A nightmare you will gladly want to experience.
The story in the game is that you are a group by the name of the S.T.A.R.S. Unit, who are in the search for the B.R.A.V.O. Unit that went missing in the Arklay Mountains after reports of grisly murders and cannibalism were made. After a member in you team gets consumed by a pack of wild dogs, you run into a mansion, where depending on your scenario, one of your partners goes missing. After encountering an undead human consuming a member of the B.R.A.V.O. Unit, you notice that your teammates are gone and must encounter the mansion to solve the case and escape.
The two main characters in the game are Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine. Chris Redfield is assisted by Rebecca Chambers, while Jill Valentine is assisted by fellow S.T.A.R.S. member, Barry Burton. The scenarios in the games are slightly different, as Jill's campaign is far easier, as she can pick locks, has more inventory space, and has far less inconveniences as Chris. However Chris can take more damage than Jill, which is needed for the much harder campaign. Jill's portion of the game is considered the easy mode, while Chris' is the hard mode. The best way to tackle the game is to start with Jill and then play as Chris, so the harder difficulty will be easier to grasp.
The gameplay is a fusion of a third person shooter and an RPG. There are many different guns that the player can use to take down the enemies, with weapons ranging from handguns, shotguns, grenade launchers, and for special occasions, rocket launchers. Though you are given guns, you aren't given enough ammo to go John Rambo on the hordes of the infected. This is further more difficult when you have limited space to store your items, which puts the emphasis on survival tactics. There are times when running away is the best option to have enough precious bullets to kill a powerful enemy and there are times when you can only carry one weapon to the battle to ensure space for any important items.
What makes the game even harder is the saving. In order to save you need to access a typewriter and have a ribbon in your inventory to save your progress. You are also limited in your ribbons, which makes saving a part of the game's overall strategy. Items play a huge part in the game, as they are required to activate different puzzles, which unlocks the areas gradually.
When there are hordes of enemies, there will be injuries, which is why there is a healing system. When you are attacked, you can check your status in the menu to see if you need healing. There is a healing spray to use, but the most abundant supply of healing comes from the different color herbs. The herbs heal your injuries and conditions, but combining the herbs brings more benefits and space for your inventory. There are green herbs that are used for small healings, red herbs that need to be combined to have effect, and blue herbs that are used for poison healing.
The mansion itself is a large puzzle that opens up more and more as you find more hints and special keys to access more areas. In the beginning you are restricted to a small number of rooms, but as the game progresses the mansion becomes larger and larger with many rooms and outdoor gardens. Though the mansion is huge, backtracking never becomes a huge hassle, as there are many shortcuts to make the exploration in the mansion less of a chore.
The controls in the game are extremely hard to get used to at first, but once you get the hang of it, it works. To walk, your always press forward, while the left and right buttons are used to turn. To step backwards, you press down on the D-Pad. To run, you hold the square button and to interact, you press the square button. Shooting is done by holding the shoulder button, while pressing the X button. While aiming, you can press the D-Pad to aim in different angles and directions.
The game also feels very claustrophobic as you try to get through tight corners, where the undead wants to consume your flesh. The camera is placed in different angles with different lighting methods to bring in an eerie mood, which feels like an inspiration from the works of the great Alfred Hitchcock. The highlights of the game are running across hallways as you suddenly stop and shoot the undead and continue running. It adds so much excitement and fear into you and the feeling is just amazing.
The undead in the game is very varied. There are regular humans who have been infected that are detailed with open flesh wounds and are rather easy enemies to take down if you are quick and precise. Then there are cerberuses, which are groups of infected dogs that are quick and leap in packs to pounce and maul you. There are also different animals and insects that don't show huge signs of mutation, but grown in out of proportion sizes like poisonous snakes, creepy spiders, and pesky wasps. The most powerful and annoying are the later creatures like the chimera, that are a fusion of reptile and human genes that can take significant damage in quick speeds. To sum it up, be ready to face sharks, plants, crows, and more creatures wanting to take a bite off you skin.
The first thing that you may notice when playing Resident Evil is the B Movie type quality that the game has, judging from the first cut-scene and the terrible dialog and voices. The main characters, Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine are fine for the most part, but a few characters stick out for having terrible dialog and voices. Then again, these traits add to the authenticity of the game and to the charm that is found in most B horror movies.
The graphics in the game are rather amazing. The models of the characters are well done and it is a great looking game in general. The best part of the game's graphics has to be the lighting effects that add a sense of tension and fright as you are trying to survive this mansion. Nothing is more intense as slowly walking across the room with sounds of moaning in a dark lighting, only to be attacked by an undead human.
The varied zombies in the game look very good, as do the many creatures that are crawling. He game is also full of many scares, ranging from moments when a cerberus jumps through the window or a seemingly dead undead grabs you leg in a sudden move of attack. To make it simple, the game is going to make you feel uncomfortable and frightened as you roam in the twilight-induced mansion.
The sound in the game is brilliant as the music wonderfully follows the fear-induced gameplay. The different pieces in the game are just brilliant to listen to and I cannot find any fault in the eerie sounds you witness. Tracks range from classical music to eerie music whenever you are in large danger. The highlight of the music is in one instance of the game where Jill Valentine (or Rebecca Chambers in Chris' scenario) plays the Moonlight Sonata by Ludwig von Beethoven. This piece perfectly highlights the dark tone of the game and just works perfectly. In the end, Resident Evil nails the music perfectly.
The campaign is not particularly long and can be beaten in around 5 hours if you know what you are doing. You can always play the game again with the other character and witness different events. There are also different unlockables that are pretty nifty, such as different costumes for the Jill and Chris and the option to have unlimited ammo for you rocket launcher. The game in general is a whole lot of fun and I can see myself playing this game again.
In the end, Resident Evil is a wonderful game that brings in the true meaning of survival horror. Though the cheesy dialogue and opening video kind of brings down the quality horror that it is trying to present, it plays it a bit for the sake of campy B Movies. However, do not be fooled. This game has the perfect combination of atmosphere and gameplay to make it one of the most entertaining and fun games you can play. To conclude, this is a nightmare everybody needs to witness.