More like Resident feeble.
Article by: Niall Cawley
Coinciding with the events of Resident Evil 2, Resident Evil 3 sees us once again trying to survive the streets of Raccoon City amidst its infamous viral outbreak. With this entry however we take on the roles of ex-S.T.A.R.S. member Jill Valentine and green Umbrella mercenary Carlos Oliveira. Whilst Jill remains the level-headed operative, with prior experience of Umbrella's twisted creations, Carlos is the ever optimistic and charismatic soldier of fortune. Using their skills they must make it through the nightmare, dodge the monstrous Nemesis tyrant that pursues them, and escape the city.
The 3 in the title certainly carries a heavy burden, aiding in setting a bar the game was never going to achieve. The fabulous Resident Evil 2 was lovingly remade and released the year prior, bringing with it a heap of new features and free extras, that were not available in the original. It added playable characters, storylines, and mechanics, further increasing the replayability of an already stuffed game. In contrast Resident Evil 3 decided to instead strip away elements from its original story, a game that already lacked replay value. Exacerbating the issue was that fans were also charged more for Resident Evil 3 than they were for Resident Evil 2. Due mainly to an additional online game that was forcibly bundled with Resident Evil 3. This was an addition that simply hadn't been asked for, nor wanted.
All of that said, positive aspects of Resident Evil 3 do shine through. The reimagined characters are spectacular, with Jill's action heroine personality feeling more established when compared to the original. While there is no doubt Jill has always been a solid action star throughout the franchise's run, seeing her hold her own among the tough guys of the Umbrella mercenary group is truly pleasing. Jill noticeably now loaded with considerably more sass than she previously did.
The 3 in the title certainly carries a heavy burden, aiding in setting a bar the game was never going to achieve. The fabulous Resident Evil 2 was lovingly remade and released the year prior, bringing with it a heap of new features and free extras, that were not available in the original. It added playable characters, storylines, and mechanics, further increasing the replayability of an already stuffed game. In contrast Resident Evil 3 decided to instead strip away elements from its original story, a game that already lacked replay value. Exacerbating the issue was that fans were also charged more for Resident Evil 3 than they were for Resident Evil 2. Due mainly to an additional online game that was forcibly bundled with Resident Evil 3. This was an addition that simply hadn't been asked for, nor wanted.
All of that said, positive aspects of Resident Evil 3 do shine through. The reimagined characters are spectacular, with Jill's action heroine personality feeling more established when compared to the original. While there is no doubt Jill has always been a solid action star throughout the franchise's run, seeing her hold her own among the tough guys of the Umbrella mercenary group is truly pleasing. Jill noticeably now loaded with considerably more sass than she previously did.
PERFECT DODGE ROLL EXAMPLE
Carlos too has been almost rebuilt from the ground up, finally providing us with a far more palatable version of the character. His overall character, though still young, has become more grizzled. He is unkept, tough, resourceful, and endearing, giving us the definitive version of the character. Though the original Carlos has his fans, this revitalised version successfully brings the character into the 21st century. He noticeably retains his light-hearted humour and bravery, but is subtler in his approach, meaning far less cringe every time he's on screen. To accompany his new appearance we are also treated to explore a reworked section as him too. He is a genuine delight to experience, being armed with an assault rifle and counter attacker, rather than a dodge roll. His gameplay injections in-between Jill's sections keeps the pace from dropping off at any point.
Building upon my last point, another positive aspect is the pacing of the game. Even though it struggles as a survival horror title, it still hits pretty hard as an all-out action title. The horror elements being reduced in favour of an action shooter does help to give it an identity within the series. An identity that it shares with the original. The remake however supersedes its original counterpart in this area by not only being noticeably snappier, but also having the newer control scheme. Where the original had the fixed cameras, clumsy tank controls, alternative routes and rng puzzle solutions; the remake opts for an over the shoulder viewpoint, with more character swapping and simpler single path area designs. It also has an extras menu where you are able to purchase (with in-game points) upgrades, rather than them being fixed behind tedious completion walls as is Resident Evil tradition. While these reworkings do plenty to help the game appear sleeker, they also have the unintentional effect of hindering the replayability. There is no replaying to find new things or to train for harder difficulty settings. Unfortunately, once you see the credits role, you have seen everything on offer - unlike previous games and even unlike the original Resident Evil 3. The speedier action is nice to experience, but fans of the series may find very little to enjoy with the new gameplay direction.
As it is a numbered entry you are stuck not only comparing it to the series as a whole, but also the numbered entry that came immediately before it. You also find yourself stuck due to its nature as a remake, because you then have to quantify its validity not only against itself but also against the other remakes within its universe. If you do all of these things though, Resident Evil 3 clearly does fall quite short. It seems that Capcom repeated past mistakes and released a Resident Evil 3 whose only fate was to be swallowed up in the shadow of its far better predecessor. Capcom's perceived willingness to hand its budding fans the bullets in which to easily shoot down the Resident Evil 3 remake is the greatest tragedy in the series. This was an opportunity to reinvent with a real bang, but instead we got a passable excuse served with a whimper.
Comments
Post a Comment