(no subject)

It takes Ryan a few minutes to determine where the cables from the GameCube connect to the telly, and another second to remove the dust from the unused set. He inserts the first disk before switching on both system and set, and settles on the edge of the bed. He frowns dubiously as the game starts up and loads the menu screen. He takes a look at Options, but he isn’t sure what most of it means, so heads back to start a new game, selecting Chris Redfield as his character.

It begins with a film, and he watches and listens with one eyebrow arched. Alpha Team is searching the downed helicopter when Ryan sees a familiar face, or thinks he does. He stares at the screen, waiting to see if it’ll show again, and if it’s who he thinks it was.

He keeps trying to scent the air while on screen Joseph is attacked by a dog. Cerberus, Ryan realizes, as a shot is fired and the camera returns to the rest of the team, including, as he suspected, Albert Wesker, much older than the one he knows. 

Ryan scrambles for the game’s box, checking the back for any mention of Wesker while the scene continues to play out in front of him. He pries the booklet out of the front cover, flipping through to the character bios, but they only list Chris and Jill.

On screen, Joseph is killed by the zombiefied dog, by now joined by its packmates. Idly, he notices that the sounds they’re making make no sense. Either they’re incapable of speech, or, more likely, the designers simply chose sounds that fit with the scene. He wonders where Deitmar, no, Wesker has gone to as Chris and Jill flee the pack.

He doesn’t have to wonder long as Wesker soon saves Chris’ life, and the three of them, joined by a fourth whose name he doesn’t know yet, head toward a mansion hidden in the woods.

As the scene inside the mansion plays out, Ryan can’t help but wonder what’s going on. He knows Wesker is involved with the development of the BOWs, but when did he join STARS? It doesn’t seem like the other members know of anything beyond what they’ve seen, so why is Wesker on the force at all? Unless…perhaps this is different version than the two he’s already met?

His musings are cut short as control of Chris is finally given to him. He lets the character idle on the screen while he looks through the instruction manual for movement and to check his weapons.

To his annoyance, he has nothing but a combat knife. Apparently, Chris has wasted all of his rounds already, and doesn’t even have a handgun. He glares at the character for his stupidity and attempts to return to Wesker and Jill and request a weapon from them, but that fails. Wesker just says that he's counting on Christ to investigate. Frowning, he returns to the dining room, and continues towards where the shot was heard from.

He’s already unhappy at the amount of finesse the character has. There’s no option to attempt stealth, and even walking slowly is terribly loud. He wanders around in the corridors past the dining room, literally, since Chris seems determined to hit every wall. He finds several locked doors, and eventually a zombie over another deceased member of STARS. Ryan’s so busy looking at the thing (is it wearing a labcoat?) that he’s taken by surprise when it attacks. Having absolutely no experience with any sort of video games, Chris is soon dead and Ryan has to start again.

Why doesn’t Chris know any hand-to-hand combat?

The second time around, once Ryan sees the zombie, he heads back to Wesker and Jill. Maybe now he can get a useful weapon, only he finds that Wesker and Jill have both wandered off.

Ryan’s starting to wonder if this team has any training at all.

There's something sparkling on the ground, and Ryan checks the manual before pressing the green button. Chris picks up what turns out to be a Berretta, and Ryan clicks yes. Of course he’ll take it. Why would they even ask that? Scowling, he looks around the area, but finds he can only return to the dining room again. He equips the gun and heads back towards the body he found earlier, prepared for a contact.

The zombie’s no where to be found.

Ryan scowls, nostrils flaring uselessly as he sends Chris down the hallway. He can’t even peer around corners, he grumbles to himself. What sort of nonsense is this?

Which is why he’s startled when he finally does come across another zombie. How the hell are you supposed to shoot in this game? This is absolutely nothing like aiming and firing a real weapon.

“Absolutely ridiculous,” Ryan mutters as the zombie rips out Chris’ throat. And people think these games are fun?

He starts again.