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Resident Evil 2 Remake Thoughts (Spoilers)
6 years ago
Having finished Leon A and Clare B, I think I'm ready to give my thoughts on the game so far. I still have Clare A and Leon B to play so no spoilers for those please, though I doubt there's going to be any serious changes.
One thing I want to mention is that RE1 Remake was RE1 with better graphics and a twist, RE2 Remake is almost a different game that happens to be related to RE2.
What I liked-
-The graphics. Damn this game looks great. Horrifying, but great.
-The remixed RPD. While seemingly a little cramped in places, the layout and backstory make more sense and it's more believable as a real place where people would do police things before the zombies appeared.
-The way the game messes with RE2 fans. One example is the way Mr X appears in scenario A. That's one way to clench your bum hole. I normally wouldn't spoil that but I need to for later.
-The changes to Mr X. He doesn't just appear at scripted moments. He can't be killed (just stunned) and can open doors. He can (and will) chase you all around the game. It's really tense standing in a tiny, dead end room with the sound of his heavy boots outside hoping he doesn't walk in the room. Great stuff.
-Blue herbs now have a use beyond curing poison. They make you more tanky for a short time when mixed with red herbs.
-The footstep noises. They did a good job with it.
-Being able to shoot the arms and legs off a zombie and it having the expected results, and is actually a viable strategy. One time I hit a zombie with an acid round and all his limbs melted off, leaving him as a limbless stump. He was still trying to eat my brains though. Kind of creepy.
-There's a mini clubman in the police car park. 10/10 GotY of the year all years.
What's both good and bad
-The performance. The game looks great and runs well, but it hitches up when loading in textures or auto saving. This is most apparent in the intro which can be a stuttering mess but once you reach the RPD it's fine.
-The story changes. Some are well done and make sense. Others are worse. eg. The original B scenario ended with Leon turning to the camera and saying "It's up to us to take out umbrella!" cut to credits with rock music. Cheesy but satisfying. Now it's a generic walk into the sunrise. Marvin and the other police were working on an escape plan before you showed up.
-Ammo is in short supply. I get this is survival horror, but this is stingy and then some. On normal it's almost as if they expect you to get a perfect run at times.
-Changes to weapons and ammo. The return of the RE3 gunpower system (minus the need for that reloading tool) is nice. The grenade launcher being limited to acid and flame rounds is also nice, especially since explosive is now covered by the hand grenade defence item. But Clare 2nd had too many guns and ammo types. 3 handguns, 2 use 9mm which needs to be crafted, 1 uses .45 ACP which needs to be found, and 1 can be upgraded to use 9mm power shot rounds. Then there's the grenade launcher with 2 ammo type, plus 2 more weapons with their own ammo (and 3 defence weapons). In contrast, Leon 1st has a pistol, a shotgun, and a magnum, 1 ammo type each (plus the defence weapons).
What I didn't like
-Scenario A and B (called 1st and 2nd) don't line up any more. For example. Mr X is killed in Leon 1st, but he is also killed in a completely different way in Clare 2nd. Annette has 2 different but identical fights with William. I'm not 100% sure, but I think she dies in Clare 2nd but is alive again for a later scene in Leon 1.
-Various weapon nerfs. The shotgun has been nerfed. In the original game you could kill a zombie with 1 headshot, and with the upgraded shotgun you'd blast off half their torso. Not any more. Even when fully upgraded, doesn't kill a zombie in 1 shot any more. It's not really effective against lickers, and bosses you want the extra punch of the magnum, so the shotgun isn't that useful any more. Made all the worse by ammo being rare and I wanted to save the gunpower for magnum ammo. I'd understand nerfing the shotgun or limiting the ammo, but not both. Acid rounds for the grenade launcher seem to have been nerfed too. Though they are still effective and fun to use. They have area of effect and damage over time now, and it's cool watching a zombie melt to peices. It's also possible to craft a shit ton of them which is likely why they were nerfed.
-The Clair nior outfit isn't a femme fatale, isn't a skirt suit, and doesn't have nylons. 0/10 worst game evar.
