I remember looking forward to Resi 4, but after several recent releases failed to inspire (RE0 and the Outbreak series) I didn’t look into it much, and boy was I surprised! An entirely new control and view set up, a larger focus on action over horror, and a very weird new type of enemy that’s far more intelligent and capable than a zombie. Damn good fun it was too! Let’s take a look then, shall we?
Wow, things sure as hell escalated quickly! I paid so little attention to these films that I had no idea Extinction was so literal and that the Resi films departed from the games so much. So yeah, we’re in a complete zombie apocalypse world now, with small bands of survivors. Thankfully most of my criticisms of the previous entry are not present in this one, leaving a much more pleasant watching experience… though it still wasn’t exactly great or anything. Want more info? Read on!
So after a short detour, we resume our look at the core Resident Evil game timeline thanks to the on-going Live Action Movie to Game Marathon, though at this point the games and movies have very little in common! Really, I should have just reviewed Code: Veronica X on the PS2, but I played through the Dreamcast version several times back in the day, but only played through X once (for the sake of the new cutscenes) so I felt I had to include it as well. That means I’ll be looking at both, and with the differences being so minimal it doesn’t really matter. Let’s take a look!
So, we reach film #2 in the Resident Evil movie franchise, and this is where my experience ended. I put this movie on after being pleasantly surprised with the first one, and switched it off half way through. While the second game (or even the third that this is clearly more based on) was still more horror than action, this is just action, and action with a super-powered heroine at that. Still though, is it any good at all now, with fresh eyes and a need to sit through it no matter what? Let’s find out!
Hey, I know what you’re thinking “This is the second Resi film, why is he reviewing the prequel game?” Well, it’s simple: I’ve already reviewed Resident Evil 2 and its Remake, and if I review this now (given its close ties to the original REmake) and Code Veronica tomorrow, then Resident Evil 4, 5 and 6 will match up with the fourth, fifth and sixth movies, which will be … fitting, I guess (though technically not accurate!) So with all that out of the way: Resident Evil Zero, the prequel that could have been a great idea, but instead is pretty poor and messes up the timeline a bit. Ah well, let’s take a look anyway!
So this marathon has finally made me sit down and watch the Resident Evil live action films… You’d think I would have seen them already given how much I like the game series, but half way through the next film I was out, and never returned (more on THAT tomorrow…) This film, while nothing like the original game (or its remake!), does at least capture a lot of parts that regularly appear in the games, and by creating a whole new cast means they were free to do what they want without upsetting the game fans. So what was it like? Let’s find out!
Thanks to already having reviewed the original Resident Evil, I’ll be tackling the far superior remake up against the film of the same name, which is vastly different in every way despite being released in the same year! The Resident Evil Remake still remains one of the most legitimately tense and atmospheric games I’ve ever played, as well as one of the more challenging for newcomers… Let’s take a look!
After finishing off the original trilogy of games yesterday, we now finish off Resident Evil Week in general with the reason for the week in the first place: the release of the new CG film Vendetta! Boy… it’s certainly a lot more violent and gory than the two before it, that’s for sure. It also has some extremely entertaining set pieces in it, and is generally a fun “shut your brain off” movie set in the Resi game universe. With that said, let’s take a closer look!
Capping off the original trilogy of Resident Evil games on the PS1 (and continuing Resident Evil Week from yesterday’s look at the second CG film) we have Resident Evil 3: Nemesis. While this still uses the same engine as the previous 2 entries, they have at least finally addressed some of the issues that have been plaguing the games and delivered a nice slice of continuity by setting the game in and around the other two entries in the series. Let’s take a closer look!
Continuing on from yesterday’s look at the second Resident Evil game, we look at the second Resident Evil CG film, Damnation, once again staring Leon S. Kennedy, and this time fellow Resident Evil 2 debutant Ada Wong. Thankfully the four years between the two films were obviously full of either leaps forward in technology, or just better technology becoming cheaper, as this film is a lot prettier to look at and full of a lot less awkward animations! Let’s take a closer look…
Hogan Reviews 