Resident Evil 2 Remake

[St_Eddie]

Made a proper plums of it at the minute. Picked up the waveform thing that looks like an Electro Harmonix pedal and i'm out of flash grenades, and that MURF room has two lickers in the motherfucker so i'm trying to blast both of their shite out on orange. Not working. Made a bollocks of it somewhere about 15 times to the point where the game is suggesting wipe my arse mode to me.

But you can sneak past lickers.  They're blind, so just tiptoe your way to victory.

[Goldentony]

oh yeah there's a zombie in there who fucks that up for me, I forgot

[Goldentony]

I switched off that THREE DIMENSION HOLOGRAM SOUND thing too because I cannot be fucked walking into a room and every cunt going HOWAAAAAARGHHHHH FUCK OUT THE ROOM MATE

[St_Eddie]

Well, I've got some considerable catching up to do but I've finally got myself a copy of the game (most of you have probably finished it and consider it old hat by now).  I just spent a good hour or so of fiddling around with the graphical settings (which are extremely extensive - all PC games should be like this), in order to get a decent framerate on my faithful but dated PC (I ended up with medium settings, capped at 30 FPS).  I gave it a quick test run and oh, boy!  This is gonna be great, isn't it?  I purposefully avoided playing, or watching others play, the one shot demo because I wanted to go into this fresh and it's quite something!

I only played up until you reach the exterior of the police station because this is a game to be played at night, not mid-morning.  By the way, I was very disappointed by how brief the Racoon City streets segment was.  You basically turn a corner and hey, presto; it's the police station.  Boo!  The original had you running through the streets for a good 10 minutes or so (I did love the new addition of the opening gas station though).

I'll be playing this on hard mode, by the way.  Ink ribbons and all.  I want to savour the experience and be absolutely terrified throughout.

[AsparagusTrevor]

Despite convincing myself I was gonna wait til the price dropped, I've caved and bought this. That's my weekend sorted.

Well, I've got some considerable catching up to do but I've finally got myself a copy of the game (most of you have probably finished it and consider it old hat by now).  I just spent a good hour or so of fiddling around with the graphical settings (which are extremely extensive - all PC games should be like this), in order to get a decent framerate on my faithful but dated PC (I ended up with medium settings, capped at 30 FPS).

I got it on PS4 Pro, but I played the demo on the PC. On the Graphics Settings I loved the screenshots which show what difference each option makes, this needs to become standard for PC games. It seems to be pretty well optimised, I managed to max it out on my GTX1060.

[St_Eddie]

Despite convincing myself I was gonna wait til the price dropped, I've caved and bought this. That's my weekend sorted.

Ah, excellent.  I'm glad that I have someone else within this thread to play along with, at a similar rate to myself.  I won't be able to play properly until tomorrow though, as I'll be out and about, getting drunk tonight.  Resident Evil and a hangover.  Should be an interesting combination.

I got it on PS4 Pro, but I played the demo on the PC. On the Graphics Settings I loved the screenshots which show what difference each option makes, this needs to become standard for PC games.

Oh, yes!  Absolutely.  That was a lovely touch and very useful for understanding the technical jargon of B0+LCKS X16 and other shit like that.

It seems to be pretty well optimised, I managed to max it out on my GTX1060.

Oohhh, hark at him!  He thinks he's David Essex!

[popcorn]

Well, I've got some considerable catching up to do but I've finally got myself a copy of the game

Fantastic! Can you PM me the code for it. Thanks.

[Bazooka]

Didn't get to play it much since I bought it, just got to the sewers for a second time, ...police station, carpark, sewers, police station, despite nostalgia the game is all over the place in structure, makes RE:0's dropping items on the ground look glorious.

No dodge mechanism, honing missile ability,and them being utter bullet/shotgun sponges makes the enemies a nuisance rather than scary after the first encounter.

[St_Eddie]

...them being utter bullet/shotgun sponges makes the enemies a nuisance rather than scary after the first encounter.

