Biohazard 2: Value Plus

Resident Evil: Code Veronica is getting ready to become the Dreamcast's visual feast with eye-popping graphics and horrific gameplay.

Resident of the Dreamcast

It appears that no home console gaming system is safe from Resident Evil! In addition to the Nintendo 64, PlayStation, and Game Boy Color RE titles slated for release this fall, the Dreamcast is also getting its due with the best-looking RE title yet Resident Evil: Code Veronica ditches the pre-rendered environments of other RE titles and re-WWII places them with fully 1 polygonal ones. You can also say goodbye to awkward-looking character polygons and big pixels; as you can tell from these screens, Veronica's graphics are silky-smooth and distortion free (in short, gaming heaven).

"Claire Is Our New Partner, You Know"

Information on Veronica is scarce at this point, but we can tell you that the game features Claire Redfield (from Resident Evil 2) and that the story picks up right after the events of the second game, with Claire searching for her brother, Chris, at Umbrella's headquarters in Europe. True to the RE series, you can expect tons of scares, loads of gore, an arsenal of weapons, and several puzzles to tax your wits. Veronica is slated for release before the new millennium, and we'll provide more info and screens in upcoming issues.

SHEN MUE

Yu Suzuki, the creator of the Virtua Fighter, Daytona, and Fighting Vipers series, is bringing his magic to the Dreamcast. If peeks at the game so far are any indication, Yu should once again hit gold with Shen Mue.

Mue and You

The buzz surrounding Shen Mue, Sega's upcoming adventure RPG game, has been phenomenal as it should be. Rumor has it that Shen Mue cost over $10 million to make, and it's still not finished! Based on a life-simulation engine that requires you to work for a living, Shen follows characters through the streets of Tokyo using some of the slickest graphics ever seen. In some screens, the lead male character, Ryo Hazuki, is shown fighting off as many as five people in a Jackie Chan-style brawl.

Shen and Shen's Abilities

Yu Suzuki, Shen's creator, wants the game to appeal to younger gamers; to that end, he's developed a new system called Quick Timer Events. When the game enters this mode, arrows flash on the screen to indicate in what direction you should proceed. If you go against the arrows, the outcome of the game will be changed. You can also watch your life go by in real time; the game will know when it's night or day, so each time you start the game, it will correspond to the correct time in your real life.

Welcome to the Real World

Given that there are lots of real-world problems in Shen Mue, such as running out of money, you may have to find a job although you can also gamble or steal. Plus, you'll have four players to choose from, with gameplay changing slightly for each. Shen Mue is almost certain to make the impact that Zelda made last year and will probably be one of the better reasons to invest in a Dreamcast.

Japanese Dreamcast owners were understandably bummed when Code Veronica's release date was pushed back, but they did get a little consolation prize. Biohazard 2 (Resident Evil in the U.S.): Value Plus is basically a port of the PC version complete with sharper graphics and extra play modes. Special modes like The Tofu Survivor and The 4th Survivor are accessible immediately as is the Extreme Battle Mode.

You still have to play through the game with a good grade to unlock Claire and Leon's extra costumes though. The real bonuses are the Gallery collection and of course the Code Veronica demo disc. The Gallery lets you view character illustrations, 3D models, CG models and movies... that is, once you've unlocked them. The basic rule of thumb is that if you see a character, monster or movie while playing the game, they can now be viewed in the Gallery (the Claire and Leon discs have different gallery options). The Code Veronica demo is great just by itself, but it has a cool jukebox collection that lets you listen to a few tunes from all three Biohazard special soundtracks that were released only in Japan.