Having hit every production in the last three years, from Resident Evil 7 onwards, Capcom try to continue his winning streak. A little over a year after the highly acclaimed Resident Evil 2 Remake, he was his direct successor to go under the digital knife. Revisited and refurbished by a group of three external teams, supervised by the Japanese house, Resident Evil 3 is back! Despite the initial enthusiasm, however, not everything seems to have gone right ... the first misstep of the "new" Capcom? Let's find out together!
75">750176eb217376-0.jpg">The man who pressed
Intellectual honesty requires me to make a premise: I didn't play the original chapter. For personal reasons, alas, I only discovered the series a few years (and chapters) later. So no, I didn't know the clock tower, I had never fired at the Nemesis and I was not in love with yet Jill Valentine. Yet I am here. Yes, I'm here because Capcom with these profound reinterpretations of the original material has given birth to a real new course for the saga. The past is in a sense being updated and rewritten, which is why we can look at this episode as a direct successor to RE2R, rather than a remake of an old work. The comparisons with the original, although of indisputable interest for fans, would not have found space in the ongoing evaluation.
Now, you are free to think that I am trying to give water to my mill, but if you still have the pleasure of reading the whole piece, I think (and I hope) you may find us some interesting ideas. The condition in which I find myself, that of cadet STARS at which Capcom smiles slyly with these remakes, will allow me, perhaps, to judge the product from a different perspective. That said, let's get started!
75">750176eb217376-1.jpg">Where were we?
We left Leon and Claire with a promise to dismantle the Umbrella Corporation, those responsible for the disaster a Raccoon City. But the destruction of the Tyrant T-00 and the laboratory NEST they were but a single piece of the puzzle. Parallel to the actions of the previous protagonists we discover that two other agents were working in the city to put an end to the nightmare of the T-virus. This is Jill Valentine e Carlos Oliveira, special agent of the STARS she, mercenary of the military corps of Umbrella him. Hunted by Nemesis, a mutant Tyrant even more dangerous than Mr. X, the two team up in a desperate attempt to save the policewoman's hometown, unraveling a more intricate web of mysteries and subterfuges than expected.
Resident Evil 3 Remake continues the excellent work done by the predecessor on the development of folkore, without replicating its quality.Building on the valid foundations laid by its predecessor, RE3 Remake attempts to expand the gripping narrative universe of the saga, telling new backstories and giving depth to the characters involved, without betraying its soul from B-movie. The result, however, did not convince us in the round. If Jill, the undisputed protagonist of the work, pierces the screen from the very first frame with her soul of a tormented heroine and her sublime aesthetic characterization, the same cannot be said for her supporting actors. Carlos limits himself to being a trivial tragi-comic shoulder, the relationship between the two is barely sketched and superficial, and in general the presence of him on stage almost never serves to give depth to the story. Similar speech for characters like Kendo and Tyrell, relegated to the role of simple extras with all due respect to their potential to create subplots of some interest.
To save ourselves from mediocrity we find Nikolai, the hateful antagonist of the adventure, and the Nemesis who with his murderous fury and obsession with Jill easily cannibalizes the scene. You understand well, however, that, despite some very valid elements, we are far from the quality of the second chapter, where all the pieces put into play, Claire, Leon e To give above all, they appeared much more focused and better developed. Pity.
75">750176eb217376-2.jpg">“Navigating is bitter to me on this map” - semicit.
Although my name is hardly associated with the word "fearless player", I feel I can label RE2R with some certainty as a distressing, anxious experience capable of making our adrenal glands secrete hectoliters of adrenaline. Thanks to precise game design choices, the last chapter managed to keep the tension for its entire duration. Merit primarily of semi-labyrinthine structure of the scenarios, full of obstacles to overcome and objects to find. Forgetting to collect a key, for example, meant walking through rooms and corridors, with the unpleasant and concrete possibility of running into the T-00 or in one of the many walking monstrosities. The numerous dangers and the clever level structure contributed to making exploration a terrifying and perverse pleasure for lovers of the genre. All good all good, if it were not that in RE3R it was decided to overturn this perfect playful formula.
