Resident Evil 2 Remake

[Invictus]

Funny how I never considered myself a “fan” of Resident Evil bit I did play and beat the first 4 games plus Code Veronica (played the beginning of 7 too)
I dont have the fawning love for the franchise but do have a special place for RE2
The remake looks and sounds more like a reimagining of the original concept and while I like how it looks and understand that the over the shoulder perpective will make it more appealing to modern gamers I also think that it could have been a missed opportunity to have a more faithful remake rather than a reimagining but either way it looks very good
Btw I found the 2006 japanese version of RE2 for PC and while it is a bit of a pain to get running properly and adding English subtitles and all it does look a bit better than the other releases, the music doesn’t skip as in the emulated GC and DC versions plus the lower res makes characters fit a whole lot better on the prerendered backgrounds
Gonna play that over the weekend to psyche myself for RE again

 

[Ash]

Still single space inventory items.

so far the only items shown were:
- pistol;
- green herb;
- knife;
- jar of gunpowder;
- box of handgun ammo.

All of these items are small enough to fit into one slot.

somehow I doubt they will be using Resident Evil 4 inventory management

RE2 actually used variable item sizes. The Sparkshot, Flamethrower, Rocket Launcher and Submachine gun took up two slots, anyhow. But yeah, I like a fully-fledged grid-based inventory system e.g Deus Ex, RE4, System Shock 2 etc as much as the next guy, but the original RE2 was balanced around a simpler grid with a mere 8-10 slots, so it's probably best if this remake follows suit. But they are changing a lot so maybe an inventory change will be justified as a result.

Speaking of the sparkshot, that had better be in the game goddamnit!

 

[Ash]

that over the shoulder perspective in tight interior locations looks awful as I expected

Survival Horror is the one genre where it actually makes sense though. To intentionally limit FOV. Fixed camera angles were terrifying because of what you couldn't see. The over the shoulder cam makes combat a little better, to the detriment of the benefits of fixed cam angles, but the camera is still so restrictive here despite giving you control over it. I bet aim sensitivity will be forced rather slow too (like in RE4) with no option to scale so you can't 180 noscope zombies.

So in short, give you control over camera, but FOV, movement and aim speed are limited, very consciously by design, because survival horror. And it's arguably justified, because survival horror. Especially in a remake of a game that originally had fixed cam angles.

 

[TheHeroOfTime]

Cannot wait to hear this in next generation:

 

[ShadowSpectre]

I wonder if the PC version will let us play with a mouse and keyboard? Watching the gameplay video with that slow controller motion for aiming with the over the shoulder view is cringe-worthy. It might be practically cheating that the mouse is so much better than a controller for aiming quickly, but in the originals the camera angle and method of aiming made more sense with a controller. Getting forced to use a controller with the new camera angle/perspective though just seems annoying.

 

[Tehdagah]

I wonder if the PC version will let us play with a mouse and keyboard? Watching the gameplay video with that slow controller motion for aiming with the over the shoulder view is cringe-worthy. It might be practically cheating that the mouse is so much better than a controller for aiming quickly, but in the originals the camera angle and method of aiming made more sense with a controller. Getting forced to use a controller with the new camera angle/perspective though just seems annoying.

This is how Capcom is trying to balance the OTS view. Instead of making the zombies more capable, they are making the aim shitier.

 

[mfkndggrfll]

I wonder if the PC version will let us play with a mouse and keyboard? Watching the gameplay video with that slow controller motion for aiming with the over the shoulder view is cringe-worthy. It might be practically cheating that the mouse is so much better than a controller for aiming quickly, but in the originals the camera angle and method of aiming made more sense with a controller. Getting forced to use a controller with the new camera angle/perspective though just seems annoying.

This is how Capcom is trying to balance the OTS view. Instead of making the zombies more capable, they are making the aim shitier.

Its like drinking to make your mom look more attractive.

 

[agentorange]

that over the shoulder perspective in tight interior locations looks awful as I expected

Survival Horror is the one genre where it actually makes sense though. To intentionally limit FOV. Fixed camera angles were terrifying because of what you couldn't see. The over the shoulder cam makes combat a little better, to the detriment of the benefits of fixed cam angles, but the camera is still so restrictive here despite giving you control over it. I bet aim sensitivity will be forced rather slow too (like in RE4) with no option to scale so you can't 180 noscope zombies.

