Last year’s success Resident Evil HD Remaster convinced the company Capcom in the need to re-release another GameCube game. For most players Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster became the only opportunity to join the events with which the series began chronologically.

“Zero” part – classic Resident Evil in a nice wrapper that looks more than decent even fourteen years later (the original was released on GameCube in 2002). And this is not surprising – all models and textures have been carefully redesigned. In essence, the game is practically indistinguishable from the “remaster” of the first part, with the exception of some gameplay nuances. And since for many Zero – a completely new and unfamiliar part, let’s focus on exactly what this prequel is all about Resident Evil.

One of the most beautiful episodes of the game is a “walk” on the roof of a moving train. In dynamics you can watch this scene endlessly.

Starting point

First Resident Evil started with the members of Squad S.T.A.R.S. from the Alpha group were sent to investigate the disappearance of colleagues from the Bravo unit. The search (and aggressive monsters) led the characters to the mansion, where the game itself began. Events Resident Evil Zero take place the day before this incident and are directly related to what happened to Bravo Team.

The main character of the prequel, medic Rebecca Chambers, together with her colleagues, is tasked with dispersing and combing the forest in which the group’s helicopter landed. A girl discovers a train, where she meets unfriendly zombies and fugitive Billy Cohen. And since the prospect of becoming a victim of the living dead does not appeal to Rebecca, she agrees to join forces with a former prisoner in order to escape together.

The fact that two heroes find each other in the midst of a local zombie apocalypse is not new for the series – before this there were already Claire and Leon, Jill and Carlos. However, before, the characters always wandered separately, coming up with implausible excuses like “you go ahead, and I’ll check this empty room.”. Finally someone in Capcom it seemed strange that in case of danger the partners are separated, and do not cover each other, and in Resident Evil Zero For the first time in the series, the so-called single-player co-op appeared. Now we control two characters at once and are free to switch between them at any time – except when one of them is out of action at the whim of the writers.

Each of the heroes has their own https://betinfernocasino.co.uk/bonus/ skills. So, Rebecca can mix herbs, but Billy is completely deprived of such an ability that would seem natural for the characters in the series. But he knows how to move heavy objects and is generally more durable and tenacious than the fragile medical girl. Many puzzles are built on the interaction of a couple, and sometimes companions are forced to separate. In the heat of battle, you don’t have to rely much on your partner – he cannot heal (or treat) himself and covers his back as long as there are cartridges in the weapon, and the artificial intelligence is not trained to change the “gun”. Fortunately, nothing prevents you from switching between heroes directly in battle.

Self-defense weapons (shock gun, grenade, dagger) were removed from the game, but a Molotov cocktail was added, which you can assemble with your own hands and then throw at unwanted monsters.

An absolute classic

For the sake of hardcore Resident Evil Zero got rid of interconnected drawers for storing items – from now on you can dump extra things in any room. The catch is that later, when the need arises, you will have to return for your belongings. Even if supplies were left almost at the very beginning, but were needed before the final “boss”. But here, too, everything is thought out to the smallest detail: at the end of the game, an elevator will appear that can take the heroes to several key locations, and things put aside for a rainy day are marked on the map automatically – you won’t lose them.

Perhaps the idea of ​​eliminating storage chests grew out of the Real Survival mode in Resident Evil Remake, in which, although they were, they were not connected to each other in any way. This system greatly complicated the game, adding unnecessary running around, and the need to periodically move things from room to room, from character to character, does not benefit the dynamics.

Although the “zero” part itself has become more cheerful than the measured original. There are more enemies, and quite frisky representatives have appeared among them – where are slow zombies compared to infected monkeys?! There is also a monster-pursuer, which every time unexpectedly appears around the corner in the best traditions of Nemesis or Mister X.

At all, Zero is very sensitive to the traditions of the series. All recognizable elements are in place: typewriters, locked doors, puzzles that are strange in the context of the real world, which are always explained by the quirks of the owner of a particular building. There is also a mystery with a piano, and a key hidden in the scarecrow’s head. But it’s hard to blame the authors for copying themselves; here it’s more about skillful handling of corporate style. Respects Zero and directing classical parts – having found an important subject to complete, you know for sure that you should expect some kind of trouble.

If you walk through the locations, you can see how closely the game is connected to its predecessors. The train is replaced by a training complex (which in fact is still the same mansion), which, in turn, is replaced by sewers and underground laboratories, also more than traditional decorations for the series.

In the underground complex of Umbrella, you can shed a couple of nostalgic tears when you see places familiar from the second part.

Fanservice – to the masses!

Capcom I would have cheated on myself if I hadn’t added to the game the ability to dress up the characters in ridiculous (and not so ridiculous) outfits. This option was also in the original of 1996, but then the imagination of the developers had not yet fully opened up. Remember the grotesque costumes of Leon the pirate and Chris the samurai from the sixth part? So, here the appearance of the characters was approached with the same imagination – Rebecca the cheerleader, Billy the gangster… Plus, for an additional fee, the girl can be dressed in the costume from the first part or in the uniform from the prototype Zero, which was developed exclusively for the Nintendo 64.

As in the GameCube version, after completing the story in Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster The additional mode “Leech Hunter” opens. The goal of this fun is to run through the training complex and collect fifty leeches of your color with each character. The reward for the most attentive will be endless ammunition for weapons from the main campaign.

Another additional entertainment that was introduced specifically for the “remaster” is Wesker Mode. In fact, it’s the same story, only in it Billy’s model is replaced by Albert Wesker with his superpowers. Cosmetic changes also affected Rebecca – she began to look as if she was under Wesker’s control, although this did not affect the plot in any way. All the characters’ lines remained the same, which added comic relief to the dialogues.

Return to roots has proven successful again. Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster – another successful HD re-release of an excellent game, which at one time passed by most users. If the old parts of the series cause a nostalgic thrill, and difficulties do not frighten you, then Zero – the perfect excuse to plunge into the atmosphere of horror again.

Pros: truly challenging horror survival; a classic of the genre that has finally reached modern platforms.
Cons: the quality of CG cutscenes is much inferior to the quality of the game and clips on the engine;
Door animations are still unskippable.