"Resident Evil CODE: Veronica X" was originally just "Resident Evil CODE: Veronica", released
in 2000 for the SEGA Dreamcast.
It came about when producer, Shinji Mikami, was trying to port "Resident Evil 2" over
to the SEGA Saturn, but he couldn't manage it.
So instead he decided to make a brand new game just for SEGA fans.
It was actually meant to be the third Resident Evil game, i.e.
"Resident Evil 3", with the PlayStation getting a separate spin off title- "Nemesis".
However Sony, being the superpower that it is, wanted its game to be the third major
title in the series and so, "Nemesis" became "Resident Evil 3: Nemesis" and the Dreamcast
game became the spin off, subtitled "CODE: Veronica".
It was well praised by critics, but after some pretty poor sales, probably because nobody
actually bought a Dreamcast, the game was re-released onto the Gamecube and PS2, had
an 'X' slapped onto it's title and here we are today, with it now available on the PS4.
So, now the history lesson's over- let's take a look.
Now while this may look like a traditional, old school Resident Evil game- I think that
this was actually the point in the series when 'action' really started to creep its
way in.
Sure you still, had ink ribbons and save rooms and careful resource management and tank controls.
Actually, speaking of tank controls, no matter how many times I've played these games, I
always spend the first couple of minutes either walking into walls or just spinning in circles.
But also In Code Veronica, you've got duel wielding sub machine guns.
Slow motion breaking through windows, as if it's straight out of a John Woo movie.
Globe trotting to Antarctica- if you thought that "Resident Evil 6" was the only time that
Chris flew a jet, think again.
There's secret agent rock climbing.
Oh and let's not forget that opening scene, where Claire is supposedly captured by a group
of guards, only to drop her gun in slow motion catch it mid air, shoot a barrel and boom,
kill everyone.
A little different to the cut scenes of the original game which were mainly just, running
away, talking, getting knocked over, talking.
That's not to say they didn't have action.
After all, every Resident Evil game ends in a slow motion rocket, blowing the enemy to
smithereens- just like out of a Rambo movie.
But typically they had a slower pace to them.
For example, let's compare the way that the first zombie is introduced in two games, first
in the original, then in "CODE: Veronica X".
In the original, Chris or Jill slowly walks up to a strange figure, making a weird noise.
Who is this guy and what the hell is he doing?
Then he slowly turns round to show his deformed zombie face, before slowly getting up to stumble
around.
There's no immediate rush or danger here, giving the whole situation time to really
sink in.
But in Veronica- kabloom!
There's an explosion, a zombie on fire.
Then out of the ground a million other zombies rise up surrounding Claire, so she's instantly
in the middle of a horde.
It all happens so quickly, that there's not a lot of time for the player to feel any of
the tension.
That's not to say that game doesn't have any scary parts though.
As Claire lumbers up steps, the controller slowly vibrates to her heart beat.
She has no idea what she's walking into.
And even at the top of the steps she has no idea, because she can't see round corners.
All she can do is listen.
Players too, lean into their TVs to try to figure out what's going on based upon the
strange sounds.
And when a player is drawn like this, using all of their senses- then it means that they're
fully immersed and more susceptible to a fright.
Unfortunately though, a lot of the horror is lost the second you hear the main bad guy's
laugh.
So the game sees the two Redfield siblings, Chris and Claire, united at last, to learn
some more about the origins of Umbrella.
It's an interesting enough story that feels a lot more epic than the previous games, in
the way that it's split up into different parts, shifting between different characters
and locations.
It does a great job of hitting players with nostalgia, returning not only to classic "Resident
Evil" locations, but also to areas that were explored at the beginning of the game at the
end, making it feel like one a long journey that's come full circle.
And that's a trick used by "Resident Evil" even up to this day.
"CODE: Veronica X" has a really weird add on called Battle Mode, where basically, there's
infinite ammo and players have to run through a series of rooms killing everything, as fast
as possible.
And it's even got a first person mode, which is unique, but brings back too many bad memories.
I'm not really sure why there's infinite ammo?
It takes away a lot of the skill and the careful resource management, the challenge of saving
the best weapons for the hardest parts.
Plus it's got some pretty tough trophies making that Platinum pretty difficult.
That's right this game does at least have a platinum .
"Resident Evil CODE: Veronica X" is one of the better games in the series, even if it's
not the most well known.
It's got that classic "Resident Evil" pacing, keeping players engaged by making them take
mental notes of the all the locked doors, so when they find a key, curiosity drives
them on as they have to know what's coming next.
And sure, it may not be the scariest game ever, but some of the best horror movies aren't
scary.
Instead, they captivate audiences with atmosphere and tension- drawing people in to their dark
and creepy world.
Thanks for watching.