VGR Resident Evil CODE: Veronica

Here's a new Dreamcast review to start off this week!
Finally back to this classic Capcom franchise~

And in case you've missed them or wanted to have a look at those, here's my previous RE reviews:
VGR Resident Evil 1
VGR Resident Evil 2
VGR Resident Evil 3

VGR: Resident Evil CODE: Veronica
From Nextech/Capcom
Played on Dreamcast
Also available as Code: Veronica X on Dreamcast, PS2 & Gamecube

Type Survival Horror
Year 2000

Co-developed simultaneously alongside Resident Evil Nemesis, Code: Veronica was supposed to be the real follow-up to Resident Evil 2 while Nemesis was supposed to be only a side story.
Nextech was working on REC:V for Capcom, being the same team that adapted the original Resident Evil to the Sega Saturn in the past.
This game was originally a Dreamcast "exclusive". It was the next evolution of the Resident Evil classic formula....

It was perhaps changed to REC:V instead of having the number 3 in the title, maybe because it was an exclusive title for the Dreamcast (which, sadly, wasn't doing pretty well in America). Nemesis was changed into RE3 (even if it was a kinda sidestory)  for being on the more accessible Playstation... Anyway, let's have a look at this one, shall we?

Claire is back with a badass attitude! Oh, and there's that other dude tagging along....

Being the first RE developed for a 128 bit system, the engine was finally upgraded while the controls remain "classic RE".
Code Veronica doesn't use the usual pre-rendered pictures in the background anymore. But instead, the whole game is running with a 3D engine, which allows for more dynamic cinematographic shots (following the character, zooming, etc..).

The whole game looks fantastic!
The CGi cutscenes are pretty good and quite epic. (probably better than the actual live RE movies!)
The characters and zombies are finally a lot more detailed and for 2000 it's a pretty beautiful looking game!

The plot follows Claire Redfield, from Resident Evil 2, while she was in Paris trying to find her brother in some secure Umbrella facility... Stuff goes bad... She ends up in a private Umbrella island infested with a new zombie invasion... Here we go again~

Enters Steve-

On this island, Claire's mission is to understand just what the hell is going on there, finding clues about her brother's implication and escaping from that place. There, she meets Steve Burnside.
I know some RE fanboys/girls (mostly girls) will probably disagree with me...but Steve is the least charismatic RE character ever (in my eyes)! He's kinda weird, badly written and...huh...stop hitting on Claire you emo!
Seriously, though, their "relationship" is a bit weird to look at. They seem to form a brother-sister relationship and Steve continues to hit on her during the whole game!

Anyhow!...

The game consists of two discs once again.
The first part will have you play from Claire's point of view.
You're exploring a deserted island (not really...there's like a hundred+ zombies running around and other monsters!), the facilities there, piecing the larger plot bit by bit and you'll make an attempt-escape to end up in some other bizarre location (don't worry, I won't spoil it to you here!).
At some point, you'll play as Steve to help up Claire in a difficult moment.

Then, on the second disc/part, you''ll play with Chris Redfield, yep, from Resident Evil 1.
It starts at one third from the other disc's ending, you'll explore more of the same with some nice twists on the locations, join the other character.
Another "character interlude", this time with Claire during Chris' gameplay.
And the ending will have you glued to your controller!

How we missed you Chris, you crazy gameplay-handicapped videogame character!

The story is pretty clever, even if it still is far fetched, over the top much like any other Resident Evil game.
The game is still controlled by that 3rd person overall point of view, like previous games, but a bit better than previous episodes (better changement of angles from screen to screen, use of 3D camera movements...).

Being developed alongside RE3Nemesis, it keeps all previous gameplay add-ons, such as quick turns, upgradeable handguns and more, while adding new elements like dual pistols (targeting multiple enemies).

This time the game runs on a fully 3D background, some weapons can be used with a 1st person perspective to better aim! It's a truly neat aspect but never really exploited, which is kinda sad.

Finishing this game won't unlock the usual Mercenaries/Arcade mode this time but Battle Game mode. Which is a simplified version of that Mercernaries mode in previous games. You'll go from room to room, killing waves of monster in the shortest time you can. Pretty fun to use your 1st person view there!
(many characters can be used in this mode, like Albert Wesker, the big bad guy of the franchise)-

Introducing the shooter feature to the RE franchise! Don't like it? It's not like we won't see it again in a RE game...

Resident Evil Code: Veronica is a pretty challenging game, a true sequel to RE2 following the original game's plot and exploring new ideas.

While I was kinda disapointed by RE3 "sidestory" aspect, Code: Veronica is a pretty long adventure this time around.

It plays better than the previous games (still that clunky aspect, but it is the reason why I love playing these games afterall!), looks & sounds better and it's a very deep experience!

Overall, it's a fantastic experience! A Must Have for any Dreamcast owner!

The game was later re-released on the Dreamcast first and then the PS2 & Gamecube under the new name Resident Evil CODE: Veronica X. CODE: Veronica X was in fact a little update to C:V, because you know, hey it's a Capcom game, and Capcom loves updating their games! This new version changed some little parts of the game ("Claire's poisoning" sequence) and had editedsome parts of the CGi scenes. Oh, and Steve changed his face/hairstyle, because people kept comparing him with Leonardo DiCaprio. Don't believe me? Look at this:

But the experience is mostly similar. Though I still recommand playing this one on the Dreamcast, since the real original version was the Dreamcast version. CODE: Veronica is a much complete/better version than CODE: Veronica X. (Harder, maybe, but as it was intended to be!)

My favorite RE game in the whole franchise probably! And even Steve's strange behavior regarding Claire won't affect my overall respect/love for this game!

I give it:

 3 / 3 Quacks!