Code Veronica, or Darkside Chronicles CVX?

[Angel1932]

Which do you like better, and why? I've found a lot of people have different views on the two versions, and they tend to prefer one or the other for different reasons. So, which was better, and why?

[Dracarys]

I like some new additions DSC added like with Alexander Ashford, other parts like the crazy house not so much. DSC ruined Alfred/Alexia relationship.

One is a full game the other a poorly told breakdown of events, isn't really fair comparing the two.

[Kei_M]

I can't imagine somebody saying they prefer the interpretation in Darkside Chronicles more than the original. To me, one of the main draws was the villains. Alfred, Alexia and Wesker were all a little more developed than RE1 Wesker, Birkin and Nicholai were. Alfred was relatively well interpreted but due to the constraints of the game I don't think they could afford to simultaneously create a villain and portray Alexia's loving relationship with her brother, so she just became a mad scientist with a superiority complex. Also Wesker's revival was a huge turning point in the series, and his attack on Claire, Alexia and Chris were great moments...I think Chris' reaction to him being alive could have been a little more...surprised.

However, that's not to say that Darkside didn't bring some nice aspects. Of course the graphics GREATLY outdid the original, Alfrexia's redesign was absolutely perfect. And the team up with Chris and Claire was something I had wanted to see so badly in RE, it should have been done in the original game if only in a cutscene.

[Smiley]

It's a little hard to say that a bare bones recap for a rail shooter works better than a full on Resident Evil game of the same plot. The only way I could see that happening is if you hated CVX to begin with.

My friend tried to put into perspective why the Zero sections in Umbrella Chronicles were better than the full game.

He chalked it up to:

1. No silly side plot where Marcus is young.
2. More involvement from Wesker.
3. Its shorter.
4. Voice acting (Debatable)

And so on with other examples that escape my mind at the moment. Do I agree with him? He makes some interesting points, but ultimately I have to side with the one that has more involvement from a game perspective. And that's RE Zero.

With Code Veronica I look at it like this. I'll never think a recap is as good as the full thing. But does the scenario work as a recap? Well yes and no.

I think they covered a lot of ground (more than UC anyway), but I felt there was more they should have acknowledged. When Code Veronica came out at the time Wesker showing up was a big reveal for the series and fans wanted more involvement from him. Darkside Chronicles came out after RE5 and I could see that Wesker and Chris were downplayed in favor of giving the other characters more spotlight. That's why Wesker's role is more or less a cameo whereas Chris is only playable in one chapter. For Code Veronica's plot that's a problem since Chris and Wesker become a major influence during the latter half of the game.

Voice acting wise I have no problem with either set. The originals for their time were classic Resident Evil voice acting. Campy, but nostalgic. The new voices work just as well for modern RE voice acting while still being somewhat silly.

Character wise I find that the files and plot from CVX work more than Darkside Chronicles. What we read and see is much more enlightening. We had a little nod to Alexander Ashford in Darkside, but in the grand scheme of things his cameo was completely unnecessary. Alexia was more vocal after her mutation which to me was a big no-no. Never mind that she killed her brother. From a horror perspective the mutated Alexia was far more threatening when she said nothing and kept walking towards you. Hearing her egg you on as she continues to mutate didn't work for me regardless if the boss battle was fun. But this was a more action oriented game than horror so I'm sure some gamers won't think twice about it.

At the same time you have more involvement from Claire and Chris in the Darkside version. This could also be a good or bad thing. The dilemma for CVX has always been if Claire and Chris will finally reunite. So it's best to keep them as separate as possible to build up the tension and make their reunion something to look forward to. Even when they meet they get separated again. Divided up by Alexia, Wesker, locked door, etc. But if you like the short sibling cooperation between the Redfields then you may enjoy Darkside more.

The soundtrack is more solid in CVX. Darkside had more or less kept the same music, but changed it slightly, and it doesn't compare to the quality of the original. It sounds more thematic in CVX, and whether its a different use of technology or instruments I just find the original more easy on the ears.

Graphics wise it's easy to say Darkside. I'm not one of those people that bash a game for being outdated. As I've grown older I've come to realize that nothing is ever really timeless. As we move forward some things will not look as appealing or have the same pace. But from a horror perspective I will give props where they are due and say the redesign for the creatures and characters are well made. Code Veronica worked for its time, but looking at both you can see a more grimy level of detail to Darkside's creatures. Case in point is the bandersnatch. Looks much more scary in Darkside even if the game itself isn't as scary.

[News Bot]

It isn't Marcus in BH0.

Alfred was relatively well interpreted but due to the constraints of the game I don't think they could afford to simultaneously create a villain and portray Alexia's loving relationship with her brother, so she just became a mad scientist with a superiority complex.

She was always a mad scientist with a superiority complex. They changed her motivations and personality though, and pointlessly made her kill Alfred.

Darkside Chronicles butchered the stories of BH2 and CV and changed a lot of the established personalities of the characters. Claire's knife skills, Annette's polar opposite personality, Alexia's altered motivations, etc.

[Alexia_Ashford]

Darkside Chronicles should burn in Hell.

[Archelon]

Personally, I thought the way they handled Alexia's reawakening in Darkside Chronicles made more sense. I mean, I know Resident Evil is a series full of convenient plot devices and leaps of logic, but Alexia waking up at the exact moment Claire and Steve were escaping from the Antarctic facility (not to mention just in time to see Alfred die) was really pushing it.

Alfred waking her up early to take care of Claire and Steve is much more reasonable, in my opinion. Of course, there's still the issue of how Alexia knew that Claire and Steve were responsible and even where they were at that particular moment in time, but I guess we can't have everything.

