Resident Evil

Resident Evil (originally known as Bio Hazard in Japan), developed by Capcom, is the name of a successful franchise of horror-adventure video games that are credited with popularizing the "survival horror" game genre, in which the goal is to avoid being killed by monsters and assorted evil creatures bent on attacking you, although Alone in the Dark is often cited as the first game in the genre. The first three games take place in the fictitious Raccoon City, a typical Midwestern American urban setting controlled economically by Umbrella Incorporated, a conglomerate that produces a wide array of consumer products. Raccoon City's elite S.T.A.R.S. (Special Tactics and Rescue Squad) are dispatched to investigate strange murders outside the city. The Bravo Team disappears, and the Alpha Team is sent to recover and continue the investigation. Their investigations uncover evidence that Umbrella is conducting illegal and unethical research into biological warfare. Each game sheds more light on Umbrella's operations and background, how far-reaching they are, and what lengths they will got to in order to keep their operations hush-hush. Resident Evil is based on a game known as "Sweet Home". Sweet Home was released only in Japan by Capcom, sometime in the late 1980s for the Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System). Various things in Resident Evil were borrowed from Sweet Home, including the Mansion Setting, the Puzzles, and even the "Door" Loading Screen. This has been confirmed by Shinji Mikami in an interview. As of April 2004, the following titles have been published:

• Resident Evil Zero (Nintendo GameCube)\n* Resident Evil (PlayStation, Sega Saturn, PC)\n* Resident Evil: Director's Cut (PlayStation)\n* Resident Evil (Remake) (GameCube)\n* Resident Evil 2 (PlayStation, PC, Sega Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, GameCube)\n* Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (Japanese title: Bio Hazard: The Last Escape) (PlayStation, PC, Dreamcast, GameCube)\n* Resident Evil: Code Veronica (Dreamcast)\n* Resident Evil: Code Veronica X (PlayStation 2, GameCube)\n* Resident Evil: Gun Survivor (PlayStation)\n* Resident Evil: Gun Survivor 2 (PlayStation 2, Arcade)\n* Resident Evil Gaiden (Game Boy Color)\n* Resident Evil Dead Aim (PlayStation 2)\n* Resident Evil Outbreak (PlayStation 2)

Resident Evil 4 is a GameCube exclusive, planned for a 2004 release, and reportedly deviates from the zombie horror tradition. Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 is planned for release on PlayStation 2. The success of this franchise has spawned a comic book series, novelizations, and a Hollywood action film based loosely on the video game storyline. Like most game adaptations, they lacked continuity with the source material and were thus generally panned by Resident Evil fandom. The Resident Evil series is also controversial, as Capcom has made a deal with Nintendo to make the Resident Evil series exclusive to the Gamecube. However, this exclusivity does not seem absolute, as the Resident Evil Dead Aim game was released for PlayStation 2 in 2003; it seems that only "core" Resident Evil titles are exclusive. Most of the games in the series are played from a third-person perspective, viewing the characters from a generally overhead camera angle as they move through pre-rendered environments. These static, pre-rendered backgrounds have been a bone of contention for many fans of the series, although Code: Veronica X uses a more dynamic camera system, featuring a fully animated environment (akin to Silent Hill). The Gun Survivor entries in the series deviate from this and are first-person shooters. They also happen to be the most poorly received Resident Evil games.

External links

\n* The Official Resident Evil website\n* Sony Pictures site, for the DVD version of the film Category:Computer and video game franchises\nCategory:Survival horror games\n