If you haven't heard already, two of the most seminal survival horror games will be making their way to the Xbox 360 later this year, in the form of Resident Evil 4, and Resident Evil: Code Veronica, which will both hit the console as downloadable games. Considered by many to be some of the greatest games ever - yet alone the greatest survival horror games - the Resident Evil series mixes fluid third person action with elaborate storylines, strange puzzles, and, of course, plenty of zombies. If it sounds like the sort of thing that could be right up your street, though, you'd best start saving now, as these high definition re-releases have been slapped with a stonking great price tag.
The villagers weren't too happy with the new price tag.
We initially raised concern when we noticed that the two games weren't down as being arcade releases, but instead were Games on Demand. None of the Games on Demand actually sell for less than 1200 points, which all but guaranteed a high price. Along with confirming a 20th September Xbox Live, and 21st September release date for Resident Evil 4, with Resident Evil: Code Veronica following a week later, Capcom have confirmed that both games will retail at the change jangling price of 1600 Microsoft Points (roughly £13.60) or £15.99/€19.99.
This shows the difference between the old and new versions. New on the right.
So, what new features are there to justify the high price tag? Well, not all that much. Both games will come sporting exactly the same features as they did when they were released in 2005, and 2000, respectively. Resident Evil 4 includes an extra minigame that was added in for the Playstation 2 release, but other than that, these are the same games you may have played the first time around - two high definition re-releases, that are untouched in any other way, bar the addition of achievements, and updated graphics.
Good games though they may be (and they both are - with Resident Evil 4 pipping Code Veronica to the post in the quality stakes), £13-16 seems a bit on the high side. 1200 Microsoft points/around a tenner would seem much more reasonable for a game that's seven years old.
