That first playthrough where X is going to give it to ya
Stunning, visually speaking and some of the best atmosphere out of any horror game. Mr. X is fucking great and even though the game drifts into actiony shlock towards the end, the vast majority of the game is tense and effectively creepy. The voice acting is better, but still cheesy and the script is campy as hell, it takes more than a couple of rewrites to fix all of the flaws in the original game's writing. I prefer Leon's wooden tough guy voice from RE4
I had to tap out on the remake of 1 because I just couldn’t do it with the tank controls, but this was much more like it. Actually enjoyed running from zombies and Mr X and turning the red map rooms of the police station blue one by one, and thank god there’s hip pouches that let you expand your inventory to actually useful levels. Only issue why did I pick up tons of blue poison heal plants through the whole game when I only actually got poisoned and had to use one… *drumroll* …once.
To be honest, this deserves probably at least a 90 because it nails the atmosphere, survival horror elements, the sound design, the visuals. It's awesome for what it is. It doesn't get a 90 because while I acknowledge that it's a great game (and I certainly enjoyed what time I spent with it), it's too spooky for me. Also, survival horror isn't really my jam. I prefer games like F.E.A.R. that are scary but resources aren't limited.
No waiting between two rooms make the remake worth it. And the Trench Coat Super Zombie is much more fun in this one, with his loud step you fear and try to throw off.