E3: Breath of Fire IV, Dino Crisis 2, Resident Evil Zero, and Onimusha impressions

[05.12.00] » A cavalcade of Capcom games on display.

   Playable at Capcom's booth was the latest update to the Breath of Fire series. As expected, the visuals were slightly upgraded from that of its predecessor, but the most noteworthy additions are those given to the battle system. Spell "combos" are now available, although these don't operate quite as you might expect. Having one character cast a spell and then following that up by having another party member let loose with a compatible form of magic will cause the second spell to either become more powerful, or become another, stronger incantation.

   Also, it's possible to go into battle with 6 members in your party, although not all are active at one time. The way that this works is actually fairly simple: you may attack with 3 characters at any given time, swapping one character for any of the other 3 waiting in the sidelines when you feel the need. While inactive, those 3 characters sitting out slowly regain lost energy and magic points.

   Also out on display at Capcom's booth was the follow-up to last year's survival-horror hit, Dino Crisis. While the title will seem instantly familiar to those who've played the first game in the series, with returning characters and essentially the same graphical style, Dino Crisis 2 marks a departure in that the the focus has shifted much more in the favor of action. Who needs to survive by running away and hiding from the Raptors when you can whip out your bazooka and blow them away in droves? When dispatching your reptilian opponents with speed and skill, you even are credited with putting together a combo. Your combo statistics appear in the upper right-hand corner of the screen for your benefit; think of it as something of a kill counter.

   For all those who've complained that titles like Resident Evil require far too much running and not enough killing, it would seem that your game has arrived.

   RE-mania strikes again with the newest Resident Evil title to hit the N64. A precursor to the events of all of the Resident Evil titles before it, RE0 takes you back to the beginning of the virus-outbreak that would eventually turn the small town of Racoon City into living-dead central.

   If you're hoping for news of groundbreaking gameplay and innovations to spare, you may as well pass on the remainder of this paragraph. For the rest of you, who know what to expect from Capcom sequelia, comes the comfortably familiar truth: this is more of zombie-blasting action you've come to know and love. Again you'll wind up briefly taking control of a support character thanks to the chain of events making up the storyline. Additionally, everything from the groans of the zombies to the menu layout remains virtually identical to those of previous titles. Also, Capcom has again squeezed the prerendered backgrounds and FMV cutscenes the series is known for onto an N64 cartridge.

   If you can't get enough of Resident Evil's blend of tense action and resource management and enjoy the lack of loading time made possible by the Nintendo 64, RE0 will be a welcome addition to the Resident Evil family (unlike Resident Evil Survivor, which is basically the the smelly uncle with the bizarre speech impediment that nobody likes).

   If Capcom decided to bring Resident Evil to the Playstation 2, replacing racoon city with feudal Japan and the members of S.T.A.R.S. with a gritty samurai, it would be called Onimusha.

   More of the adventuring Capcom has become quite adept at cranking out, the title is bolstered by some of the most stunning graphics this side of reality. The most striking visual component would definitely be the light-sourcing. Sunlight filters in through open windows, the setting sun shines just above the rolling hills in the background, and all of this causes appropriately-sized shadows to be cast by characters and objects.