Way back when I was planning to write a review of Resident Evil 2. But I'm a lazy bitch. So, all I got out were my first impressions.
In short, I just thought the game was okay. Not to say that it didn't have great moments. But as a whole, I wasn't wowed and I didn't love it, and this is coming from somebody who loved the shit out of the original. I also loved Resident Evil 3. So when the news
Then my next thought was that Nemesis is gonna be a huge problem if Mr. X is anything to go by.
But I'll come back to Nemesis.
Now, let's talk about these here graphics. This shit looks better than Resident Evil 2.
Resident Evil 3 runs on the same engine that Resident Evil 2 ran on and shares the same art style, so there are clear visual similarities between the two. RE3 was actually in development alongside RE2, so you wouldn't expect it to look better. And yet, here we are. And it wasn't like RE2 was a slouch in the graphics department. It was, and still is a beautiful looking game. The extra time that RE3 had in development must've seen the Capcom dev team discover tricks in the RE engine and new ways of making shit pop, because RE3 looks noticeably better than its predecessor.
Fans had some things to say about Jill 'Master of unlocking' Valentine's new look, because she is no longer in her iconic boob tube and a mini skirt. I personally think Jill's new look is great. Sure, her design is far more generic and not as distinct as her original RE3 legs 'n' titty outfit or her original S.T.A.R.S. uniform. But it makes sense for the tone of the game and its existence in 2020 versus 1999, in the exact same way that Claire's new outfit made sense for the RE2 remake. There is something very 90s anime-esque about Jill and Claire's original RE2 and RE3 outfits which would just look off in these remakes, so changing them was the right call.
Jill looks exactly as she should look. And if you miss her wardrobe-malfunction-waiting- to-happen of an ensemble, it's a pre-order bonus and unlockable anyway.
Jill's character also feels very different to the Jill we once knew and were familiar with. She's sarcastic, sassy and she even swears. Jill has always been chill and non-confrontational. Even when she's faced with somebody who has double-crossed her or is trying to kill her, her quips land in such a way that they don't feel threatening or have any real emotion attached to them; partly due to the B movie style delivery of dialogue in the original games. It's interesting for Capcom to have changed Jill's character and made her so different from what fans are familiar with, especially given that Leon and Claire's characters were wholly unchanged in the RE2 remake - with nothing in Leon's character being changed to retrospectively nod to the Leon we know and love from RE4.
I'm not acknowledging RE6.
Of course, the demo is just a small look at Jill, but it feels like a baseline for her character and that THIS is the Jill we'll be getting for this ride. As with her look, the character change makes sense. All of Jill's interactions are with people who work for Umbrella, a company she doesn't trust because of everything they'd put her through in RE1. So of course she's going to be pissed and not welcome them with open arms. It also makes sense that Jill would harden after the events of RE1. If you read Jill's diary, she mentions being suspended from work unfairly and figures there's a cover up waiting to happen. Just for her to find that the nightmare she lived in that crusty mansion has followed her all the way home. I'd be sick, tired and annoyed too.
This new sassy Jill also makes way for an interesting dynamic with Carlos Oliveira, the second playable character. From what I recall (it's been a while since I last played the OG RE3) Jill and Carlos' relationship felt very one-sided. Carlos was flirtatious, whilst Jill was flat and never entertained it, which was probably a by-product of what was Capcom's signature style of dialogue delivery. There was no real sense of chemistry between the two. Here though, there is more of something. There's a history. There's tension. From the off-set Jill gives Carlos sass. In the opening of the demo, Carlos hands Jill a radio and says 'We can use this to keep in contact' and Jill's response is (I'm paraphrasing) '*Hair flick* Bitch, I know what a radio is'.
I love it.
Capcom have taken a character I already liked and made her even more badass.
Now let's talk about this piece of shit Nemesis.
He is a problem and I am concerned.
Back when it was rumoured that a RE3 remake was abound, my immediate thought was that Capcom would have to change how Nemesis behaves somehow - because if they have him pursue Jill how Mr. X did Leon and Claire, but with the ability to run and have long ranged attacks as he did in the original game, it would break it.
