Game developers tend to shroud themselves in secrecy, but sometimes, those rare, juicy behind-the-scenes nuggets manage to sneak out from their hiding places. In the case of Resident Evil 2, we outsiders didn't even have to assume the scrounging position; back when games journalism moved glacially and relegated itself largely to the world of print, a somewhat different version of Capcom's survival horror sequel hit the preview pages of gaming magazines.
Instead of Claire Redfield, Resident Evil 1.5 -- as it's since come to be known -- featured a biker named Elza Walker as its female protagonist, and though the central backdrop of the Raccoon City Police Department remained the same, it offered a graphical style a bit different than the drab (though realistic) environments of Resident Evil 2. Other additions to 1.5, like the deterioration and bloodening of playable characters' clothes, never saw the light of day, though Resident Evil 2 turned out just fine after Capcom went back to the drawing board -- we can only dream about what could have been if the developer did the same with their latest installment in the series.
Until recently, what little we knew about Resident Evil 1.5 could be gleaned from the few tiny pictures and low-res videos floating around. But recently, thanks to what can safely be called INTERNET DRAMA, a good chunk of 1.5 has surfaced in playable form. To make a long story short, apparently a team of hackers has been hard at work restoring 1.5 into a fully playable game. At some point, their unfinished project found itself in the hands of a malicious third party, so said team decided to release this work-in-progress to the public themselves. Regardless of its questionable legality, the idea of a playable Resident Evil 1.5 is an amazing proposition for RE fans and gaming historians alike. If you'd like to follow the progress of this ambitious project, check out one of the team member's YouTube channels for plenty of videos about their work on the game thus far.
No comments:
Post a Comment