Father K Returns...

Well first of all let me apologise for my lack of posts recently, both the Teutonic Wunderkind Of The Saturn and The Portugese God Of Gaming (that's elend and Nebacha to you and I) have put me to shame!

But there has been some Saturn related activity in Krishnaland and I'll report on it right now...

Firstly, for the princely sum of £1 brand new, I managed to grab Virtua Fighter PC. This in fact a PC port of Virtua Fighter Remix, and is pretty much what you get on the Saturn, but you have to play it with a keyboard (I don't have any kind of joystick for my PC as I don't game on it.) Playing on a keyboard is crap! Unlike the PC port of House Of The Dead 2 (which I got for a quid) and even Sega Rally (which I got for a quid) this doesn't translate very well to the PC.

Still I've sneaked it into the I school work in, so I can slip in a bit of Virtua Fighter on the quiet when I'm bored of educating young minds... I've also got Sonic R (which I got for... you guessed it, a quid!) and they're all part of the "Grab It!" series of PC releases which can be found in the bargain bins of Supermarkets in the UK... Go Sega! They really know how to whore out their back catalogue... Sorry, I meant to say bring their finer videogames to a wider audience. Ahem!

Secondly, I've been playing Umbrella Chronicles on the Wii. Of course this gives a (light gun on the rails revisit) to the original Spencer Mansion we first saw on our lovely Saturns! To see that spooky abode rendered in 21st Century graphical splendour, and to get a lot of revelations about the backstory surrounding it's characters and the Umbrella Corporation has been fantastic. I've all but finished the game unlocking every secret and collectable, but I can't beat the damn final boss! GRRR!!!

During my 'downtime' between levels on Umbrella Chronicles, I've re-played the Saturn original, cleverly squeezed into a tiny DS cartridge, as Resident Evil DS. Using the original graphics, opening and closing video sequences and cheesey dialogue, this is a much more accesable way of playing the first RE incarnation. Plus there's a lot of nice DS features in Rebirth Mode. Using the stylus to hack and slash zombies solve puzzles, rub Jill's chest and even throw darts is a pleasure to treasure! Blowing into the mic to snuff out candles, give CPR to an injured colleague and even blow back vomit into zombies faces is rather gratifying!

Now I know what you're thinking, and yes, I have once played this before, but that was on a secret 'easy mode'. This time I played it on 'normal mode' as Jill and managed to complete the game in an unimpressive nine hours fifty one minutes. This allowed me to unlock the secret 'Masters Of Knifing' mimigame and Jill's skimpy outfit! Hurrah!



Finally, for a mere £3 sterling, I've managed to secure the rather lovely "Formula Karts Special Edition" for the Saturn. A Sega produced game, this takes the magic of hurtling around a race track on a turbo charged go-kart and manages to recreate the feeling rather well!
Very arcadey and an absolute joy to play, I'm waiting for a willing opponent to test out the 2 player option, and I need to try it out with my Saturn steering wheel!



I'll let the good folks at Sega tell you all about it...

"High speed go-karting comes to the Saturn with 8 tracks from around the world. Formula Karts features arcade, championship and time attack modes as well as great driver AI, realistic animation and fast, furious karting action!"
Sounds good? More on this later...


So there you go, that's yer lot! I'm off to sunny Cyprus for a week! Take care my Saturn chums, I'll see you soon!

Resident Rejoicing!

Oh prepare the street parties, deck the halls, trumpet the fanfairs, prepare the fireworks and break out the bubbly!!!! For today dear readers is the most fabulous of days!!! They Tyrant is dead, the Mansion destroyed, foxy Jill Valentine is safely in the chopper with Brad and Barry and for now (at least) the Evil Umbrella corporation is defeated! Yes for those of you unfamiliar with my love/hate relationship with Resident Evil Deadly Silence, read on...

This was the game that made me fall in love with the DS. It made me realise what a powerful and dynamic system it was... It also was a game which I found maddeningly difficult, ball achingly frustrated with it's impossibly stingy weapon and save systems, and a game which I eventually traded for Phoenix Wright: Ace Attourney. But something made me buy it again and I'm so glad I did...

