Resident Evil: Survivor
Encyclopedia
Resident Evil Survivor, known in Japan as , is a light gun shooter
video game developed and published by Capcom
. It was released on the PlayStation in Japan
on January 27, 2000, and in North America
on August 30, 2000.
As the first release of the Gun Survivor series, this game was a major departure from the main Resident Evil series, substituting the third-person perspective of the previous games to the first-person
view. The Japanese and PAL
versions of the game allowed use of the Namco
GunCon
, a light gun
that gave the game a more arcade feel, making it one of the first off-rail light gun games. The American version did not allow the use of the GunCon
, or any other light gun model.
The game was also released for Microsoft Windows
in Taiwan
, in 2002. Instead of a straight source conversion, it was fully reconstructed on a different engine. This version allowed mouse
-aiming and had graphic-filtering, although it is also known for being buggy and lacking a lot of general AI
scripts.
The game borrows its enemies from Resident Evil 2
, featuring the zombie
models from that game, as well as creatures such as Lickers, the Ivy plants, Moth Giants and Tyrant
s. In addition, Survivor also reintroduces the original Hunters from the first Resident Evil
and features two new enemies in the form of the Umbrella Trashsweeper unit – soldiers armed with machine guns – and the Hypnos T-Type, a new Tyrant model that evolves into different forms.
The player's arsenal consists almost entirely of pistols, such as the Glock 17 and the CZ75. As the protagonist progresses through the game, the player receives larger weapons to aid in defending against ever more dangerous opposition while they make their way through Umbrella's ruined city and shadowy research labs.
The game features branching paths that allow the player to determine how the story will unfold and whom they will meet along the way.
of the T-virus transformed the city's populace into zombies. As a final desperate measure to halt the spread of infection, the US government approved an air-to-surface missile strike on Raccoon City, annihilating the doomed town and its entire population in the process. Not long after this incident, a helicopter crashes on the outskirts of the Umbrella Corporation's private township, located on Sheena Island. The pilot escapes the burning wreckage only to find himself fighting a battle against the living dead, with no memory of his identity or his reasons for being there.
During his quest, Ark Thompson (the pilot and protagonist) comes across a man named Andy Holland, who knows him as Vincent Goldman (the man said to be responsible for the outbreak of T-virus in the island). Due to his knowledge, Vincent later became a vehement enemy of Ark. Moments after he gets out the city, he comes across Umbrella's facility, where he meets Lott and Lily Klein, two siblings whose parents used to work for Umbrella. They misjudge Ark because they were made to believe that Umbrella stands for the common good of all people. The two kids run away from Ark during their encounter, as he follows the children outside the facility, through the canal system, and eventually to their house. Ark finds Lily in the house and learns from her that Lott had gone to a nearby factory alone to find a way out of the island.
Ark, upon learning this, tells Lily to stay and take refuge until he comes back with Lott. He finds his way to the place and, after encountering many monsters, successfully infiltrates the Umbrella research facility just in time to save Lott from a Hunter. Ark then learns from Lott that he is Ark Thompson, that he was sent to Sheena Island by Leon S. Kennedy
, and that Lott knew who Vincent Goldman really was (at this point, in his amnesia, Ark believed that he really was Vincent). But upon this realization, the facility suddenly activates a self-destruct system which will obliterate the island within 10 minutes. Lott tells Ark that there is a railway station within the facility that runs underground. Ark tells Lott to go ahead first the station and regroup there.
However, during his way in the station, Ark encounters Hypnos T-type Tyrant. He manages to hold it off long enough to make a getaway. Ark reaches the railway station and sees Lott and Lily, safe and waiting for him. Using the railway station, they were able to arrive at a landing zone, where a helicopter waits. But on their way to safety, The Hypnos Tyrant shows up again, in a more mutated form. Ark manages to hold off the beast before joining the children in the helicopter and eventually kill it using the helicopter's missiles. Ark, Lily, and Lott flee from Sheena Island together safely, just as the island self-destructs.
and utilised the G-Con 2 peripheral. Resident Evil Survivor 2: Code Veronica was released for the PlayStation 2
in 2002, based on the characters and enemies of Resident Evil: Code Veronica. Dino Stalker
, a spin-off of the Dino Crisis
series, was also released in 2002. A fourth game, Resident Evil: Dead Aim
, was released in 2003.
