Resident Evil 1.5, the colloquial term coined by fans for the scrapped version of Resident Evil 2, has been released in playable form online.
Fans managed to obtain the unfinished code for the planned survival horror sequel in recent years, and have been working tirelessly to restore the project.
This has included fixing many of the bugs left by Capcom in the code, as well as translating text and implementing all-new features.
While the project has yet to be finished, a rough playable code has turned up online after the unfinished code was put up on eBay. As such, project leaders decided to fully release this version for all to enjoy.
Resident Evil 1.5 project lead, MrBZork, told TheHorror: “This here is an ISO of our work-in-progress build of the Resident Evil 1.5 restoration project. It is not representative of the current state of development of the non-profit restoration fan-project.”
"People attempting to profit on our non-profit efforts, and both our personal and monitary investments is something we cannot stand for and is something we feel greatly taints the Resident Evil community, the prototype community, the archival and preservation of video game history, the integrity and face value of people, and our goal and intentions for this here restoration project.”
"While we cannot speak on behalf of Capcom, we do believe that charging money for illegal and unsanctioned duplication of their data is something that should be frowned upon and avoided at all costs."
Resident Evil 1.5 was scrapped in 1997 after Capcom decided it wasn’t up to scratch. This prototype version of the game was drastically different than the final version of RE2, released over 15 years ago.
For one, Claire Redfield wasn’t present in the game, and instead RE1.5 featured biker enthusiast Elza Walker. Leon S. Kennedy was present, though roles for Ada Wong (known as Linda) and Marvin Branagh (the wounded cop from RE2) took another path altogether.
The story itself was set some months after the events of RE1, though unlike the current story ach, Umbrella had already folded after news of their involvement in the Mansion disaster was blown open by the surviving S.T.A.R.S. members. Nonetheless, the T-Virus managed to leak into Raccoon City, contaminating the entire metropolis.
In addition, new gameplay elements were also used. For example, Leon and Elza’s clothes would show signs of wear and tear as you take damage, and characters could equip body armor for added protection. New weapons and enemies were also included, with zombies in particular being far more diverse in appearance than the final version of the game.
Will you be giving Resident Evil 1.5 a try? Let us know in the comments section below.
via Eurogamer