vol.2 wrote:Looking forward to it.
Searchlike wrote:I'm also looking forward to this, even though I know for a fact that I won't like where RE6 places.
Thanks, you guys. Sorry about the RE6 placement.
Incoming wall of text...
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14. Resident Evil 6
Resident Evil 6 looks like a game that had a ton of money thrown at it. It has an incredibly long and ambitious campaign (I think my playthrough clocked in around 25 hours or so), but is also a game desperately in need of better direction. You can do all these cool tactical dives and slides and stuff but you never need to do it and nobody asked for these mechanics in a Resident Evil game. It takes all the wrong lessons from Resident Evil 5 and doubles down on them. It's also really unpolished in a lot of areas. Is it really a good idea to have a Crash Bandicoot style run towards the camera section, start you incredibly close to the instant kill trap, and have the camera swing 180 degrees? And there's a lot of dumb frustrating design decisions like that here. Chris' campaign plays like a collection of all the worst aspects of the military first and third person shooters that filled the bargain bins on 360 and PS3. Also, I'm pretty sure a boss from Monster Hunter was reused here. Really? Its very out of place. The game is pretty much a mess.
13. Resident Evil 0
The game starts out strong with the introduction on the train but that's about it for the highlights. It also runs on the Resident Evil 1 Remake game engine which looks great, but unfortunately this one doesn't have nearly the same level of care put into it. The game also lacks item boxes for some reason. You can drop items, but it's more of a nuisance than anything. The tag system isn't really fun, and often feels like work. By the time the series got to RE0 you could tell it was in need of a reboot.
12. Resident Evil Revelations 2
This game is perfectly serviceable. It doesn't really have too many highs or lows, and doesn't have too many memorable moments but it plays fine and was definitely a step in the right direction after Resident Evil 6. The episodic nature and lower budget hold this one back a bit. Bonus points for being very self aware and having some memorable one liners. Moira quipping, "Why couldn't it be a normal factory, why'd it have to be a fucked up factory?" is one of my favorite lines in a game. The final boss fight is also better than most of the other games in the series.
11. Resident Evil: Code Veronica
At one point I would have called this my favorite Resident Evil game and I loved it when it came out. It felt like a fresh step for the series and bringing it into full 3D and having that incredible intro cutscene. Capcom went all in on the Dreamcast, and Code Veronica was no exception. Over time however, the flaws stick out a lot more. Code Veronica has the maze like level design of the older games, but the level's aren't very satisfying to navigate. Lots of long narrow hallways. Code Veronica is something of a Resident Evil for super players. The game expects you to be familiar with previous games in the series and starts hard and gets harder. Zombies are very fast and aggressive. You'll take hits from regular zombies more often than you would in the other games. The Bandersnatches are probably most difficult enemies in the series. And some of the difficulty is just plain unfair. It's quite easy to take a wrong turn and lock yourself out of getting some items. In fact, there's a boss fight where it's quite easy to get stuck and run out of ammo and basically have to forfeit your save file. I do still like this game a lot, but I think there's some fairly big problems with it, so it's pretty low on the list.
10. Resident Evil 5
Capcom's follow up to the legendary Resident Evil 4 plays it pretty safe. You get widescreen, HD, and online/split screen multiplayer but other wise this sticks pretty close to the Resident Evil 4 formula. And that's not a bad thing. Resident Evil 4 and 5 have great gameplay mechanics, and their accuracy focused, run and stop shooting gameplay with stunning enemies for easy melee follow ups is really satisfying. RE5 doesn't take all the right lessons from RE4 though. It's encounter design is not nearly as good. It's very much a game that is chasing trends rather than setting them. There's also a section half way through the game where it's portrayal of the villagers is uh...
problematic. I do want to give a shout out to the partner AI in this one. I very rarely had any AI issues and felt I could trust the AI with ammo and healing items. Tonally, this game is all over the place. Most of the voice actors play it straight, but the voice actor for Wesker knows
exactly what kind of campy schlock this is, and he's going to make the most of it.
9. Resident Evil Revelaitons
This game punches well above it's weight. I remember getting this game at launch and being floored by the level of production values and visual quality on a 3DS game. To this day, I think this is probably the most impressive game on the system. The parts with Jill on the cruise ship really shine. I guess that would be the "A" story. The "B" story with Parker and the rest of the cast is not as good. Also the less said about this game's plot and it's dumbass twist, the better. But this game is quite impressive, and the gameplay is quite good during Jill's sections and serviceable elsewhere. It captures the old school Resident Evil spirit, and is a showcase game for the system.
8. Resident Evil 3
Resident Evil 3 is solid and fun game but there's a little something off about it. I can't quite put my finger on it. It's more linear than it's predecessors, and it's not up to RE1 and RE2's standards. Exploring Racoon city should be a great set up, but it falls well short of the Spencer Mansion and Police Department. The Nemesis is a nice addition, and provides some really tense moments, but you feel very powerful in this game, and can just kinda plow right through it without much resistance on a first play through.
