The Vault: Resident Evil (Gamecube)

Title: Resident Evil
Format: Gamecube
Genre: Survival Horror
Expect to pay: £10 - £25

I am a long term fan of the Resident Evil franchise, which dates back to the second game in the series (which before 4 came a long was the best of the lot). Eventually I did go back and play the original PlayStation game to completion and I grew to love it as much as the others, especially the notoriously cheesy dialogue. A few years into the life of the Cube, Nintendo made an agreement with Capcom that would see them develop several titles exclusively for the platform, including Killer7, P.N.O.3 and this remade and retooled version of the first entry in the Resi series.

What you will notice the minute you start playing is the improved look of the game. Gone are the boxy, grainy character models and in their place are highly detailed and realistic versions of Chris Redfield, Jill Valentine, Barry Burton, etc. The whole of the game has been redone from top to bottom with a fresh coat of paint, and even today it still looks really good, which can't be said about the original. Then we have the rerecorded dialogue, which removes the crap acting of old. This is both a good and bad thing as while it does give what is supposed to be a scary game more credibility, it loses some of the B-Movie naffness that made it so wonderful in the first place.

Other additions to the gamplay include special items that allow you to turn the tables on your zombie attackers and get yourself out of a tight spot such as a knife or a flash grenade, new extremely fast Crimson Head zombies to add some extra scares, and extended and additional scenes that weren't present back in the day. It adds a few hours of extra playtime for those new to the game and refreshes the experience for those that are familiar with the old puzzles and story.

A search of recently completed ebay auctions for the game showed that you could spend as little as a tenner for a copy or as much as £25. Be patient, as there are plenty of copies out there - so wait for one to appear at the right price and then pick it up. You can rest assured that this will not be the only Resident Evil game to be featured in this top 100, there will be a couple more along the way.

"What IS it?". "Blood." "I sure hope it's not Chris' blood" etc etc.