Probably the best game in the series. It took the series a big step forwards.
Code Veronica plays like the Resident Evil games before it. You control two characters in your entire run. Claire and Chris Redfield. You still have to solve puzzles, shoot zombies, pick it items etc. Although I must say that this is one of the longer Resident Evil games. Remember those Pre-Rendered backgrounds in past Resident Evil games? Well, they're gone and in my opinion this is better. All of the backgrounds and areas are 3D and the graphics back then were some of the best. There's more to explore and interact with. This was a big step for the series in my opinion.
What I also liked about Code Veronica was the limited ammo. They don't give you lots so you have to use it well on monsters. This made the game in my opinion more difficult than the ones before. Many monsters from the previous Resident Evil games are back such as Zombies, Hunters, Spiders, and the Tyrant. There's some new ones as well. The weapons are typical like previous Resident Evil games like the Handgun, Shotgun, Magnum, and the Assault Rifle. Fans of the previous games will definatly feel back at home with the equipment in the game.
Code Veronica seems to have a stronger story than other Resident Evil games. There are plenty of cutscenes, and documents to read of course, but it all seemed to fit in nicely. The voice acting is not as cheesy in this one as the games before, and the presentation seemed so much better thanks to the graphics. There were also some great puzzles in this one, and there was alot more backtracking which I liked, making the game longer. Plus the nice touch on the Dreamcast, which displayed your health monitor on the controller. Very handy! Even the smallest changes can bring you one step further of enjoying the experience.
If you beat the game, you unlock this Survival mode game. You can play as most of the characters, including Wesker. What you have to do is make it through with the weapons you are given and at the end you have to beat a boss. You are ranked on how well you do and you can unlock new things. Each character plays differently, so one could be a breeze to beat and the other could be insanely difficult. You also have an option to play in First Person or Third Person. Even though it was really a side option of extending the game's life, its still fun, so if you're that type of person who likes killing lots of monsters with different weapons then try this! In a way, its kind of like a skirmish mode. I thought it was a nice touch.
In my opinion, Code Veronica was a huge improvement in the Resident Evil series. It focused more on story, delivered more things to shoot, lots of places to look, limited ammo, well done puzzles, and an outstanding presentation. For the first time, after Resident Evil 4 came out, this game reminded me of when Resident Evil was back at its best and defining the "Survival-Horror" genre. Can we expect the series to go back like this? Unfortuantly, I don't think its going to happen, but one or many can hope.