This is the one thing making me question my decision to play the game on the hardest difficulty setting, as the enemies take even more bullets to kill.  That sounds like it might be of serious detriment to my enjoyment of the game.  I already think that the zombies take way too many shots to take down on the lesser difficultly settings, so I don't need them absorbing my bullets to an even further extent.  I don't mind the loss of ammo, as much as I don't think that a simple zombie should be so resistant to a well aimed headshot, in terms of Resident Evil lore, and zombie lore in general.

I wish that Capcom had giving players the option of customising their difficulty.  Basically, just allow me to play it with weaker enemies but less ammo and ink ribbon saves only.  That would be ideal.

As of now, I'm not sure if I should soldier on or restart the game on normal.

[bgmnts]

Well survival horror ind of promotes running away a bit doesn't it? It even spells it out during a cut scene where Marvin says either kill them or run.

On my second run through I barely killed a zombie, just headshot them or kneeshot them to make them go into a stumbling animation or whatever and run by them.

In terms of Resi lore, zombies ALWAYS took four or five shots to take down permanently.

[St_Eddie]

Well survival horror ind of promotes running away a bit doesn't it? It even spells it out during a cut scene where Marvin says either kill them or run.

On my second run through I barely killed a zombie, just headshot them or kneeshot them to make them go into a stumbling animation or whatever and run by them.

Well, I always killed the enemies in the original games.  I never ran and I always had a fuck ton of ammo to spare at the end of the game (I'm very strategic in which weapons I use for which enemies and a damn good shot, even if I do say so myself).  Still, I guess that running away will have to be the solution this time around.

It's not ideal though, as I always thoroughly enjoyed the satisfaction gained in the original games from clearing areas of zombies (and other enemies).  Then again, I hear that in this game, the zombies keep respawning.  There's already a few things which really bother me about this remake and essentially, I haven't even started playing it yet!  We shall see.  We shall see...

[bgmnts]

I guess that this will have to be the solution.  It's not ideal though, as I always thoroughly enjoyed the satisfaction gained in the original games from clearing areas of zombies.  Then again, I hear that in this game, the zombies keep respawning.  There's already a few things which really bother me about this remake and essentially, I haven't even started playing it yet!  We shall see.  We shall see...

Not quite respawn. In the police station they crawl through windows that have been smashed. That can be prevented, though.

[St_Eddie]

Not quite respawn. In the police station they crawl through windows that have been smashed. That can be prevented, though.

Ah, okay.  Good to know.  I think that I'll stick with the hardest setting and see where it takes me (other than to an early grave).

[Mister Six]

I only played up until you reach the exterior of the police station because this is a game to be played at night, not mid-morning.  By the way, I was very disappointed by how brief the Racoon City streets segment was.  You basically turn a corner and hey, presto; it's the police station.  Boo!  The original had you running through the streets for a good 10 minutes or so (I did love the new addition of the opening gas station though).

Just watched a playthrough and it took almost exactly four minutes, including the cutscene with the gun shop owner and the door-opening animations. It's basically street - gun shop - alley - bus - RPD building.

[Bazooka]

Playing this I got many The Evil Within vibes(vibes in a computer game whaaat???) for some reason, despite different developers, and having played TEW 1&2 and RE2 multiple times.

[Bazooka]

But my general gripe is the hit boxes for the enemies were designed by the same team who developed the Monster Hunter series on the PSP.

[St_Eddie]

Just watched a playthrough and it took almost exactly four minutes, including the cutscene with the gun shop owner and the door-opening animations. It's basically street - gun shop - alley - bus - RPD building.

Ooohhhh.  You mean to say that you don't immediately enter the police station?  Colour me intrigued!  Just got back from my booze session.  Eat.  Sleep.  Play.  Yay!

[AsparagusTrevor]

I got about 4 hours in yesterday, Leon's scenario first. I'm very much enjoying it, gives me a fuzzy retro feeling, but with caveats. I'll be interested to hear your thoughts when you start, Eddie.


