Losing Residence? An Editorial on the tenuous present of Capcom’s undead hit.

In 1996, the world shook.  It trembled as a small town called Raccoon City felt the cold icy clutches of the undead.  History was made.  Players had never been so frightened, so unsettled and so terrified by a game as they were when consoles fired up with the doomed STARS team.  From the spooky announcer to the bloodshot eye, Resident Evil (RE) had left its mark forever.

The game pushed blood, gore and guts up a notch.  It brought ferocious enemies to gamers and it put players up against overwhelming odds complete with walking dead and bio-terrors.  The game ignited a whole series of books, toys and even films.  But like all great things, even the evil mechanisms of Umbrella must come to an end.  Resident Evil has suffered some harsh reviews and even harsher gaming failures. 

Over the next several posts, we’ll be taking a look at one of the greatest and longest running series in video game history.

 Zombies & Toys will look at RE’s brightly lit past and its possibly burned out future.  Feel free to join us and let us know your thoughts - Is Resident Evil is still hungry for brains or is the series falling dead from a headshot!

Marvel vs. Capcom 3: The Fate of Two Worlds Review

“In this corner, from Raccoon City…” Resident Evil’s favorite sons face off with comic book spandex

Chad Hamilton

Fireballs? Check. Razor claws? Check. Shotgun and Desert Eagle? Double-check. Fans of the tried and tested fighting series, Marvel vs. Capcom, can now rejoice. The ultimate in pixel pounding, two-dimensional take downs is back! With newly defined graphics, over-the-top super moves and fan boys’ dream of characters, is Marvel vs. Capcom 3 (MvC3) going to rock the two worlds? Or will it doom them and the series once and for all?

With a thinly veiled storyline involving Marvel Comics’ supervillain Doctor Doom and Resident Evil’s antagonist Albert Wesker, MvC3 brings superheroes, supervillains, succubi and giant robots together in battle. While zombie fans will recall the surprisingly formidable Jill Valentine in previous incarnations, they will initially only find Chris Redfield and Wesker himself as options to play. Valentine is reported to be available later via downloadable content. Comic fans will enjoy playing as Spiderman, the Hulk, Wolverine or Captain America to name a few. Capcom players can get into the armor of Arthur from Ghosts ‘n Goblins, Ryu from Street Fighter and an ensemble of other characters from the company’s repertoire.


The graphics are beautiful. From Redfield’s ginormous biceps to Wesker’s sleek leather uniform, the look and style of Marvel vs. Capcom 3 is worth pausing the game just to enjoy the look. Resident Evil fans will quickly notice the background for the level where your team of three characters must battle their opponents in the laboratory of TriCell, Resident Evil 5’s evil corporation. When combos are chained, they literally shatter the glass holding areas of Lickers crawling in the background. For that extra touch of zombie, the level of Ghosts ‘n Goblins features sharply generated undead that old school Nintendo players will recognize. The sounds are full of enough crashes, clashes and splash page effects to put players in the panels of their favorite comic book. However, many of the glib and enjoyable sound bites are lost amidst the roar of repulsor rays and flamethrowers.


Gameplay is well done. While previous versions in the series featured complicated maneuvers, MvC3 allows for some simple and quickly performed attacks. Wesker’s hyperspeed assault is good but watching Redfield unload nearly every weapon from the RE arsenal is worth saving up the combo meter. He hits the unsuspecting foe with the shotgun, several handguns and the crowd-pleasing, undead clearing rocket launcher.

Zombie factor?

MvC3 has a low zombie factor. There was initial discussion by the game’s developers to include Tyrant and Nemesis from Resident Evil’s first and third entries. However, there was concern that the nature of the monstrosities would have led to a more mature rating for the game. Hopefully, with the inclusion of Jill Valentine, the developers will also bring back her ability to summon a shambling or flaming T-virus corpse. With that having been said, MvC3 is still a worthwhile go regardless if you’re looking for brains, adamantium or a fight to the finish.

Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
Release date: February 15, 2011

Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D

Todd Jepperson

Alright, kids. It might be time to shell out the cash to pick up a Nintendo 3DS (in stores March 27, 2011). I’m a little late announcing this; but, that doesn’t make it any less interesting. Upon launch, we can expect twenty or so games, not the least of which will be brought to us by our friends at Capcom; creators of the Resident Evil game universe. For any of you who’ve stuck by the franchise through the fourth and fifth offerings, you have probably tried your hand at the Mercenaries mode. If not, prepare yourself to take on endless floods of corpses that get harder and harder as you go. The upside? Well, at least you have limited ammo and time. Wait? That’s the upside? Yeah. It’s like one of my college professors told me one time, “There are 2 truths in this life: your mother will always love you and you will die.” Welcome to Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D.

So, what’s the point? High score, baby. Once you get past the whole inevitably being the main course at Bob’s Zombie Buffet, you can start to really challenge yourself. The levels in the 3DS version will be a collection of all the greatest maps from R.E. four and five. Character selection looks like a choice of a few characters from previous titles, such as: Hunk, Jack Krauser, Clair and Chris Redfield. You’ll have two minutes to kick ass and take names while your score rises through the rankings toward the ultimate goal: High. Score. dom? There can be only one.

Check out the video below and for a more in depth look; make the leap over to techdigest.com. Good luck and remember: Headshots!

Anyone In London Want A Free Wii?

Granted, only a small portion of readers are from the other side of the pond. However, I happen to know for a fact that there are some. I also happen to know that they participate in zombie walks. And I further happen to know that they participate in zombie walks in London ...ahem, Steve.

So, if you live in or near London, zombie walk your arses to the Tate Modern at noon on October 31st. The best-dressed zombie on the day will win a Wii console and a copy of Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles. Two additional zombies will win a copy of the game for the best zombie stagger and best zombie moan. All courtesy of Capcom Games.

Sweet Resident Evil Shirt

Not much to say about this one other than I found out about it at Waylou.com. Normal shirt on front and back but it has a zombie face on the inside that can help transform you into a key player in the game!