~B
A DETAILED PLOT ANALYSIS OF THE
---------------------------------------
---- Biohazard ----
---------------------------------------
VIDEOGAME SERIES BY CAPCOM ENTERTAINMENT
Unpublished work by Dan Birlew
NOTE: This thesis is written as a serious discussion of the themes of
the Biohazard series of games created by Capcom Entertainment.
All plotlines and characters are the sole property of Capcom, while
the predictions contained within are the deductions of the author.
****************************CONTAINS SPOILERS************************
This thesis contains spoilers of the videogames currently on store
shelves. If you have not already played Biohazard or Resident
Evil 2, the author strongly suggests that you do so before examining
the document contained herein. The best introduction to the games is
to play them.
*********************************************************************
Copyright 1998 Dan Birlew
If you have any questions or corrections, feel free to contact me by
my nickname PBiohazard at:
presidentevil@evil-online.com
This document appears in html format at Ash Jhonen's Rotting Web
Biohazard Page at: http://members.tripod.com/~Bad_Ass_Barry/
newevil.shtmll
The latest version of this document can always be found at:
www.evil-online.com.
===========================================
1.1 Table of Contents
===========================================
1.1 Table of Contents
1.2 Updates
2.1 Introduction: The Realm of the Dead
3.1 A Summary of the Basic Plot of the Videogame Biohazard
4.1 A Summary of the Basic Plot of the Videogame Biohazard 2
4.2 The Conclusion of Biohazard 2
4.3 Summary of the Conclusion of Biohazard 2
4.4 Differences between Claire A/Leon B and Leon A/Claire B
5.1 Conclusions About the Conclusion
5.2 The Characters Split Up
5.3 The Resurrection of Ada Wong
5.4 Sherri Birkin, Biohazard Survivor
5.5 Absent Friends
6.1 The 4th Survivor Minigame
6.2 A Character Named Hunk
6.3 Hunk's Small but Essential Role in the World of Survival
Horror
6.4 The Virus is Delivered, So Now what?
6.5 The Internet Debate
6.6 The Virus is Delivered, So Now What?
6.7 The Debatable Intentions of Umbrella, Inc.
7.1 Future Evil
7.2 The Parallel Progression of Biohazard and Romero's DEAD
Trilogy
7.3 DAY OF THE DEAD and Biohazard 3
7.4 Biohazard 2 and James Cameron's ALIENS
8.1 Summation and Predictions for Biohazard 3
8.2 Biohazard 1.5
8.3 Biohazard 3
8.4 Things Every Biohazard Will Have
8.5 The Ultimate Goal Of Umbrella
8.6 In The Footsteps Of ALIENS
8.7 Leon And The Quest For Ada
-Sometime in June, 1998 - Completed the first version of the RESIDENT
EVIL THESIS.
-April 1st, 1999 - Updated format and prepared document for uploading
to Evil Online for permanent storage. Corrected some language
problems. Included recent developments announced by Capcom regarding
Biohazard 2: Dual Shock, Biohazard: Code Veronica, and
Biohazard 3.
===========================================
2.1 Introduction: The Realm of the Dead
===========================================
In 1996, Capcom Entertainment released a video game for the Sony
Playstation game console entitled Biohazard. The game was received
by the growing console gaming community with seemingly mixed reviews
and marginal opening sales. However the game quickly caught on with
game players of all ages. Soon named "Videogame of the Year" by The
Consumer Choice Awards, Biohazard's sales soared.
Buyers of the game found themselves cast as either of two characters;
Jill Valentine or Chris Redfield, two members of a special division
of the local Raccoon City Police Department's Special Tactics And
Rescue Squad (S.T.A.R.S.). The game took place in an eerie mansion
full of zombies, undead dogs, creepy gigantic spiders, and various
kinds of nasty mutant creatures. As the game progressed, the player
learned that these terrifying enemies were all results of the
experiments of a government corporate subsidiary named Umbrella, Inc.
The purpose of the experiments was to design the ultimate bioweapon,
an unstoppable soldier. They named this monstrosity and the virus that
created it 'Tyrant'.
Biohazard was presented in third-person game format with switching
camera angles. The characters could be seen by the game player, and
the background around the characters changed instantly depending upon
their position in the gaming field. The player gradually acquired a
cache of various weapons that were fun to use. The background music
was one of the best original scores in a videogame, with moody strings
and suspenseful background sounds. The replay value of the game was
excellent, with rewards like secret weapons and different costumes
for the characters when better playing was accomplished.
The mixed reviews were a result of several factors of the game. Long
CD loading times and terrible voice-overs provided critics with the
means to ridicule the game. But the sales informed Capcom Entertain-
ment they had a hit on their hands, and plans were made for a sequel.
After many delays and even the scrapping of the entire game prototype,
Biohazard 2 was released in January of 1998 to rave reviews and
huge sales. The game was an instant sell-out hit, and Capcom was able
to boast of selling a million units in a two-month period.
The sequel held significant improvements over its predecessor. The
character voice-overs and the story script in general were better
quality. The graphics were astonishingly realistic, and incredible
computer animation sequences replaced the film-style opening and
ending of the original. Loading times were quicker and smoother.
Colors were richer, and the sound and the music were better. The
sequel also featured two completely new and different characters to
be fit into the ongoing Biohazard plot.
The Biohazard series now holds the attention and devotion of a
legion of fans, who have taken to the internet to voice their
appreciation and demands for new games in over a dozen fully hosted
websites. Capcom has acquiesced to the hopes of Biohazard players
and announced plans for future installments of the game. Now the big
question comes; What do future Biohazards promise?
The subject of this thesis is the future of the Biohazard series.
Where will this amazing and terrifying game take its players next?
The assertion herein is that the path of the story can be determined
through a detailed analysis of the plots of the previous games.
Utilizing story structure analysis techniques, the plot of Resident
Evil so far will be dissected and unraveled, to see what truths and
fortunes lie within. Comparisons will be made to the films that have
inspired the creation of the game, in the hopes of determining the
plotting strategies the game planners have left open to themselves.
In this manner, perhaps the future of Biohazard can be foretold.
===========================================
3.1 A Summary of the Basic Plot of the
Videogame Biohazard
===========================================
The game opens with an introductory film. Character Chris Redfield
explains in a voice-over narration that the STARS Alpha Team is flying
via helicopter to last known position of the STARS Bravo Team. The
Bravo Team disappeared on a hunt for a party of murderers that have
terrorized the Raccoon Forest. The crash site of the Bravo Team's
helicopter is found, and the Alpha Team lands to investigate.
Discovering the half-eaten remains of several of their compatriots,
the Alpha Team is suddenly attacked by a pack of what appear to be
zombie dogs. After Team member Joseph is horribly killed, the other
STARS members are pursued all the way back to their helicopter. But
the pilot, Brad Vickers (nicknamed Chickenheart), reacts to the threat
and lifts off, leaving his teammates in danger. The remaining STARS
members are pursued by the hounds into a nearby deserted mansion, and
the game begins.
Inside the mansion, STARS commander Albert Wesker dispatches the Team
members to investigate the mysterious place. Depending upon which
character is chosen, the player will experience a different adventure
depending on how the game is played, what decisions are made, and
which characters survive with the player-character. Chris contacts
character Rebecca Chambers, the medic of the Bravo Team, while Jill
is aided in her quest by an overwrought Alpha Team leader Barry Burton.
Each rescues and is saved by their partner.
The character soon finds the residents of the mansion. The place is
infested with flesh-hungry zombies, more undead dogs, and a vicious
giant snake. One bullet is never enough for these hideous creatures,
but with some cunning the character can locate weapons of greater
power and more ammunition.
One by one, the player-character finds the unfortunate members of the
Bravo Team. Unfortunately most of them are dead, half-eaten. Some of
them come back to life and attack the player-character, and others
live just long enough to reveal the mansion's secrets. Documents
uncovered along the way also inform the hero of what is going on.
A government-funded agency called Umbrella has been conducting secret
experiments in a lab somewhere on the property. An accident occurred,
a mutating virus escaped, and the researchers and guards have all
become the living dead. The hero must find any survivors and escape
as quickly as possible to avoid contracting the virus and becoming
one of...them.
Each room of the mysterious mansion contains a mysterious puzzle to
be solved. Each puzzle equips the character with one of the keys
needed to escape. After facing the fearsome giant snake, the final
key is gained, but escape is not yet found.
The game proceeds to a guardhouse at the rear of the property, where
new creatures rear their ugly heads. The hero must survive encounters
with a mutant shark and a fauna experiment grown wildly out of control.
Wesker makes another appearance, ordering the character back to the
mansion to uncover more secrets.
However, the residence of evil is a more dangerous place than ever. A
horde of strange and deadly frog mutants with sharp claws have overrun
the main house, and the character must now fight to save the other
survivors still left there. New areas of the house can now be accessed
with items previously found, and a battle-scarred giant snake is back
for revenge. New horrors await in the basement, but hope is regained
when the player spots a helicopter landing pad on the premises. Perhaps
"Chickenheart" can be convinced to make an emergency landing.
Gaining access to a cavernous underground, the player finds Bravo Team
leader Enrico Marini, shot and half dead. He insinuates treachery from
within the STARS, but is killed by an unknown assassin's bullet before
he can reveal the traitor's identity.
Avoiding rolling boulder traps and tangling with a gigantic spider, the
exhausted player makes it to the secret underground lab. The hero fights
through yet another frightening species of experimental bioweapons
generated here, searching for a way to unlock the emergency exit leading
up to the helipad.
On the bottom level of the hellish laboratory, the traitor reveals
himself.
Albert Wesker has manipulated Barry into aiding him, and used the STARS
Team as test subjects in combat situations against the bioweapons he
himself developed for Umbrella. He has made arrangements to destroy
the lab, the monsters, the heroes, and all the evidence so that he
may abscond with the "T-Virus" and sell it to the highest bidder. But
first, he invites the player to witness the birth of his greatest
creation, the ultimate bioweapon. Named for the virus that created it,
the "Tyrant" is a monstrous undead giant. Upon its release, the
horror turns on its own creator. Wesker is impaled and held aloft on
its oversized claw. Now the abomination slowly turns on the hero. The
player blasts away at the creature, finding it easily killable. The
ultimate bioweapon is the ultimate failure, it seems.
Wesker's destruct system activates, and the player must race to the
helicopter landing pad to escape. Pursued by all the lab's horrible
creatures, one player must rescue the other playable character, and
then it's a free-for-all fight to the exit.
Near the end, the monsters catch up to the survivors. The two rescued
characters repay their debt to the player by making a stand against
the onslaught. Now it's up to the lone player to ascend to the
helipad and signal the circling pilot, in the hopes that Brad will
regain his courage and make an emergency landing.