So in short, give you control over camera, but FOV, movement and aim speed are limited, very consciously by design, because survival horror. And it's arguably justified, because survival horror. Especially in a remake of a game that originally had fixed cam angles.

I've already explained somewhere that I liked the fixed camera angles because they support the survival horror feeling and allowed a specific mood or a certain kind of tension to be created in individual areas. This is because the camera angle in each area was a very deliberate choice, in the same way that a camera angle is set up for a film scene (even the lighting in each room was very distinct, which from what I've seen so far of the remake is ignored in favor of the cheap alternative of giving the player as flashlight). So I have no issue with fixed camera angles, in fact I like them and was hoping this remake would have them.

But the important distinction between the fixed camera angles and the poor camera control that I'm seeing in RE2: Remake is that fixed camera angles didn't hamper player skill. In the original games if a player put the time into learning the game they could become very adept at dodging between enemies, knowing the exact angle to point the character in order to get headshots, predict enemy movements, etc. Rather than adding a layer of very artificial difficulty the fixed camera angles actually took out a degree of uncertainty and instead put a lot value on player skill--while still creating a very frightening experience for first time players. But with a super low FOV (and from what I can tell a very inconsistent field of view), with an over the shoulder camera, with slow aiming speed, and from what the videos showed a very imprecise targeting system, all it seems to be doing is creating a situation in which the "horror" comes not from well crafted set-pieces but from how frustrating it is to do something as basic as control the camera. Instead of a deliberately tense situation being created, that can still be satisfying overcome through skill, the tension comes from trying to get a view on a monster while meanwhile Leon's shoulder is taking up half of your screen. That doesn't strike me as an effective means of building a quality horror atmosphere. If they wanted to do things like limit the FOV then they should have gone first person, which worked well in 7.

 

[Okagron]

Not too bad considering that most games nowadays are complete garbage.

Says the retard who thinks Fallout 3 is a good game.

 

[BrotherFrank]

Will see how this goes but count me among those who feel sticking to fixed camera angles would have worked better.

Yeah maybe they are a product of the limitations of their time, but adversity breeds ingenuity and when it comes to horror, camera angles matter. I distinctly remember early on in re2 the first time you catch a glimpse of a licker, the camera is looking from the outside through a window into the hallway your character is passing by, right as a licker darts across said window.
Sequences like that just wouldn't work as well in 3rd person , and I recall the actual arrival of the licker benefiting from this too since it dropped from above.

Nitpicker mode on:
Can't help but prefer the old cutscenes too, ex: meeting marvin in the original https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROnyZuUt5J4
Much more impactful imo even with the cheesy voice acting, just how he points the gun and orders Leon/Claire to go (with them retorting they will come back for him) is meatier then in the remake where it's more "i gave you an order soldier!!!!" "yes sir!". Not even a single "i'm coming back for you"?. Lame.

As an aside, resi evil 2 was one of those games that shocked me as a kid with their gory game over sequences. They better not fudge those up here like with the resident evil 1 remake deaths which had one ok death (because of the zombie turning its head back to the camera) and rest were all lame.
Oh and at lack of classic police station music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orHrAEU-W84 Hopefully they just turned off the music for the demo.

 

[ShadowSpectre]

I'm in agreement with the cutscenes. The original takes control away and then makes you watch what is often like a B-movie scene before you regain control of your character. This was definitely part of the charm. More of an outsider looking in, so the game would sometimes scare you twice, once with the sudden cutscene and then you regaining control and having to deal with the event. It's actually rather genius the way the originals play on what you can see (or not). When you see something across an area but not directly in front of you, it gives that horror movie dread where you know something bad is about to happen to the character, but they don't know. Thing is, the games let you control the outcome and occasionally gives you the foresight so they survive it. You can see the two zombies lunging down the hallway towards you from both sides. So it's not always just jump-scares/stuff you don't expect, which is quite brilliant.