Light gun shooter
Light gun shooter, also called light gun game or simply gun game, is a shooter video game genre in which the primary design element is aiming and shooting with a gun-shaped controller. Light gun shooters revolve around the protagonist shooting targets, either antagonists or inanimate objects...
video game developed and published by Capcom
Capcom
is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
. It was released on the PlayStation in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
on January 27, 2000, and in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
on August 30, 2000.
As the first release of the Gun Survivor series, this game was a major departure from the main Resident Evil series, substituting the third-person perspective of the previous games to the first-person
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
view. The Japanese and PAL
PAL
PAL, short for Phase Alternating Line, is an analogue television colour encoding system used in broadcast television systems in many countries. Other common analogue television systems are NTSC and SECAM. This page primarily discusses the PAL colour encoding system...
versions of the game allowed use of the Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
GunCon
GunCon
The Guncon , known as the G-Con in Europe, is a family of light gun peripherals designed by Namco for the PlayStation consoles.-Background:...
, a light gun
Light gun
A light gun is a pointing device for computers and a control device for arcade and video games.Modern screen-based light guns work by building a sensor into the gun itself, and the on-screen target emit light rather than the gun...
that gave the game a more arcade feel, making it one of the first off-rail light gun games. The American version did not allow the use of the GunCon
GunCon
The Guncon , known as the G-Con in Europe, is a family of light gun peripherals designed by Namco for the PlayStation consoles.-Background:...
, or any other light gun model.
The game was also released for Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, in 2002. Instead of a straight source conversion, it was fully reconstructed on a different engine. This version allowed mouse
Mouse (computing)
In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons...
-aiming and had graphic-filtering, although it is also known for being buggy and lacking a lot of general AI
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
scripts.
Gameplay
The player takes control of an amnesiac protagonist, struggling desperately against overwhelming odds to stay alive and uncover his identity. Survivor's gameplay is a combination of first-person shooter and arcade-style light gun game. The player views the environment from the perspective of the character (first person view) and moves the character through the environment with the controller. At the same time, if the player wishes to attack an enemy or destroy an object, they press a button which allows them to control a crosshair on the screen. This crosshair can be moved to any location within the main character's line of sight. Using the G-Con 45, players move around by shooting off screen to move and the side buttons to turn, and point at the screen to shoot enemies.The game borrows its enemies from Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2, known as in Japan, is a survival horror video game originally released for the PlayStation in 1998. Developed by Capcom as the second installment in the Resident Evil series, its story takes place two months after the events of the first game, Resident Evil...
, featuring the zombie
Zombie
Zombie is a term used to denote an animated corpse brought back to life by mystical means such as witchcraft. The term is often figuratively applied to describe a hypnotized person bereft of consciousness and self-awareness, yet ambulant and able to respond to surrounding stimuli...
models from that game, as well as creatures such as Lickers, the Ivy plants, Moth Giants and Tyrant
Tyrant (Resident Evil)
The Tyrant is the code name of a series of boss characters in the Resident Evil video game series. Tyrants, biologically engineered supersoldiers created and used by the sinister Umbrella Corporation, make appearances as boss characters in most of Resident Evil games and the desire to create an...
s. In addition, Survivor also reintroduces the original Hunters from the first Resident Evil
Resident Evil (video game)
Resident Evil, known as in Japan, is a survival horror video game by Capcom. The first installment in the Resident Evil series, it was originally released in 1996 for the PlayStation and was subsequently ported to the Sega Saturn and PC. In 2002, a remake of the game was released for the Nintendo...
and features two new enemies in the form of the Umbrella Trashsweeper unit – soldiers armed with machine guns – and the Hypnos T-Type, a new Tyrant model that evolves into different forms.
