By Adam Hood
In 2019, we saw the revival of Resident Evil with the release of Resident Evil.
This rebuild of one of the best instalments in the beloved franchise was a massive success for Capcom. It has paved the way for a future with new and old fans reliving the experience and seeing the horror in a new light.
The fact Capcom was able to take one of its best games of the 1990s and remake it into the masterpiece that was released last year just goes to show the love and care that was put into the remake. Resident Evil was always that franchise that no matter who it was playing the game, it always managed to scare the living daylights out of you (mainly me) and truly made people afraid to play it in the dark.
But I have to admit, seeing members of my own family from my parents, siblings, myself all terrified when playing the Resident Evil 2 remake despite knowing many key things that were coming showed that Capcom knows what it is doing and that the magic of the franchise still lives.
When the game was originally released, Capcom struggled with the limitations in hardware, fixed camera and clunky controls. This made it difficult to achieve their vision for the game and this caused some problems in how it played. So while the game was an improvement on previous titles, it never received the same level of recognition that they had.
But this should change since a lot of the controls from the Resident Evil 2 remake will be present and this will lead to a better and also familiar experience.
Peter Fabiano, Resident Evil 3’s producer, has said that with the remake they can now do things they couldn’t do originally. So with the current RE engine and modern gameplay, they will be able to bring to life new ideas for the game while staying true to the source material.
Capcom later went on to describe the Resident Evil 3 remake as a ‘reimagining’ of the original game instead of it being a one to one recreation. So like the Resident Evil 2 remake, it will be designed using the essence of the original story but it will be adapted as if it was being made today.
It has also been suggested that we may see the plot lines from the previous remake and the current one may be interconnected in some way. There is also a precedent that they may add more story to either Carlos or Jill’s playthroughs.
One blessing that Capcom will be making full use of is the blueprints they have of the original game. They will know what worked, what didn’t, include things they couldn’t beforehand which they did for Resident Evil 2.
The changes they could make to improve range from a variety of things. This goes from graphic fidelity, controls and level redesigns. This would be a great thing I believe as it will add to the tension when it releases since we would not be able to trust our memory.
With the RE engine that was used for the Resident Evil 2 remake, they aim to bring the environment to life. The aim will be to make it more emotive to increase your immersion while keeping to the source material.
It has also been said that one of the techniques that allowed for the games astonishing level of detail is photogrammetry. This is a technique which artists can use to import the pictures they have of real-world objects as well as people in order to create more life-like models. It has been confirmed that in order to increase the variety of zombies in the game. Capcom scanned some of its own employees into the game.
These are things that I think will truly improve the experience of the game and I am definitely looking forward to seeing.
The use of photogrammetry, as well as motion capture, will really raise the bar. This will allow actors to really bring the character they play to life to the point they feel new to us. Good examples of this can be seen in the previous remake.
From the success of the previous game with how terrified we were of Mr X, I expect to be horrified by Nemesis. The team behind Resident Evil 3 describes Tyrant as Alien Isolation level of scary as he was confined to corridors. Nemesis, however, does not have that restriction for he is untethered and can always hunt you down.
The aim with Nemesis it seems is to have the entire city under its control. What makes it even more dangerous is that not only can it pursue you anywhere but it have weapons. To avoid Nemesis and zombies we had the dodge option, but according to Fabiano the producer they made ‘adjustments’ to gameplay and we will know more soon. So I expect to be frustrated and scared.
Nemesis is designed to be the ultimate tool to keep you on edge. Its aim is to make sure every corner, every building, every door you open could lead to a battle to the death. One of the main ways they did this in the original was the sound as this kept us on edge, and it is to be enhanced for the remake.
But that is not all that will cause tension. The level design will aid that and especially the lighting technology which will truly make you fearful.
The game will also include an online mode called Resistance. This is a mode that pits 4 players against one another. There will also be a mastermind who is against the players and this player can place traps in rooms that other players have to escape from. It was also confirmed that Tyrant is Playable as a minion. As for Nemesis being Playable, we will have to wait and see.
But as for what else the game offers and how it feels. This is something that we will learn when it releases later this year.
