The Resident Evil Podcast

Episode 38: Resident Evil - Corporate Espionage

Welcome to our 2016 Christmas special in which a suggestion by Rombie resulted in an episode dedicated to the various shady organisations that populate the Resident Evil universe. We also have a discussion on the recently updated Beginning Hour demo for Resident Evil 7 now available for all consoles and the new 'Tape 3' trailer. For the main chat, Mr. Spencer presents a detailed thesis on Umbrella's clandestine relationship with the U.S. Government dating back to the dark times of the Cold War, and we look at Umbrella's fall from grace and how replacements such as Tricell and WilPharma fared. So grab a sherry and a mince pie and enjoy as Neptune gets a little too carried away with the festive stuff, Batman tries to clarify the history of Umbrella's rival company only to complicate things even further, and George Trevor decides he doesn't like Resident Evil 7, despite it being everything he has been desperately hoping for for so long. Look out for bread monsters.

Episode 37 - Happy Birthday Resident Evil 1

Welcome to part 2 of our 20th anniversary celebrations. This time around we wanted to pay tribute to the original game that got us all so hooked way back in the very beginning. Many of our team hadn't played the game for a number of years and each member was tasked with trying out a different version. The standard original, director's cut, Deadly Silence and Sega Saturn versions all get a run out with various degrees of success. We talk of our own experiences during our playthroughs and what routes we like to take around the mansion and what areas are best to avoid. The legacy of the game is discussed and of course there are the inevitable comparisons to the remake. So with Resident Evil 7 just around the corner, take the time to remind yourself of the good old days back from the very beginning.

Episode 36 - Resident Evil: The Stage

This episode looks at the little-known stage play performed during a three week run in Tokyo last winter. The plot is set between the events of Resident Evil 5 and 6 and features the long-awaited return of Rebecca Chambers in her first chronological appearance since Resident Evil Zero. After coming to blows over factory designs and corporate logos last month, our panel sit down to analyse the story and discuss whether Resident Evil can transition successfully to a theatrical stage setting. We look at the characters, the acting, the costumes and the production design, coming away feeling quite positive which makes a refreshing change of late. In the news we look ahead to Tokyo Game Show 2016, speculating on 'The Lantern' trailer and the recent ESRB leak revealing the core plot and specific scenes from Resident Evil 7. Finally season 3 of the podcast signs off with an extended edition of Neptune's Biohazard Quiz.

Episode 35 - Resident Evil Umbrella Corps

Well here it is... Medics are on standby and Wesker clones lurk in the darkness as our team tackles the latest addition to the series with Umbrella Corps. S.T.A.R.S_TyranT and Rombie lead the offensive in what they describe as not only one of the worst games in the franchise, but also one of the worst multiplayer shooters of all time. TheBatman once again bites on the little canon fishing hook Capcom love to cast out on their unsuspecting fanbase and valiantly tries to defend the game and The Experiment campaign to no avail. We discuss each locale in turn and what they bring to the table, almost coming to blows over the Umbrella factory and then a surprising stalemate over the Antarctic base. Other discussions include what the point of the game being canon is and what it adds to the mythos as well as a review on the multiplayer aspects, the customisation and the numerous bugs being reported. This is survival of the fittest...

Episode 34 - Resident Evil 7: Beginning Hour

And so after four long years the next numbered entry for the series has finally been revealed, showcasing a return to full-on horror and a somewhat controversial first person perspective. Here the team dissect the release trailer and 'Beginning Hour' demo made available for PS4. The parallels to PT are obvious and Rombie discusses the demo's origins harkening back to the infamous VR 'Kitchen' demo from last year. Plot speculations are discussed with a hope for a more grounded story away from the global effects of bioterrorism and large, unrealistic monsters and concepts. Could this be the remnants of a long-forgotten Umbrella experiment, or can the entire plot be uncovered by simply watching the infamous X-Files episode 'Home'? 

In other news, STARS_TyranT gives his appraisal on the PS4/XBOX1 port of Resident Evil 5, and is forced to defend the game once again following scathing attacks from Neptune and George Trevor. We also discuss release reaction to Umbrella Corps and no prizes for guessing who has a mental breakdown over that one... TheBatman has potentially lost his marbles trying to defend the game and for safety reasons it was agreed by all before recording commenced that there would be no mention of Wesker clones.

Neptune's biohazard quiz hits an all-time low and prepare yourselves for 'googlegate' and the revelation that Raccoon City Police Officer David Ford was a former astronaut. All those mysterious typing sounds heard during previous quiz questions that no one would ever own up to may finally have their origins revealed...