The player's arsenal consists almost entirely of pistols, such as the Glock 17 and the CZ75. As the protagonist progresses through the game, the player receives larger weapons to aid in defending against ever more dangerous opposition while they make their way through Umbrella's ruined city and shadowy research labs.
The game features branching paths that allow the player to determine how the story will unfold and whom they will meet along the way.
Story
In September, 1998, a disaster struck the mid-western American town of Raccoon City. An outbreakOutbreak
Outbreak is a term used in epidemiology to describe an occurrence of disease greater than would otherwise be expected at a particular time and place. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire continent. Two linked cases of a rare infectious...
of the T-virus transformed the city's populace into zombies. As a final desperate measure to halt the spread of infection, the US government approved an air-to-surface missile strike on Raccoon City, annihilating the doomed town and its entire population in the process. Not long after this incident, a helicopter crashes on the outskirts of the Umbrella Corporation's private township, located on Sheena Island. The pilot escapes the burning wreckage only to find himself fighting a battle against the living dead, with no memory of his identity or his reasons for being there.
During his quest, Ark Thompson (the pilot and protagonist) comes across a man named Andy Holland, who knows him as Vincent Goldman (the man said to be responsible for the outbreak of T-virus in the island). Due to his knowledge, Vincent later became a vehement enemy of Ark. Moments after he gets out the city, he comes across Umbrella's facility, where he meets Lott and Lily Klein, two siblings whose parents used to work for Umbrella. They misjudge Ark because they were made to believe that Umbrella stands for the common good of all people. The two kids run away from Ark during their encounter, as he follows the children outside the facility, through the canal system, and eventually to their house. Ark finds Lily in the house and learns from her that Lott had gone to a nearby factory alone to find a way out of the island.
Ark, upon learning this, tells Lily to stay and take refuge until he comes back with Lott. He finds his way to the place and, after encountering many monsters, successfully infiltrates the Umbrella research facility just in time to save Lott from a Hunter. Ark then learns from Lott that he is Ark Thompson, that he was sent to Sheena Island by Leon S. Kennedy
Leon S. Kennedy
is a player character appearing in the Resident Evil series of survival horror video games. Leon is a protagonist in Resident Evil 2 and the main protagonist of Resident Evil 4. During the events of RE2, Leon is a new police officer who arrives in Raccoon City late for his first day on the job,...
, and that Lott knew who Vincent Goldman really was (at this point, in his amnesia, Ark believed that he really was Vincent). But upon this realization, the facility suddenly activates a self-destruct system which will obliterate the island within 10 minutes. Lott tells Ark that there is a railway station within the facility that runs underground. Ark tells Lott to go ahead first the station and regroup there.
However, during his way in the station, Ark encounters Hypnos T-type Tyrant. He manages to hold it off long enough to make a getaway. Ark reaches the railway station and sees Lott and Lily, safe and waiting for him. Using the railway station, they were able to arrive at a landing zone, where a helicopter waits. But on their way to safety, The Hypnos Tyrant shows up again, in a more mutated form. Ark manages to hold off the beast before joining the children in the helicopter and eventually kill it using the helicopter's missiles. Ark, Lily, and Lott flee from Sheena Island together safely, just as the island self-destructs.
Characters
- Ark Thompson/"Vincent" (voiced by Patrick HarlanPatrick HarlanPatrick Harlan is a gaijin tarento, member of the comedy duo Pakkun Makkun, and one of the hosts of the late-night English television show Eigo de Shabera Night in Japan...