After signaling with a handy flare, the character waits for a response
from Brad for an unbearably suspenseful moment. The chopper finally
swoops in and hovers overhead. In the biggest surprise of the game,
the Tyrant bursts out of the ground and charges at the player. The
player has to avoid the monstrosity until Brad drops a rocket launcher
onto the battlefield. Quickly scooping up the weapon and turning on
the advancing enemy, the player blasts the thing into a hundred
squirming pieces.
In the ending movie sequence, Brad lands and quickly lifts off with
the survivors. The player watches as explosions rock the Umbrella
compound. Safely away, the exhausted team members catch up on some
much needed rest, commiserate on the fate of the missing, or reload
their weapons in preparation ... for the next encounter.
===========================================
4.1 A Summary of the Basic Plot of the
Videogame Biohazard 2
===========================================
The sequel begins 3-4 months after the incidents of the previous story.
Two new characters converge on Raccoon City, their fates intertwined
by destiny.
Claire Redfield motorbikes into town. She is searching for clues in
the disappearance of her older brother Chris. On the other side of
town, Raccoon Police Department recruit Leon Kennedy is making his
way to the Precinct for his first day of duty. Stopping to investigate
a mysterious corpse in the middle of the street, he fails to notice
the figures closing behind him. Claire pulls up to a diner for late
meal, but finds that she is intended to be the next course.
Both characters are surrounded by zombies. Each escapes, and they
collide in the alley behind the diner. Finding an abandoned police
cruiser, they make a run for it.
In the car they get acquainted, while Claire finds a gun in the glove
compartment. But they are not alone. In an amazing sequence, a zombie
leaps out of the backseat and struggles with Leon. The rookie loses
control of the vehicle and they crash into a wall. The zombie flies
through the windshield. Before they can catch a breath, a dying
trucker bears down on them in a massive gas tanker. The two leap out
of the wreck as the tanker collides and flips over, exploding in a
huge ball of flame. The characters are separated by the blaze, and
each must make their individual way through the game.
This is the point at which the player begins, choosing which character
to assume based on which of the 2 game disks are loaded. When the
player finishes with one character's adventure, the save file enables
the player to approach the same game from the other character's
perspective, in a reverse game. Thus the scenarios progress as either
Claire A & Leon B, or Leon A & Claire B. There are differences in each
game, and there are differences in each combination. In addition,
whatever the first character does in their scenario affects the
second character's game.
For the purpose of brevity, this synopsis will follow the plot as it
occurs in the Claire A & Leon B combination, by far the more
structurally sound of the two scenario combinations.
Claire begins on the Raccoon City streets, now overrun by the zombies
who have come out due to the crash. By baiting them in a certain
direction, she figures out that she can create openings in their ranks
and slip past them. She ducks into a gun shop, hoping to find ammo
for her weapon.
Inside, the clerk points a crossbow at her. After she convinces him
that she's not a zombie, he locks his door. With a slightly sexist
attitude, he admits he doesn't know what is happening in Raccoon City
or where the zombies have come from. Claire finds some ammunition for
her gun and starts to move on just as the undead lay siege to the
store. Crashing through the display window, they tackle the shop's
employee and chew him to pieces on the floor. Unable to save the poor
man, Claire's only hope is to get out the back door quickly.
Weaving her way through the slow moving ghouls, she makes her way to
the police station. STARS helicopter pilot Brad Vickers is encountered
near the Precinct, recently deceased and come back by diabolic means.
Executing this former hero, Claire enters the Raccoon Police
Department. She finds that the place has been electronically locked
and barricaded against an apparent siege by the undead.
Leon finds himself directly behind the Police Department. He has a
shorter run than his comrade, but must find the key to get into the
maintenance shed at the back of the Precinct. All the while, flesh
eaters converge on him. He's lucky and finds a back stairway to the
roof of the station. But he witnesses a rescue attempt fail.
A helicopter appears overhead. There is a lone precinct survivor on
the roof, signaling to it. Zombies attack the unfortunate wretch. He
sprays random machinegun fire everywhere, accidentally killing the
pilot overhead. The helicopter crashes into the station and explodes
into flames. There's a watertank near the wreckage that can be opened,
but only if Leon can find the valve handle.
Claire finds a cop laying on the floor of an office, seriously wounded
and dying. In a brief speech, he tells Claire that her brother Chris
disappeared a month ago during an investigation into the incident at
the mansion lab. He gives her the card key that will open the
electronic locks in the Precinct. He tells her to rescue the other
survivors in the police station and get out. When she starts to
protest, the half-disemboweled officer sticks a gun in her face and
rudely orders her out. He locks the door behind her. Claire accesses
the computer in the main hall, unlocks the doors and continues on.
In the zombie-infested office on the first floor, Leon finds the
necessary tool to put out the fire. When he opens the water tank and
douses the blaze, another helicopter appears overhead. This one is
towing a rack of huge cylinders. One of them detaches and drops. The
bomb-like container blows apart, revealing a huge humanoid creature.
The giant crashes through the roof of the precinct. The trenchcoat
menace heads right for Leon, who empties his weapon into the stalking
monstrosity before it falls. When Leon leaves the room, the sinister
intruder rises... and follows. Little does Leon know, but anyone who
had survived the mansion incident might recognize this creature as a
new and improved version of the Tyrant.
At the same time on different sides of the station, Claire and Leon
both encounter a new and deadly lifeform. Amphibious and spider-like,
these creatures look like crawling people turned inside out with
razor-sharp claws. They lash out with an incredibly long and sharp
tongue. Police documents refer to these creatures as "lickers", and
their origin is unknown.
On the second floor of the west wing of the precinct house, Claire
finds the STARS office and the log kept by her big brother Chris. This
document explains that he and the other STARS members had no luck
investigating the involvement of the Umbrella Corporation in the
mansion lab incident. They departed for Europe to search for Umbrella's
main headquarters. Suddenly a fax comes in, addressed to Chris. A
federal investigation on Umbrella has yielded naught for clues, but
an inquiry posted to the internal affairs division by Chris regarding
Raccoon Police Chief Brian Irons has been answered. By his record, the
Chief would appear to be a deranged genius and former rapist.
Back outside the office, Claire catches sight of a young girl being
pursued by a zombie. While Claire dispatches this thing, the fleeing
little girl bumps into Leon. Frightened out of her mind, she ducks
into a small opening in a broken door before he can stop her. Leon
and Claire reunite. Leon admits that this place is dangerous, and
Claire suggests that they split up and look for the girl and a safe
exit. The rookie cop gives her a radio so they can keep in contact.
Leon finds the two parts of a police operation report, detailing the
events of the past few days. The courageous citizens of Raccoon made
a grim standoff in the precinct house against the flesh-eating undead.
But some escaped the precinct through the exit to the basement in the
east wing. He also finds a note addressed to him from the RPD, and
the party favors of a surprise welcome they were planning to throw
him. But it seems his party has been cancelled.
He heads for the basement while Claire is startled by a woman's
screaming on the second floor. In order to save whoever's in trouble,
she needs a bomb to clear the helicopter wreckage. Nearby, she finds
the key to unlock the door downstairs and save the wounded cop. When
she returns to him, he has been fighting off zombies unsuccessfully.
Claire now learns why he rudely forced her to leave him. He rises,
transforms into a zombie, and attacks her. With a quick reaction,
Claire incinerates him. She locates the parts of a timer bomb and
heads back upstairs.
In the basement, Leon is fired upon by a beautiful Chinese-American
woman named Ada Wong. She's looking for a reporter named Ben Bertolucci
in one of the basement jail cells. After Leon graciously helps her
clear some wreckage out of the way, she ditches him. He tries to catch
up to her, but instead finds the incarcerated reporter in one of the
jail cells. Ada catches up to them now, but where she went first is a
mystery. Questioning Ben, Ada reveals that she's looking for her
boyfriend John, who works out of an Umbrella branch office in Chicago.
He disappeared in this area some months ago. Ben refuses to tell her
what he knows about what's happening in Raccoon City. Just then, a
monstrous roar fills the air. Ben has locked himself in his cell for
protection and refuses to leave, but directs the others how to get out
of the Precinct. Ada takes off, and Leon runs after her.
Claire detonates the plastique near the helicopter wreckage upstairs.
She finds an office full of stuffed trophy animals...and a more
gruesome trophy on the desk. The Mayor's daughter lies sprawled out,
a medium-sized wound at her abdomen. Behind the desk sits Police Chief
Brian Irons. He has completely lost his mind. Although the girl's
wound looks like a bullet hole, he claims that she was attacked by a
zombie, and that she will resurrect within an hour. The only way to
stop the zombification is to decapitate the victim or put a bullet
through the brain. He admits that taxidermy used to be his hobby
(which links him to the Umbrella mansion, because of all the stuffed
trophies found by the STARS team there). Saddened, he wishes to be
left alone.
Leon has found the sewer system that runs under the city. In the
processing plant, he comes across what appears to be the exit door
but doesn't have all the necessary keys to get through. Going back,
he finds Ada also investigating the sewage plant. She has found an
open vent shaft that she can get through with a boost. She hits the
ground on the other side, startling the same little girl Leon and
Claire encountered previously. As she runs off, Ada notices that the
little girl dropped her pendant. Amused, she decides to keep it in
case they meet again. After a quick search, she finds a precinct key
and returns to where Leon waits. She throws the key back through the
vent, but she can't get back herself because the vent is too high.
Once again, Ada runs off on her own against Leon's orders.
In room next to the Chief's, Claire hears the quick footsteps of
someone fleeing from her. She finds the little girl crouched in the
dark. She radios Leon to let him know that she cleared the helicopter
wreckage and found the little girl. The little girl says her name is
Sherri Birkin, and her parents work at the Umbrella plant. Her mother
called her during the T-virus outbreak and instructed her to go to
the police station for safety. She has heard her father's voice in
the station, but can't find him. Also, a creature is stalking her. A
mighty roar emanates from nearby. Sherri runs off, and Claire tries
to pursue her. In the office, the Chief and the dead woman's body
have disappeared. However, he has left behind his diary detailing the
extents of his depravity.
Leon is back in the precinct house, searching for the keys he needs
to get out. While looking for clues on the first floor, the horrible
Tyrant bursts through the wall. Only when shot several times does the
creature fall. Leon races upstairs and finds more items he needs. The
Tyrant follows. Again, Leon is forced to shoot it out with this brute.
The thing is finally subdued, even if only for the moment.
After gathering several keys of her own, Claire finally catches up to
Sherri in the Chief's office. Behind the desk is a secret door, and
Claire makes Sherri stay behind while she goes to investigate. An
elevator lowers her into some kind of custom dungeon beneath the
precinct. She hears the Chief scream.
In his private chamber, Chief Irons is backed into a corner by a
hideous mutating creature. Something shoots out of this thing's hand
and down Iron's throat.
