4. Resident Evil Code: Veronica
REC:V was one of the best Resident Evil entries. While it still used the old-school camera and controls, the game managed to weave an interesting setting and plot together whilst still maintaining great survival horror elements. If nothing else, REC:V was very atmospheric. Starting the game as Claire Redfield, the player has to find a way to escape from a military base that has been infected with a mutant virus. Sounds simple enough until you learn of the Ashford family and their twisted relationships. Escaping from the clutches of the Ashford family proves to be much harder than anticipated. The setting also changes from the haunting military base to An-freaking-tartica for crying out loud. The second half of the game primarily has you using Chris Redfield, who is tracking his sister's footsteps and trying to save her. Whilst the game stays true to a lot of the survival horror conventions (tank controls, slow zombies, limited ammo), it does suffer from a LOT of backtracking. Not only do you backtrack within either Claire's or Chris' own story, but Chris basically goes through the exact same thing Claire does in order to reach her and save her. Backtracking is common in these games, but REC:V had a bit too much. Overall, REC:V is definitely one of the better RE games. The atmosphere and setting do a lot for the game, and so does the game's plot, but the constant backtracking does put a slight damper on things.