Well, Resident Evil: Code Veronica has the distinction of being the first RE title that I’ve actually gotten a fair ways in to and was actually chugging my way towards completing when I decided to chuck the whole thing.

There are a lot of things from the classic resident evil formula that are frustrating – deliberately limited inventory space, fixed camera angles, and movement controls that feel like you’re constantly fighting with your on-screen avatar to get them to move in the right direction, but I think that the least forgivable is the limited ability to save. Having to scrimp and save ink ribbons meant that any death meant repeating as much of a half-hour of gameplay, and that’s not something I’m going to put up with; I might have done it as a kid but as an adult I’m a lot more conscious of the difference between wasting time for fun (pretty much the definition of any time spent gaming) and having my time wasted, as in this case.

So, while I was doing all right as long as I followed the basic step of running around until I got killed, then retracing my steps knowing where the Bandersnatch was going to be this time and killing it first, I wasn’t really enjoying it.

I have one more Resi title to look at, the series-revamping Resident Evil 4 – and, if that falls down as badly, I think I’m just going to admit that the series isn’t for me.