1. Resident Evil: The Remake
C'mon: it was obviously going to be a Resident Evil game - but did you think it would be this one? The Resident Evil series is without a doubt the seminal series of survival horror, and the first 3 games arguably all have a claim to the top spot on this list. But while the original Resident Evil trilogy may have established the franchise as the best zombie series in gaming, it wasn't until 2002 that Capcom perfected the art. The remake of the original Resident Evil was released as a Nintendo GameCube exclusive in 2002 (later ported to the Wii in 2009) and unlike the versions of Resident Evil 2 and 3 that were released for the console, the remake was a bottom up re-imagining of the original survival horror classic. Taking the original plot and characters and amping it all up with state of the art graphics, Capcom boasted that it was 70% different than the original. And they were right. Trading in the horrid dialogue, dated graphics and wonky tone of the original, the Resident Evil remake proved to be a truly frightening experience that took everything great about Resident Evil and modernised it for the 21st century. Despite over a decade passing since its release, the remake still holds up today and is streets ahead of any of the series' releases for this current console generation. There are no unrealistically giant monsters in this game, nor any set pieces involving futuristic weapons or the invasion of sovereign states. In Resident Evil, there are merely zombies, the shadows, the occasional mutated creature, and a very limited amount of bullets. Survival is difficult as it relies on conserving everything from health to ammo to those ink cartridges which are the keys to salvation, and remembering that just because you shot a zombie down doesn't mean it's really dead. From the sublime camera angles to the truly frightening colour palette, this is a game steeped in classic sensibilities and harks back to an era before the excess that defines gaming today - yet is modern enough graphically to still be taken seriously. If you haven't had the chance to play through the remake then you don't know zombie gaming - this game is so good it actually offers up a compelling reason to buy a GameCube off eBay just so you can experience it (alongside the equally amazing GameCube exclusive remake of Metal Gear Solid - bit of a strange niche the GameCube carved out for itself there, huh?). Before Wesker dressed like Blade, Jill went blonde and Chris was the size of Triple H, they were just three cops trapped in a mansion trying to survive what hid around the corner. And really, Resident Evil proved that's all you really needed for a good zombie game.
Do you think the Resident Evil remake is the best of the bunch? Are you angry hat I didn't include Left 4 Dead? Have your say below and tell us what you think.