Leon’s smooth movements and the over the shoulder laser aiming have been transferred over perfectly intact from Resident Evil 4 to give us an easy-to-control zombie stomping experience for our pockets. Even though some concessions have been made in terms of graphic detail and polygon count to accommodate mobile devices, there is no mistaking this for anything other than Resident Evil on a smaller screen with superb playability.
The tone for Resident Evil Degeneration is beautifully set up by an ominous and tense soundtrack coupled with full sound effects from Leon’s footsteps to his kicking open doors and the cocking of his shotgun. When confronting the undead they let out an unnerving scream or growl until silenced by the welcome blast from your riot gun. Unfortunately, you can’t blow their heads off. There is also a wide range of airport SFX like conveyers, fans and shutters.
Leon’s weapons are all fully upgradeable and there are the familiar healing herbs, first aid sprays and treasures scattered about the 11 levels of the terminal or hidden in boxes. Capcom has also included the merchant in this mobile RE where you can buy, sell and upgrade weapons. While on the subject of armaments, Degeneration lets you deal death from afar with the scoped rifle which comes in handy when dealing with the rabid dogs that can give you trouble up close.
The game gives you a double-barreled dose of well-made cut scenes to move the story along and give Leon his objectives and motivation. There is narrative here, a reason to survive other than a high score. With maps to follow, clues to find, machinery to repair and people to save Leon has his hands full and his finger on the trigger. It’s mobile gaming at its finest.
There are a couple of timed missions and you’re also given the task of hitting certain directional keys on your d-pad in your confrontations with the several bosses in the game. For those who like to get up close and personal, Leon can also kick and use his knife but there is no rocket launcher or chainsaw in Degeneration.
After completing the game on normal you unlock a mercenary mode to accumulate kills in a set
time and a professional story mode to extend game play. While some may complain about the length of the game when compared to a console, Degeneration has good length by mobile standards and you can play in landscape mode like all the N-gage titles.
Resident Evil Degeneration is a remarkable and welcome achievement for those who have been wondering if a 5 star 3D shooter was ever going to make it onto their cell phones. Capcom has crafted a fun, tense and gripping mobile game that deserves our support to encourage more titles like it in the future.
Reviewed by goyami - Nokia N95 8gb