7. Resident Evil 3 Remake
The Resident Evil 3 Remake improves on it's source material quite a bit. The game plays very similarly to the Resident Evil 2 remake, and that's not a bad thing at all. I wasn't bothered by the short length and cut areas. It's a little jarring to just completely skip the clock tower when you're expecting it, but that was never my favorite section anyway. The expanded hospital section is nice. But the game takes a step back with the Nemesis, who only chases you through one area in the beginning. Otherwise, he just shows up in scripted segments and boss fights. The game feels a bit rushed, but I had fun playing it all the way through.
6. Resident Evil 1
The original Resident Evil is a great game. This is ultimately not a game about combat, it's about exploration and puzzle solving, with occasional combat to spice things up and worry about resources. The Spencer Mansion is one of the most iconic settings in a game for a reason. I could still probably sketch out most of the first floor by hand if I needed too. They had a really great idea and nailed the execution. There's also a certain shit-your-pants scare involving a dog early on that let's you know this game will pull no punches.
5. Resident Evil 2
Resident Evil 2 is the iconic follow up to the first game. This is about as good as iterative sequels get. Everything here is a little bit better than it was in previous game. The Police Department is one of the best level designs in all of gaming. The art direction is a lot better and more sophisticated as well. We go from a mansion in the forest to an overrun police department that used to be an art museum. How cool is that? Navigating the police department is real treat. Resident Evil 2 is not a difficult game, but it makes you think that it is. You feel the constant threat from having limited ammo and more zombie encounters than the first game. But the game is very well balanced throughout. For it's time, and expectations of the era, it's pretty much perfect.
4. Resident Evil 7
This game plays like a dream and features an instantly memorable cast of villains. The first person perspective is an inspired choice, and it works well here. Ethan is not a super hero, he's not even a police officer. He has huge recoil after firing, moves slow, and is going to be inefficient in ways that other characters in the series are not. But it works well. The main villain, Jack, deserves a shout out. He chases you through the house, making references to Evil Dead and other horror movies, and you can tell he takes joy in hunting you down. At times you'll laugh, and at times you'll be scared shitless. He's a fascinating villain. There are couple of iconic early set piece battles against him and although they aren't entirely clear on what your supposed to do and if you're actually inflicting damage, they are extremely memorable and batshit insane. The game goes to great lengths to make the areas seem grounded and believable too. No secret underground labs in this one.
3. Resident Evil Remake
No doubt the scariest game in the series, the Resident Evil Remake is one of the rare games that makes the prior version completely obsolete. For the most part it is a very faithful remake, but there are a couple of brilliant gameplay changes that turn this game up to 11. In this game, zombies do not disappear after dying. They need to burned otherwise they may come back as "Crimzon Heads" which are incredibly deadly zombies that must be avoided at all costs. The problem is, there are limited resources to burn the dead zombies. You have to pick and choose which ones you burn, and remember where you left the zombies you couldn't burn. You may choose to take longer routes to avoid rooms for fear of an almost certainly devastating attack from a Crimzon Head. This is so stressy in the best possible way. I love it.
2. Resident Evil 2 Remake
The Resident Evil 2 Remake is fantastic update to a beloved classic. Bringing the camera perspective into more modern standards, this game still manages to retain the essence of the original. Zombies are more resilient here, but limbs can be targeted and it's a real treat to have a full 3D perspective. The game engine is also among the best and most scalable ever made, managing to run rock solid and look stunning on my old ass potato of a PC. Lot's of great details in this one, but one thing that stood out to me was the animation. There's a scene early on where an NPC takes a bite out of a hamburger. In a normal game, you would see the camera cut just when he takes a bite so it can switch to a model of the burger with a bite already taken out of it. Not here. We're doing things the hard way. You get a close up of the NPC biting the burger and chewing it. You see the hamburger bun deform and oh so slightly deflate as it is bitten into. The burger breaks apart realistically. It's so stupidly and needlessly detailed, but that's just a small example of the level of care went into the whole game. Design wise, this is game gets major props too. There's not a lot of ammo to go around, encouraging you to dismember (but not kill) zombies or run around them. At a certain point in the game Mr. X shows up, he's an invincible stalker enemy will chase you around. You need to move slow and quiet to avoid him, otherwise Mr. X is gonna give it to ya. Hope you remembered where you left those zombies...
1. Resident Evil 4
What is there to say about Resident Evil 4 that hasn't been said before? Much in the same way that Mario 64 blazed the trail for 3D platformers, Resident Evil 4 created the game design template for the modern 3rd person shooter. Resident Evil 4 was so different than how other games played at the time, but not only that, it has the swagger and confidence of completely nailing it on the first attempt. All third person shooters before Resident Evil 4 became instantly outdated and all third person shooters after were going to be expected to pick up the Resident Evil 4 camera positioning. But beyond the innovation, Resident Evil 4 also just plays fantastically. From the opening in the village to the final boss encounter, Resident Evil 4 is always throwing something new and memorable at you and every enemy encounter has a purpose and an idea behind it, and there is no filler or padding in the game. The game more or less abandons the survival horror aspects of the previous games, but what Resident Evil 4 did was so fresh, new, and exciting that you knew you were playing something special.