I never had a problem with Alexia killing Alfred, because I thought it suited her character more than gently caressing his head in her lap after he kicked the bucket.

On an unrelated note, the Kill House was a complete waste of a level, when we could have instead been exploring the other locations on the island that were in the original game.

And while I was initially bummed about not getting to see Chris and Wesker's battle remade with Darkside's assets, I appreciate the simplicity of the ending, as I feel it encapsulates Chris and Wesker's feud in a much more subtle, albeit still very effective, way, something you don't often see in a Resident Evil. I still wish you could have unlocked Chris' scenario, though, similar to Ada's, HUNK's, and Rebecca's in Umbrella Chronicles.

Just because he would have been by himself doesn't mean it would have to be a strictly single player affair. After all, you could unlock two-player in the chapters mentioned above in UC.

[rehunk88]

Code veronica

[Smiley]

It isn't Marcus in BH0.

It is..... ;>_>

Or at least that's who the character is referred to. If you're going to foam at the mouth and jump in that I should call him 'Queen Leech' or whatever... Yeah I'll do that. I'll also call Ocelot 'Liquid' in MGS4 while I'm at it.

Oh dear... Why do I get that lingering sense of topic derailment?

Must talk about Code Veronica. Um... I like the new voice actor for Steve Burnside.

[Neptune]

It is..... ;>_>

Or at least that's who the character is referred to. If you're going to foam at the mouth and jump in that I should call him 'Queen Leech' or whatever... Yeah I'll do that. I'll also call Ocelot 'Liquid' in MGS4 while I'm at it.

Oh dear... Why do I get that lingering sense of topic derailment?

Must talk about Code Veronica. Um... I like the new voice actor for Steve Burnside.

it isnt, it is the queen leech. Marcus is killed in 1978 with the queen leech inside.

[Alexia_Ashford]

I never had a problem with Alexia killing Alfred, because I thought it suited her character more than gently caressing his head in her lap after he kicked the bucket.

I disagree. In CVX, Alexia was very close to Alfred which made sense. She had been genetically engineered and her intelligence enhanced so much to the point where it would have alienated her from everyone else around her because she was always so much smarter than they were, and Alexander feeding her this idea that she was the embodiment of this great ancestor and it was up to her to revive the family name. This would have led into her believing she was superior, better than anyone else and the only person who "understood" this was Alfred, and he continued to feed her ego and worship her which made it even worse; eventually going so far as to create a virus so she could control the world and everyone else being her servant. He worshiped the ground she walked on and she loved him for it, although she acknowledged he was inferior to her, she appreciated his loyalty;

'Until then, I have no choice but to trust the capsule that I will be in, to that inept but loyal soldier ant who is my brother.'

The characters were both so interesting and it is quite easy to see how they developed into the personalities they were and build a psychological profile. In Darkside Chronicles, they just turned Alexia into a stereotypical "baddie" who is an evil psychopathic bitch who kills the caring brother who adored and idolized her so much.

[Smiley]

Just like Liquid died before MGS4 right? The character is still called Dr. Marcus. It sounds like Dr. Marcus. It thinks like Dr. Marcus. It even smells like Dr. Marcus. We can call it the Queen Leech, but frankly every time I see an old man (or his younger self no matter how feminine) I just couldn't bear the thought of referring to him as "her majesty". Not until the transformations anyway where the character becomes more leech like and looks less like Marcus. ;D

I disagree. In CVX, Alexia was very close to Alfred which made sense. She had been genetically engineered and her intelligence enhanced so much to the point where it would have alienated her from everyone else around her because she was always so much smarter than they were, and Alexander feeding her this idea that she was the embodiment of this great ancestor and it was up to her to revive the family name. This would have led into her believing she was superior, better than anyone else and the only person who "understood" this was Alfred, and he continued to feed her ego and worship her which made it even worse; eventually going so far as to create a virus so she could control the world and everyone else being her servant. He worshiped the ground she walked on and she loved him for it, although she acknowledged he was inferior to her, she appreciated his loyalty;

'Until then, I have no choice but to trust the capsule that I will be in, to that inept but loyal soldier ant who is my brother.'

The characters were both so interesting and it is quite easily to see how they developed into the personalities they were and build a psychological profile. In Darkside Chronicles, they just turned Alexia into a stereotypical "baddie" who is an evil psychopathic bitch who kills the lovely brother who adored her so much.

QFT!

The situation would have been much better if Alexia killed Alfred to end his pain and suffering from his wound. But she brushes his death off saying "He really wasn't much fun."

To me the perfect representation of the Ashford twins was their home movie with the dragon fly and the ants. It ends with them smiling at each other. How could one not feel they had a connection? Alfred was a loyal soldier ant to Alexia and fully aware of his place in her world. It's also what separates her from someone like Albert Wesker who has no quarrels with killing anyone that tries to get close to him (case in point: Excella).

[News Bot]

The "Marcus" in BH0 is outright stated to be a "clone", it is the Queen Leech after merging with his DNA and taking on his memories. Completely separate being otherwise. Marcus died in 1988 and is still dead 10 years later.

As for BHDC, both it and BHUC are terrible representations of the stories of the past games regardless of how "noble" the intentions are. They just got lazy with most of them and did not think them through. They could have gone about summarizing them much better.

[Archelon]

Oh, I also like that you can shoot Steve in the face in DSC.

[Kei_M]

She was always a mad scientist with a superiority complex.

Ya, but she wasn't JUST a mad scientist with a superiority complex in the original, she had different dimensions especially when you look at her relationship with her brother, in darkside she was JUST a mad scientist with a superiority complex.