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Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.
Resident Evil
Universal acclaim
Based on 35 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 95 votes
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Game Info
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Genre(s): Adventure, Survival Horror
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Release Date: May 1, 2002
Summary
RaccoonCity. A secluded mountain community, plagued by a storm of vicious attacks, is completely overrun. Mutant beasts, blood-thirsty zombies infest the landscape. You are S.T.A.R.S - Special Tactics and Rescue Squad. Your mission: investigate the ominous mansion at the core of the horrific disaster. Uncover secrets behind a radical, genetic research facility. With unspeakable horrors lurking around every corner, the ultimate test may be just to make it out alive! [Capcom]
Also On Metacritic
GAMES: Resident Evil 2 Resident Evil 3 Nemesis Resident Evil 4 Resident Evil Code: Veronica X Resident Evil Zero
Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central Game Revolution GamePro IGN IGN Insider Guide
Also On The Web: Official Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
Total Video Games
The graphics are some of the best we have ever witnessed in a game to date, the storyline has been refined giving you more information about Umbrella and STARS, the game itself is pure genius.
Read Full Review >Into Liquid Sky
I have played RE on the PSX about 14 times and know it like the back of my palm, but this one still took me awhile.
Read Full Review >GameNow
Simply said: This remake is a horror masterpiece. [June 2002, p.61]
Maxim Online
With better effects (the lighting and environments are better than some movies—like, say, the Resident Evil movie) and slicker motion-capture animation, the new, improved Resident Evil regains the throne as horror-action video game king.
Read Full Review >Cinescape
From the moment the first cutscene runs, you are totally sucked in. Your heart rate jumps as you walk through the hallways, and no feeling is worse than being out of ammo and wounded… everything about this game sucks you into the role of the characters.
Read Full Review >Play Magazine
As much as I praise RE for the way it feels in my hands, I find amazing power in the mood and beauty of its images. There is a detail and complexity in the corners and backgrounds that we could never hope to expect before. [June 2002, p.58]
Gaming Age
Resident Evil on GameCube redefines fear...You think you know, but you have no idea.
Read Full Review >Nintendo Power
A survival horror masterpiece that ranks among the best sensory scares of any medium. [June 2002, p.148]
Electric Playground
In the spirit of the whole new-beginnings thing, let me lift the poster-slogan from the old '70s horror movie "Phantasm:" IF THIS ONE DOESN'T SCARE YOU, YOU'RE ALREADY DEAD!
Read Full Review >TotalGames.net
You MUST experience Resident Evil. Swoon at the graphics, cringe at the gore and prepare your nerves for the ride of their lives.
Read Full Review >GameZone
If you've never played RE before, the remake will scare you to death. And if you have played through it before, it still will scare you to death! Maybe not as much, but you will jump out of your seat at least once -- I guarantee it.
Read Full Review >Games Radar UK (Pre-2006)
[Biohazzard] This is GC's real killer game. It's worth getting the console for and surpasses all that you could hope for from a remake.We crave the UK release like zombies crave brains. [GamesMaster Magazine]
GameCube Europe
If you’re a fan of Resident Evil then playing this game will be like a dream for you. This is how Capcom must have wanted to do it the first time but couldn’t due to limiting technology of the time they got the idea. I guess you could say RE came before it’s time…kind of like Leonardo de Vinci making plans for a helicopter.
Read Full Review >Game Informer
As was the case seven years ago, I jumped out of my seat more times than I care to admit. The suspense is far greater. The gore more defined. [June 2002, p.80]
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Not only do the backgrounds look amazing, but their realism combined with the confining effects of fixed camera angles makes this the scariest RE of all. [June 2002, p.116]
GameSpy
A masterpiece of macabre mayhem, encased in a graphical shell so realistic you'll be wincing at every arterial spray and brutal decapitation.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
While the controls can be frustrating, the creepy ambiance is taken to a whole new level. [31 May 2002, p.112]
Game Revolution
The original game looked great when it came out on the PSX, but compared to this GC version, it looks like "Pong"...anyone with even a vague taste for rotten meat should look into it immediately.
Read Full Review >GamingTrend
You have to play the game in the dark, with the volume cranked up, to really appreciate all this game has to offer. If you're into scary games, you won't find anything better than this.
Read Full Review >IGN
The prettiest, most atmospheric and all-around scariest game we've ever played.
Read Full Review >GamePro
For an intense night of absolute terror, this game will give you a gaming experience that you won’t soon forget.
Read Full Review >Media and Games Online Network
Everything in the background of the mansion hallways, courtyards, rooms, etc. is extremely detailed, right up to a little pile of dust on an old table.
Read Full Review >GamerWeb Nintendo
It is undeniably one of the best looking games ever made for any platform, period. The sound and music are appriopriately spooky.
Read Full Review >N-Insanity
It starts a bit on the slow side, but I still stand firm in my belief that Resident Evil is one of the strongest video games on the market.
Read Full Review >GMR Magazine
This remake could almost be described as a new game. But is it really Resident Evil without the laughably bad voice acting? [Feb 2003, p.96]
Armchair Empire
There’s a surprising amount of strategy involved in fighting the zombies, especially when dealing with more than one.
Read Full Review >All Game Guide
It's a game dripping with atmosphere, literally, and ranks as one of the most impressive GameCube achievements in sound and visuals to date.