It's been truly brilliant overall so far but here's a few negatives of mine, might be some small gameplay spoilers:

I think the zombies being described as bullet sponges is accurate. I'm on medium diffuclty and at one point a regular zombie took 8 pistol headshots before it stayed down. Another took three point-blank shotgun hits to the face before his head popped. They seem to grab you very easily too. They're very annoying.

The dissonance between story and gameplay seems worse in this day and age, maybe with how great the game looks it's harder to suspend disbelief. Seeing zombies in cutscenes one-shot killed and people dying from a bite when I've had twelve, it's like Max Payne 3 all over again.

It's hard overall. I'll admit I'm no gaming master but I can usually hold my own and I've died about 6 times already. The puzzles haven't been too challenging yet though.

There aren't as many story cutscenes and I felt some of the omissions, one in particular was sorely missed. I admit this is from someone who knew the original backwards, first timers probably won't care so much.

Mr X is a bellend.

[magval]

There aren't as many story cutscenes and I felt some of the omissions, one in particular was sorely missed. I admit this is from someone who knew the original backwards, first timers probably won't care so much.

If it's the one I'm thinking of (a REALLY early one), keep playing...

[Thursday]

I certainly missed the cut-scene that was in Spaced. Although that probably suggests that particular cut-scene is memorable for other reasons. It was also where you'd end the original demo I guess. I guess that's why it, along with the journey to the police station feel like such odd omissions. They're burned into my memory from playing that demo over and over.

[Mister Six]

Ooohhhh.  You mean to say that you don't immediately enter the police station?  Colour me intrigued!  Just got back from my booze session.  Eat.  Sleep.  Play.  Yay!

Talking about original RE2.

Played the demo and it pretty much squashed my interest in buying this, at least until it's dead cheap second-hand. The over-the-shoulder view makes even the entrance hall to the police station look pokey and crowded; the rest of the map seems to be a tangle of samey corridors; the combat is frustrating and it's so fucking annoying that you can't just shove zombies out of the way when they're staggered, instead having to run big circuitous loops to herd them out of the way so you can get through the door you need to pass through. And I can remember the original so well that even with the tweaks and changes it's not that compelling to me. Also when you die and continue it takes away all your health sprays and herbs?!

I dunno, maybe I was just in a bad mood. Probably the one-shot, half-hour demo didn't help because I felt the need to push on and race through it rather than drink in the atmosphere. But... eh.

I think the zombies being described as bullet sponges is accurate. I'm on medium diffuclty and at one point a regular zombie took 8 pistol headshots before it stayed down. Another took three point-blank shotgun hits to the face before his head popped. They seem to grab you very easily too. They're very annoying.

Aye, that was part of the problem. If an enemy is annoying it's not scary. If you keep dying too easily, death is no longer scary either. It felt like I was battling against the game and its contrived handicaps rather than the monsters themselves. I felt the same about RE7. Compare that with RE4, where you're mobile, agile and have wider spaces to explore - but the same is true of the baddies too.

[madhair60]

Got a game for you mate. Resident Evil 6. Slam dunk that into your playstation's arse.

[AsparagusTrevor]

Played the demo and it pretty much squashed my interest in buying this, at least until it's dead cheap second-hand. The over-the-shoulder view makes even the entrance hall to the police station look pokey and crowded; the rest of the map seems to be a tangle of samey corridors; the combat is frustrating and it's so fucking annoying that you can't just shove zombies out of the way when they're staggered, instead having to run big circuitous loops to herd them out of the way so you can get through the door you need to pass through. And I can remember the original so well that even with the tweaks and changes it's not that compelling to me. Also when you die and continue it takes away all your health sprays and herbs?!

I dunno, maybe I was just in a bad mood. Probably the one-shot, half-hour demo didn't help because I felt the need to push on and race through it rather than drink in the atmosphere. But... eh.

