You can run, but you can't hide.

For as long as I can remember, I've been a claustrophobe--elevators, coffins, closets, all of them send shivers down my spine when I think of being caught in them. The first Resident Evil captured my fears. A mansion surrounded on all sides with yapping zombie dogs at every exit?



I believe I'll take that change of underoos now, if it pleases you.



The year was 1998 and survival horror was a relatively recent development on the scene. It had only been two years since the first installment in the series was released on the Playstation, and most of us were hungry for more (brains). In Resident Evil 2, we were first introduced to the sad tale of Raccoon City. An anonymous city in an anonymous state, presumably somewhere within the vast reaches of middle America. An Everycity for an Everyman character if you will.

When we're first introduced to our soon to be nightmare-atropolis, it's done with a bang--there is a car crash and the subsequent events are to lead our brave heroes on the fight of their lives. Faced with a choice of who to embark on the journey as, you, the player, is in for one hellish ride. Already, fans of the series are familiar with the Wesker mansion and all the horror (previously believed to be) contained therein. Anything to follow, surely will be even more horrifying.

Imagine my joy at realizing that I wouldn't be facing my fear of claustrophobia in this title? The wide stretches of a mid-western city, that I can handle.

Dear God, how wrong can one man be?

Everywhere you turn in RE2, there is rubble in your path. A burning car pile-up stands in your way. A horde of feasting zombies blocks your every move. You get the horrible sinking feeling that you are being led to your certain demise, but the openess--the expansiveness of Raccoon City--tricks you into believing that the choices are your own.



Raccoon City is a place familiar to most of us. The coffeeshop on the corner. A police station. A fast food restaurant. The local public trans. All of this is familiar fair. But in the hands of Capcom, the familiar becomes unfamiliar. That which was a haven, is now the dark, rotting insides of a festering heap of what used to be family and friends.

No place is safe. There is no haven. You will either die, or you will get out.

The scenario is a simple one: a large pharmaceutical company moves into town. It creates new jobs and people are excited about the prospect of working for a big name corporation. The town is booming with new life and people are happy. We're all willing to overlook a few wrongdoings now and again for the sake of everyone's happiness, right? Right?

But then the little oddities become even stranger. And the events that happened at the mansion in the woods will soon pale in comparison to the carnage about to be endured by the residents of Raccoon City.
Having completed RE2 with only minimal soiling of my undergarments, I got a breather for a year. But in November of 1999, the bastards at Capcom decided to reel me back in...and I was hooked.

In RE3 we were back to the familiar, albeit, terrifying landscape of Raccoon City. Except this time, this guy is going to stand in your way.



Prior to starting RE3, I thought there was no way that Capcom could make Raccoon City more horrifying. They had already trapped me like a rat in a cage with so many flesh eating zombies. How could things possibly be worse than that?

Nemesis would be the answer to that ridiculously stupid question.

He's lurking around every corner. He's big and bad and ugly and, for whatever reason, seems particularly keen on rearranging your innards in particular. Already we, the players, have seen every aspect that the City has to offer. But as Nemesis runs down Jill, it quickly become apparent that even the undiscovered nooks and crannies of this hellmouth are inhabited by the most vile variety of evil that the fools at Umbrella Corp can cook up.

What never ceases to amaze me is that the mythology of Resident Evil continues to grow in each spin-off and sequel. We learn more about the events surround the Raccoon City incident. RE-makes have managed to further flesh out the backstory of the city. Sometimes, just before completing one of the games, I'll read through the files just to see the sad stories suffered by each of the inhabitants. There is a pathos to this town. There is a deep pain and suffering and walking in, you know right away that there can be no redemption.



Death might come quickly for some, but undeath is forever. Or, at least until some punk blows your head off with a shotgun blast to the face.

I was thrilled when Capcom brought us back around to Raccoon City in RE0. It was like coming home to an old friend. Sure, an old friend who wanted to take a bite out of my face, but an old friend nevertheless.