Read Full Review >GameSpot
With the exception of the dated control scheme, Capcom has nearly perfected its craft and created the best Resident Evil ever.
Read Full Review >Game Over Online
Who would have thought that a visual makeover and a few gameplay tweaks could render an otherwise obsolete game into a incredibly entertaining experience that defies all expectations?
Read Full Review >G4 TV
Capcom seems unable to accept the idea of user-controlled cameras of any sort. You'll inevitably end up shooting at monsters you can't see thanks to lousy viewing angles...Otherwise remarkable.
Read Full Review >GamePen
While it’s certainly pretty, its basic strengths and weaknesses still come through, just like other surgical enhancements in southern California.
Read Full Review >XenGamers
Unfortunately, this version of Capcom’s seminal survival horror title doesn’t play as good as it looks. As a matter of fact, it plays a whole heck of a lot like the original Resident Evil.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 9.0 (out of 10) based on 95 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Wes M gave it a10:
The controls are done as they are on purpose. For one thing, the game uses a prerendered background, therefore the camera must be set. You can't praise the graphics but put down the controls and camera because of this. Secondly, the controls add to the atmosphere. The creators of the game will tell you that they are like they are to be suspenseful. If you God of War style controls, then zombies would be REALLY easy to avoid, and the game would be boring. It's about the ATMOSPHERE people!
Paul W gave it a10:
The Gamecube Resident Evil remake is one of the great success stories in videogaming. This game was created afresh, from the bare structure of the original game, as an AAA experience. It is so good that Metroid Prime has continued to have serious competition as to which is the best Gamecube game (sorry The Wind Waker, you have quite a few flaws in my book). Resident Evil shares some similarities to Metroid Prime- - both start off relatively quietly (well, after MP's short first level). Both have areas that need to be opened by solving puzzles/obtaining items. Both have calm areas (eg the save points) and very tense areas, which is emphasised by very different music throughout. Both have big bosses. Both have rooms that do not need to be entered to finish the game but may contain great extras. Both have maze-like maps. The lighting and fire effects in this remake are only rivalled on the Gamecube by Luigi's Mansion (a game that is a bit like a child's introduction to the mechanics of Resident Evil). Entering each room is sometimes a bit like gazing upon an Old Master, full of rich detail and nuance. Moths buzz around a lampost outside the mansion. The central staircase has gleaming polished wood. This elegant environment is slowly found to be torn by furious zombies and merciless Hunters. Part of the charm of this game is that, at some point you will find a trapdoor or an entrance outide leading to some entirely different aspect of the game. You will stumble upon all the trappings of a 1950s science fiction B-Movie, except lavished with all care and attention of a main movie. To me, this game is more timeless than Resident Evil 4. The remake's character models, cut scenes, voice acting and general attention to detail are superior . RE4 is a broader, more gore and action filled game that concentrates on quickly getting you from A to B, wthout ever going back to A or B, and without giving you much of interest to stop for.. The remake is an inherently classier game that tells a story in time honoured tradition and lets you soak in its gothic horror atmosphere. Sadly, it seems that RE5 will conitnue to neglect the puzzle solving aspect that was found in the remake. By RE6 the time will come for reinvention and I hope that it will involve returning to the more detail-driven, house-based nature of the earlier games.
Alex P. gave it a10:
One of the finest and most terrifying experiences in computer game history. I have to build myself up before I play this, get myself in the zone. Fantastic, intriguing storyline and a brilliant revamping of the ol' haunted mansion deal. RE4 may have the pick up and play gameplay but because REmake is one of the most absorbing and horrifying 12 hours you'll ever spend, this has the edge for me. Lisa Trevor still sends shivers down my spine.
Joe M. gave it a9:
My favourite RE of all time. When I think upon the franchise called, 'Resident Evil', I think about this particular remake. I got this when I was 12 years old, and I didnt enjoy it because it scared the absolute hell outta me, but now I'm 17. I bought a gamecube again just so I can relive the experience. I am now back in the mansion with all the hunters and I AM LOVIN' IT. Just like what a previous reviewer said below me, you have to relax and let the game engulf you.
Sam J. gave it a10:
Truely... a masterpiece. sure you can run around and finish the game in about 5 or six hours or whatever... but if you take it slow... sit back, and experience, LIVE resident evil you will enjoy the game so much more!! let all the creepy sounds and shadows get to you a bit... You will not go wrong with resident evil gc!!
Andrew C. gave it a6:
Woah. I played through RE4 and was stunned and amazed. I played this one and saw...that Capcom truly did revolutionize their series. The camera angles and horrible controls here are so bad I couldn't play for more than ten minutes without shaking my head in disgust and going back to RE4. The graphics may be some of the best on the GameCube, but the controls are seriously bad, especially in the light of RE4. Seriously. Pressing up to go forward, regardless of the direction you're facing is atrocious. Forget this game, I'm going to go play RE4 right now.
William G. gave it a10:
You can't go wrong with this title. It's got everything a "survival-horror" lover could ever want. The graphics are the icing on the cake, but this "REmake" retains all of the glory of the original (and best) Resident Evil release thus far. As a big fan of the earlier titles, none too pleased with the overrated and boring mess that was Resident Evil 4, I can assure you that if you feel the same way, this is the game to buy if you're still hunting for a REAL Resident Evil title on your GameCube.