In a hideous torture room, Claire finds the Chief, ranting, raving,
and armed. He explains to Claire that his town has been torn apart by
the experimental monsters of the Umbrella corporation. He tells her
that a man named William Birkin is to blame. Claire recognizes the
name. Irons states that Sherri is Birkin's daughter. Completely
paranoid, the Chief is ready to kill Claire with a Magnum handgun. But
before he can execute her, something bursts through his upper torso
from within. A small creature leaps out of Irons and falls down an
open chute nearby. Claire follows this thing, only to see it quickly
grow into some kind of horrible infant. The thing attacks her, but
she destroys it fairly easily. She runs back up to the second floor
to check on Sherri.
Leon makes his way to the precinct's clock tower where he finds the
final piece in the Chief's bizarre architectural puzzle. Now able to
exit the police station, he finds an open dust shoot and slides back
down to the basement. Upon landing, he hears Ben screaming in the
jail cell nearby. Leon runs to the reporter's aid, but is too late.
The same thing that impregnated Irons has gutted Ben. The dying
reporter gives Leon a document which entangles the Raccoon City Chief
of Police in a government conspiracy. In terrible pain, Ben dies. Ada
finally catches up to Leon, and they read this document together. It
is a series of letters from William Birkin to The Police Chief,
describing in detail how Umbrella was bribing the Chief to keep
secret their actions in the town. Birkin had learned that Umbrella
sent spies to steal his research. Ada then rushes off, explaining
only that she has to find John. She thinks he's in the chemical plant.
Leon is prevented from following by another call from Claire. She has
found a different exit from the precinct and will join him in the
sewers.
Leon runs after Ada. But in the sewage plant, he is confronted by the
mutating Dr. Birkin. The scientist attacks him with incredible
strength, takes a full clip full of magnum bullets at point blank
range, and dives into the muck. Leon opens the exit door.
In the sewer beneath the station, Sherri is separated from Claire
when a drainage chute opens and sucks her into a lower level. Sherri
runs for safety, finding herself in a garbage room. Just when she
finds a nice shiny trinket, the floor springs open and dumps her into
the garbage hold. Knocked unconscious, she fails to see the
approaching hulk. Birkin has found his daughter at last.
Ada abruptly rejoins Leon, and he admonishes her out for running off.
She agrees to stick with him from here on.
Searching everywhere to find Sherri, Claire runs into her mother,
Annette. The suspicious woman worked with her husband William on a
bioweapon called the G-virus, a mutagenic substance that turns
anything that ingests it into a giant monster. Birkin injected
himself with the virus when armed Umbrella agents seized the virus
from him. When Birkin was accidentally shot, he used the virus to
keep himself alive. The G-Virus rejuvenates dead cells, but it also
mutates them. He became a monster, a "G-Type", and hunted his killers
down. The virus seeks to spread by finding other host bodies. When
Annette learns that Sherri is in the chemical plant she becomes upset.
The virus can only be spread through a complimentary genetic host.
Birkin will try to find and impregnate Sherri with a virus embryo.
From somewhere close, they hear the little girl scream. Claire sends
Annette searching in the opposite direction and continues on.
Leon and Ada search the chemical plant for weapons and ammunition.
They bump into the frantic Annette. Ada chases the armed scientist.
Annette turns and fires on her pursuer, but Leon jumps in front of
Ada and takes the bullet. While Leon lays unconscious and seriously
wounded, Ada chooses to run after Annette.
Claire finds the garbage dump and spots Sherri, lying unconscious on
a heap of rubble. She calls out to the little girl, but a gigantic
alligator hears her and attacks. Claire runs back down the corridor
and finds a switch to release a gas canister. When the alligator grabs
the canister in its huge maw, Claire shoots the cylinder. The
resulting explosion flings chunks of the sewer beast's head everywhere.
Moving to Sherri, Claire spots some sort of red worm slithering away;
One of William's embryos. Stirring, Sherri complains of stomach pains.
Claire assures her that everything will be alright. She leads Sherri
out of the spider-infested sewers, past the bodies of several soldiers
wearing gas masks...
Ada hounds the scientist through the sewers to the central control
area. Annette blasts Ada's gun out of her hand, an adept shot for a
scientist. She advances on Ada, interrogating her. Learning that Ada
is looking for her boyfriend John, Annette realizes that she's
talking about one of the researchers at the mansion lab. She knows
that John turned into a zombie, and then died when the lab was
destroyed. She makes it seem that William was working at the mansion
as well, that he developed the T-Virus at that site. Annette starts
to explain the new G-Virus to Ada when she spots her daughter's
pendant around the woman's neck. In a suddenly aggressive manner, she
demands to have it. A cat fight ensues, ending with Ada punching
Annette and sending her flying over the rail. Checking inside Sherri's
pendant, Ada finds a secret compartment containing a sample of the
G-Virus.
Claire and Sherri discover an underground tramcar. After powering up,
they ride for some distance to an unknown dock. Apparently they aren't
out of danger yet, the grunts of the undead are heard nearby. Claire
blasts through corridors full of zombies. They arrive at a train
turntable platform. Inside the engine car, Claire finds the key to the
control panel outside. An alarm sounds upon activation, and the girls
run back inside the car. The entire platform disengages and drops. It
seems they have found some sort of large secret elevator. Sherri is
overcome by her stomach pains and passes out. Her monstrous father
shows up, threatening to smash the traincar to pieces. Claire runs
outside and ducks a steel rod flung at her by William. The screaming
madman mutates, growing a new head and a vicious-looking claw. Claire
quickly pelts the thing with enough flame grenades to burn down a
forest. When the G-Type is finally face down in a pool of its own
blood, Claire runs back into the train car. The elevator finishes its
descent, and she carries the unconscious girl into an Umbrella loading
dock. It would seem she has discovered a large underground laboratory.
A slightly delirious Leon awakens and hunts for Ada. He finds her in
the subterranean garbage dump. After bandaging his bullet wound, she
lets him know that John is dead. She doesn't seem terribly upset
though, and insists they get out of the sewage plant. At the tram
platform, Leon recalls the car. They board and head for the train
elevator. On route, they are attacked by the G-Type, which isn't dead
yet. It stabs one gigantic claw through the ceiling over and over,
seeking the passengers. Ada fires at the hand, blowing off one of the
fingers. The monster retreats. The two slip out of the tram and make
for the train platform.
Claire sets Sherri on a cot in the security office. She gives Sherri
her vest to keep her warm. The girl stirs, and lets Claire know that
she trusts her and depends on her like no else. Claire assures her
that she will find something to cure her.
Leon has to recall the train elevator platform. Leaving Ada in the
control room, he descends to a secret security room and there finds
the necessary key. When he flips on the surveillance camera aimed at
the door he just entered, he sees Umbrella's ugliest and most fearsome
agent hot on his trail. After one more battle with this 'Mr. X', Leon
returns to the upper control room to find Ada unharmed. He recalls
the elevator from there and they descend to the lab. But their moment
alone is not to be enjoyed. William is back, and he exacts a terrible
revenge against Ada. His clawshoots through the wall, stabbing her in
the back. She passes out, and Leon goes out to fight William. The
G-Virulent has grown two new arms and doubled in size. Leon pumps the
thing full of shotgun blasts before it does any good. Bleeding
heavily, William leaps onto the elevator shaft wall and leaves the
two alone.
In the lab, Claire figures out that the main power conduit has been
shut down. She finds a fuse for power connection, and then she is
free to explore the lab. Umbrella has conducted further experiments
with plant vegetation, as a titanic vine grows up from the bottom of
one shaft. Its offspring slide along the ground, spitting acid at her.
And there is an even stronger variety of the "lickers" here than
those encountered before.
The elevator platform's engine overheats, and it stops on an upper
floor of the lab. Leon leaves the wounded Ada in the train car while
he goes searching for something to patch her wound. He crawls through
a vent duct and drops into a corridor. The elevator platform restarts
and continues to descend. Leon has lost Ada again. He finds an
emergency elevator that will take him down to where Ada has gone, but
it needs power. He finds a door to a "Power Room", but it is locked.
In a room with a huge smelting pit, he fights his way through the
tougher new breed of "lickers". He connects the emergency elevator's
power and goes up to the lab. In what is obviously William Birkin's
former experiment room, he finds the power room key and goes back up
to the first level.
Leon runs off the elevator, but not very far. Now Annette is shooting
at him. She calls him a fool for believing Ada, saying that the woman
he is falling in love with is a spy working for Umbrella, using him
only to help her steal the G-Virus. Leon refuses to believe it.
Annette doesn't care and prepares to shoot him. Mr. X suddenly crashes
through the ceiling behind Leon. Annette flees. Evading the powerful
giant, Leon gets to the power room and unlocks it. The monster has
followed him, and now the rookie cop is cornered. Shots ring out. Ada
is back, blasting away at the unholy behemoth. But unfortunately she
runs out of bullets. Just as she reloads, the Tyrant seizes her and
lifts her high. Ada fires several rounds point blank into his face.
Temporarily blinded, the giant smashes a control panel with Ada,
probably breaking every bone in her body. Blood gushing from his face,
Mr. X falls off the platform into the smelting pit. Leon runs to Ada's
side. In her last moments, she wishes she could stay with him. Leon
kisses her passionately. Ada goes limp and dies. Leon screams in
grief. Near Ada's body, Leon finds a key that the monster dropped
before falling into the pit.
After Claire finds a keycard in the research room, Annette pops up
again. She's still armed and dangerous, and somehow knows that Claire
tried to kill William. After Claire tells Annette that Sherri has
been infected by the G-Type, the monster growls nearby. Excited,
Annette runs after him. William crashes out of the ceiling, still
alive. More monster than human now, he cuts his own wife down with
one terrible claw swipe. When Claire rounds the corner he leaps back
up into the ceiling. A dying Annette begs Claire to save her daughter,
giving her detailed instructions on how to create an antidote to the
G-Virus, using materials that can be found somewhere in the lab.
The damaged central unit in the power room is wracked by explosions.
Lightning bolts course up and down the huge column. A computer voice
indicates that the self-destruct sequence has been activated, and all
personnel should evacuate to the cargo train platform at the bottom
of the lab.
At the edge of the iron smelting pit, a gigantic clawed hand emerges
from the red hot pool. Mr. X isn't down for good yet, and he may be
more dangerous than ever.
Claire runs out to the monitor room. A motion detector alerts her that
someone else is in the lab. Leon is onscreen, emerging from the power
room. Claire tells him to go back to the security office to rescue
Sherri while she creates the G-virus antidote.
Leon rides the elevator back down into the lab, retrieves the barely
conscious girl and uses the master key in the elevator to take the
emergency access tube to the cargo train platform.
Following the instructions for the G-Virus vaccine, Claire rushes to
the VAM room on the Lab's 4th floor. Killing several last zombies,
she finds a vaccine cartridge. Reading the instructions for the
"Devil" vaccine, she inserts the cartridge into the machine and starts
it up, allowing the base vaccine to be synthesized. She takes the
cartridge and heads back down to Birkin's lab.
