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Resident Evil 1.5 (Shorter) Review
7 years ago
So, my last review of this game I fanboyed so much that I accidentally wrote a wall of text, so this is the actually readable version. Enjoy. ^_^
Resident 1.5 is the name fans gave to the lost Resident Evil 2 prototype. See, after Resident Evil 1, Capcom started work on Resident Evil 2. However, 80% of the way through development the game was scrapped, and the team started over. Years ago, the game was leaked onto the internet, but it was apparently broken beyond belief. Eventually, fan patches were released and in June 2018, one apparently got the game into a playable state.
It can't have been easy fixing the game up, and it's great to finally be able to play the game after all this time. But don't expect a full game because, even with the patch, RE1.5 is technically playable in the same way that supermarket own brand cornflakes are technically food. You can run around the game, shoot the enemies, and a few cutscenes will even play, but the game as a whole doesn't really exist. There's not really any items to find or puzzles to solve. Most of the enemies don't stay dead when you leave a room and come back, etc.
But what's there is pretty great if you're a fan of Resident Evil 2 or prototypes and betas in generals. Getting to run around the game and see all the original 1.5 rooms and zombie models is fun. As is some of the placeholder backgrounds and text like "Insert riddle about poison here".
But the main appeal is finally getting to play a game that occupied my imagination for years.
As far as story goes, Elza Walker's campaign is the most complete, or at least, is the one that is easiest to follow and fill in the blanks. Leon's is a lot more disjointed and harder to follow. They both have similarities to Clair's and Leon's vanilla campaigns, but side characters play bigger rolls, and vice versa.
The level design is vastly different, and arguably more realistic. With building layouts that make some logical sense, with central stairways and hallways with rooms sprouting off them, instead of the labyrinth of passageways RE2. Then there's the enemies. Most are the same, but the licker and plant monsters are absent, instead you get half-man, half-spider things that are like those wall crawlers in RE3, and zombie gorillas, which are too goofy to take seriously.
Despite the game being far from complete, it's surprising to see certain features make it into the game this early. Zombies become splatted with blood if you blow off their head or limbs (something were wouldn't see until RE3). Clothing gets damaged as you take damage. It's a subtle effect, and a vast improvement over bacon-glued-to-jacket look in the Alone in the Dark reboot.
There's a lot I could go into, but as said, if you're expecting a finished game then you'll be disappointed, but getting to play this game has been a treat for me, and if you're interested in RE1.5 in any way, it might be worth checking out.
Resident 1.5 is the name fans gave to the lost Resident Evil 2 prototype. See, after Resident Evil 1, Capcom started work on Resident Evil 2. However, 80% of the way through development the game was scrapped, and the team started over. Years ago, the game was leaked onto the internet, but it was apparently broken beyond belief. Eventually, fan patches were released and in June 2018, one apparently got the game into a playable state.
It can't have been easy fixing the game up, and it's great to finally be able to play the game after all this time. But don't expect a full game because, even with the patch, RE1.5 is technically playable in the same way that supermarket own brand cornflakes are technically food. You can run around the game, shoot the enemies, and a few cutscenes will even play, but the game as a whole doesn't really exist. There's not really any items to find or puzzles to solve. Most of the enemies don't stay dead when you leave a room and come back, etc.
But what's there is pretty great if you're a fan of Resident Evil 2 or prototypes and betas in generals. Getting to run around the game and see all the original 1.5 rooms and zombie models is fun. As is some of the placeholder backgrounds and text like "Insert riddle about poison here".
But the main appeal is finally getting to play a game that occupied my imagination for years.
As far as story goes, Elza Walker's campaign is the most complete, or at least, is the one that is easiest to follow and fill in the blanks. Leon's is a lot more disjointed and harder to follow. They both have similarities to Clair's and Leon's vanilla campaigns, but side characters play bigger rolls, and vice versa.
The level design is vastly different, and arguably more realistic. With building layouts that make some logical sense, with central stairways and hallways with rooms sprouting off them, instead of the labyrinth of passageways RE2. Then there's the enemies. Most are the same, but the licker and plant monsters are absent, instead you get half-man, half-spider things that are like those wall crawlers in RE3, and zombie gorillas, which are too goofy to take seriously.
Despite the game being far from complete, it's surprising to see certain features make it into the game this early. Zombies become splatted with blood if you blow off their head or limbs (something were wouldn't see until RE3). Clothing gets damaged as you take damage. It's a subtle effect, and a vast improvement over bacon-glued-to-jacket look in the Alone in the Dark reboot.
There's a lot I could go into, but as said, if you're expecting a finished game then you'll be disappointed, but getting to play this game has been a treat for me, and if you're interested in RE1.5 in any way, it might be worth checking out.
