Resident Evil Code Veronica X

The Resident Evil franchise carries a long tradition of being some of the best and most popular horror titles. And of course, Resident Evil Code Veronica is no different, few games can compare to the legacy the Resident Evil has left in the industry. They are so popular that there are different movie adaptations to the series, some animated and the more popular live-action ones. Some entries in the series are so popular that even now, after years and years they keep getting remade, such as Resident Evil 4, which has been present nonstop in the scene ever since its release. So let's talk about one of the most underlooked entries in the series now

About the game’s story

This story takes place three months after the events of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3. It really revolves around the idea of duality and family relationships, even with all the zombies and shooting in between. Far from Raccoon City, this time Clarie Redfield is looking for her brother Chris when she is captured by Umbrella Corporation in Paris and sent to a prison in Rockfort Island. Of course, this is no ordinary prison, and the island is, once again, owned by Umbrella.

The core of the story is the tale of brothers, not only the Redfields but also Alfred and Alexia Ashford, the main villains of the story. Their motivations are strong, but if you're looking for a more familiar face, don't worry, Albert Wesker is back in this game.

A step forward

Contrary to popular belief, Code Veronica is not a spin-off of the main series. It is as principal for the saga as any numbered entries. It was actually pretty close to being named Resident Evil 3, and thanks to its popularity it was released shortly after the original release as Resident Evil: Code Veronica X. The latter one is a slightly enhanced version with better gore, more cinematics, and a little more content. This version was the one that ended up making its way into the Gamecube and PS2 and now is available even in PS4 as a PS Classic title.

Even though the title maintains the basics of the series, it is a clear step forward for the series, the first one to really take things to the next level. Not only were the visuals much better than any other game in the series, but also the narrative. It really focused on the story and character development. For the first time in the series, the scenarios were completely 3D and in-engine, unlike the pre-rendered images in the previous titles.

Review

This title somehow manages to be both one of the most underlooked games in the series and one of the best. Its popularity does not compete with that of Resident Evil 4, and given the disbelief of the game is a spin-off, many people tend to skip it altogether. The atmosphere holds up even by today's standards, amazing audio quality, gameplay, and story. The first title in the series you can really take seriously as a more mature franchise.

• Graphics and Visuals: The character models were good enough to make the monster designs scary and the characters nice looking. Especially if you’re playing Code Veronica X, the visuals are still fine, and better than most games of its time. Definitely an excellent job.

• Gameplay: It uses the tank controllers older titles of the series were used to. But even then, the action was much better and comfortable to handle than the previous titles. It may seem outdated, but if you were to play the game back in the day, the controllers were excellent.

• Sound: The sound design was excellent, a big improvement over all previous titles of the series and better than most contemporary games.

Sega fanboys have one less Dreamcast-exclusive game to taunt PS2 owners about come this May. That's right, Capcom's latest (if you don't count RE Survivor, and we don't) and arguably greatest sequel in the Resident Evil "survival-horror" adventure series is on its way to Sony's big black box this summer.

So why the added "X" in the title? 'Cause it's not a straight port-more like a Director's Cut. Added goodies include nearly 10 minutes of new footage (mostly cutscenes involving the villain Wesker; Wesker meeting Claire, more of Wesker fighting with Chris, etc.) and other new features still under wraps. Maybe the in-game first-person view cut from the DC version? Super-obsessive RE freaks (like us) will also notice that even Steve's hairstyle has been altered (our guess: Capcom got a call from DiCaprio's lawyers). But the best new addition would have to be the playable demo of RE creator Shinji Mikami's next title, Devil May Cry, that will come with REC: VX in Japan, and hopefully here too.