Of all the parts of the original Resident Evil series, Part 3 is the one that least needed a remake. Outside of Germany, mind you, because the version that was served here in this country 20 years ago had been raped by the local youth protection service. Smoke instead of blood and zombies, which flash into air after death. Awful! A crime! That's why nobody deserves a decent Resident Evil 3 remake more than we do. And now it's finally here!
Every Resident Evil has its iconic moments. In the first part it was the appearance of the hunter, in the second the terrifying persecution by the tyrant alias Mr. X. Part 3 meanwhile made an even nastier giant a constant fright: Nemesis. Feels twice as big and wide as the main actress Jill Valentine and always present where you could hardly use him. An extraordinarily charming guy with well-groomed teeth, fine manners and great skill in limb origami. And so eloquent. "Staaaarrrrs" he grunted in the finest zombie speech before turning Jill's bowels inside out.
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It's funny that the Fleischberg has almost completely forgotten how to speak. In the remake, he no longer belches “stars” while he rushes our main character through the streets of the city. And anyway: connoisseurs of the original material will look out of their clothes, rather puzzled. Where the new edition of Resident Evil 2 changed the perspective in favor of real-time graphics, but was otherwise pedantic to the red thread of the template, the creators of the latest episode allow themselves a lot of freedom.
Remake or new game?
The developers at Capcom have knitted a completely new gameplay, which gets down to business after just five minutes, so that more attention can be paid to the interwoven framework. New introduction, new core, similar finale – and yet a completely new game. History still illuminates the same events that take place in parallel to those of Resi 2.
You steer policewoman Jill Valentine trying to escape from the zombie-flooded city of Racoon City, and on the way you meet members of a special unit that survivors want to take out on the subway. Since the Colossus Nemesis is constantly trying to get her to do the laundry because he follows the order to eliminate all members of the S.T.A.R.S.- special unit, she has to accept some unpleasant detours before she can escape the doomsday scenario.
Although some striking locations of the original are still there, more is missing than one would initially suspect. Fortunately, some annoying backtracking orgies that were cut out. Capcom did a good job of streamlining in some places and adding new scenarios to others, which also have the function of literally putting the graphic advantages of Racoon City in the new engine in the right light: This time you get "nicer" pages to see the city.
Neon signs from restaurants, blue lights from overturned police vehicles, dim lighting from damaged street lamps … Racoon City is amazingly colorful at night (and thanks to excellent HDR control, damn high contrast) without losing its horror. There is pure chaos, zombies gargle and groan everywhere, paths are blocked by fire and collapsed junk. Although the cityscape suggests open chaos, it feels damn oppressive and cramped.
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This is where an unexpected zombie meatball like Nemesis comes in handy, even if it is no longer presented as spontaneously as it used to be. Arena duels? If there is practically no more, in the now usual chase perspective it would also be an annoying program item with literal circulatory complaints. This becomes all too clear in the few scenes towards the end of the campaign in which you still have to read the Levites. Nonetheless, Nemesis remains a constant fright, whose breath you can feel on the back of your neck.
This has advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand, Nemesis degenerates into a more stubborn variant of the Mr.-X-Tyrant from part 2, on the other hand, he can show off his physical attributes in the narrow and winding streets of the city much better. He is literally in the way. Jill's best weapon against his presence is a lunge that she takes at the push of a button. It helps with rolling, gaining distance and fleeing to the next best building, where you can enjoy security at least for a short time.
Run away instead of fighting? Survive scripted intermezzi instead of proving perseverance? Nemesis does not lose any of its menace, but a lot of the respect that was originally paid to it. He was the middle boss for whom you always kept a little ammunition or healing. Now he is only a moving obstacle over long stretches of the game. Maybe that's why Capcom has deleted the subtitle Nemesis.
