Evil gets high - Do remastered versions of Capcom classics require revisiting?

Over fifteen years ago, the world was rocked and rotted by Capcom’s record shattering Resident Evil series. Putting gamers in the nerve-shattering world of survival horror, Resident Evil saw more longevity with its later sequels of Resident Evil 4 (RE:4) and Resident Evil: Code Veronica (RE:CV.) RE:4 blew gamers away with its birth on the Nintendo GameCube, its amazing graphics, re-focused game play and bad ass upgrade of Leon Kennedy. Code Veronica was a fan favorite for the PS2 which continued Claire Redfield’s journey for her lost brother. For reasons both different and alike, the games were loved in the past. Now, they have been released in high definition for modern consoles and it’s a worthwhile question to ask: are they worth buying?

The stories for both games are the same. Nothing has changed. Only in RE:4 have additional mini-games been added from previous versions. While they both wave the banner of new and improved graphics, this can be a con. There is something to be said about the issue that remastering can showcase old graphics that didn’t keep up. RE:4 does not suffer from this because its looks were ahead of its time. Code Veronica looks very dated on the new consoles and in HD.

The other area where the games struggle is control. It is difficult playing both games with the Xbox 360 controller layout. RE:4 will leave gamers a prone to cheap shot as looking behind you is not the same as turning around. RE:CV will leave players walking into walls and falling to cut corners as flaming zombies come their way.

Zombies?
While many argue that RE:4 did not feature true zombies, it gets damn close with the hordes that hound you through the game. Code Veronica truly does send undead everything your way. Fans of the series will find adding these two downloads as good additions to their gaming gallery. Is the price somewhat high? Possibly. Are the games worth playing? For the die-hards, definitely. For visitors to Raccoon City, being a permanent resident may not be necessary.