In the original RE3, Nemesis wasn't as much a threat as he was a nuisance. He was actually funny in a Wile E. Coyote kinda way, because he'd be trying his absolute hardest to kill Jill and fail every time. Jill is barely breaking a sweat, with not a single Janet-Jackson-at-the-Superbowl moment the whole time Nemesis is trying to end her whole life. But this time around, Nemesis ain't no Looney Tunes gag character. He's faster, he's stronger and has long-ranged attacks from the get-go. The bitch can use tentacles to Spider-Man his way across the city and just drop in on you out of nowhere. The original RE3 was far kinder with Nemesis by comparison. For starters, because of the camera angles, you at least could see where Nemesis was in relation to you. Very rarely was he ever in front of you impeding your progress. He was always pursuing you from behind. So getting from A to B rarely involved having to run past or through him, unless you had to backtrack into an area you last saw him. This time around, Nemesis will leap in front of you, blocking your route. So you either have to turn back and seek refuge somewhere, somehow, or risk running through him. Whatever you choose to do, you're already in danger by being in his presence. You can shoot Nemesis to slow him down, but he's a bullet sponge and it's a waste of ammo. And as per Mr. X, if you do manage to take him down, he doesn't stay down long anyway. So you're better off just conserving ammo and trying to evade him.
Nemesis also has a new ability where he can turn zombies into walking tentacle bumholes. Not only does this turn zombies into long range attackers, but they will do far more damage if they grab you and they are also harder to kill. Nemesis also don't just stop attacking because you've been grabbed. So you can end up getting grabbed by a zombie and having your health drop to Caution, just for Nemesis to run in and punch you both and then put you on Danger.
This is now a price that you pay if you encounter Nemesis in an area of zombies that you chose to avoid and not kill.
- Kill zombies using your precious ammo, but clear an area and give Nemesis nothing to further infect.
- Leave zombies to conserve ammo, but keep an area populated for Nemesis to further infect.
Speaking of Jill's new quick step manoeuvre, mastering it will literally save your life. The mechanic works in the same way it did in OG RE3, only you can now dodge freely at the press of the button. Where-as before, the dodge only kicked in if you timed the button press perfectly at the moment you were about to be attacked. If you manage to pull off this style dodge in the remake and then immediately draw your weapon, everything slows down and Jill will lock onto her enemies head, giving you a window to pop some guaranteed head-shots. One thing I will say about this manoeuvre, is that timing the perfect dodge is far easier on Nemesis' attacks than on zombies, because all of his attacks have wind-ups and are not as erratic as a zombie lunge, which is harder to see coming until it's too late. So that's something. I guess.
My final thoughts after playing the demo was one of 'How much fun am I seriously going to have playing this?' and this is all because of Nemesis. Mr. X was a piece of shit, but he could at least be outran. Nemesis cannot. And there is too much emphasis put on being able to dodge his attacks, which is something that not everybody is going to be able to do, because of the strict timing involved. And when you're running from Nemesis, you can't see his attacks coming, making the timing of the dodges difficult. So you'll probably end up taking hits. Nemesis has specific behaviours which you will be able to take advantage of. I noticed in the demo that Nemesis buggers off when you wander into certain areas, whilst wandering into others triggers his appearances. But how practical this information will be on a first play-through in the thick of him chasing you and when you've got zombies dotted about is another thing entirely.
And what makes Nemesis even worse (yes, it gets worse) is that the camera fucks you over when he's too close, or you encounter him in tight spaces. Some may say that this adds to the tension. But for me, it just annoys, because I know this isn't a stylistic or creative choice, it's a technical one. One that will impede your ability to perfect dodge and could get you killed. And when Nemesis and the camera did tag team me, I found myself locked into a barrage of attacks and unable to open the inventory menu, which apparently doesn't open whilst Jill is getting beat down - so I couldn't use a herb and wound up dead.
The gameplay style isn't best accustomed to accommodate Nemesis' existence in a way that feels more fair and arms you better - which is exactly how I felt about a couple of the boss fights in the RE2 remake. They felt like battles better suited for Resident Evil 4, 5 or 6 where you had more in the way of defensive and offensive manoeuvrability.
I can foresee many instances where players will end up having to load older saves, because they've found themselves in a situation where they have low ammo, no herbs and Nemesis waiting to beat ass right outside the save room. So, make sure you have multiple save files.
One one hand I'm like 'This is Resident Evil. You like this series. You buy all the games. You loved the original. So just get it it.' But I'm also wondering if I should just cancel my pre-order, because I am concerned that Nemesis may suck the enjoyment out of this game. I'm getting older and worse at games, and have far less patience than I did in my teens. So, if I hit a point with a game where I'm no longer having fun, I won't be as compelled to keep playing it and will write if off early. And no amount of great graphics, cut scenes and story will be able to mask that the unfairness of being killed constantly by an enemy who is too fast, too powerful, sometimes unavoidable and chases you for the entire game.