Leon finds the train without power. Laying Sherri on the cot inside,
he finds a platform key at the back of the train and hurries to power
up their escape transport.
Claire inserts the base vaccine into the virus antidote synthesizer
in Birkin's lab, and the machine creates the "Devil" automatically.
On her way back out, she accesses a corridor to the experimental
containment room, where she finds a huge cargo elevator that will
take her down to the train platform.
An explosion rocks the entire lab. The computer announces that the
self-destruct sequence has begun, there are only 5 minutes remaining
until total detonation.
Leon races across a bridge over the train to the opposite platform.
There he unlocks the containment chamber for the power plugs for the
train's generator. He takes the plugs into the next room and inserts
them into the power grid. The computer warns him that the power will
be completely shut down momentarily in order to power up the train.
In the blackout, a huge creature lands behind him. A transformed Mr.
X is ablaze from his dip in the molten vat. With two huge claws, he
charges at Leon, knocking the poor guy from one end of the room to
the other. Suddenly another familiar shape appears, at the top of the
gantry over them. Still wearing Sherri's pendant, Ada drops Leon a
rocket launcher. The cop recognizes her, but doesn't have a moment to
spare. He dives for the launcher, scoops it up, and fires at his
vicious adversary. The creature explodes into a dozen body parts. The
power comes back on and so do the lights. With about two minutes
until detonation, Leon runs back to the train.
Waiting patiently for the elevator to reach her floor, Claire's
thoughts are suddenly interrupted as something smashes through the
ceiling right above her. She backs up just in time to avoid being
squashed as the G-Type drops into the room. She fires several grenades
into the genetic monstrosity, but then suddenly it transforms into a
misshapen four-legged beast, and it's stronger than ever. Claire runs
around the room, playing matador as it charges at her. Finally, her
weapons have an impact on the thing, and it dissolves into a puddle
of genetic jelly. Claire's elevator arrives, right on cue, and she
descends to the train loading platform.
Leon finds the train platform crawling with naked zombies. Blowing
their heads off left and right, he gets to the switch that opens the
gate blocking the train's path. He runs back onto the train, slips
into the cockpit and starts her up.
Claire gets to the platform just as the train is taking off. She sees
Leon, leaning out an open door, yelling for her to get on. She misses
that opportunity, but luckily there is another open door.
Once she's inside, the Umbrella lab completes its detonation sequence
in a huge explosion. The train is severely rocked, throwing a still-
unconscious Sherri to the floor. Claire quickly administers the
vaccine to her and they wait. Finally, little Sherri comes to and
thanks Claire for saving her. Leon thinks that the danger is over, but
Claire disagrees. She still has to find her brother. Talking to
Sherri, Claire indicates that she will always be there for the little
girl. Leon moves up into the cockpit. Still upset, he says goodbye to
Ada.
The train suddenly lurches. Leon moves back into the cabin with the
girls. No one can figure out what the disturbance was. Leon runs
toward the back of the train. The train is equipped with the same
computer system as the lab. The computer warns them that a bio-
hazardous material has been detected on board. The train will detonate
in just two minutes. The cabin is locked, and Leon is unable to get
back to Sherri and Claire. He runs to the back of the train to search
the cargo compartments.
At the rear, giant tentacles smash through the ceiling. Leon races
back to the front as the G-Type makes an encore. Birkin is now nothing
more that a gigantic black blob, pulling itself forward with four huge
tentacles. Leon blasts the thing until it loses solidity once more.
Then he heads back toward the cabin.
This is the point at which the player's part of the game is finished,
and all the viewer has to do now is sit back and watch another
fantastic computer animation that reveals the ending of Biohazard
2. For the purposes of this thesis, this all-important ending will be
described in the next part, "The Conclusion of Biohazard 2."
===========================================
4.2 The Conclusion of Biohazard 2
===========================================
The final cinema of the game Biohazard 2 is as exciting as the
ending of any big-budget sci-fi action film. What happens at the very
end of the sequence leaves the player with the absolute confirmation
that there will be more Biohazard to come.
===========================================
4.3 Summary of the Conclusion of
Biohazard 2
===========================================
The G-Type has reformed, and attempts to smash into the cabin. Claire,
not knowing where Leon is, tells Sherri to hide. Sherri opens a vent
to the cockpit and crawls through. She promises Claire that she can
stop the train.
Leon is on top of the engine car, climbing up to the cockpit. He looks
behind him to see the G-Type's tentacles searching for him.
The main body of the G-Type smashes into the cabin. In order to hide,
Claire climbs down through a hatch and hangs onto the bottom of the
train while it's still moving.
Leon rips open an escape hatch on the roof of the cockpit. Sherri
hasn't had so much luck figuring out which button to push. Leon spots
the emergency stop switch immediately and points it out to her. Sherri
slams her fist on the button.
The train brakes. Sparks shoot out from behind the wheels as the
transport slows, dousing Claire in a shower of yellow fire. She fights
to hold on.
The train stops. The computer warns that the train will detonate in
thirty seconds. Claire crawls out of her hiding spot and with a sigh
of relief, spots daylight at the exit of the train tunnel. Leon and
Sherri are out, looking for Claire at the front of the train. She
joins them just as the G-Type smashes into the cockpit. The heroes
dash for the exit.
The monster's tentacles smash through the cockpit windshield,
searching for its enemies. The computer counts down, 5, 4, 3, 2,....
At the last second, the G-Type realizes what is about to happen.
The heroes leap clear of the tunnel.
The transport train detonates quickly car by car, from the rear to the
front. A vicious geyser of fire blasts out of the tunnel.
Claire and Sherri get up, commenting that each of them look pretty
awful. Leon rises, but is already moving off, saying they don't have
time to waste. Claire wonders why. Leon turns and tells them, "Hey,
it's up to us to stop Umbrella."
Blackout. Heavy metal theme music and the credits roll.
===========================================
4.4 Differences Between Claire A/Leon B
and Leon A/Claire B
===========================================
If you play the game in the opposite order, starting with Leon first,
the plot is different in several respects:
1. Sherri keeps her pendant throughout the game. This means that Ada
never obtains the pendant or the G-Virus sample it contains. Also,
Mr. X wants the G-Virus, so he goes after Sherri and Claire and not
Leon and Ada.
2. Sherri is never impregnated with a G-Type embryo. So Claire doesn't
have to create a G-Virus antidote. Thus, no mention of an antidote
is heard.
3. Ben Bertolucci is impregnated by Birkin with a G-Type embryo that
later bursts out of him. But the reasons why Birkin would implant
him with this are never discussed or explained.
4. Chief Irons is ripped in half by Birkin instead of implanted.
5. Annette is fatally wounded when the G-Type pounds on the ceiling in
the lab and drops a pipe on her head. Leon takes the G-Virus sample
that she is holding.
6. Leon confronts Ada about being a spy. Annette, barely alive, shoots
Ada. Leon's love falls over the rail into a deep chasm. Enraged,
Leon tosses the G-Virus into the abyss.
7. In the game finales, Leon confronts the G-Type while Claire battles
Mr. X.
8. In Claire's final confrontations with Mr. X, she lures him into the
smelt pool by tossing Sherri's pendant with the G-Virus over the
side. On the trainpower platform, Claire is aided in her battle
against the mutated Mr. X by Ada. This provides a larger mystery
than the previously explored scenario. How did Ada survive such a
fall?
9. At the end of the closing movie, it is Claire instead of Leon who
leads them off, stating "We have to find my brother."
Perhaps the reasons why the previous plot summary focused on Claire A/
Leon B are now clear. The focus scenario is much richer in plot and
explanations. There is not as great a leap of faith required to
believe that Ada still lives. An exploration of how Ada might have
survived her brutal death in order to aid in the final battle with Mr.
X are explored in Section 5.3, "The Resurrection of Ada Wong", below.
Biohazard 2 is a game far more rich in story than its predecessor,
as is evidenced by the number of pages needed to summarize the plot
versus that of the original Biohazard. In this newer chapter of
the story, questions are raised and some are answered while others
may never be solved. Now begins the quest to figure out what hints the
Biohazard enthusiast has been given and what predictions can be
made for the future of the series.
===========================================
5.1 Conclusions About the Conclusion
===========================================
Biohazard 2 leaves us with the following resolutions:
1. William Birkin's laboratory and research have been destroyed.
2. Somehow Umbrella has almost perfected a Tyrant, and has more at
their disposal. Their research continues elsewhere.
3. Leon, Claire, and Sherri have all survived.
4. Ada may have also survived.
5. Raccoon City is in ruins.
6. Leon has a new mission in life, while Claire continues hers.
7. The rest of the STARS team may be somewhere in Europe.
===========================================
5.2 The Characters Split Up
===========================================
The different statements made by each of the characters at the end of
their respective B games indicate that the survivors of the Raccoon
City horror have different needs following the end of the game.
Leon's first day of duty hasn't gone so well. The city he has sworn to
protect and serve is destroyed. Leon seems determined to pursue
Umbrella and stop them from their evil experiments. He will most
likely head to the next Umbrella facility in search of answers. There
are two possible destinations for Leon, either the Umbrella
installation in Chicago that Annette spoke of or the corporate
headquarters somewhere in Europe as mentioned in Chris Redfield's log.
Either way, it seems Leon has entered the quest to stop Umbrella.
However, the ranking screen at the end of his games depicts him still
in Raccoon City with what appear to be police reinforcements,
containing the outbreak situation. Perhaps he will be detained from
his new goal for a short time.
Claire still hasn't found her brother, and states that she will
continue this search. The ranking screen after her game depicts a
stillshot of Claire and Sherri saddling up on the motorbike and
preparing to head out looking for the missing Chris Redfield.
Recent press releases by Capcom Entertainment posted at Videogames.com
on the internet confirm that a new Biohazard game is in production,
entitled Biohazard: Code Veronica. Claire Redfield is confirmed to
be a player-character in this game, and the setting is a tropical
island where Umbrella unleashes its evil once again.
This is enough to conclude that the next Biohazard story will
center around Claire and her quest. Another game following that would
be only logical if the story centered on Leon contacting the remaining
STARS team members in Europe.
But fans should also expect new characters to appear in future
installments. Biohazard began with all new characters, and so did
Biohazard 2. Mention of, and family connection to, the characters
from the previous game helped to develop and deepen the actions and
motivations of the characters in the second game.
Whether or not Umbrella agent Ada Wong will reappear in the Resident
Evil series or rejoin Leon is discussed in Section ??????? at the end of
this thesis. But one still wonders, how did Ada show up at the end of
Biohazard 2?
===========================================
5.3 The Resurrection of Ada Wong
===========================================
Ada appears at the end of the Leon B game to aid him in his fight
against the evil Tyrant. Although she stands in the shadows, Sherri's
pendant is illuminated hanging around her neck. Quite presumably, she
still has the G-Virus sample.
