Resident Evil - CODE: Veronica (Dreamcast)

Anyone who has played any of the Resident Evil series, from the original gore fest of the mansion lab, through the RPD station and the sewers, up until the destruction of Racoon City and the seeming end to the T- and G-virus', will know how great these games are. Everything that was there from these games, the graphics, the gameplay, the suspense, and best of all, the zombies, has been flawlessly ported over to the Dreamcast, with not a single mistake. The story again centers around Claire Redfield, and her brother Chris. As Claire, for the first half of the game, you must escape the prison she's been put in, solving riddles and picking up more clues as to the story of the new T-Veronica virus. The latter part of the game involves Chris landing on the island fortress, and searching for his sister. The way in which you search through the aftermath of what happened after Claire left is brilliant, you think you know where you are but then are thrown off completely by something different. From the unbelievable opening FMV (the best FMV ever??) through the dark and dingy tunnels and rooms, to the shattering climax with the ultimate creation, you won't be able to put this game down until you've finished. At first I clocked up around 8 hours gameplay, then 5 hours, then 4, so there's loads to do. As for the supporting cast, well it's amazing. From the lonesome Steve, through the psycho Alfred, up to Alexia herself and one of Chris' worst enemies from previous times, they all play their part to develop more of the story, which was missing from the Nemesis game. As for the main two, well now you can see what Chris looks like in true 128-bit glory, and as for Claire, well she's never looked so attractive. Again, the acting will never win any Academy Awards, but hey, it's got to be better than the infamous "hold your fire, I'm a human!" from Resident Evil 2. To summarise, this game is one of the very best on offer for the Dreamcast, for any platform actually, and whereas it has some flaws, as all games do, it's still worth £30 of anyone's money...

Although the Resident Evil games are some of the most enjoyable games I've ever played the constricting camera viewpoints always irked slightly, However with the 3D muscle of the Dreamcast all that's a thing of the past. Instead of static backgrounds that were merely a picture RECV has beautiful 3 dimensional backgrounds that can pan from side to side and even zoom in and out, and although the flicking between cameras has been retained from the earlier games the new complete 3Dness of the game makes things sooo much easier and convincing.
The game itself is very much like all the other Resident Evil games, a careful blend of shooting demented Zombies and Puzzle solving, however If your the type that doesn't relish a hard puzzle then don't let the puzzle element of this game put you off, there little more than putting the square peg in the square hole type puzzles and could be solved by even a 5 year old. Playing the game at 5 would however be a mistake, the gory Horror content of this game would render you sleepless until at least your 6th birthday.
All in all this is a fine game, the kind of quality title that only pops it's head up once in a blue moon, grab it with both hands and you won't be sorry.

Critically acclaimed as the best in the Resident Evil series, RE:Veronica is genuinely scary! The high-quality visuals the Dreamcast offers are some of the best on the platform, and really add to the fear effect. There is a great challenge in the form of the usual Resident Evil puzzles and bosses etc. but also as you get other modes to play upon completion (which are both excellent and surprising!).
If you enjoyed any of the previous Resident Evil games then this is for you, no question about it. The story is refreshing, the action is top-notch, the fear is back, and the challenge is good too.

A must-buy for any Dreamcast owner.