IGN - "The Best Resident Evil?"

[aris13]

That puzzle was a bitch, I had a very hard time figuring out what to do.

[LVL100 Merchant]

1. Resident Evil 4
2. Resident Evil 3
3. Resident Evil (Gamecube)
4. Resident Evil 2
5. Resident Evil Zero
6. Resident Evil (original/DC/DS)
7. Resident Evil: Code Veronica

I started the series with RE2 when it came out, and really love every iteration (except CV). A lot of RE fans tend to be less... positive about RE4 because of how different it is, but I think that the fact that it's such a "bad" RE games is in fact what makes it such a good RE game. Whenever I play it I feel like I have to actively remind myself I'm playing a game in the Resident Evil series, because it doesn't feel like an RE game at all. And that's why I love it.

I really dig the more oppressively atmospheric installments before 4 and the more backtracking/exploration based structure, and I wouldn't care if the series proceeded like the originals or like 4 since I love both so much. However, as I was playing RE4, there were countless situations and encounters that made me stop, raise an eyebrow and think "WTF is this? This isn't RE at all!" and the fact that RE4 was so wildly different and did so many strange things compared to past RE games is what made it so especially compelling and interesting for me. RE4 is, at its core, an incredibly well designed, tightly tuned and remarkably fun action adventure game. It's long, looks and sound fantastic, has incredibly amazing boss battles and tons of replay value. It's such an incredible game in so many ways, but my favorite part of it is when I can stop, look at something so definitely not Resident Evil-like at all, and smile about it. Maybe it's just me that really digs that though. It elevates an already awesome game to legendary status.

Resident Evil 3 I find to be the sort of unsung hero of the franchise; it often times doesn't get the respect it deserves. It looks amazing for PSone game and introduced a lot of excellent mechanics to the series that makes it way more fun and thrilling to play compared to other entries I think (aside from 4). The Nemesis is, of course, by and far the coolest video game monster ever even conceived. He's such a dangerous, versatile and intimidating enemy that he alone makes RE3 completely worth playing. The conclusion with him at the end is one of the greatest and most satisfying final bosses ever. Other nuances like the ammo powder combining I found to be cool; it sort of let you customize what weapons took priority and let you experiment more often with different guns. The cut-scene decisions were great and added replayability, but most of all I loved the dodge function. Why that wasn't included in other RE games I'll never know, but being able to roll and weave around attacks was so fun and let you go entirely toe-to-toe with certain enemies if you were good enough. It's a function that made for some really exciting battles.

The remake, I think, is probably the most well made Resident Evil game. It looks positively phenomenal and has the creepiest atmosphere and best presentation in the series definitely. The story was also very strong, especially concerning tragic stuff like Lisa Trevor. The environments were just impeccably well designed and everything was grand about it. However, I think the biggest issues I have with it that make me like 3 and 4 more is that the REmake isn't quite as "fun" I suppose. REmake is more about the chilling experience, and so replaying it can be kind of a hassle with the larger amounts of backtracking and obstacles compared to 3 and 4. Though I loved the Crimson Heads so damn much and I'll never forgive Capcom for not using them again in an RE game (except UC of course).

Resident Evil 2 was the game that got me into the series, and it's of course really great as well. RE2 featured a lot of replay value with the different scenarios. However, RE2 I think has been superseded in a lot of ways; the gameplay itself doesn't do anything differently from RE1, and it's ironic that RE1.5 was scrapped for being too similar to RE1 when RE2 follows almost the exact same formula and structure.

I think Resident Evil Zero is really underrated. It is a very by-the-numbers game though, in that it doesn't do anything very interesting at all really. The puzzles are very basic, the enemies aren't very creative, the story sucked and the middle section of the game featured an awful amount of backtracking. Still, it was an enjoyable and atmosphere ride and I liked it quite a bit.

The original RE, I think still has a very strong atmosphere even today, one that really stresses aspects like genuine mystery and confusion like few other games do. Still a great game, but RE1 doesn't quite stand up to the other entries in the series.

Code Veronica... ugh. An absolutely abusive amount of backtracking. No new interesting mechanics. Steve. Really poor animations and effects (like explosions, blood, gunfire). Steve. No gore/dismemberment. Very little replay value. Steve. Boring Antarctic setting for half of the game. And Steve. But it did have cool and creative boss fights. It's okay, and I'll replay it every great once and a while, but it's only "okay." Not great like the rest of the games.

[Mr. Spencer]

My favorite puzzle of all times. I also liked the music box one.

Yeah, the music box puzzle was pretty good too since you had to rely on your sense of pitch or something.

[Jill's Boob]

REmake is the definitive RE title, to me. It's the only entry that I can be excited to play repeatedly.

[Weskers Flag]

Yes, well, in my eyes, Resident Evil can do no wrong, TheSelfishGene.
I even liked Code Veronica, but perhaps that's because it's the first RE game I'd ever played.

[The_15th]

0% Outbreak

Of the official line, I think 3 is the best. Then the GC remake of the first, because the ambiance in that one, with the new graphics, was so right. 3 had the most things to do. It had my favorite bonus game. It was just an awesome game.