How did she survive her 'death'? There has been much debate between
fans over the internet regarding this touchy subject. Some have
pointed out that if the player accesses her item menu while playing as
Ada, she has a First-Aid Spray, which instantly and completely restores
health. The suggestion is that perhaps Ada was only unconscious
following her battle with Mr. X, and revived briefly enough to
administer the spray. But if the player uses the spray to recover
health while controlling Ada, she still returns after her 'death',
proving this theory inconclusive.
Some speculation indicates that maybe Ada is one of many clones
developed by Umbrella. Backing up this theory is her unexplained
appearances and disappearances throughout the game. Perhaps Ada is
running off to join her "sisters", so that they might combine what
they have all learned in their separate searches. This would explain
how she appears during the Mr. X power room encounter, standing and
ready to fight even though she was previously badly wounded. This
would also explain how she appears again during the final battle on
the train platform. But this theory is highly subjective, and more
concrete proof within the plot is needed. There is no mention of
Umbrella conducting cloning experiments in either game, but that
doesn't mean it won't be brought up in future episodes.
Notice that Annette explains to Ada in their encounter how her husband
William used the G-Virus to revitalize himself. The dramatic cinema
cut-scene shows that he gave himself a full injection. If Ada woke
from unconsciousness in the power room and took a smaller dose of the
G-Virus, it would revive her. She does not appear during the final
battle fully lit, because we would glimpse the first stages of her
genetic mutation. After Leon defeats the Tyrant, Ada does not rejoin
him. Surely she wouldn't want the handsome young rookie to see her
rapidly transforming.
In the Leon A game, after Ada falls from the catwalk, Leon tosses the
G-virus into the same chasm. This allows the G-Virus to land in the
same place as Ada. This would certainly allow the dying woman to reach
over and swallow a bit. Ada taking the G-Virus to revive herself
proves conclusive in either case.
Also listed as a theory is that perhaps Ada is a different kind of
creature created by Umbrella, an impervious shape-shifter similar to
the T-1000 in James Cameron's Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Although
unsupported by the story, this theory would explain how Ada is able to
take much more punishment than Claire or Leon. When playing as her,
note that she can sustain several zombie bites or spider acid attacks
before actually showing damage. She can slip through a T-virus swarm
of cockroaches without a scratch. This theory would explain how she
appears in the infested precinct house unscathed, and how she
recovered from a fatal wound to save Leon's neck. When Mr. X smashes
Ada into the steel control panel, the control panel comes out a lot
worse than she does. Ada would seem to be tougher than steel...
Whatever mysterious force may have provided for the return of Ada Wong,
her reappearance during the climactic scenes definitely allows the game
planners to return her to the Biohazard series in the future.
Little Sherri Birkin might not accompany Claire on future quests.
While Claire has told Sherri, in a metaphoric way, that she will
always be there for her, previews of Biohazard: Code Veronica have
not confirmed (or denied) the little girl's presence in that game.
It would be unthinkable for Claire to risk the life of this young girl
any further. Even if she survived the previous carnage mostly on her
own, Sherri is too small and defenseless to go into future encounters
with the minions of Umbrella. The most logical transition between
games would be for Claire to take Sherri to a place of safe keeping,
such as a trusted friend or relative, while she continues the search
for her brother. If that becomes the case, then Sherri will most
likely be out of the Biohazard series until she is old enough and
has the proper combat training to deal with the dangers of Resident
Evil.
If she does appear in Biohazard: Code Veronica, she won't have
much of a storyline. Her parents are dead, her former life over. She
could get separated from Claire, forcing the determined young Redfield
to search for Sherri. But after the events in Biohazard 2, this
plotline would be redundant. Claire has proven to Sherri that she can
be depended upon. No further proof is needed.
And what of the other Raccoon survivors, the remaining STARS team
members from the original game? Surely at least cameo appearances are
in store for Barry Burton, Jill Valentine, and Rebecca Chambers. No
mention of them appearing in future games has come from the Capcom
camp yet. But the demand for these characters' return has been voiced
by the fans, even if not very often.
The quality of the voice-overs in Biohazard being what it was, it
was hard not to laugh at these quirky characters. Jill's terrible
overpronounciation, Barry's poor rhythm and timing, and Rebecca's
seeming obliviousness to the horrid events occurring around her had
these characters standing on shaky ground even from the start.
But even Chris Redfield, the guy with the cheesiest action one-liners
in the whole series, is coming back soon. Biohazard 2 has been
re-released in a "Dual-Shock Compatible" version, which includes a
new minigame titled "Extreme Battle Mode". In this game, Leon, Claire,
Ada, and Chris Redfield himself must search the Umbrella lab and
disarm four bombs that have been set by Umbrella agents to destroy all
evidence of Umbrella's involvement in Racoon City's demise. This short
adventure was included in the new version of the game only to ensure
the sale value of putting a new Biohazard 2 on the market, and can
not be included in the plot summary and analysis contained herein
because it contrasts the plot completely. But obviously Capcom hasn't
forgotten the original game's hero, and feels compelled to keep him in
the game.
The hope among hundreds of fans is that these other characters will
resurface, even if sometime in the distant future. Judging by the
tradition so far, it really doesn't look hopeful. Biohazard had
all new characters, Biohazard 2 had all new characters, so all
Biohazards will most likely have all new characters.
There's one survivor that has been omitted, possibly the most
controversial survivor by far...
===========================================
6.1 The 4th Survivor Minigame
===========================================
A couple of secret games are available to the most capable of Resident
Evil survivors. With the right timing, skill, and stamina, players
will receive an A ranking in Biohazard 2. While secret weapons
gained make for fun replay, the most interesting aspect of this
ranking is the receipt of a new playable character named "Hunk". The
players are asked to create a new save file for a minigame called The
4th Survivor, the special mission suitable only for this seasoned
Umbrella agent.
After continuous replays, The Tofu Survivor minigame also becomes
available. But this game is incredibly silly and not generally
applicable to the continuing plot of the series.
The 4th Survivor is a "battle game." The player is given a limited
amount of ammunition, a simple goal, and an impossible army of evil
monsters to outwit in order to survive. This side-adventure is a true
test of a player's survival skills.
===========================================
6.2 A Character Named Hunk
===========================================
Whether it is his real name or a codename is uncertain, but Hunk is
certainly a buff character. Dressed in militaristic biohazard contain-
ment gear, Hunk's eyes glow with the power of his infrared goggles. He
runs quite faster than the usual Biohazard playable character,
even when seriously wounded.
Playing as Hunk requires a good amount of quick thinking and strategy
on the part of the player. While some strategies can be useful every
time, the game's enemies sometimes react differently to Hunk. This
means that The 4th Survivor is always a challenge, even to seasoned
Biohazard veterans.
The game begins in a total blackout. Someone is thinking "G-...
G-Virus... I have to deliver it to Umbrella..." The scene opens at the
end of the sewer station, sometime after Ada and Leon have made their
way to the Lab, but before the end of the regular game. A body floats
face down in the muck, one of the Umbrella infiltrators sent to steal
the G-Virus from renegade scientist William Birkin. The body stirs,
shifts, and shows signs of life. Slowly, Hunk regains consciousness
and rises.
After a quick look around, Hunk pulls out his radio. "Alpha team here,"
he says through his gas mask, "Mission accomplished." "Roger," confirms
another agent on the radio, "We'll meet at the rendezvous point."
A map cuts in and a blinking beacon light shows Hunk that he has to
get to the second floor roof of the RPD Precinct in order to be
airlifted out. Hunk takes off up the stairs.
Between this stealthy agent and his goal is a small army of the evil
dead. Zombies plague his flight, along with giant spiders, killer dogs,
and slithering botanical experiments. He has only a limited amount of
ammunition, and must determine how best to save the big guns for
future emergencies while trying not to die at the present. Luckily he
has some herbs to heal himself and prevent against poisoning, but it's
not a lot. Refills of ammunition are nowhere to be found.
After several close calls, Hunk tops a staircase to the second floor
of the RPD. He's halfway home, but the nightmare is not yet over.
Stomping toward him is a monstrosity he has only heard rumors about at
his agency. At long last, Umbrella has perfected the Tyrant, and
they've sent it after the G- Virus. Somehow able to sense that Hunk
possesses a sample, the monster attacks him. Reasoning with the beast
would be no use, so Hunk evades the slowly advancing thing and moves
on.
The zombies have retaken the Precinct in greater numbers than ever
before, and have lain several traps for the unfortunate Umbrella agent.
With some skill, he just barely avoids these. But as he nears his goal,
the insanity grows. Each room bears an ever-greater horde of ghouls,
quickly converging on the lone survivalist. Shaking off his attackers,
he clears a pathway out with the barrel of his gore-splattered gun.
In the final hallway, Hunk meets the Tyrant once again. How the slowly
stalking thing got over here so quickly is a real mystery, one Hunk
doesn't have time to solve. Evading the hulk yet again, the agent
reaches the roof and lights his last flare to signal for a rescue.
The pick-up chopper swoops overhead immediately, as if though it has
only been a block away this entire time. It hovers over the precinct
for an unbearably long moment, then a bright spotlight is trained on
Hunk. Impatiently, he waves for them to come down and get him. The
helicopter quickly lands and airlifts the tired and wounded operative.
As the Umbrella chopper soars off into the ominous skies, a brief
epilogue appears on the screen. The agent has delivered the virus to
Umbrella, promising that this is the end of one nightmare, but only
the beginning of another.
===========================================
6.4 Hunk's Small But Essential Role in
the World of Survival Horror
===========================================
Even though it is a short side quest, The 4th Survivor minigame holds
many answers and raises new questions in the Biohazard universe.
Situated so that the player must finish the main game prior to being
granted this secret game, The 4th Survivor in its entirety is a kind
of epilogue to Biohazard 2.
At the end of Leon B, Ada either does or does not still have the virus.
Most likely, she had to take the sample in order to revive herself.
Whichever the case may be, her allegiance to Umbrella has become
rather shaky at best. She will probably not deliver the G-Virus to
Umbrella.
But with Hunk, Umbrella has an ace in the hole. Here is a dedicated
soldier who's first thought, upon regaining consciousness, is about
his mission. If Hunk had even a bit of Ada's disenchantment, he'd
dispose of the virus and follow the heroes out. Yet Hunk continues on,
in spite of witnessing all the horrors that his superiors are capable
of.
The confrontation between Hunk and Umbrella's Tyrant deserves
examination. The Tyrant seems allegiant to some higher programming. It
is specifically seeking the G-Virus for Umbrella. It does not see who
is ally or enemy. Hunk has the sample, and the Tyrant does not have
the morality to consider the other Umbrella agent his cohort. Either
that, or Umbrella is the kind of high-energy cutthroat corporation
that pits all of its employees against one another. We can extrapolate
from this that if Hunk encountered Ada, the bullets would fly.
