good with a magnum. There’s nothing
like a huge handgun for destroying
zombie faces, and Rachael’s magnum
proficiency goes through zombies
like a, well, .44 bullet through a well
rotted skull.
Rachael herself is a triumph of un-
PC and slightly ridiculous character
design. Her hair completely covers her
eyes (how does she see?), and
we won’t even go into her
impractical and ill-fitting
wet suit. But honestly
this is about the size
of her gun, rather than
everything else.
For the next stage
we are holed up in a
two-storey building in
infected, on-fire Raccoon
City. This is one of the best,
most claustrophobic levels in
the game, involving lots of open,
smashed-out windows for monsters
to climb through. Each and every
level has been really considered
and tested. There is never a way to
just find a corner and blast away at
everything coming through a door;
there is a main staircase and a fire
escape here, and always more than
one way into a room, so that it’s very
easy to get grabbed from behind while
you’re occupied by a frontal assault.
Ammo is super-limited, and some of
the monsters (oh, hello, armoured
chainsaw bastards) require a lot to
take them down – but mostly it’s the
numbers that will overwhelm you.
Strategically placed explosive
barrels are the best bet for
making ammo count; but
any tactical decisions
have to be made super-
quick as there’s little
time to plan.
The maps, taken
fromResident Evils 5and
6 , and bothRevelations
games, are impressively
detailed and varied, from apocalyptic
European city streets to dark forests,
colourful marketplaces, sprawling
mansions and ubiquitous scientific
facilities. Some are linear, others
claustrophobically confined as
zombies besiege your location. You’re
accompanied by a retro-arcade style
pumping techno soundtrack which
matches the arcade action perfectly.
The real genius of Raid Mode is the
addictive need to win all the challenge
medals. It’s perfect replay-reward
stuff, but try to complete some levels
without taking any damage at all (oneof the medals in the first game’s Raid
Mode) – it’s really hard, but since
progression and unlockables require
medals, you won’t rest till it’s done.Let’s dance
Despite its survival-horror intensity,
the game is super-fun. And while the
online lobby is now as bereft of life
as the zombies themselves, a private
party with a mate will provide you with
some frantic but life-affirming co-op
zombie defence joy too.
Raid Mode doesn’t take itself too
seriously either. Or at all, in fact. On
top of the skull-splintering, gore-
redistributing head-shotting of the
undead, you can actually dance
them to death. Unlockable gestures
such as karate poses, dance moves
and an exaggerated thumbs-up,
although tricky to pull off because you
have to get melee-close, inflict huge
amounts of damage against enemies.
Yes, if there’s a zombie apocalypse,
forget reaching for the baseball bat
entwined with barbed wire – just do
a little robot dance and watch those
dead heads explode!Q“Choosin and usin your weapons
wisely becomes instinct as the
levels et very busy very quickly”
PLAYED ANYTHING GOOD RECENTLY? COME SHARE IT AT WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/OXMUK
ABOVEWithRE7,
Capcom shifted
away from this
over-the-
shoulder action
style, but
Resident 2’s
reboot has
brought it back.
FAR LEFTOn the
later levels,
some of the
monsters are
particularly
hard to take
down.WHAT IS IT?
Arcade-style, fast paced
zombie survival mode
with most of the series’
characters playable,
and all your favourite
monsters to shoot.More Xbox news at gamesradar.com/oxm THE OFFICIAL XBOX MAGAZINE 099