Resident Evil. Publisher: Capcom. Format: Nintendo GameCube.

REMAKES are rarely as good as the original. Remember Dino de Laurentiis' rehash of King Kong, Sylvester Stallone in Get Carter or the load of old tosh that was The Avengers?

It's been six years since Capcom unleashed Resident Evil on an unsuspecting PlayStation-owning public.

Since then the market has been flooded with survival horror clones (Silent Hill being the best of 'em) on every conceivable platform.

In fact, the genre has gone the way of the real time strategy concept and familiarity with the horror adventure format has led to disillusionment.

Maybe that explains why Sony let the Resident Evil series slip from the PS2's grasp into the hands of arch rival Nintendo.

But now the 2002 remake of the original Resi has resurfaced on GameCube, the bosses at Sony must be kicking themselves.

Resident Evil 2002 is no ported over PlayStation game. Nor is it the first adventure with polished graphics a la Resi 2 and 3 on Dreamcast. It's a brand new game built from the ground up to take advantage of the 'Cube's processing power and graphical muscle.

The result is a classic of its type. I'm an avowed fan of the Resi series anyway, but, after playing the remake, I'd say this title is one of the greatest games ever committed to a shiny silver disc, regardless of genre.

It may follow the original template but, like all good remakes, adds a contemporary gloss with stunning new graphics, highly detailed environments, better puzzles and a more sophisticated story line. Not to mention more enemies and even more of those moments that scared the pants of you in the original (like the first time those dogs jump through the window at your character as he walks down the corridor).

The control element of your character is pretty much as before only now you can defend yourself from a close quarter attack with a knife, cattle prod or a grenade. The first time you stuff a grenade in a zombie's mouth and pull the pin I guarantee you'll be stunned.

What's more, unless you decapitate them, these zombies come back stronger than ever, lunging out of shadows and swiping at you with vicious razors.

In fact, Resi the remake is so good that I can only implore you to rush out and buy a GameCube console just to play this one game - right now.

Even better, this is only the beginning. Shinji Mikami (the father of survival horror) intends to remake his classic Resi trilogy exclusively for lucky 'Cube owners. There will also be an exclusive fourth instalment and a prequel. The best PS2 owners can do is the scrappy shoot 'em up Resident Evil Survivor 2.

So perhaps the Cube isn't destined to end up a distant third in the format war after all. Maybe Nintendo has woken up to the possibilities offered by blood, gore and rotting flesh just in time.

Published: 13/09/2002