The way it's arranged in this remake, it feels like they should have just went the first-person route, since you are only really seeing the character's perspective (limiting what you can see, being completely unable to look behind you unless you turn around). It's not quite the same type of horror, that's for sure. The over the shoulder is less personal when they seem to want to scare you in such a way, and less cinematic than the original third-person style which gives that sense of dread and panic. If something attacks you from behind in the new game, it's still just an unexpected scare basically. Less variety in the horror one might say.

 

[Daedalos]

Will see how this goes but count me among those who feel sticking to fixed camera angles would have worked better.

Yeah maybe they are a product of the limitations of their time, but adversity breeds ingenuity and when it comes to horror, camera angles matter. I distinctly remember early on in re2 the first time you catch a glimpse of a licker, the camera is looking from the outside through a window into the hallway your character is passing by, right as a licker darts across said window.
Sequences like that just wouldn't work as well in 3rd person , and I recall the actual arrival of the licker benefiting from this too since it dropped from above.

Nitpicker mode on:
Can't help but prefer the old cutscenes too, ex: meeting marvin in the original https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROnyZuUt5J4
Much more impactful imo even with the cheesy voice acting, just how he points the gun and orders Leon/Claire to go (with them retorting they will come back for him) is meatier then in the remake where it's more "i gave you an order soldier!!!!" "yes sir!". Not even a single "i'm coming back for you"?. Lame.

As an aside, resi evil 2 was one of those games that shocked me as a kid with their gory game over sequences. They better not fudge those up here like with the resident evil 1 remake deaths which had one ok death (because of the zombie turning its head back to the camera) and rest were all lame.
Oh and at lack of classic police station music https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orHrAEU-W84 Hopefully they just turned off the music for the demo.

The original music IS in the game, and can clearly be heard in the demo in the police station. So yeah. You must be deaf.

The cinematics in the remake is great and they are on the cheesey side in RE2. Why would Leon come back for Marvin, when hes clearly dead? Leon would be risking himself and Claire and everybody else. Besides, we havent seen all cutscenes with marvin yet, theres alot more story now compared to RE2. Police officers go by code and rank, and Marvin is clearly trying to get Leon to understand the gravity of the situation. I like the new voice lines very much, feels real.

Also, nostalgia is always hard to get over

 

[BrotherFrank]

The cinematics in the remake is great and they are on the cheesey side in RE2. Why would Leon come back for Marvin, when hes clearly dead? Leon would be risking himself and Claire and everybody else. Besides, we havent seen all cutscenes with marvin yet, theres alot more story now compared to RE2. Police officers go by code and rank, and Marvin is clearly trying to get Leon to understand the gravity of the situation. I like the new voice lines very much, feels real.

Also, nostalgia is always hard to get over

Fair enough im deaf and would rate my post old if i could.
Edit:yeah either im deaf, you’re fucking with me or i simply watched the wrong vids (the ones on p2 of this thread) cuz all i hear is spooky ambiance music at best.

The reason Leon would go back for marvin, is the same reason he would go back for any potential survivors:its what he does, he wants to help. He doesnt know marvin is a goner already, and his impulse is to help anyone he can. Marvin looks hurt bad but he is not clearly dead at all(sure the zombie bite is a death sentence but again, leon doesnt know that).

As for conveying the gravity of the situation, id argue og cutscene does that better (marvin pointing his gun at the pc does that more effectively then anything in this cutscene) and in half the time, the cheesiness actually helps in this case because you really feel the dude is hurting bad whereas new marvin seems rather unphased and the entire tone of the cutscene is markedly less urgent then in the original game because marvin is much more chilled here and ordering leon calmly.
But I do agree with you that he seems likely to be in a few more scenes so maybe that will come later, we will see.

And damn straight nostalgia is hard to get over, thats why you mess with it at your peril!

 

[Tacgnol]

I wonder if they will keep the A/B scenario split. That was something I always liked about the original.

 

[Wunderbar]

I wonder if they will keep the A/B scenario split. That was something I always liked about the original.

most likely not, but they will keep some changes for the highest difficulty (like Madhouse in RE7).

 

[Tacgnol]

I wonder if they will keep the A/B scenario split. That was something I always liked about the original.

most likely not, but they will keep some changes for the highest difficulty (like Madhouse in RE7).

It might be interesting if they did a "canon" scenario for each that took elements of each character's A and B scenarios.

Leon and Claire could both encounter Mr X for example.

