Easily one of the most successful videogame franchises of all time, Capcom's Resident Evil games continually set the standard for action/horror games with each installment.  Code: Veronica has quite possibly been the most anticipated Dreamcast title to date and like its predecessors, has very high expectations to fulfill.  However, one of the major complaints of the series' dedicated fans has been that each new installment doesn't differ much from the last.  Code: Veronica boasts totally new 3D environments and a slew of new characters and enemies with hopes of becoming the best survival horror game to date.  So does this make it the best Resident Evil ever?  Not necessarily... 

Taking the roles of Claire and Chris Redfield, players are thrown smack dab in the middle of two disaster areas: Europe and Antarctica.  In each location, it's the player's job to solve as many puzzles and kill as many monsters as it takes to get Claire and Chris reunited and off each compound.  By now, Resident Evil veterans should be used to this story since a similar one has been in all the other Resident Evil games, with some characters swapped here and there.  Where this installment shines is in its cosmetics.   

Code: Veronica is visually stunning.  Every little detail has been considered and as result, the atmosphere is very strong.  From the bleeding, pulsating enemies to the atmospheric surroundings, everything in this game looks incredibly real.  A good example of the attention to detail is one section where players stumble into a house littered with creepy surroundings such as porcelain dolls, strange torture devices, and cob webs on the ceilings.  You can almost feel the dolls staring at you when you walk by and you can almost hear the screaming victims of the torture devices when you look at them.  Code: Veronica is without question the best looking videogame on the market.

Not to be content with just pretty graphics, Capcom has also kept up the tradition of having excellent sounds and music.  The music is, as always, very moody.  When you're just walking around, things are kind of slow and soft until you walk into a trap and the music gets frantic in an effort to induce panic in the player.  Really though, this is nothing new to fans of the series, since each game before Code: Veronica has had the same shuffling of zombie feet, the same piercing wail of a hunter, and the same frantic songs of danger.  There may be nothing new, but what's here is still very welcome and helpful to the game.

Another way Code: Veronica stays true to its heritage is the control setup.  Though the game is in 3D, the controls have remained exactly the same as before.  It doesn't work as well this time, however.  Actually, control in Code: Veronica is worse than any Resident Evil game before it.  When drawing your weapon, the character is supposed to automatically target the closest enemy.  This doesn't always work since often there will be multiple enemies closing in from all sides.  There is a button to switch targets, but its functionality is questionable.  Sometimes it works, and other times it just causes the character to aim a little to their left or right, even if the nearest enemy is right behind them.  Thankfully, the control is not an issue that ruins the game.  Hardcore fans will probably not have much difficulty, but those new to Resident Evil may struggle at first. 

Those concerned with the story and acting may be disappointed this time.  Claire, who according to the game's timeline, was just a normal girl without any weapons or training who managed to survive the horrors of Resident Evil 2 out of luck and faith.  This time, she's got the skills of a highly trained SWAT professional.  One look at the intro will have gamers wondering if they purchased Resident Evil or Tomb Raider.  The voice acting is actually pretty good for a videogame, but it is unfortunately held back by a poorly written storyline with cheesy cut-scenes and plot twists.

Another small concern is the difficulty.  As before, your character can only carry the load of a naked one-armed man.  This was never a problem for past games since a universal storage box was never too far away.  In Code: Veronica, storage boxes are few and far between.  Players will often fill up on numerous puzzle pieces and be forced to run back to the storage box countless times to swap items.  Not only that, but ammo and health items are very scarce as well.  The average player will spend 65% of their game limping around, armed with only a handgun and a crossbow which both take several shots to put down a single zombie.  There is a way to change the difficulty level, but in order to earn the extras in the game, you'll need to finish it on the normal difficulty level. 

Overall, Resident Evil Code: Veronica is a solid game that no hardcore fan of the series should be without.  It is by no means revolutionary, but it is a fun game despite the fact that it can get frustrating at times.  Simply put, buy it if you're a real fan, but otherwise, don't feel bad about buying another game or renting this one beforehand.