Last stop: the nightmare!

Waiting for a reboot capable of relaunching the franchise, Capcom has been engaged for some years now in the creation of high-definition remasters of the classic Resident Evil episodes. A project that started a bit in bulk, which first saw the release of Resident Evil 4 HD on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, then the same edition on PC and finally, exactly one year ago, the return of the original chapter. The Resident Evil 0 remaster, however, is in some ways more interesting than the others. In fact, we are talking about a title made by Capcom exclusively for GameCube and later converted to Wii, but which had never made its debut on platforms other than Nintendo ... until today. Well, what was it like to try again with Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen's creepy adventure, set before the events of Resident Evil?



If you've never played Resident Evil 0, here's a great chance to fix it

I start over from Zero

The idea behind Resident Evil 0 was to create an episode halfway between the past and the future of the series, as evidenced by the adoption of "hybrid" solutions compared to the innovations of the previous Code: Veronica, who first played the map of the polygonal scenarios in place of the pre-rendered ones.

Last stop: the nightmare!

In this case, therefore, we have static backgrounds and the inevitable (but short, on PC) uploads when the doors are opened, but a more flexible inventory management thanks to the possibility of abandoning objects everywhere, rather than necessarily having to use the "magic boxes" . The most important novelty, however, concerns the introduction of a cooperative gameplay that sees the two protagonists, Rebecca and Billy, alternating at will, often forced to follow different paths and exchange objects to solve environmental puzzles that sometimes also require the use of their peculiar skills: the ability to mix herbs and chemicals in the case of the newcomer of the STARS group, the strength to move the crates and a greater combat effectiveness in the case of the "bad boy" ex Navi SEAL. Meeting on a mysteriously stopped train near Raccoon City, Rebecca and Billy are faced with creepy zombies and creatures, apparently controlled by a man dealing with Umbrella. They then decide to collaborate in order to survive, in the course of an adventure that will see them gradually trust each other more and more, in a desperate fight against what seems like a real nightmare.



A different approach

Resident Evil 0 stands as an episode different from the usual, in which it is possible to switch from one character to another by simply pressing a button and order your partner to follow us or stay where he is, as well as have an offensive or passive attitude towards enemies. Mechanisms whose usefulness is already emphasized in the first scenario, that of the train, which after a few minutes will resume its run and we will have the task of stopping.

Last stop: the nightmare!
Last stop: the nightmare!
Last stop: the nightmare!

After that we will find ourselves exploring a location very similar to that of the original chapter, a huge villa used by Umbrella for the training of agents, to finally move on to different (and certainly less fascinating) scenarios during the final part of the adventure. . As highlighted in the GameCube version review, several years ago, the choice of using giant insects, monkeys or even frogs as special enemies inevitably removes tension from a product that has always made horror one of its strengths, but the situation is partially rebalanced by some at least interesting boss battles, in which it is often necessary to move quickly as well as shoot. In this sense, the new control system, which can be selected at the start of the game (together with the widescreen or the original video format at 4: 3), allows you to move in a much more agile way thanks to the reference to the view rather than the character. , moreover, using the progressive pressure on the analog stick to walk or run. Nostalgics do not fear, however: if they want, they can resort to the original setting, in "tank" style. There are also various different layouts for the keys, but the default one seemed to us old in comparison to the scheme D, which allows you to use the triggers to aim and open fire instead of delegating this action to the central buttons, in a way in our opinion little immediate. The changes made make the challenge less pressing in some ways, given that you can move better and faster, but at the same time the "screen relative" controls clash with traditional shot management., and sometimes lead to having to apply instant corrections to ensure that our character continues to move in the desired direction. Still talking about difficulty, unfortunately no balancing has been made in terms of the arrangement of objects and resources, which means that there is a huge gap between the easy and normal level: in the first case you will find ammunition, weapons, medicine and ribbons to save in industrial quantities, in the second case you will have to face the whole part of the train with the knife to save blows in view of the subsequent clashes, much more demanding, which otherwise you will find yourself facing without weapons and with little health, with the only possibility to start all over again. As mentioned, typewriter tapes are also the only way to save the game in Resident Evil 0. It is an antiquated system when compared with modern checkpoints and automatisms, as well as often ruthless: running into the game over a few steps from a save game, after completing perhaps several puzzles, will make you scream with despair.