Now time to play the canon Clare A and Leon B, let's see if Leon has a horrible time like he did in the original.
One thing I want to mention is that RE1 Remake was RE1 with better graphics and a twist, RE2 Remake is almost a different game that happens to be related to RE2.
What I liked-
-The graphics. Damn this game looks great. Horrifying, but great.
-The remixed RPD. While seemingly a little cramped in places, the layout and backstory make more sense and it's more believable as a real place where people would do police things before the zombies appeared.
-The way the game messes with RE2 fans. One example is the way Mr X appears in scenario A. That's one way to clench your bum hole. I normally wouldn't spoil that but I need to for later.
-The changes to Mr X. He doesn't just appear at scripted moments. He can't be killed (just stunned) and can open doors. He can (and will) chase you all around the game. It's really tense standing in a tiny, dead end room with the sound of his heavy boots outside hoping he doesn't walk in the room. Great stuff.
-Blue herbs now have a use beyond curing poison. They make you more tanky for a short time when mixed with red herbs.
-The footstep noises. They did a good job with it.
-Being able to shoot the arms and legs off a zombie and it having the expected results, and is actually a viable strategy. One time I hit a zombie with an acid round and all his limbs melted off, leaving him as a limbless stump. He was still trying to eat my brains though. Kind of creepy.
-There's a mini clubman in the police car park. 10/10 GotY of the year all years.
What's both good and bad
-The performance. The game looks great and runs well, but it hitches up when loading in textures or auto saving. This is most apparent in the intro which can be a stuttering mess but once you reach the RPD it's fine.
-The story changes. Some are well done and make sense. Others are worse. eg. The original B scenario ended with Leon turning to the camera and saying "It's up to us to take out umbrella!" cut to credits with rock music. Cheesy but satisfying. Now it's a generic walk into the sunrise. Marvin and the other police were working on an escape plan before you showed up.
-Ammo is in short supply. I get this is survival horror, but this is stingy and then some. On normal it's almost as if they expect you to get a perfect run at times.
-Changes to weapons and ammo. The return of the RE3 gunpower system (minus the need for that reloading tool) is nice. The grenade launcher being limited to acid and flame rounds is also nice, especially since explosive is now covered by the hand grenade defence item. But Clare 2nd had too many guns and ammo types. 3 handguns, 2 use 9mm which needs to be crafted, 1 uses .45 ACP which needs to be found, and 1 can be upgraded to use 9mm power shot rounds. Then there's the grenade launcher with 2 ammo type, plus 2 more weapons with their own ammo (and 3 defence weapons). In contrast, Leon 1st has a pistol, a shotgun, and a magnum, 1 ammo type each (plus the defence weapons).
What I didn't like
-Scenario A and B (called 1st and 2nd) don't line up any more. For example. Mr X is killed in Leon 1st, but he is also killed in a completely different way in Clare 2nd. Annette has 2 different but identical fights with William. I'm not 100% sure, but I think she dies in Clare 2nd but is alive again for a later scene in Leon 1.
-Various weapon nerfs. The shotgun has been nerfed. In the original game you could kill a zombie with 1 headshot, and with the upgraded shotgun you'd blast off half their torso. Not any more. Even when fully upgraded, doesn't kill a zombie in 1 shot any more. It's not really effective against lickers, and bosses you want the extra punch of the magnum, so the shotgun isn't that useful any more. Made all the worse by ammo being rare and I wanted to save the gunpower for magnum ammo. I'd understand nerfing the shotgun or limiting the ammo, but not both. Acid rounds for the grenade launcher seem to have been nerfed too. Though they are still effective and fun to use. They have area of effect and damage over time now, and it's cool watching a zombie melt to peices. It's also possible to craft a shit ton of them which is likely why they were nerfed.
-The Clair nior outfit isn't a femme fatale, isn't a skirt suit, and doesn't have nylons. 0/10 worst game evar.
Now time to play the canon Clare A and Leon B, let's see if Leon has a horrible time like he did in the original.
