Resident Evil is a true classic of gaming I encourage every gamer to play- you'll be scared and hooked instantly.
This game has a way of getting into your head and messing around with it. As you search a mansion as either S.T.A.R.S. operative Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine, you'll find yourself in an immersive storyline involving tragedy, science fiction, and betrayal around every corner. You'll come across accounts of gruesome incidents in the mansion and documents giving you clues as to what caused the horrors you're facing. Around every corner and in places you'd least expect them are ever-evolving enemies ready to tear you to pieces as you fight back with any ammunition you can find, something that's a rarity in Normal and Hard mode.
Resident Evil has drawn upon all the things that creep out every person out there and blended them together into one experience, leaving even the most unflinching people ready to turn off the game and call it a night after monsters leap through windows or jump out behind a door when you least expect it. It's a game that requires no prior knowledge of the series and is a perfect place to start for those new to Resident Evil.
Although you may defeat the game, don't think you've survived the horror. Not only do the stories differ between both operatives, with Jill's story being somewhat easier and less complicated, and Chris's being a tad more difficult and complex, but the Hard-Mode version of this game is where the true challenge is. All enemies do huge amounts of damage, ammunition and healing items are extremely scarce, and everything seems ready to kill you. If you manage to beat this game, there are many unlockable bonuses that just about force you to play through yet again to experience, such as special costumes (including Jill's Resident Evil 3 costume and Chris's Code Veronica one), a powerful handgun with unlimited ammunition, and even an infinite Rocket Launcher if you manage to beat the game very quickly.
New guns and costumes are nice, but that's not all they let you have. They've added several different ways of playing the game that you can unlock after beating the main game a certain amount of times on varying difficulties. There's an invisible enemy mode where you cannot see any creatures trying to kill you (a huge challege even the most die-hard fans may not be able to conquer), a 'Real Survival Mode' where your auto-aiming is turned off and item boxes (the places where you store your excess items) are not connected, and more off-beat possibilities like the 'One Dangerous Zombie' Mode, where a zombie constantly follows you through the mansion and shooting it makes you lose the game.
Despite all the excellent qualities of this title, there are several drawbacks that may make some people hesitate to purchase it. I think the biggest complaint with this title, especially with veterans of the original for the GameCube, is the fact that Capcom failed to add anything special into it. It's the exact same story and game that was released in 2002, with the only thing different being the large amount of controllers you can use to play it with. Capcom should have at least added something extra for those die-hard fans to get them to buy this game, but they seemed to think that was unimportant. There were a few scenes in the game where the voice acting was terrible, frightening me about as much as any of the undead roaming the halls. The controls take time to master as well, adding to the nervous feeling you get when faced with several enemies, although the auto-aim feature helps that immensely. There are several annoying typos you find in the game that are constantly thrown in your face. I've tried using an item several times only to get an annoying message popping up saying "It's not necessary use this now." Finally, the game can end up to be extremely annoying when you have zero ammunition and zombies closing in everywhere, and the fact you can only save your progress with the use of a special item that there is a limited ammount of can make some people scream with fury.
Over-all, despite any set-backs, Resident Evil Archives is a must-have for any gamer that will provide you with countless memories and nightmares. Only the best of gamers will be able to survive the horror.