That's true, the timed demo was a bit of a retro-step too far. Despite my caveats I'm really enjoying the main game, but I'm exploring every corner, savouring the atmosphere. Try not to let the demo put you off too much, the main game gives it room to breathe.

However...

I think the zombies being described as bullet sponges is accurate. I'm on medium diffuclty and at one point a regular zombie took 8 pistol headshots before it stayed down. Another took three point-blank shotgun hits to the face before his head popped. They seem to grab you very easily too. They're very annoying.

Aye, that was part of the problem. If an enemy is annoying it's not scary. If you keep dying too easily, death is no longer scary either. It felt like I was battling against the game and its contrived handicaps rather than the monsters themselves. I felt the same about RE7. Compare that with RE4, where you're mobile, agile and have wider spaces to explore - but the same is true of the baddies too.

It's luck based rather than skill. It's also extremely difficult to run past them in small spaces, if there's a two person-wide gap they will grab you. Plus I've had three or four times opening a door to an unavoidable zombie attack, dunno if this is just bad luck or scripted. However you do get the REmake style defensive weapons (technically regular weapons you can also use when an enemy grabs you) to alleviate the frustration a bit. Weirdly the Lickers aren't as tough as zombies - if they haven't heard you already you can sneak past them if you're slow enough and they go down with a 2-3 shotgun shots in their general direction.

[Swoz_MK]

Finished Claire B (which I much preferred to Leon A, possibly due to the slightly amped difficulty) and now have The 4th Survivor to have a bash at. I predict swears.

[Mister Six]

That's true, the timed demo was a bit of a retro-step too far. Despite my caveats I'm really enjoying the main game, but I'm exploring every corner, savouring the atmosphere. Try not to let the demo put you off too much, the main game gives it room to breathe.

Timed demo wouldn't have been that bad if I could play it through a couple of times, at least. Making it a one-shot was the real crime.

you do get the REmake style defensive weapons (technically regular weapons you can also use when an enemy grabs you)

Aye, I realised that just before I died. Can you button mash to free yourself from the zombs or do you just have to wait till the animation plays out? I was mashing away, but I realised that's just a holdover from how I used to play the old Resi games as a teen and maybe not actually how it's supposed to be done.

[AsparagusTrevor]

Timed demo wouldn't have been that bad if I could play it through a couple of times, at least. Making it a one-shot was the real crime.

Aye, I realised that just before I died. Can you button mash to free yourself from the zombs or do you just have to wait till the animation plays out? I was mashing away, but I realised that's just a holdover from how I used to play the old Resi games as a teen and maybe not actually how it's supposed to be done.

I've instinctively mashed buttons and waggled joysticks every time one of the bastards has grabbed me with no idea if it's helping. They always get one bite in, but I remember in the old games they'd keep biting until you shook them off. I'll see what happens if I don't do this on my next zombie attack.

I had one occasion where I managed to barge a zombie out of the way without it biting me but I've no idea how this happened.

There's a cool little touch where if you manage to kill a zombie as it's lunging towards you, its momentum causes its corpse to fall into you and Leon/Claire catches it and throws it disgustedly to the floor.

[Thursday]

Got round to finishing Claire B... it's weird because the 2nd half is much easier than the first half.

[St_Eddie]

Got round to finishing Claire B... it's weird because the 2nd half is much easier than the first half.

I'm currently playing through Claire's B scenario (I've just reached the parking lot) and I'm relieved to hear that it eases up in the second half because the half that I've played is really fucking brutal, compared to Leon's A scenario.  Having said that, a possible explanation for it seeming easier in the second half of your playthrough is the adaptive difficulty, at least partially.  Who knows though?

I'll be sure to post my final thoughts on the game once I've fully completed it.

[Thursday]

I think it's just the combination of the lack of Mr X and the area design becoming more linear means you can breeze through it if you remember what to do.

[Z]

So two of the most acclaimed games of the past 12 months are RE2 and Shadow of the Colossus