The skill with which these images have been constructed has to be seen to be appreciated, for example the clearly abnormal Alex and Alexia Ashford characters are first seen slowly disabling a dragonfly and watching it get devoured by ants with gentle smiles on their faces shows perfectly their disturbing personalities and a chilling taste of what s to come. An almost familiar disaster has descended on the Island however, and Claire is released by a dying guard and offered the chance to fight for her survival through the zombie infested complex. She must first escape from the prison, and untangle the terrifying web of mystery that surrounds these strange twins and their deserted Island mansion. It took me a little while to notice that the intro sequence had finished. I watched the motionless figure of Claire waiting for the video sequence to finish until realisation hit that this was in fact the game engine, and my chin slowly hit my chest.
Code Veronica is graphically stunning, far surpassing any adventure game released to date.
Static pre-rendered backdrops from the early outings have been replaced by intricately crafted three dimensional environments similar to the surroundings in Dino Crisis, except here they re beautifully displayed with the awesome power of the Dreamcast, with not a fuzzy texture or a jagged line to be seen. Impressive use of dynamic lighting is used early on with your surroundings lit only by a dim hand held cigarette lighter, a bit later eerie shadows are cast around a zombie filled room by a swinging light above a cluttered table and you can t help but sit back in awe of it all. This impressive technology isn t just eye candy, the tireless attention to detail from environmental effects outdoors to the very smallest splattered blood stain indoors really does enhance the experience of the game. The environments feel solid and real, making them far more disturbing as a result. Your characters are also fabricated with unbelievable and intricate detail, Claire s face is extremely expressive and her head moves around and focuses on certain objects as you move her through the environment.