Resident Evil Origins Collection

Available in stores starting January 22, Resident Evil Origins Collection will bring together in a single package for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One the remasters of Resident Evil and Resident Evil 0. We will dedicate a new article to the collection, so as to better illustrate the contents and the value.

Quality of the remaster

Beyond the changes made to the gameplay, all optional, what stands out in Resident Evil 0 HD Remaster is obviously the work of graphic remastering, which has brought the resolution of the game to 1080p and sixty frames per second on PC ( thirty on console), with extra adjustments to determine the quality of anti-aliasing, shadows and textures.

Last stop: the nightmare!

We are talking about a very valid product from the start, thanks to the extraordinary work carried out by Capcom at the time of the original release, and which therefore easily lent itself to a resampling of the textures and an improvement of the polygonal models, although some simplifications in the joints (visible in particularly with Billy, as he's wearing a tank top) are still pretty noticeable. However, it is the scenarios that have received the greatest benefits, thanks to the application of much sharper and more defined textures, even more vivid than those of 2003, and to a decidedly improved lighting system., able to give a different aspect to many views. Also interesting is the movement of the view, sometimes vertically and sometimes horizontally, which gives a minimum of dynamism to originally completely static backgrounds. Unfortunately, the CG cutscenes have simply been resized, which creates an annoying gap between the in-game graphics and that of the movies, which feel the weight of the years and, with a little effort, could have been replaced with new ones. real-time scenes. Finally, the extra contents consist of a series of costumes related to pre-orders and two modes that are unlocked once the campaign is completed: Leech Hunter, which was also present in the original edition of Resident Evil 0, and the unpublished Wesker Mode. The latter will see us control the evil Albert Wesker in place of Billy (although the cutscenes and dialogue have remained altered), alongside a Rebecca with creepy haunted eyes. Wesker has a couple of extra maneuvers that allow him to have a substantial advantage: a kind of optical beam and a very fast shutter.



PC System Requirements

Test Setup

  • Processor: AMD FX 8320
  • Scheda video: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 Jetstream
  • Memory: 8 GB of RAM
  • Operating system: Windows 10

Minimum requirements

  • Processor: 2 GHz Intel Core 2,4 Duo
  • Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 260
  • Memory: 2 GB of RAM
  • Hard disk: 13 GB of space required
  • Operating system: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1

Recommended Requirements

  • Processor: Intel Core 2 quad 2,7 GHz
  • Video card: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 560
  • Memory: 4 GB of RAM
  • Hard disk: 13 GB of space required
  • Operating system: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1

Comment

Tested version PC Windows Digital Delivery Steam, PlayStation Store, Xbox Store Price 19,99 € Resources4Gaming.com

7.5

Readers (25)

8.7

Your vote

Resident Evil 0 stands in a different way than the other episodes of the Capcom series, having so far been a Nintendo exclusive. This undoubtedly plays in favor of this remaster, which offers an experience halfway between traditional and modern chapters, with static scenarios, (short) loads when opening the doors and that ancient saving system, but at the same time a cooperative gameplay capable of creating interesting situations, both in the perspective of solving puzzles and in that of pure survival. The developers have done a good job of resampling, although the cutscenes have remained those of 2003 and some limitations of the polygonal models are noted; but we particularly liked the ability to choose between the new "tank" controls, related to the view, as well as between different schemes for the controls. If you've never played Resident Evil 0, here's a great chance to fix it.

PRO

  • A relatively fresh and original episode
  • Interesting cooperative mechanics, improved controls
  • Good quality remaster ...
AGAINST
  • ... but with some questionable aspects
  • Balancing the difficulty tending to blasphemy
  • Besides the zombies, the enemies are uninspired
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