee in your shorts and 10 being a stack of hot buttermilk waffles with bacon, I rate the overall enjoyment a 10 - this is the best RE game in the series, and it would be even if it didn't have superior graphics.

The first thing you will love about this game is its depth, it has a long deep story line that is not boring. Next you get to go on a train!! I wont ruin the storyline but lets just say the places you go later do not feel safe at all. CAPCOM did a good job making no room feel like a safe place in which your hair does not stand on end. Compared to other Resident Evils this one has one outstanding trade mark: the buddy system. In this you have a partner that fights with you and follows with you, which can be a blessing and a curse, you must defend them and give them health. But they can also heal you and carry things. Some may hate the new storage system, instead of a box you simply lay items in places, however, with your character you can carry about 8 items. The downside is that you dont always have both characters and if you need something, you must go WAAY back to the beginning where you left it. Other than that though, this game is excellent, if you love Resident Evil pick it up, you will not be dissapointted. If not this is a great place to start the Resident Evil story, at the very very beginning.

All I can say is that if you haven't enjoyed any Resident Evil games in the past, then Resident Evil Zero might just change your mind about them. I rented the title, but being a fan of the other games in the series I can assure you that this will not be absent in my collection of GCN games for much longer. With the new ability to play as two characters at once, new monsters, and a plot that brings the first Resident Evil for GCN all together, it proves itself to be a very unique horror/adventure title.
And I hardly even have to mention the fascinating graphics that have made the Resident Evil titles legendary. Capcom has struck gold once again with audio and visual effects, whether it's slowly traversing the top of a speeding train during a downpour, or listening to the dying cries of a twelve foot mutant scorpion, the game is so realistic that it is sometimes SCARY.
The game is respectively rated M for its blood and gore, and those with a (very) weak stomach might want to steer clear, as this title doesn't have an option to turn off the blood. But for those of you who can handle the gruesome viuals, Resident Evil Zero is near movie quality.
With challenging puzzles, killer graphics (not to mention zombies), and a mysterious plot that will keep you guessing, Resident Evil Zero is, all in all, a game that no one should miss (except perhaps the young who might want to stick to pokemon...isn't it past your bedtime?)

This game is sweet! It enriches the already awesome RE storyline by showing you what happened before the mansion! The gameplay is classic resident evil style (i.e., tank like controls), and the sound and graphics are top notch! This game really shows you what the GameCube is capable of. The challenge is much lower than the remake of RE for GameCube (for that I am thankful!), and the play through is rather quick. I think it'd be easy for most people to play through in less than 10 hours. Don't let that short time scare you off though! There is plenty of replay value. If you finish the game once on any challenge mode (no matter how bad you do), you get a bonus game and access to extra wardrobe in the regular game. THe better you do, the more extras are unlocked. This really is an outstanding game. [The only bad thing about this game are the leach zombies (they're kinda like normal zombies, but rubber-like and nasty).]

Let me preface this review with a disclaimer: I never bought a "Dreamcast", played the arcade version, or saw the movie. In fact this was the first Resident Evil game I've played. So I'm not an expert in the Resident Evil world. That being said, I enjoyed playing Resident Evil Zero a lot. As others have mentioned, the graphics are awesome. Shadowed and detailed. I found the music appropriate. It's much scarier when all you hear are distant moans from zombies or water dripping.

I liked the availability of weapons and ammo, though I never found a use for the knifes that keep showing up early. Not usable as a weapon.

The puzzles had me stumped at places, but I eventually solved them. The two-player control wasn't bad and I got used to the awkward joystick control of the player movement after about an hour.

The inventory management problem wasn't an issue with me. Sure, it did make you backtrack to get important items you'd left behind. But if you ran back, rather than walked back, it went quickly enough. I can see how some players would rather be able to just carry an infinite amount of baggage and be able to plow ahead without stopping, blowing away whatever you encounter. But to me that would get pretty boring. You wouldn't have to make any choices, like whether to take the Magnum, that only takes up 1 block, or the grenade launcher, which takes up 2. To me that is part of the puzzle, what objects to take along and what to leave behind.

There was a storyline, of sorts. But not being familiar with the RE world, it didn't make a lot of sense to me. It referred a lot to people I never knew about and showed movie clips of people I never ran into.

The only gripe I had was a lack of roaming monsters. Noone ever followed you if you left a room and once you got to an puzzle impass (blown away all the bad guys, but haven't figured out how to get through to the next area), you never ran into any more bad guys. It would be more fun if bad guys would continue to pop up every so often while I tried to figure out the puzzle. You could stand in the lobby of the mansion all day, and no monster would come attack you and noone would come by and swipe anything you left on the floor.

But these are minor gripes. Resident Evil Zero is a lot of fun and keeps you on your toes. I was kind of sad to get to the end. It comes on two disks, and the first disk seems a lot longer than the second. But the two together give you many hours of fun.