Resident Evil: Code Veronica - GameCube

Resident Evil - you've all heard of it. It's a world-renowned survival horror franchise that was born out of Capcom R&D in 1995 before making waves on PlayStation, Nintendo 64, PC, Saturn, Dreamcast, PS2 and even Game Boy Color. But in 2002, Capcom signed a deal with 'kiddie-console' manufacturer Nintendo to bring the entire series to GameCube - some as exclusives. Resident Evil Zero and Resident Evils 1, 2 and 3 have already made the transition. Now it's the turn of Code Veronica X, originally a Dreamcast production and arguably the most difficult game in the series.

Code Veronica X sees Claire Redfield of Resident Evil 2 leaving Raccoon city in search of Umbrella's European HQ to find her missing brother, Chris. However, in typical Resident Evil fashion, she is captured, then dumped on a remote island prison, which just happens to be the home of the undead. Your adventure begins here.

As a traditional Resident Evil outing, Code Veronica doesn’t disappoint. Finding keys and items to unlock new sections of the game is still of vital importance. Flesh-eating zombies and canines make a (un)welcome return, as do those ever-challenging cryptic puzzles. But armed with pistol, shotgun, grenade launcher, lighter, and if you're really lucky, rocket launcher, you can survive this chapter in the Umbrella conspiracy, if you really try.

The most significant difference with Code Veronica, that sets it apart from its predecessors, is cosmetic - it's the first in the series to be developed in 3D. And while this doesn't alter gameplay as drastically as you might think (the same clunky controls and the occasional static camera remain) it serves as an important step forward for the series. The new engine allows for subtle camera changes, but more importantly, it avoids those horrible pauses seen in the camera changes of earlier titles. Unfortunately, Code Veronica does see the return of those tiresome door sequences, but it's something players will have become accustomed to, and doesn't affect gameplay in the slightest.

Until Resident Evil 4 makes an appearance, Code Veronica X completes the GameCube collection of Capcom's survival horror efforts. Enjoy. more