Gaming’s House of Halloween Horror: Resident Evil (Gamecube)

As pop ballache and alleged public toilet buggerer George Michael once sang, if you're gonna do it, do it right. And of course, if there's one bunch of bastards we should always take advice from, it's Wham!. So, if you're going to play a little vintage Resident Evil this Halloween, you must do it right. George Michael commands you.

Right, in this instance, means venturing back to the Gamecube's launch in 2001. Capcom had just signed a deal with Nintendo to bring their acclaimed soil-your-pants ‘em up, Resident Evil, to the console. Almost the entire series, at that. Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis were ported and the still-exclusive prequel made an appearance later. But the most exciting prospect to emerge from this ball-touchy new ‘friendship' between the Japanese giants? A fantastic re-imagining of the original game.

REmake, as the game was dubbed by funloving pun-loving gamers, is still quite a sextastic sight. Certainly the most visually-impressive title on the console. It's hardly recognizable as the ugly-ass Jill Sandwich that was the original. Just look at it. Have the maggot-ridden empty eye-sockets of the undead ever looked this sexy? They haven't. It was a marvel at the time. "You'd almost think these bastards were in the room with you, eating your face off," said Grandpa. Damn right you would.

But even in this brave new world of things actually looking like the things they're supposed to be, the fundamental elements of 1996‘s Resident Evil remain intact. Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine control as awkwardly and survival horror-ily as they always did, and those static camera angles you remember from the earlier games are here too. The plot, similarly unchanged, sees you cruising through the Spencer Mansion, hoping it isn't Chris's blood, ignoring the oh-so-obvious signs of Wesker's betrayal and admiring Barry's luxurious ginger beard. Business as usual all around.

Video game remakes are a tricky business (same with movies and... pretty well anything else; people love to bitch). If they venture too far from the original, there's uproar and effigy-burning on bonfires and all kinds of crazy-ass reprisals. Similarly, if you deliver only an HD Classics-style re-prettying, the internet nerdsassins will whine about laziness and cash grabbing; before sending pissed off emails to nobody in particular. In short, it's like a minefield, strewn with mines full of insanity and hatred.

Well, usually.

The Gamecube edition of Resident Evil was well-received by players and critics for just this reason. Its changes to the gameplay were subtle, with puzzles being substituted for others and some items being switched. It also added those asshole Crimson Heads (zombies you failed to dispatch with headshots or burning the bodies, who got back up when you backtracked past them) and their running-and-a-clawin' shenanigans, and the unfortunately Elephant Man-esque Lisa Trevor. The additions and alterations were effective, only enhancing the experience without losing anything in the process.

Take a look below, as door-opening loading screens and humans as maneuverable as a damn Sherman tank meet some remarkably spangly visuals. This is the way the first Resident Evil is meant to be played.