Umbrella's desperation is showing. The first secret agent to be
uncovered is Ada, who infiltrated the mansion lab by posing as
girlfriend to one of the scientist there. When her connection goes
cold, Ada's usefulness to Umbrella is over. The heavily armed
infiltration team is dispatched, led by Hunk. After Birkin kills all
but the fearless leader, Umbrella must resort to final measures. Their
Tyrant will kill anything in its path to get the virus for them.
Sending in this thing is a cancellation of all former contracts with
its other agents.
===========================================
6.5 The Internet Debate
===========================================
The implications of Hunk's involvement in the Raccoon City incident
are such that fans on-line have created WebPages in his honor. Many
post messages hoping that Hunk will realize the moral folly of working
for such a foul agency and join the STARS in their quest to stop
Umbrella. This would enable game planners to make Hunk a playable
character in future games.
Hunk is not a character of such depth that this subplot is possible.
The most attractive characteristics of someone like Hunk are his
determination and loyalty to something, even if it happens to be evil
in nature. Hunk is like a bounty hunter of sorts, and a comparison to
another famous sci-fi bounty hunter instantly comes to mind. Hunk
serves the same purpose in the Biohazard saga as the bounty hunter
character Boba Fett does in the Star Wars Trilogy. Fett and Hunk are
both characters of only one purpose in their stories, achieve their
individual prizes and return them to their respective authorities for
reward and commendation. Any shift in allegiance or motivation for a
character this minor would have been detrimental to the sanctity of
either saga.
If Boba Fett had changed his mind about delivering Han Solo to Jabba
the Hutt and instead fought to free Solo, then the main characters
like Luke Skywalker would no longer be the shining heroes of the story.
As previously mentioned, if Hunk were ever to second-guess his
employers' intentions, he would dispose of the virus and follow the
same path as the heroes. But that does not happen in The 4th Survivor.
Hunk does not falter even upon witnessing the horrors that Umbrella is
committed to creating. He continues on to the chopper. Thus, for him
to do so in future installments would create a plothole. Following
this, any change of allegiance on the part of Hunk would only be a
distraction in the continuing series.
===========================================
6.6 The Virus is Delivered, So Now What?
===========================================
When Hunk completes his mission, Umbrella has what they want. What
kind of new and horrible creatures will they endeavor to create? If
they could not control their previous research, then the stage is set
for this incompetent and malevolent group to erroneously release the
horror all over again.
Obviously, Biohazard players will encounter the G-Virus again. But
the saving of Sherri by Claire with a vaccine provides some hope
against this insane bioweapon. Unlike the ridiculously dangerous
T-Virus, the G-Virus is spread by only by injection or impregnation of
a host body. And this time, there is a cure.
Therefore, if the G-Virus is faced in future episodes of Biohazard,
all hope is not lost. Claire's involvement in the next game due out
indicates that there is at least one person continuing in the series
who is familiar with the creation of a G-Virus vaccine. Umbrella's
second ultimate bioweapon can be stopped by even less forceful means
than the first. While the G-Virus can be stopped by a simple injection
of vaccine, the only way to stop the spread of the T-Virus is by
geographic sterilization. This refers to the detonation of some type
of gigantic explosion or a megaton bomb.
One wonders what the effect of the vaccine would be on a victim who's
infection by the virus has already created genetic transformations.
Like in The X-Files Movie, would administration of the cure to a viral
enemy kill it by contamination?
This may provide grounds for a new weapon in future installments, or a
plotline whereon one of the protagonists can destroy a monster if they
are able somehow to deliver into it an injection of the vaccine.
Perhaps a dartgun with hypodermic ammunition will be found somewhere
in another chaos-ridden Umbrella lab. We shall see soon enough. What
are the true intentions of a government subsidized bioweapons agency
that seeks to design a property of such malice, and takes such little
care to contain their experiments?
===========================================
6.7 The Debatable Intentions of Umbrella, Inc.
===========================================
Purveyors of chaotic evil, Umbrella is responsible now for the
devastation of an entire city. So far, this shadowy agency has been
lucky in that all evidence of their involvement in the incident has
been burned in the final destruction of their contaminated labs.
Although it is never really said in the story, Hunk must be working
for Umbrella. How else could he be briefed concerning what he is to
obtain from Dr. Birkin in the lab? Even a Federal Police Internal
Affairs investigation failed to yield any evidence regarding a G-Virus
being developed by the company. This brings up some question as to
whether or not the government that sponsors the research of Umbrella
knows what this insidious organization is doing with their allocated
funds. Since it is known even by the characters in the game that
Umbrella conducts research on a government contract, it is unlikely
that Umbrella's connection to the government is through some sort of
secret government agency. Their sponsorship is obviously no secret at
all. Therefore Hunk is probably not a government black ops trooper, as
has been sometimes suggested.
But this means that Umbrella is a powerful enough company that it has
secretly organized its own militia of near-fanatical soldiers,
complete with semi-automatic weapons and helicopters. These special ops
troops would also need to be trained for the purposes of sending them
into a biohazard situation. This would require a militaristic training
camp in a secretive and remote location. Possibly an island...
The full scope and reach of Umbrella must be realized. Here is a
multinational company, a global corporation with headquarters
mentioned in Europe and obviously a base on some isolated island.
There is also the corporate office in Chicago. If more Umbrella labs
and properties exist beyond these, the ramifications are quite
terrifying. With bases of research and operation spread across the
globe, it could be that Umbrella has positioned itself to take over
the world. It fits that if a biohazardous virus was released at every
location at once, the plague would spread across the planet in a
matter of days. A planned apocalypse may be in the works.
Perhaps the first incident was not so accidental. The "accident" that
released the virus at the mansion lab was never explained. This was
most likely a staged outbreak to determine the geographic propensity
of the virus. The sequel examines the compound ramifications of this
event, as Umbrella scientists and city officials still on the company
payroll become paranoid about their involvement with this cutthroat
corporate identity. Their actions lead to the continued spread of the
plague from the mansion. If Umbrella orchestrated the destruction of
Raccoon City in order to test plans for a global infection, then we
are dealing with a company with immoral capabilities, an organization
that will stop at nothing.
In order to rule the world, an individual or group must have the
capability to destroy it. Umbrella would seemingly be developing that
capability through these experiments. The synchronized release of the
G- and/or T-Viruses at many various points across the world would kill
nine out of ten human beings. Eight of those nine would become zombies.
With 80% of the world's population turned into brainless cannibals,
governments would absolutely lose control. With proper precautions and
organization, Umbrella could effectively step up and rule the Earth.
This theory raises questions of how the corporation would maintain
control of this new population of zombies and creatures. Perhaps the
G- and T-Viruses are only prototypes of what is to come. The next step
in viral development would be to create a virus that turns humans into
zombies that are still susceptible to control of some kind. Thinking
zombies.
Although this seems like a fanciful extrapolation upon the plot as it
now stands, the next part of this thesis will now discuss why this
theory could very well be an accurate prediction. Hunk's further
involvement in the series will also be analyzed.
What does the future of the Biohazard series hold for its fans?
That is what game enthusiasts across the world are dying to know.
This section of the thesis pulls together all the concrete evidence
and solid theories previously examined to create predictions of what
is to come from this amazing game. More proof shall also be brought
forth. By examining the classic films that have worked as outside
influences upon Biohazard, comparisons between the progressions of
the game to its germinal sources can be made, yielding even more
predictions.
With two chapters fully established, Biohazard is now a series
just like the film trilogies it was developed from.
===========================================
7.2 The Parallel Progression of RESIDENT
EVIL and Romero's DEAD Trilogy
===========================================
Comparing Biohazard to the zombie films of George Romero is an
easy enough task. These three films stand apart from a horror film
genre that relies mainly on shock and shlock. But in the films NIGHT
OF THE LIVING DEAD, DAWN OF THE DEAD, and DAY OF THE DEAD, Romero
truly set himself apart as a director and an artist. The story within
these films is deeper and more engaging than the run-of-the-mill low-
budget splatterfest. The tensions created and maintained in the mise
en scene are the trademark of true dramatic talent. It is obvious to
any film student that Romero is the one low-budget horror filmmaker
who studied.
NIGHT takes place mostly in an abandoned house. The characters are an
eclectic group of people who must protect themselves from an onslaught
of the reanimated corpses of the recently deceased. Political alliances
are formed, splitting the group. Treachery from within exposes all to
the dangers of the zombie horde. For all these things, Biohazard
has obviously been modeled on this film, even if only to a slight
degree.
DAWN takes place some three weeks after the events of the first movie.
The undead have murdered a good portion of the planet, and the human
race is facing its end. Two SWAT team members join a news station
manager and a traffic-watch helicopter pilot in a flight from a city
infested by the undead. The living struggle with each other for
control of supplies, weapons, and escape transportation, even in the
face of futility. The story progresses from there, but the aspects
listed are what have seemingly been applied to Biohazard 2. Leon's
costume is unmistakably similar to that of the SWAT guys in DAWN.
Helicopters make rescue attempts and the whole area has been overtaken
by zombies. Escape from the city is the only goal, not to stay and
fight. And visually, the look of Raccoon City and the Raccoon Police
Department are drawn directly from the city and the tenement slum in
the Romero film.
Reasonable deduction promotes that since Biohazard was modeled on
NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and the sequel was modeled on Romero's sequel
- in at least an artistic way - future games will be modeled on the
third installment of the Romero zombie trilogy, DAY OF THE DEAD.
===========================================
7.3 DAY OF THE DEAD and Biohazard
===========================================
Romero's DAY OF THE DEAD takes place several months after the events
of DAWN. Mankind has resorted to living in underground bunkers, while
the living dead have taken over the surface. Scientists conduct
morally bereft experiments on zombies to determine if a method of
controlling them can be established. And the humans are again at each
other's throats, struggling for leadership of the bunker's inhabitants.
This schism leads to a weakness in the group's defenses, and the undead
take over the bunker. The human race is quite possibly extinct.
If you compare this quick summary to the observations and theories
developed in the last part of this thesis, the similarities are
exciting. If in fact Umbrella has created superzombies or Tyrants over
which they alone have control, then we may begin to see them also
conducting experiments on T-Virus outbreak victims, to determine if a
planned global plague would yield control of the world to Umbrella.
Like DAY, their experiments may achieve some small measure of success.
Or maybe even total success. In that case, we would see talking zombie
characters in Biohazard. Perhaps even future playable characters
would be zombies.
If Biohazard follows true to form, then look for artistic
influences from DAY in future games. Some scenery from this film has
already been used in Biohazard, and is evident in preview
screenshots of Biohazard: Code Veronica. Logon to Videogames.com
and examine them. The tables in the shot where Claire is in some kind
of mess hall and a zombie stands in the foreground closely resembles
the large cavern used as a meeting hall in DAY OF THE DEAD. And the
lighting scheme in these three shots is exactly like what is seen in
the underground caverns of the third Romero zombie film. A better
variety of weapons will become available. And look for cinemas during
the games to become darker and more graphic.