Now I won't bore you with the story line, I'll asume you know all about it After all it's a 10 year old game ported (some would say cheaply) to the DS. The original video and engagingly awful dialogue from the Saturn/PS1 version included. But the system specific DS features in Rebirth Mode are incredible... For a start there's the knifing... Using the stylus to dispatch zombies is fun. But at various points in the games you can use it to throw darts (honestly!), to reconnect circuitry, turn dials and so on... The microphone is even more cleverly employed... Blow on the screen to repel zombie vomit, to blow out candles, to give mouth to mouth to your injured colleagues... At one point you use your finger to turn a record on an antique gramophone... Highly innovative stuff!


But how pray tell, did I now succeed at a game that had previously defeated me (and frustrated my sage like patron Gnome)... well here's the deal... I discovered an easy mode. Now this is how you do it... Go to the start menu, select Rebirth Mode, then hold the d-pad to the right till the writing turns green, Hey presto! Easy Mode. Now the game already gives you the option of playing a normal game (as Jill) or a hard game (as Chris) but unless I'm missing something obvious, Capcom's definition of 'normal' means rock fucking hard! But Easy Mode gives you more resillience against attack, twice the ammo and twice the save potential. In other words it allows you a fair chance of beating the game.



Now the downside... beating the game in easy mode does not allow you to access the unlockable 'Master Of Knifing' mini-game. Oh well! the main point of me taking this journey again was to give me the background on the Umbrella story for the upcoming Wii release "Umbrella Chronicles".



Plus now I don't need to play it on the Saturn, although I might play the Gamecube remake... This means I now have the honour of completing Resident Evil, Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil Code Veronica and Resident Evil 4.

The next game I'm playing? Resident Evil 3 on the Dreamcast! Plus I've got Resident Evil Dead Aim, Resident Evil Outbreak File 2 and Resident Evil Code Veronica (Gun Survivor) for the PS2, so I should be fairly busy for a while... LOL!


Oh and I'm loving NFSC: Own the Streets and Fifa 07 for the DS, they're both great for short bursts of handheld game play. Plus I've got Prince Of Persia and Silent Hill on my phone at the moment so I might have another topic of conversation soon. Until then I'll leave you a couple of links if you want to know more about this classic series...

IGN Resident Evil DS

Resident Evil Wikipedia

Gamespot Resident Evil DS

Resident Evil DS Official Site

Capcom's Resident Evil Page

New Resident Evil Movie

Resident Evil Re-Visited...

"Resident Evil A piece of gaming history, as Capcom branches out from it's 2D fighter roots, and takes the gaming world by storm by virtually inventing the 3D Horror Survival RPG. Only one snag here... I could never get into any of the Resident Evil titles. Firstly, I'm shit at the game. Whether it's this initial foray into the franchise on the Saturn, or the highs of R.E. Code Veronica on the Dreamcast, I'm just shit. I want to like it... I really do, but whichever incarnation I play, I end up hating the way the characters seem to ice-skate through the game when walking... I get lost very easily, can't remember where I've been or come from, panic as zombies approach and end up with one of the undead motherfuckers taking a good old chomp out of my neck, with blood spurting out whilst I try to shake them off, wriggling about like a little girl whose been injected with smack. And those doors, those fucking doors that you have to stare at while the levels load... *shudder!*"


That was my dismissive summing up of Resident Evil for the Saturn earlier this year, and in a typically Krishna-esque U-Turn, I then became obsessed with the franchise, playing RE 4 on the PS2 to its conclusion, closely followed by RE: Code Veronica, RE:CV Gun Survivor, RE: DS and have also bought (but not played) RE (Gamecube Re-Make), RE Outbreak File for PS2 and have bought DVDs of the two movies...


However, until today, I had not actually played the Saturn's 'Resident Evil' for anything more than five minutes, before dismissing it as a waste of time. I had intended to play through a good chunk of Panzer Dragoon, but as I looked for the game, I came upon Resident Evil.


