Contrary to what some revisionists might have you believe, Biohazard was not the first video game to feature content excluding the demographic of the small child. Nor was it particularly innovative in that sense. What it did have over its competition in the mid-1990s was a daring concept that stretched the boundaries of action-adventure. So much so, in fact, that it coined a whole new genre of its own, of which it has since emerged as one of the best. Sure, there have been other entries in the genre such as Dino Crisis or the instructively titled Run Like Hell, but Biohazard, or Resident Evil as it is known outside of Japan, is the one against which all others are judged. No other adventure game features so much tense or combative excitement, and no other adventure game features such craptastic voice acting. Those who have wondered whether any of the so-called live action footage in a video game is "shot" before the voices are dubbed will be enlightened by Biohazard and the series built around it.
The makers of Biohazard and its many sequels freely admit that they were inspired by an obscure little horror film called Night Of The Living Dead. In the affectionately-known Dead series, the zombies could be most easily taken as a representation of the lowest common denominator. Like its inspiration, Biohazard gets the player feeling comfortable by bringing one or two zombies out of the woodpile. The player figures that ammunition is not a concern if these creatures are all they have to worry about. Then they enter rooms with one or two zombies shambling about. Then suddenly, they find themselves facing half a dozen zombies, with only half a clip of ammunition. This is to say nothing of all the other terrible things that lurk in the halls, waiting to feast on your character. As one of the tag-lines put it, if the suspense does not kill you, something else will. As it turned out, the Spencer Mansion where most of the game is set was never short of those somethings.
Yes, the graphics are crude, the voice acting hilarious, and the control system sluggish. The entire series has become notorious for featuring human characters that move like an M1A1 Abrams with a sackful of sugar in its fuel tank. And yet, in spite of these obvious flaws, the games attracted enough of a loyal audience that they were adapted into films years after the initial release. Try to name one video game you played six years after it was released, and you soon see just how much of an impact Biohazard made on the market. Yet, for all of its grandeur, the plot that drives the game is rather simple. A group of specialist police officers, similar in concept to the S.W.A.T., are investigating a series of disappearances and animal attacks in the mountains. When their helicopters are downed and they are set upon by wild animals, they retreat to a mansion. Barricading themselves inside, they start looking around and find that they have stumbled upon something so terrible the monsters they encounter become the least of their problems.
Every video game from Wonderboy In Monsterland to DOOM has featured a convoluted item search system to extend game time. Some of these virtual scavenger hunts have proved to be as annoying as hell, mostly because the game has no good reason to rely on them. Resident Evil features what is quite possibly the most convoluted Find Item X To Insert In Slot Y plots in the history of video games, but with a difference. Whether it is the slowly-revealed, thoroughly creepy plot or the desire to get to the bottom of the story, there is something thoroughly compelling about Resident Evil. There would have to be - a game cannot survive in spite of crap controls and terrible voice acting without some form of strength. Resident Evil has enough atmosphere for thirty survival horror games, with more to spare. Indeed, Resident Evil gives us such insight into what it is like to be the star of a B-grade Japanese zombie horror film that this alone makes the game worth the asking price. Sure, the concept was not as developed as was the case in the first of many sequels, but it was there to greet us like a tired old friend in the original.
Out of ten, the original Resident Evil is an eight. It is worth tracking down in any second-hand video game store. If you can find the director's cut or dual-shock editions of the game, so much the better.
