Old Wine in New Bottle

I did a fair bit of research before back-ordering my copy of Outbreak as i was aware of an Resident Evil Essentials box set out which contains Code: Veronica, RE4 and RE Outbreak in one box set and apparently there was also a Greatest Hits reisssue at some point. The version available for back-order was not the Greatest Hits reissue because it would usually say so at Play-asia so i decided to back-order that instead of the Essentials boxset. Being the picky collector that i am, i can't stand reissues and i already have the other two in my collection.

Anyways the copy arrived promptly as i expected and when i pull it out, i was pretty happy to see the musty old shrink-wrap on the box as it was a good indication that this may in fact be a first print black label copy as i hoped. Alas when i flipped over to see the back of the cover, i was disappointed to see an extra barcode sticker covering where the barcode would normally be. As i removed the shrink-warp, it indeed turn out to be a reissue of the game for the RE Essentials boxset! While it's not ethically right for any store to sell contents of boxset individually like this, i have seen this happen a lot in singapore and in this case, i don't think it's entirely Play fault judging from the musty old shrink-warp.

Also i discovered that the disc inside is indeed part of the first print as the SLUS code identical to the original SLUS code without the additional GH (for Greatest Hits) or P3 (for Essentials) prefixed to the end of the SLUS code. So that means this must be old stock which Capcom conveniently re-packaged for their RE Essentials boxset a while back though i suspect this is the only one out of the three to still have the original disc and manual inside as Code: Veronica and RE4 would have sold far better and thus, unlikely had any old stock which Capcom was eager to get rid of. While packing with the rest of my collection, i did noticed i don't have a single reissue copy in my RE collection, be it Greatest Hits or Player's Choice version and that this would probably be my first. In a way it really isn't so maybe that's why i'm at a crossroads at what to do with it, maybe the best i can do is post a review so other collectors might be aware before back-ordering it too at Play-asia.

Four Faces of Evil

The other day while I was bragging on a local forum about owning four copies of Resident Evil 4, someone was quick to ask how did i end up with four versions where there are only three version released? Of course i didn't realised then that he was wrong and there are actually four versions of Resident Evil 4 available, namely the original GC version, the PS2 port, PC port and finally Wii edition. Anyways a picture paints a thousand words and i thought this picture of my recently arrived Resident Evil 4 Wii edition (thanks play!) along with my other copies would best depict the many different version of Resident Evil 4.

Now before you think I'm crazy about Resident Evil 4, I would like to point out that this is merely the result of a little poor planning and timing. Of course if Capcom would quit milking Resident Evil 4, I would have probably save a couple of bucks in the process too. You see, I first got hold of the Japanese edition of Biohazard 4 as i thought it had the best cover of all the versions plus it came with a cool pre-order gift. Later i discovered that the japanese version of Biohazard 4 was censored due to being rated by the new CERO so i have to get another version, with the Asian version offering english language and backwards compatible with the Playstation3 here i thought it was the best alternative. Of course, i later end up buying a Nintendo Wii first before my Playstation3 so I quickly grab the Gamecube version while i could still find the non-Player's Choice version as i believed it was the first and still the best version available, a large part being the fact that it was the only version supervised by Shinji Mikami before moving on to other projects. Finally i couldn't resist not getting the Wii edition to round up the collection though bear in mind, there are still other versions missing from my collection here. So since i have always made it a point that the box art does matter to me, which would be my pick as the best looking cover? Well never content with what i have, i'm going to have to say the japanese reprint of Biohazard 4 PS2 version under the Playstation2 the Best label gets my vote.

The First Time

Remember what's the very first game you bought for your new console? well i do, in fact most of the time the first game i get for my new consoles will probably raise a couple of eyebrows. it's not that i'm trying to be different by buying something else but most of the time, i end up buying a new console in advance before the game i originally got the console for is out and therefore, i end up buying some other game in the meantime to fill up my time. The first game i got for my Nintendo DS? Viewtiful Joe Double Trouble ! Hardly a memorable DS title now, but back then i was really curious what kinda graphics the Nintendo DS could pull off and Clover Studio portable adaption of their hit franchise does seems to stretch the Nintendo DS graphic capabilities and stylus gameplay. When i got my Sony PSP, the first ever UMD i got was Metal Gear Solid: Digital Novel. I know it's not even a game but this quirky idea of reading a graphic novel on a PSP along with Silent Hill Experience was what initially got me interested in the system.