Imagine Hunk in the role of the overbearing military leader from DAY.
If Umbrella values the G-Virus sample as much as it seems in Resident
Evil 2, then surely Hunk will benefit for his delivery of the virus
via increased status and promotion. Look for Hunk to be a commander of
future Umbrella installations. The STARS team may find themselves up
against this cunning and resourceful soldier, and some of them may
lose.
But as stated previously, the new games beyond Biohazard: Code
Veronica will most likely continue in the tradition of introducing all
new characters for every game. Perhaps the cast will be some of the
more innocent members of Umbrella, researchers and security guards who
realize all too late that a virus has broken out in the lab. Then we
shall see a storyline similar to DAY OF THE DEAD, where the goal is to
get out of the bunker as it is being overtaken.
For more story input, however, we must look at the film from which
Biohazard 2 was taken directly, right down to the dialogue and the
sound effects.
===========================================
7.4 Biohazard 2 and James Cameron's
ALIENS
===========================================
A certain disheartening is felt by some Biohazard fans when
exposed to just how much the series has taken directly from the 20th
Century Fox film ALIENS. If Biohazard 2 is played with just the
right timing at the same time as a videotape of ALIENS is watched in
the same room, they can sometimes mirror each other in amazing ways.
The first game takes fewer things from the film, making it the more
original of the two. But unfortunately, Biohazard 2 is ALIENS with
zombies.
The easiest way to compare the two is to examine a two-column
comparison chart.
Below is a lengthy chart comparing the first Biohazard to ALIENS,
and then another comparing Biohazard 2 to ALIENS. The reason for
making such a dire series of comparisons will be explained following.
Biohazard PLOT POINT SIMULARITY TO ALIENS
---------------------------- --------------------------------
The STARS Alpha Team is The Space Marines are dispatched
dispatched to rescue the to rescue the survivors of a
survivors of Bravo Team colonial settlement with whom
with whom contact has been contact has been lost.
lost.
Wesker uses the STARS team Burke uses the Space Marines as
as combat test subjects for combat test subjects for the
the bioweapons he's created bioweapons the Company wishes to
for Umbrella. acquire.
Wesker plans to sell the Burke plans to sell the alien
T-Virus to the highest bidder. species to the Company for
millions.
The Umbrella labs are equipped The Company's atmospheric
with emergency self-destruct processing plant threatens to
devices. self-destruct due to overheating.
A female computer voice warns A female computer voice warns of
of the imminent destruction of the imminent destruction of the
the lab. processing plant.
The player rides a cargo Ripley and Newt ride a cargo
elevator to the surface as the elevator to the surface as the
time before detonation expires. time before detonation expires.
The Tyrant follows them up for The Queen follows them up for a
a last confrontation. last confrontation.
The survivors are lifted off in The survivors are lifted off in a
a chopper as the compound explodes. spaceship as the compound
explodes.
Biohazard 2 PLOT POINT SIMULARITY TO ALIENS
------------------------------ --------------------------------
Red and blue lighting effects Red and blue lighting effects in
the laboratory at the end throughout the processing plant
of the game are identical to... at the end of the film.
The sound effects of the sliding The effects of the sliding doors
doors and the elevator doors are and elevator doors.
identical to...
Lickers do not have eyes, Aliens do not have eyes,
attacking instead by sensory input. attacking instead by sensory
They have a long tongue that stabs input. They have an inner second
its victims. jaw that stabs its victims.
The Precinct shows signs that it The processing plant shows signs
has undergone a horrible siege. that it has undergone a horrible
siege.
Claire Redfield finds young Ellen Ripley finds young survivor
survivor Sherri Birkin hiding Newt hiding from the aliens.
from the zombies.
Sherri runs from the heroes Newt runs from the heroes at first.
at first.
William Birkin impregnates The Alien Queen impregnates
people through the mouth with people through the mouth with
embryos that gestate in the host embryos that gestate in the host
body, later bursting out of the body, later bursting out of the
victim's chest. victim's chest.
William Birkin wants to The Alien Queen wants to
impregnate his daughter with a impregnate Newt with an alien
G-Type embryo. embryo.
Leon tries several times to Ripley tries several times to
warn the other characters. No warn the other characters. No one
one ever listens to him. ever listens to her.
Leon is wounded. He collapses Hicks is wounded. He collapses
and Ada has to care for him. and Ripley has to care for him.
Claire stumbles into the hive Ripley stumbles into the hive of
of a giant moth. a giant alien.
The Umbrella labs are equipped The Company's atmospheric
with emergency self-destruct processing plant threatens to
devices. self-destruct due to overheating.
A female voice warns of the A female voice warns of the
imminent destruction of the lab. imminent destruction of the
processing plant.
Claire must run all the way back Ripley must run all the way
through the lab as it's about to back through the plant as it's
self-destruct to save Sherri. about to self-destruct to save
Newt.
Leon raises the rocket launcher Hudson shouts "Game over"
to fire at the Tyrant, but first throughout the film.
says "Game over."
There are several dozen other smaller and more subtle similarities
between Biohazard and Aliens, but most are visual.
Biohazard 2 compares to other Cameron films as well. The scene in
The Abyss where one of the main characters has drown and the others
try to bring her back from death on the floor of the underwater
transport is quite similarto the tense scene in the Biohazard 2
finale. The female lead in The Abyss suddenly starts breathing again
and everyone screams in relief. When Claire administers the vaccine to
Sherri, a suspenseful wait follows until Sherri suddenly revives. And
Mr. X is basically a zombie Terminator, getting back up and
relentlessly pursuing the heroes no matter how many bullets it takes.
Whether done in homage or blatantly stolen, Biohazard is not a
Very original story. This does not make it any less fun to play, but
it is worrisome to its die-hard fans. Many hope that future games will
be more original.
However, the comparability has one advantage in this thesis. The ALIEN
series has been continued into ALIENS 3 and most recently ALIEN
RESURRECTION. Perhaps the plots of these sequels will have some
effect on the plot of future Biohazard games.
In ALIENS 3, Ripley's transport ship, upon which we saw her in
hibernation at the end of the previous film, crash lands on a prison
world. As it turns out, the android Bishop released alien "face-huggers"
into the pods of Ripley, Hicks, and Newt to impregnate them with alien
specimens. After the crash, Newt and Hicks die giving birth to new
aliens that rampage through the prison world. Ripley fixes Bishop, and
he tells her that she has been implanted with a special alien, a Queen.
After a long struggle, Ripley does not surrender to the Company
soldiers who invade the prison and promise to surgically remove the
alien from her chest. As the Queen bursts out of her, she dives into a
vat of molten steel. Ripley has finally wiped out the alien species,
at the cost of her own life.
If the game planners for future Biohazards are great fans of the
ALIEN films like the planners of Biohazard 2 obviously are, then
perhaps this film in addition to the third film of Romero's Dead
Trilogy will greatly impact the next installments of Biohazard.
===========================================
8.1 Summarization and Predictions for
Biohazard 3
===========================================
As previously mentioned, the next Biohazard game has already been
announced. Little is known about this new Capcom property, and only a
few shots of the game have appeared on the internet. But according to
Capcom spokespersons, the game will be entitled Biohazard: Code
Veronica.
Capcom spokespersons have summarized the plot of this new game briefly
for GameSpot news. The plot centers on Claire Redfield and her search
for her missing brother, Chris. She is abducted by Umbrella agents and
taken to a remote tropical island. The same thing apparently happened
to Chris, and he is on the same island. Somehow the horrors of the
company's genetic viruses are unleashed once again, and Claire fights
her way through the carnage to find her brother. Chris Redfield will
also be a playable character, although the screenshots currently
available do not show the original zombie-killer in action.
No mention has been made of Sherri, whether or not she has been
abducted like Claire. As previously stated in this thesis, the
continuing plot of Biohazard does not allow for the young girl to
return this soon in the story. No explanation has been released for
how Chris was separated from the other STARS members with whom he
embarked on a search for Umbrella Headquarters in Europe, as stated in
his log found in Biohazard 2.
This thesis has previously asserted that the tradition of Resident
Evil sequels calls for completely new and different characters in each
new game. Therefore, this episode of the series must be a kind of side
quest to the regular progression of the plot. And as a side quest, the
plot of Biohazard cannot be furthered much in this chapter. The
use of two old characters in the adventure promotes this theory.
The island setting is most likely the isolated training facility of
Umbrella's deadly human agents. This base is where Hunk would have
been evacuated to following his retrieval of the G-Virus from the
Raccoon City location. Thus, the G-Virus is also on the island. What
would seem most logical in the continuing plot is that experiments
with the sample yielded another G-Type creature who created great
havoc in the lab. This means that another research facility must be
located somewhere within the training compound. This facility might be
the same where the new breed of Tyrants were developed, such as the
former Mr. X from the previous game. So a version of the T-Virus would
be available here as well. When the new G-Type escapes, the T-Virus is
most likely accidentally released in the chaos. The virus spreads
quickly, and the whole island is overcome by zombies.
The abduction scenario requires Claire to somehow escape from her
captors so that she might risk the adventure on her own, as has been
the formula in the previous games. Either that, or she is imprisoned
on the island at the time of the viral outbreak, and must escape her
cell. Being a combat training facility, the weapons and ammunition
should be quite plentiful if the island's inhabitants haven't used
most of it already. Somehow, through conversations with or overheard
from Umbrella operatives, she will learn that Chris is also imprisoned
on the island. Then her objective, aside from staying alive, will be
to locate her brother, probably in another facility on the other side
of the island.
The options for settings seem to be plentiful. Scenes may include a
helicopter landing pad, a training barracks, an underground ammunition
depot, a small island village under siege by zombies, and an
underground lab. Expect Chris to be found in a holding cell in this
final laboratory area, just like in Jill's adventure in the original
game.
Players will have the option of choosing whether to play Chris or
Claire before starting the game, with basically the same opening
cinema for each character. The game would most logically start with
the character being brought to the island. The presence of the other
playable-character on the island will be revealed almost immediately.
In Claire's adventure, she will learn that Umbrella agents have also
got her brother, and in Chris' adventure the same will happen but in
reverse. The playable character will fight their way across the entire
island in order to find their sibling.
The main plot will revolve around the characters uncovering the
meaning of the enigmatic phrase "Code Veronica". New characters in the
game may include the Umbrella training base commander or researchers
involved in the outbreak. This would be the most likely place for Hunk
to make a reappearance, even if his only involvement is that he's been
turned into a zombie and holds the key to the costume-change closet,
similar to Brad Vickers' reappearance in Biohazard 2.