Action instead of horror
The Resident Evil 3 remake feels more dynamic and modern due to its changes – both in comparison to the original as well as in the remake of Resident Evil 2. Whether this suits all fans of the series is another matter, especially as the gameplay turns out to be considerably more action-oriented than its predecessor. There are fewer puzzles to solve, less key searches and the associated need for orientation and less ammunition hoarding. In the lower two levels of difficulty you have to pump the lead wastefully into the undead to stand bare at some point.
The later pans to the secondary character Carlos even seem unusually generous. Five minutes carefree shooting zombies with an assault rifle? There was no such intensity even in part 4 or 5. Remarkably violent, fun, but possibly not for everyone. Anyone looking for creepy excitement will be better served with the remake of part 2. And more in the long term. There is no trace of the replayability with multiple characters and the New Game Plus of the predecessor.
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To say that Resident Evil 3 lacks strategic elements or nerve-wracking scenes in the new edition would be a lie, but the rebalancing in favor of an action-oriented gameplay cannot be denied. The creep factor is maintained more by the mass of the undead than by uncertainty. The higher the level of difficulty, the more drastic is each misstep. At the highest level, the game even randomly distributes all the items, so that you cannot just go through the most important locations and run through them.
Running away is still the key word. Resident Evil 3 wants to be played through quickly and mastered by skill. That's why Capcom slimmed down all the menus. Whether inventory or overview map, everything has been reduced to the bare minimum so that you don't spend too much time on it. The game is therefore more suitable for speed runs than part 2. Also because it often offers scenes in which the given constellation of zombies and undead animals can be avoided with a little trickery. Every room in the police station was analyzable, sometimes you have to act by instinct.
Multiplayer: Resident Evil Resistance
The action-oriented course of the campaign coincides with the game approach that Capcom developed for the multiplayer spectacle Resident Evil: Resistance. Resistance is a separate app that doesn't start from Part 3's main menu, but apart from that, it feels playfully like an extension. Controls, menus, handling of the opponents – all of this looks like one piece. The online multiplayer only leaves a few feathers graphically, which was probably caused in favor of the frame rate.
In Resistance you can connect with three other friends via an online connection to a team of four so-called survivors with the aim of finding their way out of an area flooded with zombies. Six role-playing avatar classes with diverse talents are available before the game starts. Including a tank, a healing specialist, a damage dealer, a hacker and a class that can detect objects lying around at the push of a button. In a group, however, each class may only appear once.
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The plot dictates a cruel experiment in which a mean villain tests the four survivors in favor of scientific knowledge. They should roam three large areas within a tight time limit, which lead to an exit. A fifth player takes on the role of villain – here called mastermind – in the online session. He remains hidden and observes the troops' attempt to escape using various surveillance cameras.
Since he controls the "experiment", the mastermind is free to distribute zombies and kick traps, which are to keep the survivors from solving small puzzles and finding keys. He can also activate guns or briefly slip into the skin of an undead to control him directly. The more damage the mastermind does, the more violent enemies it can spread. These include armored elite fighters or a reincarnation of the Tyrant Mr. X.
Depending on the class, the survivors have predetermined defense tools and special forces available to make the group game more efficient. This promotes cohesion. In addition, in exchange for in-game currency, all players can use the limited fund of several supply boxes to increase healing and ammunition or pick up stronger hums. Ultimately, their arsenal is limited, while the mastermind uses an infinite number of resources.
In the new trailer for the Resident Evil 3 remake, there are plenty of new impressions of Nemesis, the relentless pursuer of the game.
The strong prejudice of the mastermind makes it difficult for the survivors to flee. Capcom may still have to work a little on the balance between the parties. On the other hand, the high level of difficulty motivates them to achieve top performance and to save experience points with which additional equipment and talents can be generated for upcoming rounds. Anyone who puts hard cash in the balance can buy boosters that increase the yield, but must be activated manually in each session.
There are also career opportunities for the mastermind. Four villains, who can summon different traps and undead, can be unlocked by leveling up.
