Resident Evil Degeneration iOS Review

 Leon and the slow zombies are back in the sequel to Resident Evil 4.

A game based on the movie, Resident Evil Degeneration puts you in the shoes of Leon S Kennedy who is now a secret agent for the government. Featuring classic gameplay style and an upgrade system similar to that found on Resident Evil 4, this game takes fans to the events of Harvardville airport where an airplane full of Zombies crashed leaving Claire Redfield and Leon to fend off a hoard zombies just like the good old days. But is Resident Evil Degeneration for everyone?

Resident Evil Degeneration puts players into the shoes of Leon Kennedy. Taking place after the events of Resident Evil 4, Leon must fight off zombies while trying to rescue a couple of survivors. The game follow the movie but focuses more on Leon than Claire. Claire will make an appearance but she stays behind with the survivors to look after them. The game features a variety of enemies than those in the movie but only takes place at the airport.

The game is basically all shooting with some interferences by Hunnigan to help tell the story of what's going on. Did I say some. Let me rephrase that to a lot. Hunnigan explains to Leon the situation and will constantly update his map and tell him where to go. Most of the time these conversations are useless and uninteresting although sometimes you will need to pay attention as there are a few missions which will tell you to find codes and keycards and without this information of when you need to find them, you will surely get lost. Leon will also come across journals and other notes to help explain the story from soldiers who were sent to the airport but were overrun with Zombies.

RE: Degeneration features a weapons upgrade system similar to what RE:4 offers although all you really need is an upgraded Riot Gun and a Punisher. There are other weapons as well as the TMP, Riffle, Grenades as well as health items like Green Herbs and First Aid kit to replenish your health and Yellow Herbs to increase your health. Leon will also come across a merchant soldier who will sell him bigger storage kits, health, weapons and upgrades. Money can be found almost anywhere in the game including dogs which doesn't really make sense.

If you've played Resident Evil 4 and Degeneration Later you will feel a huge difference in how the game handles. Degeneration is a port of the N-Gage series from Nokia and it seems that capcom didn't really put much effort in porting the game over to the iPhone. The animations are very choppy and the sound effects in the game are almost non-existent. Cutscenes aren't any better as it seems as they are actually pre-recorder as Leon will only be holding his handgun during the cutscenes rather than the riot gun you were previously holding and change back as soon as it's over.

Closing Comments:

The game only lasts a few hours but if you know where everything is then it should last no more than 1.5 hours. You can always go back to play the main story of the game but why bother. All your items from the previous game will be carried over making gameplay much easier on a harder difficulty. You unlock the Mercenaries but are limited to only 2 levels. If you're a Resident Evil fan you will definitely want to check out this game just to get it out of your system. If you're just browsing the App store for a game this is definitely a game you should avoid and the $4.99 price tag is too much to pay for something that doesn't offer much. The only positive thing I can say about Degeneration is the touchscreen controllers which are very responsive and smooth. Other than that just avoid this game.

Graphics: 4/10
Sound: 3/10
Gameplay: 6/10
Story:4/10
LifeSpan: 5/10
Total Score: 44/100