I figured I’d post on Resident Evil as my friend and RE guru, Steve and I dressed up as RE characters for Halloween and because what better time than the Halloween week to revisit the survival horror classic.
Steve was a superb Barry Burton (as seen above). There are no pictures of me as Albert Wesker, but I can assure you that it looked very much like this:
As expected, only dorks knew who we were and I was referred to as “Neo” more than once. At least I now own a duster. I’m surprised that we didn’t seem to frighten any of the people dressed up as zombies; after all, Barry could’ve given any of them a buckshot shampoo at will. I should have been Jill. It would have made more sense (logically not anatomically).
Resident Evil was one of my favorite games growing up and a game that I’ve usually picked up and played once a year since. I played the first Resident Evil for the original Playstation in 1996. Resident Evil, despite it’s laughably bad voice acting (see Jill Sandwich scene and Barry Burton Soundboard), scared me shitless.
Check out the original intro. Jill, Wesker and Barry are chased by what looks like Triumph the Insult Comic Dog.
I remember the first time the game cuts to a video in gameplay (which seemed liked DVD quality at the time) after Barry politely asks Jill/Chris to investigate the rest of the house while he stares at a dead body in the dining room. We hear what sounds like a geriatric trying to gag down coleslaw and then this jobber appears…
Damn. The sound was him myunching human flesh. It’s too bad he’s into eating decomposing corpes, because he’s got great blue eyes.
The most vivid memory I have is the first time the zombie dogs (cerberus) jump through the window to attack you in the hallway. I hit the ceiling…
Resident Evil is a game that fans recognize for its kitschy nuances: Barry saying “What?!” about forty times in the first half an hour of play: The Barry Burton Game Show, the hyper cathartic music in save rooms, Jill’s frustration with MO Disks: Jill Jobbing, Wesker wearing sunglasses while posing as a doctor in the secret Umbrella slideshow,
mixing herbs for first aid (*cough*), the time spent loading new rooms where you stared at the same doors opening or staircases climbed,
or my personal favorite, the Keeper’s Diary (a Umbrella lackey’s journal you discover), shown here in its entirety:
May 9, 1998
At night, we played poker with Scott the guard, Alias and Steve the researcher. Steve was very lucky, but I think he was cheating. What a scumbag.
May 10th 1998
Today, a high ranking researcher asked me to take care of a new monster. It looks like a gorilla without any skin. They told me to feed them live food. When I threw in a pig, they were playing with it… tearing off the pig’s legs and pulling out the guts before they actually ate it.
May 11th 1998
Around 5 o’clock this morning, Scott came in and woke me up suddenly. He was wearing a protective suit that looks like a space suit. He told me to put one on as well. I heard there was an accident in the basement lab. It’s no wonder, those researchers never rest, even at night.
May 12th 1998
I’ve been wearing this annoying space suit since yesterday, my skin grows musty and feels very itchy. By way of revenge, I didn’t feed those dogs today. Now I feel better.
May 13th 1998
I went to the medical room because my back is all swollen and feels itchy. They put a big bandage on my back and the doctor told me I did not need to wear the space suit any more. I guess I can sleep well tonight.
May 14th 1998
When I woke up this morning, I found another blister on my foot. It was annoying and I ended up dragging my foot as I went to the dog’s pen. They have been quiet since morning, which is very unusual. I found that some of them had escaped. I’ll be in real trouble if the higher-ups find out.
May 15th 1998
Even though I didn’t feel well, I decided to go see Nancy. It’s my first day off in a long time but I was stopped by the guard on the way out. They say the company has ordered that no one leave the grounds. I can’t even make a phone call. What kind of joke is this?!
May 16th 1998
I heard a researcher who tried to escape from this mansion was shot last night. My entire body feels burning and itchy at night. When I was scratching the swelling on my arms, a lump of rotten flesh dropped off. What the hell is happening to me?
May 19, 1998
Fever gone but itchy. Hungry and eat doggy food. Itchy Itchy Scott came. Ugly face so killed him. Tasty.
4.
Itchy. Tasty.
Sure, the fixed angle 3rd person gameplay (switched to 1st person mobile view in RE4) was cumbersome if not downright obnoxious at times. Sure, the game can be as laughable as it is scary. But the game is a masterpiece. The thrill element is there, the bosses were inventive and fun (the Tyrant seen above), the puzzles are tough and the game is moderately difficult with Jill and definitely challenging with Chris due to ammo and inventory constrictions. This game’s success led to the release of a number of well put together sequels and ports as well as a movie series (not so well put together). Several horror survivor games, I give credit to Silent Hill 2 in particular, were able to capture the same (or better) horror/puzzles, but they never quite match the charm of the original.
Look out for zombies or…
the self-hating hipster 
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