Resident Evil: History

"You are now entering the world of Survival Horror..."

Few videogame series can claim to have reinvented a genre. Capcom's Resident Evil can, several times over. Coined by the first game in the series, the term Survival Horror has become synonymous with shocks, scares, and a web of intrigue so convoluted - and gaming dialogue so utterly cheesy - that you can't help but be sucked in. There have been pretenders, and several spinoffs (including Capcom's own Dino Crisis), yet none have managed to replace Resi as the first series of Survival Horror.

A big part of that success has been a willingness to innovate. The first game was one of the PlayStation's first immersive 3D Action-Adventures. The second was lauded for its four scenarios, interlocking stories and huge replay value. The third for its heightened action. The series then abandoned Sony hardware and opted for raw power: Sega's Dreamcast got the incredibly polished Code: Veronica; GameCube got an eerie Resi 1 remake and the character-swapping prequel Resi Zero; and then Capcom tore up the rulebook entirely, trading the obscure puzzles and slow-paced trawl for the action masterclass of GC Resident Evil 4.

In this in-depth retrospective, we look at how the series evolved, the key plot points, and prepare for the all-conquering return of Survival Horror in Resident Evil 5.

The Kennedy Report - Resident Evil 4
(GC, 2005) (Ports: PS2, PC, Wii)

2004: Six years after the destruction of Raccoon City. Following the nuclear strike, the government suspends the business practices of the company responsible. Umbrella is dead.

Resident Evil 4 sees Leon S. Kennedy, now a government agent, return as a playable character. This time, he's pursuing the President's kidnapped daughter into a rural Spanish village, where a new type of evil awaits...

Resident Evil 4 did away with the old template, opting for an action-focused approach which revolutionised the series.

Resident Evil 4 did away with the old template, opting for an action-focused approach which revolutionised the series. Gone were exploration, strange puzzles and a hub structure that forced players to backtrack. In their place were linear progression, over-the-shoulder shooting, Quick Time Events, an odd weapons salesman and an arcade-style armoury, plus set pieces that set a new standard in action game design.

With Umbrella gone as the main antagonist, there was also an opening for a fresh bioterror. Step up Osmund Saddler; leader of the cult Los Illuminados - and, more specifically, the Las Plagas parasite he uses to control the villagers, collectively labelled Los Ganados. Captured early on and injected with this very organism, Leon faces a race against time to remove it, find Ashley Graham, and make it out alive.

But Leon soon learns that he is not alone. First, he meets Luis Sera - a former Los Illuminados researcher, who helps him before being killed by Saddler. He also comes face to face with Jack Krauser - a former member of Leon's government training group. They battle on two occasions, and despite a mutated Krauser quite clearly possessing an advantage, Leon wins out.

The most impressive revelation, however, is the return of Ada. Thought dead after Resident Evil 2, the sexy spy survived with the help of Wesker, who had since tasked her with retrieving the Master Plaga parasite. Indeed, Wesker is seen on several occasions in Resident Evil 4 pulling the strings of both Ada and Krauser - though he and Leon never actually come into contact.

Leon heads from the first village across a lake, towards a creepy church, where he finds Ashley, and meets Saddler, who intends to use the girl to infect the Whitehouse; giving the cult leader control over the greatest power in the free world.

Luckily, he and Ashley escape - only to have her retaken by Saddler's flying minions as the pair explore an ancient castle, which itself turns out to hold the origins of the Plagas parasite.

After defeating the castle's leader, the Plagas-infected Ramon Salazar, Leon and Ada head towards Saddler's hi-tech island facility. After battling hordes of Ganados, overcoming several B.O.W. experiments, and killing the parasites within himself and Ashley, Leon faces Saddler one last time - ending the cult leader's existence with a well-placed rocket from Ada. However, the sultry spy takes the Master Plaga sample, later handing Wesker a fake. With that, Leon and Ashley escape on a jet ski as the island crumbles behind them.

Owing more to explosive modern shooters than traditional, tense Survival Horror, Resident Evil 4 was a risky departure. And yet, while a few hardliners accused it of violating the franchise, the wider reception was euphoric. Tremendous sales, universal acclaim and near-unprecedented numbers of Game of the Year awards introduced the series to a whole new audience, while the new-look Mercenaries mode proved popular amongst hardcore gamers.

A PS2 port later that year added Separate Ways, a six-hour Ada Wong adventure; and further PC and Wii versions also followed, solidifying the game's legend. However, Resident Evil 4 raised more questions than it answered; about the fallout of Umbrella's demise; about Ada; about Wesker; and about the other characters we'd come to love over the years. Questions only a sequel could address...

Fear You Can't Forget - Resident Evil 5
(X360, PS3, PC, 2009)

The biggest question, of course, is how do you follow up the most acclaimed action game of all time? In answering that, Capcom have taken few risks. Resident Evil 5 takes the Resident Evil 4 formula and runs with it. Those hoping for a return to wide-scope exploration and abstract puzzles will have a right to feel slightly let down; but everyone else will be elated to know that the new-style Resi is here to stay.

That's not to say Capcom haven't continued to innovate. Indeed, Resident Evil 5 evolves the franchise with a series of key additions. Chief amongst them is the introduction of a second character, which builds upon Resi Zero's "partner-zapping" by offering player two the chance to control newcomer Sheva Alomar, while player one takes on the mantle of the returning Chris Redfield.

Available either splitscreen or online, co-op play will add a new dimension to a series always famed for a feeling of isolated terror.

Available either splitscreen or online, this will add a new dimension to a series always famed for a feeling of isolated terror. Together with an inventory screen which doesn't pause play, and the constant balancing of weapons and ammo between the two characters, Resident Evil 5 will be the most cooperative, frenetic game the series has yet seen.

Helping you battle the undead hordes will be a Gears of War style control system which places movement (including strafing) on the left stick, turning on the right stick, and aiming and firing on the left and right triggers respectively. It's an addition which will bring the series up to date with modern action game standards - although Resi veterans will also be able to choose the control setup from Resident Evil 4, and two others besides.

The setting too will be a first for Resident Evil. Western Africa's Kijuju region will play host to a rollercoaster ride that starts off in a sandy shanty town full of infected villagers, Chris Redfield and Sheva Alomar and will take Chris and Sheva, both members of the Bioterrorism Security Assessment Alliance, deep into abandoned Umbrella territory. Hot on the trail of a contact named Irving, they'll face all-new B.O.W.s, a mysterious beaked figure and the enigmatic Albert Wesker, plus uncover the fate of Jill Valentine, before ultimately coming across the origins of Umbrella's original Progenitor Virus.

Reinventing its genre once again, Resident Evil 5 promises fear you can't forget. Get ready for the scariest Friday 13th in living memory, with the triumphant return of Survival Horror.

Article by: Mark 'S.T.A.R.S.' Scott
Published: 10.02.09