Orion
08-01-2002, 11:34 PM
August 01, 2002 - While the game is still without a solid release date, gamers in Japan have at last been given the chance to try out Capcom's Resident Evil 0 for the GameCube (running under the "Biohazard" name). Pre-ordering RE0 or purchasing the remake of Resident Evil gets you a short no-frills demo of RE0 in which you can control Billy and Rebecca through a few of the earlier areas.
Things begin with Rebecca who has apparently become separated from Billy. You're thrust right into the heat of things, with your first zombie encounter before you've even moved your character. The zombie busting mechanics and control in general are basically the same as ever, although either Capcom has refined things a bit over the RE remake, or I've just gotten used to the control scheme and cannot complain anymore. Additionally, Rebecca starts the game free of a sub-weapon; run out of bullets, and you'll be defenseless until you find a dagger later on.
Initially, you're free to move about just one car as Rebecca; accessing the other cars requires -- you guessed it -- keys. Of course, this is no ordinary train that you're on. The zombie infested liner in RE0 features double decker cars, with the second floors bearing odd resemblances to the innards of a mansion (although simple designs with one or two rooms). Going up the stairs in Rebecca's car will lead you to a dining area where you're attacked by one of those burning zombies you've seen in the screenshots (burning zombies are apparently stronger than normal zombies). It seems that you'll also be able to access the roof of the train, and disembark from the train at later points in the game.
At any point, you can switch control to Billy, who starts off the demo in a car towards the rear of the train and cannot access the front cars, where Rebecca seems to be located. The first goal in the demo seems to be to get the characters together, and you have to switch between both characters in order to do so. Billy requires two crests in order to open up a bag which contains a key that unlocks a door leading to Rebecca's car (love those puzzles!). A bit of searching as Billy will get you one crest. A bit of searching as Rebecca will get you the other crest. How does Rebecca get her crest to Billy? You can figure that out for yourself when playing the game, or you can download the movie we've put together in the movies section.
You have numerous options with regards to control of the two characters. At any given time, you control only one primary character through the standard RE control scheme. The other character is controlled by the CPU and can be told to follow you as you adventure through the train, or to just sit around and not follow you. You can also make the CPU character attack zombies with his equipped weapon or do nothing. When both characters are in the same area, the controller's yellow thumb pad can make the sub-character move around according to your will, in case you're not satisfied with the AI's handling of things.
If either character dies, the game ends, so if you're characters are separated, you must make sure that you're in a safe location when switching to the other character. Don't worry -- if your sub-character is being attacked and overwhelmed while you're off-screen, you'll receive a frantic call on your radio, hinting that you ought to switch to the partner to get things under control.
The character zap feature (as is Capcom's cute name for switching characters) seems to be executed well. Switching characters and exchanging items is handled conveniently through menus, and for the most part the AI behaves as you'd like. There does seem to be some wasted ammunition when both you and the computer character are attacking zombies simultaneously, but most of the time the computer seems to take a more stand-back approach. Numerous zombie encounters seem to require both characters attacking at the same time; how else are you supposed to defeat five oncoming zombies?
There isn't really too much to the demo beyond this, but what we saw leaves us excited to play the rest of the game, if not to see how Capcom makes further use of the Zap system, then to see what sorts of visual treats the later gameplay areas hold. As with the remake of Resident Evil, RE0 uses polygon characters atop pre-rendered backdrops, but the effect is executed even better this time around. All screens are filled with movement, be it little bottles rolling about on tables, rain splattering against the floor, or glass crunching beneath your feet (it's not a zombie... it's just your partner!), and of course dynamic light effects provide for eerie shadows and atmospheric effects. Throughout the entire demo, we could tell we were on a moving train thanks to the constant train sounds in the background, and the swaying gameplay screens. You'll be even more impressed by the atmosphere and look of the game than you were with the RE remake.
And chances are, judging by the experience we had with the original, and the promise that the character Zap system has already demonstrated, you'll have a good time as you play the game as well. We'll have more on RE0 shortly.
Things begin with Rebecca who has apparently become separated from Billy. You're thrust right into the heat of things, with your first zombie encounter before you've even moved your character. The zombie busting mechanics and control in general are basically the same as ever, although either Capcom has refined things a bit over the RE remake, or I've just gotten used to the control scheme and cannot complain anymore. Additionally, Rebecca starts the game free of a sub-weapon; run out of bullets, and you'll be defenseless until you find a dagger later on.
Initially, you're free to move about just one car as Rebecca; accessing the other cars requires -- you guessed it -- keys. Of course, this is no ordinary train that you're on. The zombie infested liner in RE0 features double decker cars, with the second floors bearing odd resemblances to the innards of a mansion (although simple designs with one or two rooms). Going up the stairs in Rebecca's car will lead you to a dining area where you're attacked by one of those burning zombies you've seen in the screenshots (burning zombies are apparently stronger than normal zombies). It seems that you'll also be able to access the roof of the train, and disembark from the train at later points in the game.
At any point, you can switch control to Billy, who starts off the demo in a car towards the rear of the train and cannot access the front cars, where Rebecca seems to be located. The first goal in the demo seems to be to get the characters together, and you have to switch between both characters in order to do so. Billy requires two crests in order to open up a bag which contains a key that unlocks a door leading to Rebecca's car (love those puzzles!). A bit of searching as Billy will get you one crest. A bit of searching as Rebecca will get you the other crest. How does Rebecca get her crest to Billy? You can figure that out for yourself when playing the game, or you can download the movie we've put together in the movies section.
You have numerous options with regards to control of the two characters. At any given time, you control only one primary character through the standard RE control scheme. The other character is controlled by the CPU and can be told to follow you as you adventure through the train, or to just sit around and not follow you. You can also make the CPU character attack zombies with his equipped weapon or do nothing. When both characters are in the same area, the controller's yellow thumb pad can make the sub-character move around according to your will, in case you're not satisfied with the AI's handling of things.
If either character dies, the game ends, so if you're characters are separated, you must make sure that you're in a safe location when switching to the other character. Don't worry -- if your sub-character is being attacked and overwhelmed while you're off-screen, you'll receive a frantic call on your radio, hinting that you ought to switch to the partner to get things under control.
The character zap feature (as is Capcom's cute name for switching characters) seems to be executed well. Switching characters and exchanging items is handled conveniently through menus, and for the most part the AI behaves as you'd like. There does seem to be some wasted ammunition when both you and the computer character are attacking zombies simultaneously, but most of the time the computer seems to take a more stand-back approach. Numerous zombie encounters seem to require both characters attacking at the same time; how else are you supposed to defeat five oncoming zombies?
There isn't really too much to the demo beyond this, but what we saw leaves us excited to play the rest of the game, if not to see how Capcom makes further use of the Zap system, then to see what sorts of visual treats the later gameplay areas hold. As with the remake of Resident Evil, RE0 uses polygon characters atop pre-rendered backdrops, but the effect is executed even better this time around. All screens are filled with movement, be it little bottles rolling about on tables, rain splattering against the floor, or glass crunching beneath your feet (it's not a zombie... it's just your partner!), and of course dynamic light effects provide for eerie shadows and atmospheric effects. Throughout the entire demo, we could tell we were on a moving train thanks to the constant train sounds in the background, and the swaying gameplay screens. You'll be even more impressed by the atmosphere and look of the game than you were with the RE remake.
And chances are, judging by the experience we had with the original, and the promise that the character Zap system has already demonstrated, you'll have a good time as you play the game as well. We'll have more on RE0 shortly.