Gotta enjoy that comment by the guy who complained about still having the ability to WALK. Talk about missing the whole point of a game's style.

[ValentineKnight]

As far as I've played and seen RECV kicks 5 to the curb.*hell Dark Sector's scarier then RE5 to me* and Capcom could have blended action with horror*look at EA and Dead Space*from what I've seen RE4 is scarier than 5...*5 feels like a damn war game *

[LVL100 Merchant]

As far as I've played and seen RECV kicks 5 to the curb.*hell Dark Sector's scarier then RE5 to me* and Capcom could have blended action with horror*look at EA and Dead Space*from what I've seen RE4 is scarier than 5...*5 feels like a damn war game *

I'm gonna disagree. RE5 definitely feels very much like a horror game to me; even the demo did. It wasn't inherently scary, but I think it's worth giving Capcom the benefit of the doubt until the game comes out, and then we can judge.

[Weskers Flag]

I personally don't see what's so frightening about RE4, but that's probably because there weren't any zombies.

[Mr. Spencer]

Admittedly, I rather liked that part in RE4 where you first encounter the Novistadors. When you're trotting through that dank waterway area, and some sinister musical chord kicks in and you can hear things pattering around in the background. That was a decent part of the game, as was the section when you first encountered the Regenerators. Those narrow corridors from the earlier games, with the only thing missing being the camera angles.

The rest of the game with the Ganados and whatnot, that was nothing like Resident Evil. But again, as I've stated before in other topics, games like what we had in the 1990s simply won't fly in this day and age. Games have become more "hi-octane" with each one trying to "outdo" the other in "epicness". Just look at Gears of War and Killzone 2. The line between game and movie is becoming increasingly blurry, and I expect it to carry on down this route. As technology improves and we have the ability to make games look more and more real. The closer we get to real life, the more we lose what makes games so special.

What we can hope for now is that this technological rush to realism is controlled and directed, rather than be allowed to spread out without limits until we have something like Heavy Rain - which to be fair is more like an interactive film. I'm not saying that it'll be bad, but I wouldn't exactly qualify it as a "game". Mind you, in that regard maybe video games will start to reach the same calibre as films. As Charlie Brooker once said, if you tell your friends at a dinner party that you're a film buff, you'll be considered "intellectual" or "artsy" yet if you say that you play games for a living, you're instead relegated to the status of a common basement dweller.

Oh, that and the constant media barrage.

[chris redfield]

i like re remake the best idk i just really never liked re4

[missvalentine]

As far as I've played and seen RECV kicks 5 to the curb.*hell Dark Sector's scarier then RE5 to me* and Capcom could have blended action with horror*look at EA and Dead Space*from what I've seen RE4 is scarier than 5...*5 feels like a damn war game *

oh i agree, RE5 feels, looks, and almost plays like a war game, and i hate that, RE is not about war, it's about Horror and Survival.

Admittedly, I rather liked that part in RE4 where you first encounter the Novistadors. When you're trotting through that dank waterway area, and some sinister musical chord kicks in and you can hear things pattering around in the background. That was a decent part of the game, as was the section when you first encountered the Regenerators. Those narrow corridors from the earlier games, with the only thing missing being the camera angles.

The rest of the game with the Ganados and whatnot, that was nothing like Resident Evil. But again, as I've stated before in other topics, games like what we had in the 1990s simply won't fly in this day and age. Games have become more "hi-octane" with each one trying to "outdo" the other in "epicness". Just look at Gears of War and Killzone 2. The line between game and movie is becoming increasingly blurry, and I expect it to carry on down this route. As technology improves and we have the ability to make games look more and more real. The closer we get to real life, the more we lose what makes games so special.

What we can hope for now is that this technological rush to realism is controlled and directed, rather than be allowed to spread out without limits until we have something like Heavy Rain - which to be fair is more like an interactive film. I'm not saying that it'll be bad, but I wouldn't exactly qualify it as a "game". Mind you, in that regard maybe video games will start to reach the same calibre as films. As Charlie Brooker once said, if you tell your friends at a dinner party that you're a film buff, you'll be considered "intellectual" or "artsy" yet if you say that you play games for a living, you're instead relegated to the status of a common basement dweller.

Oh, that and the constant media barrage.

i agree. and i do have to admit the Novistadors in RE4 were alright, and the first Regenorators as well.

and yes im really growing to hate this, advancement in technology, it's ruining what makes games fun, i don't want a damn real life simulator. it's ironic because growing up in the 90's id always wanted a game with awesome graphics and super realistic and stuff like that. now i realise what makes games so fun and great, is not great grahpics and them being so damned realistic. i think i prefere older games to newer ones now even.

also, i relly hate how every game is becoming the same thing, nothing is unique anymore, every racing game is now a street racer set in a city where you can drive anywhere. it sucks. i used to love racing games, but now ive been turned off them.

[Canas Renvall]

Mirror's Edge would like to rebut your claims of unoriginality.

[Mr. Kennedy]

Oh man, I completely disagree with you. I think games are better now than ever.

[Paracelsus]

RE3 was great, Jill being my favorite lead character and all. Wesker being my favorite bad guy. But as a whole, i'd have to say RE2 was my favorite for some reason,....something about it holds a special place in me.