If you are a die-hard fan of the RE series you will love this game. If, however, like me, you don't regard Capcom's monster franchise as the be-all, end-all of action/adventure gaming, you may want to give Code: Veronica X a pass. Although the backgrounds are no longer prerendered, the player still has no control over the game camera, which is both puzzling and frustrating. Puzzling, because if the environments are generated in real-time 3-D, why can't the camera be user-controlled? Frustrating for the same reason as any other RE title-it's just plain too hard to see what's going on sometimes. In many rooms, the camera angle is facing the door through which the character enters, making anything outside of that view, including enemies, totally invisible. Often, the only clue to the presence of zombies is their moaning. How is one supposed to aim and fire at something one cannot see? Why should the player not be able to see anything the character can? Another issue continuing from the earlier RE games is the control. How archaic is the old "rotate-and-forward" control scheme? Don't even try to do this with the analog stick if you want any kind of precise movement. Thank heaven there are no jumping puzzles in these games. Combat is and has always been a hit-or-miss affair in Resident Evil games, and Code: Veronica X is no exception. Wasting bullets when there are few enough to be had in the first place is supremely infuriating, but often happens because the characters rotate so slowly with their weapons drawn. The silly "cinematic" camera angles may indeed be dramatic, but totally useless for any kind of exciting combat. Was it impossible for Capcom to include a control scheme that would move the character in the direction indicated by the controller?
The puzzles are actually OK in this installment, as they have at least some rudimentary logic within the game world. For example, there are no mysterious, iconic statues in the middle of a police station, but rather computerized security systems that need to have an ID number input to unlock a door. A metallic symbol must be reproduced in plastic to allow it to pass through a metal detector and then used to unlock a gate. These puzzles add to the realism, rather than detract from it like the sometimes silly ones in Resident Evil and RE 2.
The graphics are impressive, especially considering they are done in real-time. The game's art direction is just as clever and beautiful as any other Capcom survival horror game. The music, again, is more of the same, but it feels very familiar and does well to let you feel you are back in the RE world, which is OK. The over sound is good too; 3-D sound effects make locating those out-of-camera-view baddies a little easier. Unfortunately, these superficial qualities just don't do enough to overcome the sameness of the the experience, and don't do ANYTHING to overcome the flaws in gameplay. I think that RE games in general are becoming a little overrated and the series has overstayed its welcome. RE: Survivor was lambasted as being a horrible game, but at least you could see those zombies when you walked into a room full of them. By the way-the Devil May Cry demo is amazing. Almost worth the purchase of Resident Evil Code: Veronica X. But not quite.
If you are a die-hard fan of the RE series you will love this game. If, however, like me, you don't regard Capcom's monster franchise as the be-all, end-all of action/adventure gaming, you may want to give Code: Veronica X a pass. Although the backgrounds are no longer prerendered, the player still has no control over the game camera, which is both puzzling and frustrating. Puzzling, because if the environments are generated in real-time 3-D, why can't the camera be user-controlled? Frustrating for the same reason as any other RE title-it's just plain too hard to see what's going on sometimes. In many rooms, the camera angle is facing the door through which the character enters, making anything outside of that view, including enemies, totally invisible. Often, the only clue to the presence of zombies is their moaning. How is one supposed to aim and fire at something one cannot see? Why should the player not be able to see anything the character can? Another issue continuing from the earlier RE games is the control. How archaic is the old "rotate-and-forward" control scheme? Don't even try to do this with the analog stick if you want any kind of precise movement. Thank heaven there are no jumping puzzles in these games. Combat is and has always been a hit-or-miss affair in Resident Evil games, and Code: Veronica X is no exception. Wasting bullets when there are few enough to be had in the first place is supremely infuriating, but often happens because the characters rotate so slowly with their weapons drawn. The silly "cinematic" camera angles may indeed be dramatic, but totally useless for any kind of exciting combat. Was it impossible for Capcom to include a control scheme that would move the character in the direction indicated by the controller? The puzzles are actually OK in this installment, as they have at least some rudimentary logic within the game world. For example, there are no mysterious, iconic statues in the middle of a police station, but rather computerized security systems that need to have an ID number input to unlock a door. A metallic symbol must be reproduced in plastic to allow it to pass through a metal detector and then used to unlock a gate. These puzzles add to the realism, rather than detract from it like the sometimes silly ones in Resident Evil and RE 2. The graphics are impressive, especially considering they are done in real-time. The game's art direction is just as clever and beautiful as any other Capcom survival horror game. The music, again, is more of the same, but it feels very familiar and does well to let you feel you are back in the RE world, which is OK. The over sound is good too; 3-D sound effects make locating those out-of-camera-view baddies a little easier. Unfortunately, these superficial qualities just don't do enough to overcome the sameness of the the experience, and don't do ANYTHING to overcome the flaws in gameplay. I think that RE games in general are becoming a little overrated and the series has overstayed its welcome. RE: Survivor was lambasted as being a horrible game, but at least you could see those zombies when you walked into a room full of them. By the way-the Devil May Cry demo is amazing. Almost worth the purchase of Resident Evil Code: Veronica X. But not quite.