By the time i got around to getting my Nintendo Wii, i had a lot of catching up to do because my goal right from the beginning was to play as many Gamecube games as possible before the Wii catalogue starts to pick up steam, much like what happened with the Nintendo DS after the first launch year. Some may think it's a bit silly to pay so much for a Wii only to play Gamecube games but if it saves me the trouble of having another console around and offers me the same experience as playing it on it's original platform then i'm in. I was lucky enough to find a non-Player's Choice version of the Resident Evil Gamecube Remake and ended up finding most of the Gamecube titles i originally set out to get, save perhaps the Gamecube version of Viewtiful Joe. Of course i eventually started playing Wii games too though i still only have two miserable Wii titles (not including bundled games) despite getting the system more than five months ago. My first real Wii title was Resident Evil Umbrella Chronicles which while was fairly entertaining, is a couple of notches below No More Heroes, my second Wii title. I have a feeling the best is yet to come for the Nintendo Wii and i look forward to see what Capcom and Konami will bring to Nintendo system.

Looking back, i guess the first game for your new console is kinda like your first love it may not be the best you have experienced but it's one that you will surely remember for life. Either that or i'm just a sentimental sap even when it comes to games...

Something old, something new, something doubled

Every year around this time, i will be away in Singapore to visit my relatives during the festive Chinese New Year. I will also find the time to dropby some of my favourite game stores (assuming they are opened for business) to pick up some games. This year is no different, my haul this trip consist of well, games that i have mainly played/owned already but decided nevertheless to upgrade my current existing copy. I got myself a Gamecube version of Suda51's cult classic killer7, having already beaten the game sometime back on my playstation2. This is basically to drum up some excitement for Suda's newest Wii game No More Heroes as well as to own the definitive version of this game as many have commented the Gamecube version is far superior to the playstation2 version. Not much of a surprise seeing that the game was originally announced as a Gamecube exclusive and development on the platform was well underway before Capcom decided to announce the game on the playstation2 platform. If you never played killer7, it's basically a surreal action-adventure with a lot of style and quirky memorable characters, which seems to be a prevalent style of Suda's now. The game received a lot of criticism back then for it's over-simplistic gameplay but kept fans and critics guessing with it's convoluted storyline and characters. In fact from what i seen of No More Heroes so far, a lot of the criticism for killer7 seems to be addressed in NMH as it looks like a gamey version of killer7 with the same blend of quirky off-beat characters. Speaking of No More Heroes, i did do some fair searching about for the game despite hearing rumours that the game was reportedly banned in Singapore for its violence. Heck i even tried asked some retailers just to see what kinda of response or reaction i will get. Amusingly enough, when asked most of the retailers just response in a whisperly voice "oh we don't have the game or no more stock" like it's a taboo to even talk about it in the open.

I also happened to pick up another Gamecube exclusive, Resident Evil Zero which i earlier played a pre-owned copy just before tackling Umbrella Chronicles. Call it rash, call it paranoid i just wasn't sure if i was able tofind a non-Player's Choice version of this game at that time and decided not to take any chances. I guess my opinion of the game was that i like it enough to buy a sealed copy to replace my existing copy, now i just have to figure out what to do with the other one....

One thing that wasn't on my list was UMD movie for my PSP, yes i have a PSP for close to two years now but have never used it to watch any movies before. Blame it on Sony's insistence to have region-lock on the UMD movie format, i just wasn't able to find any decent region3 UMD for my PSP up till now. The Gramophone in City Hall had a couple of UMD videos tucked away next to their Blue-ray selections and i thought it was too good of an oppurtunity to pass up. A bit implusive, but i can't wait to see King Kong on my PSP, especially since i haven't watched the movie before.

Finally i thought i closed my recap of my Singapore trip with a cover of the latest EGM issue Singapore edition. That's right, Singapore has a gaming community big enough to warrant a localization of the famous videogame magazine, though if you actually pay attention and read the contents it's hard to tell the difference. i always make it a point to pick up a copy whenever i'm there as a keepsake/momento of my trip and this month edition feature a 11-page on the upcoming Street Fighter IV, keep the faith everyone Capcom will deliver!