"You Want S.T.A.R.S? I'll Give You Stars!” A walk down Resident Evil memory lane!

Chances are that unless you’ve been living under a rock for most of the last 30 years, you’ve played at least one Resident Evil game. Since its inception way back in 1996, Capcom’s premier horror franchise has not only become a genuine gaming behemoth, spawning more sequels than you can shake a stick at, but also expanded into other forms of media, such as live-action films, animated films, television series, comic books and novels.

So, as yet another Resident Evil remake hits our shelves, we thought what better time than the present to take a look back at the good, the bad and the downright ugly which this franchise has served up over the last 27 years.

Contents:

1. Resident Evil Remake
2. Resident Evil 2
3. Resident Evil Survivor
4. Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
5. Umbrella Corps

Resident Evil Remake

We kick things off this week with where it all began (well kind of) with a remake of the very first Resident Evil game, which was released on Gamecube back in 2002.

Whilst Capcom initially only planned to make upgrades to the graphics and minor tweaks to the gameplay, as the release date neared they decided to make more substantial changes to the original game. 

Whilst such a strategy could have backfired, refinements to resource management, as well as the introduction of improved combat mechanics, terrifying new threats in the shape of Crimson Head Zombies and content not available in the original game i.e. the Lisa Trevor sub-plot, breathed new life into this game by adding way more depth to the overall experience.

Add to that the new and improved visuals which made Spencer Mansion a truly horrifying place to be, where danger could seemingly strike at any turn, and it’s easy to see why this remake was such a smash hit.

Speaking of which, an HD remaster of this game was released for PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One back in 2014, which also proved to be very popular among both gamers and critics.

Resident Evil 2

That being said, the 2002 Resident Evil remake wasn’t the game which proved that this franchise was anything but a one hit-wonder, as that honour belongs to 1998’s Resident Evil 2, which took everything that was great about the original game and turned it up to 11 by shifting the action from the suffocating environs of Spencer Mansion to a vast sprawling city under siege from the onslaught of the living dead.

Needless to say, the results were truly terrifying. In fact, this title can arguably be said to be more important in the development of the franchise than its predecessor by establishing a number of precedents for future Resident Evil titles, such as the addition of a main campaign featuring different characters with diverging story arcs, each of which were bound to keep you firmly planted on the edge of your seat.

Given all of the above, it’s no surprise that a remake of Resident Evil 2 saw the light of day back in 2019.

Resident Evil Survivor

We shift our attention from the sublime to the truly craptacular now with this week’s third title, Resident Evil Survivor, which was released back in 2000. 

Whilst the idea behind this game i.e. matching a healthy dose of bone-chilling Resident Evil horror with some fast-paced Time Crisis style FPS/light gun action was a good one on paper, the execution was pure Crimewatch, as the game’s slow pace was at odds with the raw, lightning-quick action one normally associates with light gun shooters.

What’s more, the North American version of this game suffered greatly due to the withdrawal of light gun support. Whilst completely understandable due to tensions in American society at that time in the wake of the Columbine Massacre, this effectively rendered the North American version to be, in the words of one critic, “a gun game without a gun”.

Resident Evil 7: Biohazard

Although Survivor was a bit of a stinker, that doesn’t mean that the adoption of first-person viewpoint couldn’t work in a Resident Evil game as Resident Evil 7: Biohazard illustrates.

The pressure was really on for Capcom with Biohazard, as the previous main game in this franchise, Resident Evil 6, was a massive disappointment, leading many to think Resident Evil was done and dusted as far as new games were concerned.

Luckily for Capcom, Biohazard well and truly delivered, establishing a new era for this much-loved franchise, returning it to its survival horror roots. What’s more, the switch to a first-person perspective made for an even more terrifying experience, by adding the ability to play with a VR headset into the mix.

Umbrella Corps

We’ve shown you the good, the bad and now it’s time to round things off with the downright ugly with 2016’s Umbrella Corps, a tactical multiplayer shooter spin-off featuring (you’ve guessed it) hordes of zombies.

Whilst that might not sound too bad in theory, this game didn’t exactly offer gamers anything new. What’s more, it also attracted criticism for straying too far from the traditional Resident Evil formula, with one critic even going so far as to say it was a “pointless addition to the franchise”.

Given the above, and the prevalence of other, much better titles in this genre, it’s no surprise that Umbrella Corps was, in effect, dead on arrival.