The great thing about the “Resident Evil” remakes is that it gives Capcom a chance to improve on already great vision. With the current hardware, developers are no longer constrained by technological limitations.
They can put dozens of zombies on screen and improve their artificial intelligence to make them smarter. They can craft detailed environments that bring harrowing situations to life. The hardware can handle it all.
With the “Resident Evil 3” remake, Capcom updates a classic that was ahead of its time. It carries over concepts of the original, following Jill Valentine as she tries to escape Raccoon City. At the time, that was a departure for the series. The previous games tended to be claustrophobic as players explored mansions, police stations and subterranean bases.
DETAILED ENVIRONMENT
“Resident Evil 3” was different because it put Jill in an urban environment. She wandered alleys, catwalks and city streets. It’s wide open with more dangers on the screen as the undead pounded on fences and lurked around corners. It’s an environment that begs to be explored, but players have to be cautious. They can easily meander down a dead-end alley, turn around to backtrack and find zombies have followed Jill, essentially trapping her.
The game is full of these dangers, but it also gives players opportunities to fight back. Apparently in the rush to evacuate the doomed metropolis, authorities left barrels of gasoline and malfunctioning generators.
Expert players will conserve their ammo by using these environmental hazards to eliminate several zombies at once rather than pumping bullets into them one at a time. Players can shoot the barrels to ignite explosions killing surrounding undead. Meanwhile, firing at generators can disperse electricity to stun them. At that moment, Jill can knife them to death but that takes time.
If those options are unappealing to players who want to save every bullet, they can also just avoid the undead altogether. It’s a viable solution in “Resident Evil 3” and sometimes encouraged. It’s often better to lure zombies to one side of a rooftop in order to run past them on the other end. When being chased, players shouldn’t confront any undead at all and just use the dodge button to dip away from them.
Although the visuals and zombies look better, players can expect the same sort of puzzles as the previous entries. They’ll find random jewels in boxes and journal clues that help them open a safe or find a pivotal item. The problems aren’t difficult per se, but they’re easier if players pay attention to the details and look around the environment.
A NEMESIS CALLED NEMESIS
Lastly, players have to deal with Nemesis. It’s essentially Mr. X from “Resident Evil 2” on steroids. The tyrant variant follows Jill around Raccoon City and has more maneuverability and intelligence than the previous monster. In the demo I played, I found some protected zones in safe rooms but that also meant I was technically trapped as it loomed behind the door.
One way to deal with Nemesis is to toss a grenade. It stuns him and he also drops a supply box with goodies inside. Another is to run with an obstacle between Nemesis and Jill. They just need to make sure that he can’t corner quickly as it rushes toward players.
Further on players will encounter tougher monsters than zombies in the sewers, and they’ll have to use the environment more to their advantage. I found that using corners helps when fighting these bigger creatures called Hunter gammas. They’re also more deadly than the normal zombies because they can devour players in one bite.
The demo climaxed with a boss battle against Nemesis atop a building under construction. This is where the tyrant variant shows its combat prowess. It uses a flamethrower against Jill and can climb using its tentacles. Players have to keep their distance and find its weak point to survive.
INTRIGUING MULTIPLAYER
The other major feature of “Resident Evil 3” is an asymmetrical multiplayer mode called “Resistance.” It pits four players against one mastermind. The goal is for the four survivors to escape, or for the Umbrella exec at the helm to kill them all.
The concept is comparable to “Left 4 Dead” except instead of the director throwing out enemies, a human controls that aspect of gameplay. The mastermind acts almost like dungeon master setting up challenges against the group. The player can lay down traps and place zombies and other creatures to stand in their way.
Although the mastermind sounds all-powerful, the role has limitations. They have a deck of options with cards that cost a certain number of points. Those points regenerate over time. On top of that, the mastermind can only place the enemies and traps using surveillance cameras found in key spots in each room.
There’s plenty of strategy as the antagonist has to figure out where to place the obstacles and how many of them to produce. They’ll need to look at the map and figure out where the survivors are headed. It’s smart to put zombies and traps on the way to objectives such as keys or canisters.
Each mastermind has his or her specialty. Daniel Fabron and Annette Birkin rely on creatures and buffs while Alex Wesker is an expert with traps and infection. Ozwell Spencer uses Umbrella tech to stall players. The survivors have to escape within a certain time allotment and that time can be extended by killing zombies or finishing tasks. If they die, they lose time in their bid to escape.
The ace up the masterminds’ sleeves are the monsters they control. Annette deploys her husband, a G-virus infected William Birkin, while Daniel has control of Mr. X. Alex can drop Yateveo, bioweapon plant that sits in one place. Spencer has force field that blocks a path. Players have to be mindful of how they use these creatures because they cost a lot to summon onto the battlefield.
On the survivors’ end, each one has a special ability that counteracts some creature or obstacle. Valerie is the healer who can also mark ammo and other items in a room. January can jam the cameras and raise the costs of dropping zombies and traps for the mastermind. Tyrone is the tank and can deal pain to armored zombies with his melee attacks. Samuel has a similar ability but he’s geared toward damage. Martin can disarm traps while Becca deals damage with firearms.
To succeed, players need a good mix of people that covers everyone’s weaknesses. Valerie is often a must because she can heal others from heavy damage or infection that whittles away health over time. Tyrone or Samuel is vital because armored zombies are difficult to kill with solely firearms. Jan is more important than the other two characters because she can be really annoying to deal with for masterminds. Martin is a counter to trap-heavy Alex while Becca’s ability to deal heavy damage from far away is key to taking down tougher bosses such as Mr. X.
“Resistance” can feel like a game of cat and mouse. Survivors blindly look for the three keys needed in the first phase. The second phase requires them to find a zombie a security card, and they need to use that guard at three ATM-looking machines to open a door to the third phase. The final section has the survivors looking for red canisters that they must destroy. If they can knock out three of them, they can escape and win.
Teamwork is mandatory and it’s best not to be a lone wolf. The mastermind can lock players in a room and turn off the lights making navigation and fighting difficult. Survivors need to use their talents harmoniously to get out alive but keep in mind, it’s possible that not everyone will escape. Some players could fall during the last stage of the battle and not make it out alive.
Built into “Resistance” is a progression system. The more players use a certain mastermind or survivor, the higher their level goes. I assume this is used for matchmaking purposes but it could be possible that leveling up adds more options for characters.
Players already have the opportunity to switch weapons or buy more powerful firearms using Umbrella Credits. The additional firearms don’t carry over to future games and can only be used in the match. They’re important to taking down the bigger bosses or unexpected situations.
From what I’ve played, it’s better than some of Capcom’s other “Resident Evil” multiplayer games. It feels like it could have been a full-fledged game on its own, but being packaged with the “Resident Evil 3” remake makes the project an even better value for fans.
The “Resident Evil 3” remake comes out April 3, 2020, on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC
