Following on from the hours lost at Christmas to Resident Evil 3: Nemesis (see my last blog post), I’ve continued rekindling my relationship with the Resident Evil series by importing a copy of Biohazard HD (aka Resident Evil HD) for PlayStation 3.

For those unfamiliar with the earlier entries in the series, in 2002 Capcom completely re-engineered the original 1996 Resident Evil by using the then new technology provided by Nintendo’s Gamecube to not only update the graphics, but to subtly expand the original game and storyline so that it encompassed some of the plot elements of the sequels. Capcom did a fantastic job, the game had all the hallmarks of the original in a new package, and the release was met with universal critical acclaim.

In the lead up to the release of Resident Evil: Revelations 2, Capcom have published a HD update of the Gamecube game.
The HD update has been nicely done – graphics are crisp and show great detail, and the lighting has been improved adding further character to the environments. One thing that struck me is actually how well the game has aged visually. The 1996 PlayStation game is coming up for twenty years old now and while the graphics are still palatable, they do date the game. For what is, essentially, a 13 year old Gamecube game, the visuals on the HD remaster are really good! Obviously they do not quite have the depth of detail of a modern video-game, but you could certainly mistake it for a game that was a little more contemporary than 2002.

Outside of the HD enhancement, the game remains identical to the original Gamecube release. Capcom have added a few extra alternate costumes that were not previously available, and have added in trophies to help motivate the completists`amongst you all.

I won’t engage in a full review here, but I will post a full retrospective on the 2002 release soon.

For those who missed the original Resident Evil: REmake when it was first released on the Gamecube then I highly recommend picking this up. The game is still highly entertaining, and will remind many of the great roots this series has, and what Survival Horror really meant before things went slightly awry with Resident Evil 5, and then totally derailed in Resident Evil 6.

Resident Evil HD is available to download now on Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. Physical copies are available through Japanese import, exclusively, for PlayStation 3 (where the series goes by the (much better) name of Biohazard).

Now, if only Capcom would do a REmaster of Resident Evil 2….

Resident Evil HD
Version tested: PlayStation 3 (NTSC/J)
Also available on: Xbox Live Arcade / PlayStation Network