) - The protagonist of the game. An acquaintance of Leon S. KennedyLeon S. Kennedyis a player character appearing in the Resident Evil series of survival horror video games. Leon is a protagonist in Resident Evil 2 and the main protagonist of Resident Evil 4. During the events of RE2, Leon is a new police officer who arrives in Raccoon City late for his first day on the job,...
(from Resident Evil 2Resident Evil 2Resident Evil 2, known as in Japan, is a survival horror video game originally released for the PlayStation in 1998. Developed by Capcom as the second installment in the Resident Evil series, its story takes place two months after the events of the first game, Resident Evil...
) who was sent to Sheena Island to investigate the Umbrella's facilities there. He ends up posing as Vincent Goldman, an Umbrella manager on the island, but loses his memory after a helicopter crash. During the game, he is led to believe that he is indeed Vincent Goldman and is blamed for the viral outbreak on the island. - Vincent Goldman (v.b. Michael Naishtut) - The Commander of the Umbrella's facilities in Sheena Island. He is in fact the manager of a secret Tyrant Plant on the island, where various kidnapped children are taken to and killed in order to extract the "Beta Hetero Nonserotonin" hormones needed to efficiently mass-produce the Tyrants. Vincent was responsible for shooting down Ark's helicopter, and (depending on the path taken in the game) is found to have survived, confronting Ark once again before being killed by a Tyrant.
- Lott Klein (v.b. Colleen Lanki) - The son of an Umbrella scientist, Lott was raised by his father and Goldman into believing that he and all relatives of Umbrella employees belonged to a superior class of people from everyone else. He lost his parents during the viral outbreak and attempts to escape the island with his sister Lily during the events of the game. Although he originally notified Vincent of Ark's presence on the island, it is also Lott who then helps Ark in regaining his memory.
- Lily Klein (v.b. Ruth Hollyman) - Lott's little sister. Lott watches over her during the course of the game.
- Andy Holland (v.b. Walter Roberts) - A sewer manager in Sheena Island who met Ark prior to the game while posing as Vincent. He accuses Ark of causing the viral outbreak, unaware of his true identity.
- U.T. Commander (v.b. Brian-Matt Uhl) - The human leader of the Cleaners. The Cleaners are a military unit of the Umbrella Corporation composed of soldiers whose purposes are to go to the sites of viral outbreaks and remove all traces of evidence that could pinpoint Umbrella's involvement in it.
Reception
Game Informer lists the game among the worst horror games of all time.Legacy
The Gun Survivor series was followed by three sequels, which were released for the PlayStation 2PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and utilised the G-Con 2 peripheral. Resident Evil Survivor 2: Code Veronica was released for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
in 2002, based on the characters and enemies of Resident Evil: Code Veronica. Dino Stalker
Dino Stalker
Dino Stalker, known as in Japan, is a first person shooter video game created by Capcom that was released for the PlayStation 2 on June 27, 2002. It was developed by Capcom Production Studio 3, and is an offshoot of the Resident Evil light gun shooter games, but based on the story of the Dino...
, a spin-off of the Dino Crisis
Dino Crisis
is a survival horror video game by Capcom, originally released in 1999 for the PlayStation and later ported to Microsoft Windows and Dreamcast in 2000...
series, was also released in 2002. A fourth game, Resident Evil: Dead Aim
Resident Evil: Dead Aim
Resident Evil: Dead Aim, known as in Japan, is the fourth release in a series of light gun shooter video games by Capcom. It is also the first in the franchise to feature first-person shooting alongside the third-person movement seen in its predecessors in the Resident Evil series...
, was released in 2003.
External links
(Japanese)- Resident Evil: Survivor at WikiaWikiaWikia is a free web hosting service for wikis . It is normally free of charge for readers and editors, deriving most of its income from advertising, and publishes all user-provided text under copyleft licenses. Wikia hosts several hundred thousand wikis using the open-source wiki software MediaWiki...
. - Resident Evil: Survivor at GameSpotGameSpotGameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
- Resident Evil: Survivor at IGNIGNIGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...