Resident Evil: Code Veronica
After such a long wait between games, the man finally returns to kick major butt in Code Veronica (X). A lot has changed since fans last saw Chris in Resident Evil, and just about all of those changes have been for the better. Graphical upgrades, a new, sprawling storyline and best of all, time spent actually developing Chris as a person. For many, Code Veronica is the ultimate Chris game, and its not without reason.
Code Veronica moves the storyline of Resident Evil along in leaps and bounds. Though it begins with Claire still on the search for her brother, the action switches half way through and Chris finally makes his long awaited return. He gets to unravel even more of Umbrella's mysteries, but perhaps most important of all, Chris realises his personal nemesis is still alive and very well; Wesker didn't die in the mansion, and in fact has awesome new powers. He and Chris clash often throughout the game, resulting in a climactic battle that leaves with the promise of more to come. An absolutely huge, sprawling game, it guarantees plenty of hours of fun and discovery.
The enemies in Code Veronica are mostly familiar to fans of the series. Zombies, dogs, Hunters, Tyrants, although there are a few newbies; Bandersnatches and Seekers among them. There are once again quite a few mini-boss battles, and the final boss Alexia is quite a sight to see. There's lots of variety here, both new and familiar, more than enough to keep both old and new fans happy.
The puzzle are standard fare for RE fans. Lots of running around, finding things, reading files, fitting pieces together, using cranks, etc etc. Life where Umbrella is concerned can never be easy, and even all the way out in Rockfort Island and even the Antartic base, there are puzzles galore everywhere. Sometimes enough to drive you nuts.
The locations, like those of previous games, are absolutely amazing. Initially you'll spend a fair amount of time on Rockfort Island, which has just been under attack. There most of the mysteries begin to unravel, but the second half of the game takes place in a freezing Antartic base, which is eerily empty and surprisingly scary at times. Chris gets to spend time in both locations, although his visit to Rockford is rather brief and takes place after the island has been bombed yet again, restricting his movements to only a few locations that were mostly unvisited by Claire beforehand. The Antartic base also throws up quite a surprise for Chris, as he finds a replica of the Spencer Mansion in which much of the later action takes place. It's a lovely reminder of the old days, although one can imagine would be quite strange to visit again.
Character-wise Chris has a lot more personality and development than Classic provided. This time around Chris is a lot more serious and dedicated to the job at hand; he knows the stakes and now has a personal involvement with Umbrella. There's no cracking bad jokes, it's just straight to the job at hand and doing that job well. He's a lot more experienced with Umbrella's subjects, because as earlier games revealed, he has spent the last few months investigating them to bring them down. Chris is a determined man, and becomes even more determined once he realises Wesker is still alive. He even ends the game with a renewed determination to destroy Umbrella once and for all. We also get to see some of Chris' tender side again, this time towards his sister, as they finally reunite after many months (game time) of searching. It's an extremely touching moment when they finally meet, and Chris is especially protective of her for the rest of the game.
The voice acting is hugely improved in this game. As many will attest too, Wesker's voice actor is godly, while Claire still has her fantastic actor from RE2. Chris has a new voice actor since Classic (thankfully), and he is actually quite good. The voice really suits the Chris we see on screen, a determined, serious man, but also quite an angry man. There's no overacting, minimal cheese, and while it's not exactly Oscar material, it's good stuff.
The graphics are also vastly improved. Chris looks more like a unique character this time around, although he still retains that Chris-ness to him. He actually looks younger than previously seen, but this time has actual facial expressions (mostly serious or angry). The graphics are a lot more realistic and quite pleasing to the eye. The FMV sequences in particular are amazing to look at, and Chris especially looks fantastic in them.
Code Veronica sadly doesn't come with many extras; just a Battle Mode once the game is completed, where you can run around as Chris or some of the other characters and take out rooms full of enemies. Which is fun for a while, yes, but for the long term doesn't hold that much interest. There are no alternate costumes to be unlocked, which is sad, as the new graphics would have looked amazing with some new looks. Ah well.
Overall, Code Veronica is an amazing game, and an integral part of Chris' storyline. It is absolutely huge in length compared to earlier games, and there is plenty to keep you playing (if the lure of playing as Chris again isn't enough). Great graphics, great voice acting, wonderful story, there's really not much more you could ask for. Well, except maybe the extra costumes ;)
Rating: A