Retro Gaming Australia

Out of the mansion and into the city – Resident Evil 2 had players exploring what was left of Raccoon City after a zombie infestation wiped out the vast majority of the city’s populace. One of many reasons why 1998 was the best year for video games.

Resident Evil: Code Veronica is one of the bright lights of the Dreamcast library. It was the first mainline Resident Evil game not to debut on the PlayStation, and the first to abandon pre-rendered backdrops – though it keeps the fixed perspective camera.

What’s Resident Evil 1.5 you say? Well, the story goes that about 70-80% through development, the producers of Resident Evil 2, Shinji Mikami and Hideki Kamiya, decided the game was too action oriented and not up to the high standard of the original game. So they started again.

That original version of Resident Evil 2, dubbed Resident Evil 1.5 by fans, has been the most wanted prototype on the PlayStation. Many have teased that they have a copy of the prototype, but aside from a couple of screenshots and videos, nobody has released a playable version.

Until now. The Resident Evil 1.5 restoration project is a rag tag group that managed to get a copy of the prototype and has since spent considerable time restoring it to a point where it can be enjoyed by all. Today they released a playable demo version marking the first time the public will get a taste of this mythical beta.

Of course, the project still continues – apparently the in-development version is quite a bit further along than this demo. The demo release was prompted by someone attempting to sell the team’s work to date on eBay; originally the team had intended only to release their work once it was completed.

You can get the demo here.

Capcom has confirmed that special editions of Resident Evil 6 for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 will include digital versions of classic Resident Evil games.

The special editions are platform specific, with the 360 and PS3 compilations offering fans a different set of previous Resident Evil games alongside a physical copy of Resident Evil 6.

Xbox 360 owners will be treated to Resident Evil 6 Archives which features Resident Evil Code: Veronica X HD, Resident Evil 4 HD, Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition and the full-length CG movie Resident Evil Degeneration.

Resident Evil 6 Anthology, for the PlayStation 3, includes Resident Evil: Director’s Cut, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3: Nemesis, Resident Evil 4 HD, and Resident Evil 5 Gold Edition.

Both Resident Evil 6 Archives and Resident Evil 6 Anthology will set fans back US$89.99 and release on October 2.

If you could take Nemesis down with a knife, you are my hero.

Resident Evil 3: Nemesis was the last game in the series to appear on the PlayStation. Most of the game was spent getting away from the hulking bioweapon Nemesis, who could appear at random moments and cause you serious harm with strong physical attacks and/or his rocket launcher.

You almost became a Jill sandwich!

Resident Evil is the first game in one of Capcom’s biggest franchises. It seemingly came out of nowhere in 1996 and took the world by storm – one of the first games of the then new fifth generation consoles to really break out. It was originally intended to be a remake of Capcom’s 1986 Famicom horror game Sweet Home.

The achievements for the HD remastered versions of Resident Evil 4 and Resident Evil: Code Veronica X have been revealed. The games are going to be released separately outside of Japan as part of the Xbox Live Games on Demand section for the Xbox 360, and through the PlayStation store on the PlayStation 3. As the games are being treated as full retail releases, each game carries the full 1,000 achievement points.

Unfortunately, it seems the achievements for each game were knuckled down when Capcom thought they games would be released on Xbox Live Arcade, as there are only 12 achievements in each game. It’s disappointing that the vast majority of the achievements in the game are tied to main story progression when each of these games has rich post story and side mission content.

Source: Xbox360Achievements

In case you hadn’t already heard, Capcom is re-releasing Resident Evil: Code Veronica X and Resident Evil 4 in HD for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Japan gets it on a disc, we get it digitally. Sucks for those of us who like discs.

What’s even more sucky is that we won’t be getting this awesome Biohazard 15th Annivesary Box. The set, available through the e-Capcom store packs in the following goodies: (continue reading…)