Resident Evil 3 Remake sacrifices survival in favor of action. The result works, but completely sacrificing the tension of the previous chapter.But let's go in order. The new chapter veers decisively towards much more tones action, introducing dodge, indestructible melee weapons and encouraging to thin out the hordes of zombies with the many munitions scattered around. Not that this is necessarily bad in itself, mind you, but we are all well aware of how much the abandonment of the survival component in favor of the action from TPS caciarone has never benefited the saga much. Anyway, in spite of the mistakes of the past, Capcom has decided to try again. The result is far from unsightly and at the level of gun play everything works very well, too bad the terror we had become accustomed to in the last few episodes has completely disappeared. RE3R no longer frightens and no longer anguishes. Some (many?) Of you will turn up their noses, others may find it more digestible, but for better or for worse this is, whether you like it or not.
75">750176eb217376-3.jpg">Much less questionable and shareable, however, the simplification operated on the complexity of the scenarios. Levels are one banal and linear jumble of streets and rooms to cross, exterminating enemies. The pleasure of exploration has been completely castrated, the pleasant backtracking of the predecessor is absent and his cool ones are shamefully missing environmental puzzles. Essential to give variety and rhythm to the gameplay, the latter have been removed entirely, flattening and monotonizing the progression. Unforgivable.
Even the Nemesis, antagonist of infinite potential, it has not been fully exploited. The greater agility than the T-00, coupled with the new sprawling protrusions, would make it an even more dangerous threat than its predecessor, but it doesn't. The relentless monster in fact covers the role of hunter only in the first third of the game, where the map is slightly more articulated and open, only to disappear and reappear only in certain moments of history. An incomprehensible choice, which nullifies that suffocating feeling of being hunted in the first hours. Fortunately, four o'clock boss fight that see him as protagonist in the various stages of his mutation, are all a lot cinematographic, spectacular and funny, also pad in hand.
75">750176eb217376-4.jpg">5 hours of pampering included?
One of the most talked about issues since the game's launch is his longevity. In this regard, I feel compelled to break a couple of spears in favor of the title.
First: I am convinced that the games are not measured a lot per kilo or a so much per hour. Because of this reasoning we will never have a The Order 2 and I turn the browns, them mortacci yours!
Second: it's true, the in-game counter at the end of the adventure was 05:19:00, but this is a decidedly downward estimate because it doesn't take into account movies and game overs. The actual time required for one first game is slightly less than seven ore. Few, I agree, but not that few. Above all, not so inferior to those of the previous chapter which, by heart, had not aroused all this indignation on the part of critics and the public.
Okay, there was it in RE2R stage B which allowed to re-tackle the campaign in the role of the other protagonist, but the differences between the two runs are not that they were all that incredibly substantial. It was a clever expedient, which I myself appreciated, to encourage replayability and at the same time masking a not exactly amazing longevity. Nothing wrong with that, but you have to understand what we're talking about. For this reason, even if implemented and "sold" by the developers in a more naive way, here too there is no shortage of excuses to replay the title, including trophies and objectives, unlockables, difficulty levels and so on.
Last, but not least, even if you want to weigh the title in purely quantitative terms, in RE3R there is a substantial multiplayer component: Resistance.
75">750176eb217376-5.jpg">Four survivors seeking escape
Resistance, we said, is a modality asymmetric multiplayer, unpublished for the saga, which sees four unfortunate boys (taken by the weight of the most stereotyped teen-horror) oppose a diabolical Mastermind. The goal of the former is to escape from the map, collecting key objects and surviving the waves of zombies thrown at them by the cruel soloist. The task of the second is instead to slaughter the gang before she manages to escape from the Machiavellian labyrinths.
The matches are structured in three phases, each of which marked by a particular action to be completed for the four. From his control room, the Mastermind can follow the unfortunates through the service cameras and obstruct them in various ways. For example: setting traps, summoning enemies or directly taking possession of some mutant amenity, such as Tyrant himself.
