One of the first bona-fide hits on the Playstation was a little game called RESIDENT EVIL. The game pioneered the "Survival Horror" genre and was one of the scariest videogames to ever be released. Fast forward to the next generation of game consoles the game has spawned three sequels and a couple of spinoffs and the first game is being remade to have its graphics and look fall in with the rest of the series.

Nintendo and Capcom made an exclusive deal to bring ports of RESIDENT EVIL 2, 3, and CODE VERONICA to the GameCube, along with a remake of the original game (the graphics were vastly upgraded after the first game) and the prequel, RESIDENT EVIL 0, and next sequel, RESIDENT EVIL 4. The first game of this agreement is the remake of RESIDENT EVIL and when Capcom said that 70% of the game would be different it wasn't lying.

RESIDENT EVIL puts gamers in the role of either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine, members of a specialized police unit called S.T.A.R.S., when the Bravo team helicopter crashes in a forest while investigating mysterious deaths in the woods surrounding Raccoon City. The Alpha team helicopter takes off and finds the crashed copter, but suddenly the team is attacked by a pack of wild dogs and driven into a mysterious mansion.

Depending on which character you pick, the story is slightly different; your character, Barry, and Wesker (who becomes infamous later in the series) start in the main hall of the mansion. The beginning of the investigation reveals that the house is filled with zombies of some sort. The mansion is essentially a giant fun house with plenty of traps, locks, and enemies, but there is hardly enough ammo to go around (especially if you set it to the hard setting).

Gamers who have played the original game will be surrounded with a familiar mansion but the game is different enough to keep things interesting. Some areas have been added, puzzles changed, rooms slightly re-arranged, and there are a few new gameplay mechanics too. The first of these is the defense item; finding one of these allows you to severely hurt a zombie or dog that tries to tackle you. The other is the addition of crimson-head zombies. In years past, zombies when dead were dead. Now, after a certain amount of time, the body will reanimate and will charge after your character. These are the normal slow moving zombies - though these guys can run, hit and pretty much scare the living crap out of you. You can stop the reanimation though by either decapitating or burning the body of the zombie (a kerosene canteen and lighter come in handy).

The crimson-heads help to increase the drama of the game along with the new stunning visuals. The game features so many atmospheric effects and beautiful sights that it feels real. You become so submerged that the flash of lighting and clap of thunder is enough to bolt you from your seat at times. Even having played this game before, I was still scared out of my mind at times. Once I popped through a door only to have a crimson-head be waiting on the other side. The groan and charge of it on my wounded Jill literally made me scream and drop my controller.

That's what makes the game. From the moment the first cutscene runs, you are totally sucked in. Your heart rate jumps as you walk through the hallways, and no feeling is worse than being out of ammo and wounded... everything about this game sucks you into the role of the characters.

The graphics play a major role in this aspect. The mansion is beautifully detailed. The backdrops are beautiful paintings on their own, but when you add the atmospheric effects on top of it, it just looks fantastic. This is hands-down the best looking videogame ever to grace a console. Period.

The sound department shines too. The music is perfect for every situation, sometimes being non-existent, other times picking up and heightening the drama. The sound effects are great too, from the moans of zombies to the different footsteps depending on the type of surface your character is walking on. The voice acting isn't the best, but that falls into line with the original game and the terrible voice-acting that was in it.

In short, RESIDENT EVIL is visually the most impressive videogame ever made. This is the most atmospheric moody game to be released in a while and does an incredible job at sucking gamers in. It is a must-buy.