Therefore, unless Capcom creates something truly different in the way
of a plot, we're going to see something very close to the original
game. Supporting this fact is that this will be Capcom's first game
for the upcoming Sega Dreamcast console to be released in 1999. By
reusing characters, the company hopes to introduce a new segment of
gamers to Biohazard. Functioning partially in an introductory
capacity, this first game will be simple and to the point.
But this entire discussion could be useless if the prototype game that
has been previewed is scrapped. This is something that Capcom has done
before.
When the original Biohazard topped the videogame sales charts,
Capcom realized two things. They needed a sequel, and they should have
put more quality into the first game. Reprogramming it, they re-
released it as Biohazard: Director's Cut in 1997. The package
contained a second disk this time, a demo version of Biohazard 2.
The demo was met with extreme confusion, however. Capcom had
previously released to the press screenshots of a prototype for the
sequel. The demo, although definitely not the finished version, was
nothing like what had been previously advertised.
Internet Biohazard fans have taken to calling this scrapped
prototype game Biohazard 1.5. Leon appeared in the game, but the
earlier version of Claire was an unrelated college girl named Elza.
With blond hair and red biking gear, she was similar to Claire only in
her love of riding Harley's.
The game was developed with the same map as the game that was
eventually released, but the graphics were steeped in atmospheric
blues and neon lighting. Evidence of widespread chaos in Raccoon City
was far more plentiful and severe in this game's scenery than in the
final version. The Birkins, Chief Irons, and Ada Wong were all missing
from the ambivalent plotline of this game. Biohazard 2 in this
version threatened to be too much like the original. The planners
wanted something that would take the storyline further. What the fans
had been shown and told to expect from the sequel was not what they
got.
The same may happen in the case of Biohazard: Code Veronica. In
that case, the assertions of this thesis will not apply.
Since the games released for the Sony Playstation have sold in such
fantastic quantities, it would be unthinkable for Capcom to not
release future games on Playstation consoles. Since the numbering
system has been omitted in the impending release of Biohazard:
Code Veronica, the implication is that the next game to be released
for the Sony console would be the official Biohazard 3.
So far, no statement has been released to the press about this game
except to say that it is in development for the Playstation 2 due out
in the US in the year 2000.
Yet solid predictions can be made concerning what path would be the
most logical for Capcom to take regarding another Biohazard game.
Using the analysis presented in this thesis, logical conclusions will
now be drawn.
===========================================
8.4 Things Every Biohazard Will Have
===========================================
Here is a numbered list of every plot and character element that has
appeared in the last two games which will also appear in future games:
1. New characters
2. Some mention of characters and events from previous games
3. Another secret Umbrella facility with an experimental research lab
4. Modern gothic atmosphere
5. Undead creatures
6. New bizarre experimental monsters
7. Powerful weapons with violent results
8. Secret weapons made available when the game is played with good
skill
9. Two main characters, a male and a female
10. A new virus created by Umbrella
11. New villains in the service of Umbrella
12. New traitors amongst the heroes
13. Main characters that die
14. More documentation of Umbrella's evils
15. A Tyrant in some form
16. A rocket launcher dropped onto the battlefield just in time to save
the day
17. Multiple endings
This list reads like a formula. What is not listed is up to the game
planners to invent and add to the series. Based on the previous games
and the films that have inspired them we can make some guess as to
what general direction the series will be headed. Added to this are
the theories previously discussed in this thesis, and the result are
some very hard predictions.
===========================================
8.5 The Ultimate Goal Of Umbrella
===========================================
Eventually the plans behind the designs of the insidious Umbrella
Corporation will come to light. The experiments of this group have all
been aimed at the generation of one thing, the ultimate bioweapon. In
order to be the ultimate bioweapon, the creation must be incredibly
powerful, not easily killed, and capable of using weapons and
following orders. This limits the type of bioweapon they are
ultimatly trying to create to be humanoid with at least some
communication capabilities. We have not seen this kind of creature in
the series thus far. Improvements in Umbrella's viruses may one day
have the Tyrants communicating with the characters, even if the tone
is hostile.
Despite accident after accident and hundreds of thousands suffering
terrible deaths, this company continues their research no matter what
the cost. Their ultimate goal must be far reaching. Since Umbrella has
established itself on multiple continents as implied in Biohazard
2, their plans must center on some sort of world domination. Their
intentions with these deadly viruses would seem to be to assume
control of the planet by radically decimating the world population,
and then oppressing the survivors of this apocalypse with the might of
the Tyrants. At the time being, their designs would seem quite twisted
and mad.
We can only assume that people like William and Annette Birkin are so
driven in their work that they don't realize what their heinous
creations will be used for. We may see former Umbrella researchers
with knowledge they shouldn't have joining in the battle against the
evil company. An entire corporation of people would never be able to
agree on the creation of a virus to wipe out mankind. Therefore
Umbrella can not be governed by a board of trustees or shareholders,
but by one very powerful and very evil person. Behind all the madness
that Umbrella invokes, there must be a truly diabolical and twisted
genius. Whether he will be a researcher, a soldier, or a corporate
type is open, but expect this person to be the epitome of an evil
resident. This person will have given the order to steal the G-Virus
from Birkin, most likely so that he or she can test it on themselves.
Then this Umbrella Exec will become a more monstrous mutant than game
players have faced yet.
The future games will see frightening visions of a globally spreading
plague, of a dying world, of a military-capable private corporation
assuming control by utilizing monstrous beings. The hitch in Umbrella's
plan is that their viruses kill people and resurrect them as zombies.
So Umbrella's plans will backfire. Only a small group of rebels with
previous experience fighting the Tyrants will be able to oppose
Umbrella. Thus, several Biohazards are in store, so that many new
characters can be introduced and eventually brought together as a
small army for a final battle. In order to win a game that presents
such a situation, the characters would have to escape not from a lab
or a facility but the entire planet. We might see the STARS making a
home for themselves among the stars.
===========================================
8.6 In The Footsteps Of ALIENS
===========================================
Following the influence of the Alien series within the Biohazard
games, we may see a playable character who is searching for the
G-Virus antidote to stop the creature inside from bursting out. Or
perhaps the player character will be genetically compatible with the
character who impregnates him or her, and a transformation is what is
feared.
Perhaps Sherri Birkin will die between episodes. This plot twist would
be as meaningless and uninteresting as when Newt died in Aliens 3. If
the series follows Cameron's Terminator series at all, perhaps Sherri
Birkin will grow up with courage from her experiences and vengeance
for her parents in her heart. Maybe Sherri Birkin will become one of
the major leaders against Umbrella.
If Claire continues to go into dangerous situations to pursue
obsessions such as finding her brother, then like Ripley, she will
pay the ultimate price. What if Claire is reunited with her brother in
Code Veronica only to find out that he has been tested with the
G-virus? Then Chris will become the next G-Type, and he will be
looking to impregnate his sister Claire with his embryos. Even if he
is successful, we have seen in the ALIEN series that death is not
always the end of a character. And if in fact Umbrella is
experimenting with the cloning of human beings like is suspected by
some in the case of Ada Wong, we may see Claire come back as a
confused Umbrella agent with vague memories of her past.
The Alien series mostly occurs in space. Therefore Biohazard on an
Umbrella space station is not an impossibility, for if the Umbrella
corporation is as cunning as it seems, they will prepare to watch
their planned apocalypse from a safe distance in the outer atmosphere.
If such a powerful corporation can pull off such a feat, then surely
they have the capability of sterilizing a contaminated world. All they
would have to do is wait for the fallout to dissipate, and then
Umbrella can colonize the planet and rule absolutely over the Earth.
===========================================
8.7 Leon And The Quest For Ada
===========================================
Leon is an idealistic and tough young man. It is confusing that he
bids a mental goodbye to Ada on the transport train at the end of
Biohazard 2 when just moments before she saved him by dropping a
rocket launcher to him so that he could destroy Mr. X. Perhaps the
game planners are trying to convey that in spite of this mysterious
moment, Leon cannot be sure that the person he saw is Ada. For the
time being, he will continue to think that Ada is dead.
Still, death may not prevent her from reappearing in future Resident
Evils. If she did in fact live, the previous analysis concluded that
Ada could have survived her 'death' by ingesting the G-Virus. In this
scenario, she will soon become sick and maybe pass out as Sherri did
when she was infected by her father. Ada will need medical attention,
so she will resurface somewhere. The most likely options for her to
take is to turn herself in to Umbrella, since their labs possess the
VAM equipment neccessary to synthesize the vaccine that she needs. If
Leon is to be a character in future crusades against Umbrella, Ada
will unquestionably turn up in his plotline. He and Ada are firmly
linked together by the story so far. He may find her suffering in some
Umbrella dungeon, and then it's Leon the rookie hero to the rescue.
But if Ada is an Umbrella construct, capable of spontaneously
regenerating as previously discussed herein, there may be other agents
like her. Perhaps a character with Ada's same capabilities will
surface in future games, explaining the whole recuperative element of
Umbrella's most special agents. Perhaps this character will have known
Agent Ada Wong. Unfortunately, Leon would not be needed for such a
plotline.
Whichever path is taken, Biohazard tradition determines that any
game including Leon and Ada would be a side-quest. Such a game would
be released for a console other than the Sony Playstation. It is all
in Capcom's dubious hands.
===========================================
9.1 In Capcom We Trust
===========================================
Whether or not the predictions of this thesis come true is entirely up
to Capcom Entertainment, the creators of the Biohazard series. But
what has been presented here has attempted to utilize advanced plot
analysis skills on the part of the author to determine the most
logical course for the story to take.
However, Biohazard is a videogame, not a movie. Although a
Biohazard film is expected from zombie movie master George Romero
himself sometime in the near future, do not expect the film(s) will be
able to involve the viewer as much as the interactive experience of
the games. Yet the Biohazard videogames are produced by a
corporation, and the bottom line of any corporation is that they will
do whatever it takes to make money. If Biohazard were to continue
to follow the influence of its seminal films, then the predictions of
this thesis will be very close. But if the videogames continue only to
have new characters each time, with no leading up to a finale as
discussed here, then Biohazard is just another cashbox for Capcom.
The fans of Biohazard can only hope that this company seeks to
reward the players who have made its game one of the top sellers of
all time by continuing the plot in the most logical manner possible.
Thanks to Evil Online for having the best Biohazard forum on the
internet, as most of the topics discussed in this document sprang or
were inspired by my conversations with other Biohazard enthusiasts
there. Just recently I have been made a Webmaster there, so come check
out our site at www.evil-online.com. We provide all the latest news on
Biohazard and related games, and the site is constantly expanding
to include more games all the time.
Special Thanks to Ash Jhonen of The Rotting Web Biohazard page for
being the nicest guy in the world and posting this terribly overwritten
thesis in HTML for all to see and comment on for many months.
Thanks to Videogames.com for showing as much interest in the continuing
Biohazard Series as we at Evil Online have, for bringing us up-to-
date info, movies, and pics.