Episode 33 - Resident Evil 20th Anniversary Special

Here the team reassemble to celebrate 20 years of Resident Evil, reminiscing about the glory days and looking back on how memorable the franchise has been over the last two decades. In the news we speculate on the intriguing announcements of Biohazard: Vendetta and Biohazard: The Musical; Voice of Gaia before moving on to a birthday celebration of our own as we look back on over four years of Resident Evil podcasting. Our first recording was way back before Revelations was released and before Resident Evil 6 was even announced and yet here we are today, contemplating a remake of our favourite episode and remastering some of our old classics in HD for a new audience because we don't know what to do moving forward... Hang on, that sounds a little familiar... 

The main discussion focuses on the franchise as a whole, beginning way back with the original game in 1996 and charting the steady course and evolution of the series right up to where we are now with the imminent release of Umbrella Corps. Join us as we start with a gun and a S.T.A.R.S. badge and enter the mansion before moving on to Raccoon City, Rockfort Island and beyond. There are some stumbles along the way as Neptune vainly tries to press home the importance of Gun Survivor 2, Batman still doesn't like Code: Veronica and S.T.A.R.S._TyranT describes one of the most critically acclaimed games of all time as 'boring'. As ever Rombie remains the voice of common sense with plenty of balanced opinion and then prepare yourselves for Neptune's quite spectacular critique of Resident Evil 5. 

We hope you enjoy this one and that it rekindles many of your own personal memories about what made this franchise so wonderful and why we are still so fiercely protective of it today, despite living in an era with musicals on the horizon and where abandoned Antarctic bases have survived ridiculously huge explosions...

Episode 32 - Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster

After a short break, the team reassemble for the first episode of 2016 focusing on the stunningly beautiful HD Remaster of Resident Evil Zero. There is quite a bit of news to catch up on starting with the announcement of a third Resident Evil CG movie starring Chris, Leon and Rebecca Chambers as well as the imminent DVD release of Biohazard: The Stage. We also preview Umbrella Corps and almost had to pause recording as STARS_Tyrant suffered some kind of breakdown as he drowned in his own despair trying to discuss the game. The bulk of the podcast is dedicated to a technical breakdown of the new Zero re-release in which we discuss all the new features and whether it has improved the game since its original incarnation on the Game Cube. TheBatman thinks it's now the best-looking game in the series but George Trevor believes the added beauty to the visuals still don't make him enjoy the game as much as he should. Just why does everybody love Remake and yet dislike Zero? 

Episode 31 - Resident Evil 2 Remake Speculation

So it's finally happened. A dream announcement for some but a nightmare to others, Resident Evil 2 Remake is officially a go. With Capcom announcing no information on the project is to be released for some time, our panel sits down and thrashes out a heated argument as to the pros and cons of such a project. Is it a chance to recapture the old magic, or are Capcom showing signs of desperation as Resident Evil 7 is delayed once again? Will it be static camera? Will it be over the shoulder? Will it be faithful to the original or will it just be one gigantic mess? Cautious optimism from George Trevor is all but drowned out by the tidal wave of negativity generated by STARS_TyranT and TheBatman. But all Neptune wants is an appearance by Tyler Hamilton from Confidential Report and the broken Nemesis window in the R.P.D. to be addressed...

Episode 30 - Ada Wong Special

Another experimental episode this one with an entire discussion dedicated to the enigmatic Ada Wong, charting her journey across the whole series from her first mention in a file in Remake to her destruction of Carla Radames' laboratory in Resident Evil 6. News discussion includes the official announcement of Resident Evil Zero HD Remaster due for release early next year and the English release of Marhawa Desire Volume 5; finally bringing the curtain down on this seemingly never-ending manga series. We then have a small sub-discussion on Separate Ways; the original PS2-exclusive unlockable campaign for Resident Evil 4. We offer opinion on whether it fixed the storyline for that game and speculate about who her true employers of the mysterious 'Organisation' really are.

The main discussion then looks at Ada's character and the impact she has had across the series. Following the death of Albert Wesker she has now been elevated to one of the key players in the entire saga. We go back right to the very start when she worked for Derek Simmons in her early days as a spy before joining Umbrella's rival company, infiltrating the Arklay Lab and getting close to John Clemens. Her relationship with Leon is explored in Resident Evil 2 and of course her fractured partnership with Wesker is finally exposed in the climax of Resident Evil 4. Her appearances in Resident Evil: Damnation and Resident Evil 6 are also reviewed as we try to shed light on what her ultimate motivations may be. And no, we still don't have a clue.

Episode 29 - Resident Evil Revelations 2

Neptune returns to hosting duties and to offer his thoughts on the full retail version of Resident Evil Revelations 2. Rombie also returns as we discuss and analyse the complete game as a whole package, assessing the characters, the creatures, the core story and what lasting implications it will have on the series. We also discuss whether this game marks a true return to form for the series or whether it is simply just a very small step forward in the right direction. Was Alex Wesker handled well? Is Alyson Court so essential to the character of Claire, and perhaps most importantly of all, should we really be hunting rabbits with a machine gun in the canon Biohazard universe? The answers lie within...