 

[Wunderbar]

Leon and Claire could both encounter Mr X for example.

In trailer, Mr. X was shown in the same scene with Claire and Birkin.

 

[Daedalos]

The cinematics in the remake is great and they are on the cheesey side in RE2. Why would Leon come back for Marvin, when hes clearly dead? Leon would be risking himself and Claire and everybody else. Besides, we havent seen all cutscenes with marvin yet, theres alot more story now compared to RE2. Police officers go by code and rank, and Marvin is clearly trying to get Leon to understand the gravity of the situation. I like the new voice lines very much, feels real.

Also, nostalgia is always hard to get over

Fair enough im deaf and would rate my post old if i could.
Edit:yeah either im deaf, you’re fucking with me or i simply watched the wrong vids (the ones on p2 of this thread) cuz all i hear is spooky ambiance music at best.

The reason Leon would go back for marvin, is the same reason he would go back for any potential survivors:its what he does, he wants to help. He doesnt know marvin is a goner already, and his impulse is to help anyone he can. Marvin looks hurt bad but he is not clearly dead at all(sure the zombie bite is a death sentence but again, leon doesnt know that).

As for conveying the gravity of the situation, id argue og cutscene does that better (marvin pointing his gun at the pc does that more effectively then anything in this cutscene) and in half the time, the cheesiness actually helps in this case because you really feel the dude is hurting bad whereas new marvin seems rather unphased and the entire tone of the cutscene is markedly less urgent then in the original game because marvin is much more chilled here and ordering leon calmly.
But I do agree with you that he seems likely to be in a few more scenes so maybe that will come later, we will see.

And damn straight nostalgia is hard to get over, thats why you mess with it at your peril!

The vanilla music in a somewhat remixed version can be heard in this clip:

¨

Turn up the volume and listen carefully at 0:35 onwards to 0:40, clearly the vanilla soundtrack playing. Also, at 1:06 and onwards, listen.

 

[Machocruz]

Decline if they don't have A and B scenarios for each character. That was big part of the original's appeal. Although I'd be happy with just Claire A/Leon B, since that was THE way to play imo.

 

[Daedalos]

Remake will feature a full campaign for both Leon and Claire, so essentially a A&B mixed into 1 big campaign. Also the two campaigns will overlap during each playthrough.

So, its actually the same or better than the original.

 

[TheHeroOfTime]

The remake it will not have the B scenarios system from the original, it was confirmed in the E3. Instead, the game supposedly will have two different campaings, one for Leon and another for Claire. We can expect the Mr.X thing and Ada for Leon, and all the stuff about Birkin and Sherry belonging to Claire's one. Overlaping between them in some situations.

Funfact: During the remake is raining, lore detail that matches with Resident evil 3 story. Who knows if we will get a surprise related to that game...

 

[TheHeroOfTime]

Spoiler

 

[randir14]

Funfact: During the remake is raining, lore detail that matches with Resident evil 3 story. Who knows if we will get a surprise related to that game...

If these leaks from awhile ago are true, they're planning to make a RE3 remake
https://www.reddit.com/r/residentevil/comments/7sgsjf/another_re2_remake_leaks/

 

[Invictus]

I have read somewhere that the A scenario is supposed to be Claire’s canon and the B is supposed to be Leon’s although I always played them the other way around and we all knew that the A&B for each character would have been too much to ask... maybe as DLC?

In any case I am almost at the end of Leon’s A scenario on the Japanese 2007 release and I have to say that nostalgia has nothing to do with my enjoyment of this game, yes it shows its age especially on the prerendered backgrounds and the box puzzles but overall I have been enjoying it tremendously

This is a true classic game and ties with Code Veronica and 4 for best Resident Evil game

As for the changes we have seen so far on the remake, I dont mind the over the shoulder camera and if they move around the puzzles and develop the story a bit more I can’t say I deslike the idea, if they change things a bit by using more electronic cards instead of keys or whatever as long as the rest of the game is as moody and interesting as we have seen so far I will love it

 

[Ash]

I'll never understand some people's fondness for Code Veronica. RE2 I get. It isn't my favorite but I get why it is for some people. But Code Veronica? There was nothing remarkable about that game at all, at least from what I remember. Was it your first RE game, Invictus?