In true teen-horror style, in Resistance four unfortunate youngsters fight to escape the clutches of the Mastermind.Heading also on the heads of the survivors we find a merciless countdown which signals the approach of game over. A factor not to be underestimated that pumps the tension levels much higher than it happens during the campaign. Then this is an element of particular interest since it plays an opposite role for the two factions. It is true that the Mastermind can use it in his favor, slowing down opponents with traps and zombies, but it is also true that, in case the survivors manage to win, for each defeated enemy they will earn a certain amount of bonus seconds. Hence the need to carefully weigh their actions on both sides.
Full promotion for maps which, although in number at the moment too small (four), seemed to us to be sufficiently inspired, both on a functional and artistic level. Ditto the six survivors and the four "puppeteers". Applause also for the mammoth progression system fielded. Among the myriad of extra skills to unlock by leveling up and the many cosmetic items, you will have tens of hours game on the horizon.
Don't underestimate it! The multiplayer rib of RE3R is of remarkable workmanship, both in qualitative and quantitative terms.Partial rejection, however, for the netcode. In the absence of dedicated servers, thanks to the sad historical moment and the widespread ones network problems, it happened several times that we were unable to complete the game due to disconnections from the host. On PC, moreover, the situation is quite dramatic due to the small numbers that the game has recorded in terms of sales. Do you want to play Mastermind? Very well: get ready to hours of waiting. I mean literally, as I show you below.
75">750176eb217376-6.jpg">We played Resident Evil 3 Remake thanks to a Steam code provided to us by Capcom. The test configuration (Ryzen 5 2600, RX 590 8GB, 16GB RAM) allowed us to run the title in FullHD / 60fps at maximum detail without the slightest hesitation.
Duration- About six and a half hours for the main campaign, however, with a high replay value
- Three levels of difficulty selectable immediately, two extras
- Asymmetric 4vs1 multiplayer
- Twenty Mr. Charlie to destroy
- Double platinum / list of goals for single and multi
- Game Name: Resident Evil 3 Remake
- Release date: April 3 2020
- Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
- Dubbing language: Italian
- Texts language: Italian
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When the least effort does not lead to the maximum result
Resident Evil 3 Remake is a title marked by naivety and slips at the level of game design, sometimes unacceptable. The care taken in the development of the game, especially the single-player campaign, is significantly less than the predecessor. Maybe it was the rush to hit the market just a year after the second episode. Maybe it was just the inexperience of the teams involved and the decentralization of the work, who knows. However, despite its strengths and weaknesses, one thing is certain: the vibrations that Resident Evil transmits are always a macabre pleasure, also in this case!
The real surprise, however, is represented by Resistance, an addition of absolute value not to be underestimated. Believe us: this is not something thrown away just to lengthen the stock and offer the game at full price. On the contrary, we are faced with the best multiplayer declination ever seen in a Resident Evil, as well as one of the most valid asymmetricals of recent memory. It will remain to evaluate the long-term resistance, the post-launch support and the populace of servers, problematic to date, but certainly the foundations are solid.
Well, come on this time, come on! But if, as it seems, the remake of the fourth chapter is already in development, right in the studios of M-two, we expect a very different treatment, understood Capcom? Otherwise here it ends up in the mouth: team warned ...
Review by Giacomo BorninoGraphics
The RE engine is confirmed to be one of the best graphics engines on the market. The polygonal models of the protagonists, especially the rendering of their faces, leaves us breathless all the time. To penalize the vote: exaggerated recycling of the assets of the second episode and sometimes subdued artistic inspiration.
85
SOUNDTRACK AND DOUBLE ROOM
Soundtrack without particular flashes, but still pleasant. The real critical point is represented by the lack of incisive ambient sounds that, in a horror, do the proverbial half of the story.
70
GAMEPLAY
The action twist of the title does not convince us as it irremediably compromises the tension and fear. The Nemesis is only half exploited. The total absence of environmental puzzles and the banality of exploration monotonous progress. The perfect gunplay and valid boss fights intervene to save the shack.
