The first two Resident Evil games were a revolutionary experience for the horror genre. Along with the unique horror atmosphere that was fairly new to home consoles, one of the things fans grew very attached to were the compelling characters. Claire Redfield has always been one of, if not my favorite Resident Evil personalities, she broke a lot of molds for female leads, proving to be incredibly resourceful, strong, confident (bordering on cocky), and dependable. Pundits and fans attribute those traits more to Lara Croft, but I never found her as interesting. Learning that the latest game at the time, Code Veronica, would be centered around the Redfield siblings, I was pretty excited. 

Originally, Shinji Mikami wanted to port Resident Evil 2 to the Sega Saturn, but it wasn't to be. Work began on a Sega-exclusive Resident Evil game, and with the fate of the Saturn doomed in the United States, the work began on a spin-off(ish) on what would become the Dreamcast. Taking place three months after the events of RE2 and during the planned destruction of the infected and ruined RE3, Code Veronica picks up with Claire continuing to follow leads to find Chris. She's kidnapped raiding Umbrella Corps.' facilities and is taken to Rockfort Island. Code Veronica's setting is a little bit different from the first two games. From the isolated and cramped quarters of the Archley Mansion to the vast and desolate museum/police department of Resident Evil 2, this game carries a more gothic vibe as the game progresses. It's on of the traits I found pretty appealing, even if I never cared for the Ashford twins, Alfred and Alexia, as villains. 

Being on the Dreamcast, the visuals are of course going to be more impressive than its PlayStation predecessor. This time around, the environment is fully 3D rendered, as opposed to relying on the fixed camera angles and 3D models traveling upon the hand-drawn backgrounds. A progressive step for the series, and Code Veronica moves faster.

There wasn't a lot new in this game that the previous two games hadn't done before, so other than some boss fights, there's few new and interesting T-virus bioweapons. It was at least cool to see the Hunters again. Once the Lickers exploded in popularity, Hunters were never really acknowledged as often. The CGI cut scequences are done better, the waxy look of RE2 is goe, in favor of more expressive character models. The camera can still have a knack of being a nuisance, even if it's more free-roaming this time around. As better as this Dreamcast game looked, the presentation was starting to show its age, even with real-time environments.

The gameplay is largely the same control scheme as the previous entries, and as with the graphics, not a whole lot here was revolutionary. Solve puzzles, gather key cards, conserve your ammo, and store/mix herbs to stay alive. If it's not broke, don't fix it, I guess. The "tank controls", as they would commonly be referred to, were never really Resident Evil's most endearing aspect, and it was beginning to feel rather dated, some elements like a more accessible 180 degree turn and auto lock-on aiming are added. Other games, namely those in the action genre were starting to close the gap, and Resi's formula was running the risk of being outclassed.

Code Veronica used to be a top game in the franchise, but over time, it felt more obsolete. While Residen Evil 3 attempted to adopt a more action oriented Resident Evil over pacing and tension, Code Veronica did very little to stray from and reinvent anything about the meta.

The story is fine, and it was great to see one of the few times Claire and Chris get to work together (albeit more towards the end of the game than at any other point), and this is the game that confirms Redfield arch nemesis Albert Wesker's fate was far from over, revisiting this one just feels...old. Even the PlayStation 2 update, Code Veronica X, overhauled very little in terms of graphical improvements and sharper gameplay.

It's a little baffling that Capcom chose to remake Resident Evil 4, the game responsilbe for breathing much-needed new life into the aged mechanics, and left Code Veronica out of the running on receiving the RE2: Remake treatment.