"Should I give it another go?" I thought "Should I dip my toe into the Resident Evil waters once again?" and somewhat inevitably I decided "Yes!"

So where do I start? Well let's start at the very beginning... The game starts with a very atmospheric video, showing the S*T*A*R*S rescue team dropped in Raccoon Forest looking for their stranded 'Bravo' colleagues. This must have been so cool back in the day! The uber villain of the series, Albert Wesker, is there leading the team and its not too long before they flee from those zombie Dobermans into the Umbrella owned mansion where your quest begins...


Playing as either Chris Redfield or Jill Valentine (Chris represents harder gameplay) you start your exploration of the mansion and its not too long before those sinister and shuffling zombies show up, ready for you to waste...

The great thing is, thanks to playing the DS remake, I now know roughly what to expect in each room and also the layout of the mansion, so exploration is not so hit and miss. The DS remake is literally a straight port of the first outing, with a few nods to the DS stylus/microphone control system. So in a sense, even though it was played looking at the tiny screen of the DS, I have already played this Saturn game before...

Still, onto the best features... the game is HUGE for a 32 bit title. The mansion is sprawling, and there is much to explore if you have the time or patience. The graphics are superb for the time and the detail in the mansion's rooms, furniture and fittings are magnificent. The game's musical
score is superb, building up tension as you edge through those oh so slowly opening doors!


Compared to later RE titles, the action is relatively slow paced. The zombies are pretty scarce at the start of the game, with most rooms containing items rather than monsters. The inventory system, with its maps, weapons, ammo and healing devices is brilliant and the same system is being used, as Resident Evil 5 for PS3 and Xbox 360 looms upon us. One grumble is that the saving system (randomly scattered typewriters that require ink ribbons) are few and far between. You can be killed by an unexpected zombie (their attacks are pretty unforgiving) and you can be sent backwards through your progress in the game, losing large chunks of combat and discovery, finding yourself back at square one, and having to repeat large chunks of the game.

Another gripe is the aiming and firing system. A slightly wrong nudge of the D Pad can find your aim way off line (particularly when fighting the zombie dogs). It could just be me but knifing seems pretty ineffective and bullets are precious. Therefore when firing your weapon, a lot of bullets seem to get wasted, and you find yourself running out of ammo quick!

An 'easy' option would be very much appreciated (by me anyway). Take this very pertinent point from the article "What Just Happened? (Death and Defeat In Gaming)" from the wonderful (and oft cited on this site) Games TM magazine...



" The problem is that a large number of games are still made as tests of timing, tactics and reflexes, with a story forced in to the gaps between levels. If narrative is to develop and fully engage the player, then setbacks inherent in the story will have to take precedence over extreme difficulty. If story is to be told effectively, then surely there is experiential benefit in allowing the player to reach the end without too much difficulty. Replaying the same ten minutes of a story 50 times will leave you frustrated and possibly convince you that the adventure isn't worth taking."


Wise words indeed! That sums up whats happened with me and dozens of games! But when you know that a story within a game IS worth seeing through to a conclusion, all too difficult games become very frustrating. That's why games with 'easy' options, or forgiving save systems are the ones I have loved the most. (Examples include RE4, Shenmue 1 & 2, Enter The Matrix and Head Hunter.)

The Saturn version of Resident Evil is a MUST in any Saturn collection and the best way to investigate the RE franchise, if you've never played any of the titles. Playing through the series chronologically, rather than the back to front way I have approached it, is the best way to experience the joy of Resident Evil.

For some great RE resources look here, here, here, here and here!

Reverend Early's weekly Sermons New Content!

It's a little known and under-visited blog, but there's four new posts on it encompassing such hallowed and diverse topics as The Illuminati (or to be more precise the novel Illuminatus!), Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Crass (the ultimate punk band) and the continuing influence of eighties synth pop on today's dance music.

Plus videos from Clockwork Orange, The KLF, Orbital, Dr. Who and Eat Static!

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You can find all this meaty goodness here