Direct prequel to the first entry, set in the train and Umbrella training facility. Smart character swap system between Rebecca and Billy, lovingly old-school atmosphere. A notch under the RE1 remake but still excellent of its kind.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player16+
Description
Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen battle Umbrella's first experiments in this Capcom GameCube Biohazard Zero. Published by Capcom, released in Japan in November 2002. Resident Evil prequel with two alternately playable characters, prehistoric monsters and survival horror atmosphere.
Biohazard Zero review
MAX
Art direction
★★★★★
"Iconic"
4/5
Music
★★★★★
"Excellent"
3/5
Story
★★★★★
"Solid"
Aboard a rain-swept train and then through Umbrella's underground, the pre-rendered sets reach a rare finesse, playing with reflections and chiaroscuro. The visual continuity between the two heroes feeds a constant tension. This morbid elegance, polished down to the detail, makes it one of the console's most refined survival games.
A prequel to the saga developed by Capcom for the console, Biohazard Zero introduces a partner system where you alternate between Rebecca Chambers and Billy Coen, using their complementary skills to solve puzzles and fights. The art direction, with its sumptuous pre rendered backdrops, ranks among the finest in classic survival horror. The stiff controls and the dropping of storage chests prove divisive. For fans of the genre and of Resident Evil, it offers a polished, tense adventure, enhanced by the visual signature of the GameCube era.
