Rewind Back: Resident Evil

Games come and go. Series start out strong then somehow go downhill. Very downhill; downhill to the point you ask yourself, "What was the game suppose to be about?" Well today, we're going back to a series' start. Where its story first saw the light of day. Welcome to the universe known as "Resident Evil".

With all of the new games that have been released recently, Resident Evil 6 was one of them. This series has been going on for more than fourteen years and in some ways it's still pretty fun. But when numbero uno came out, it was a different story compared to the games today.

It was scary, that's all you can say, This game really set the survival horror genre skyward. You seemed so alone in the setting.

The story goes like this: Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine are part of an elite police force called S.T.AR.S. (Special Tactics And Rescue Service). They are on a mission investigating strange deaths in the nearby Arklay Mountains, and also the disappearance of Bravo Team. While in a field at night, one of their teammates, Forrest, gets attacked by a monster. Being pretty smart, Chris calls to everyone to fall into the mansion not far from them.

Welcome to the actual beginning of the game! You get to be immersed in the amazing voice acting, the tip top graphics... Ah, who am I kidding? Yes the graphics look horrible compared to the standards of today, and yes, the voice acting is laughable. But I think for some, myself included, it's what makes the game enjoyable.  It's hilarious, and very undermined compared to games these days. The first instance of this is when you try to go back outside for Chris. Wesker, your captain, yells at you "Stop! Don't. Open. That. Door!" I can't express exactly how it sounds, but rest assured, it sounds like one worded sentences.

After being told by Wesker to follow Barry, your friend and the man with the beard, you are free to explore the mansion. You soon arrive at a dining room with -gasp- blood. Barry inspects it, lamenting that he hopes that it isn't Chris's blood. When you leave for the next hallway, you see a sight that scared me too much when I was a kid. You stumble upon a zombie in the middle of his dinner, an officer of Alpha team. Running back to Barry, it follows you, deciding you seem tasty. It bursts into the room and Barry deals with it with one shot from his huge magnum. Thanking him, he simply says he has this; pulling up his gun. It's true that Barry's gun is super strong, but sadly, you never get to use it in your first playthrough.

After this, you are free to explore the mansion at your leisure. Be warned though, as ammo is not plentiful, neither are healing items, nor saves. That's right, you have a limited number of saves in the Resident Evil series. For Resident Evil 1, there were only thirty five ink ribbons, and that was if you were lucky to stumble upon them all. You had to search for them. This made you decide whether what you have done so far deserved a save. So this game really did inspire survival horror. You were wondering what would happen next, if you had enough ammo, if you were using too much, if you were ready for the next encounter. This is when graphics play a great part in a game. Back then, the game looked average, maybe amazing. Now; yes, it's laughable, but to me, and possibly others, it is what makes the game scary. The camera angels, the bareness, the sound. It inspires fear. You felt alone the entire time without Barry.

Now that you've read all of that, the game has progressed significantly. After making your way into the bowels of the mansion, you've had battle with a giant snake, twice. You've combated a giant killer plant. And you've defeated a spider. This is when the plot thickens. You've uncovered a lab under the house. This is where the zombies were made, heck the entire mansion was made for them to be released. Sort of, we'll have more on that later.You regroup with Barry and Chris, wondering why this laboratory is even here.

Now it's time to face the music. To find out who is responsible for all of this madness. -Gasp- It's (SPOILERS)! Just kidding, by this point, you never really knew it was. So really this spoiler is actually a huge shock. It's none other than Wesker. Wesker has been missing for most of the game. You even had a radio call from him, making you believe he died. But Wesker was behind the incident with the mansion. He, at first, unintentionally released the monsters. But within time, he had an idea. This would be a perfect time to test all of Umbrella's experiments with a real field test. Yes, the main antagonist is a company that makes secret genetic tests to better mankind. A failed subject were the zombies you've been fighting the entire time. But how the virus spread was unique.

The virus was spread by the mansion's water system. Anyone who drank it was infected. Once the host died. The T-Virus then rebuilt basic motor functions in the brain. These included the need to eat and survival. It also eliminated the nervous system. This is why the zombies cannot make noises other than groans. It also explains why they can withstand so many bullets and keep coming. Other mutations that Umbrella did was an advanced form of the Tyrant strand (The basis of the T in T-Virus). This strand encouraged massive muscle growth and mutations in human subjects. Turning them green and reptile-like, nicknamed the hunter because it will hunt until it has it's prey.

Now Wesker must rid himself of you. You know of Umbrella's work and he can't risk you letting everyone know. He opens a pod that has an experimental Tyrant 1 to kill you. Thankfully, it decimates Wesker instead, seemingly killing him. Now you have to do battle with this giant. He's fast, strong, and can kill you in two hits. Once defeated, the mansion calls an auto destruct time limit. Now it's time to run like the wind. Be sure to be fully healed after the fight because you have to be quick to avoid being blown up.



And that, my friends, is Resident Evil 1. Yes, I know, the post is word heavy. But what can I say? I love this game.  It has its problems, sure. But not every game is perfect. Its corny jokes and bad voice acting is what makes the game fun. It brought survival horror to the front of the video game world. It's been re-made twice. Once for the Gamecube, called REmake. And for the DS titled Resident Evil: Deadly Silence. If you don't like the original, go for those. You won't be disappointed. This game scares me to this day. And to be honest, it's aged very well. Sometimes I still get lost or run out of bullets. But you won't play the same every time. I really hope you enjoyed the article and try to check out this game. It's a classic. Thanks for reading this "episode" of Rewind back. Have a great day and keep on gaming!

 


Nearly every image found here from is Residentevil.wikia.com. Check them in case you need anything RE related. Resident Evil and symbols related are owned by Capcom. Don't sue me!