Comparative Analysis

Comparative analysis

Resident Evil (PS1)

Resident Evil is a survival horror game, developed by Capcom for the PlayStation 1. The game was released in 1996 and received critical acclaim for featuring tense and horrific survival based gameplay that forced the play the manage resources in a zombie infested mansion, while also solving puzzles and learning about the mansions dark past. Since the game was developed to be on the PS1, limitations were obviously in play, however Capcom ingeniously implemented a fixed camera angle system, where every change of room/corner would lead to the camera moving to a fixed position, which helps reveal items or conceal a nearby enemy, which magnifies tension in the gameplay aspect. This also gives the game a better artistic style, having every camera being held in a static position really adds to the claustrophobic feel the game gives, not allowing the player to be full in control.

Tank controls were also a limitation set for the majority of the PS1’s library as the six axis controls were not yet implemented, only letting the player move in 4 directions using the directional pad. Artistically the game goes a photo-realism style, although age hasn’t exactly been kind to this game with it being in the fifth generation line of consoles. The games models are rendered with 3-D, real-time polygonal models, while the environments and objects/foliage are all pre-rendered backgrounds, allowing a smoothing frame-rate and allowing more detail to be placed in the scenery. Essentially, the characters are just walking through an empty corridor filled with hit-boxes to prevent clipping through walls, but the pre-rendered backgrounds are placed over to give the look of a dark, immersive hallway, perfect for survival horror. The intro to the game uses a FMV (Full-Motion Video), featuring real life actors to play out the starting events, another way of avoiding excessive use of in-game graphics. Though the game is often mocked for its cheesy writing and “so-bad-it’s-good” voice acting.

 

Resident Evil: Remake (GameCube)

In 2002, Capcom completely remade the original game, opting for a more serious approach and overall polishing of the game mechanics and graphics. The game is an honest remake, everything has been perfectly remade, whilst also bringing a few new scares and environments to take veteran players off their guard. New mechanics like the burning corpses adds a new level of horrific depth, as for every time you kill a zombie, they will rise back up into a “Crimson Head” after 30 minutes of in-game time passes. Their walk speed is instead changed to a full on sprint, attacking animations are increased as well as damage output, but If the player manages to gather a lighter and fuel scattered around the mansion, they can burn a body, preventing this transformation. This new mechanic makes combat with zombies even tenser as you must make a mad dash to find fuel as soon as possible to stop your resources being wasted on more enemies.

The remake boosted the sound design to a whole new level, composing unique sound clips for every type of surface you can walk on. For example, walking on carpet, walking on carpet with blood, walking on grass, walking on wet grass etc. The opening cut-scene was fully rendered with pre-rendered cut-scenes featuring the in-game models, a testament to the games presentation. Zombies deliver a chilling moan to give you a vague idea as to where their spawn location is. Dynamic lighting also adds to the immersion of the infected mansion, with small lanterns casting crisp shadows as well as brief lighting flashes through glass windows keeps you on edge. Models have been refined with a much better polygon count with smooth texture work, detailing creases in hair, clothes, reflective lighting on eyes/guns/windows and dynamic animations depending on the player’s current remaining hit points.

1996 (Original) - 2002 (GameCube)